Submitted by A Dash of Insight
…..in them thar hills”  (Origin Unknown).  Despite the dubious construction and grammar (language buffs can check here) the statement has a certain ring.  The reason is the enduring quality of gold as a store of value.  In modern times, this means a value that is impervious to the actions of […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

According to data just released by the BEA on the “U.S. Net International Investment Position at Yearend 2007,” foreign-owned assets in the United States increased $3,474 billion in 2007 to $20,081 billion (see top chart above), representing the largest-ever annual dollar increase, and the largest percentage increase in 20 years (see bottom […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by unsettling economics
I am getting ready to leave for my final summer trip to Las Vegas, where it will be appearing with a host of conservative luminaries, such as Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Steve Forbes, Christopher Hitchens, and Dinesh D’Souza. I will be in two debates beginning next Thursday. David Himmelstein and I will […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by The Capital Spectator
Happy Independence Day to all our readers. Here’s our favorite excerpt from the seminal document:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by Businomics Blog
Jim Picerno over at Capital Spectator has asset class returns for June:

I find that looking at the past helps me to understand . . . the past.  I can also say that my own picking of U.S. stocks isn’t that bad, given that my own portfolio is down 8.1 percent in June. […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by Econbrowser
The BEA released the end-2007 International Investment Position data on June 27.

Several observations:

As in recent years, the NIIP to GDP ratio continues to deteriorate.
However, the NIIP to GDP ratio as of end-2007 is improved relative to the originally reported end-2006 NIIP/GDP ratio.
In the last year, the dollar change in the NIIP deviates substantially […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by Econbrowser
…oil was the objective. Maybe.
From ABC:
Five years after the US-led coalition stormed into Iraq there is set to be another western invasion.
This time it is the world’s biggest oil companies leading the charge, 36 years after Saddam Hussein kicked them out.
The oil giants are seeking access to Iraq’s rich crude reserves, Australian companies […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

The American economy is in a rough patch. But the long-term trends are good—and there is a price to economic pessimism.
When a presidential election year collides with iffy economic times, the public’s view of the U.S. economy turns gloomy. Perspective shrinks in favor of short-term assessments that focus on such unpleasant realities […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
TAMPA, FL — The temporary Wal-Mart Hiring Center had more than 2,000 jobseekers hoping to fill its 350 open positions in time for the new Supercenter’s opening in August, according to one of the new Supercenter’s co-managers.

MP: When it gets 6 applicants for every job, doesn’t that mean Wal-Mart’s wages are too […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Washington Post – Psssst. Have I got a great stock tip for you: Now’s the time to buy shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. No, really.
I know that may sound like an e-mail from the spam box, but it’s actually good investment advice. While U.S. markets have been struggling with the […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently released Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data show that the total effective federal tax rate (including income, payroll, and excise taxes) of the middle fifth of households declined after 2001 to its lowest levels since at least 1979 (see chart above). Under the 2001 and 2003 tax relief legislation, […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Click the arrow above. Happy Birthday America!
Here’s Ray in 1991, it doesn’t get any better than this:

Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

Rating 3.00 out of 5

[?]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

The chart above (click to enlarge) shows the cost of 1,000 gallons of gas as a percent of per-capita disposable income, annually back to 1929, using EIA data for gas prices and BEA data for disposable income and GFD data for population (subscription required).

The retail price of gas was only about […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
The U.S. income tax system is highly progressive. The top 1% of income earners, by household, paid more than 39% of all federal income taxes in 2005, the top 10% paid more than 70%, and the top 50% paid almost 97%, whereas the bottom 50% paid a little over 3%. Further, 32% […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
If you look at the situation on paper, it looks like the world should have enough oil. But you can’t burn oil or turn it into gasoline if it exists on paper.

MSN Money Video.
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

Rating 3.00 out of 5

[?]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Can the perfect recall of silicon memory be an enormous boon to thinking, or is Google making us stupid?

Read about it in The Atlantic. (Update: Link is now fixed, sorry).

HT: Suzanne Perry
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

Rating 3.00 out of 5

[?]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
What would Thomas Jefferson say today about U.S. energy policy? Probably “Drill, drill, drill”?

Jerry Bower explains.
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

Rating 3.00 out of 5

[?]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Kentucky john paid prostitute with $100 fuel card.
Link.

HT: Juandos
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

Rating 3.00 out of 5

[?]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

Rating 3.00 out of 5

[?]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Average starting salaries for new college graduates are up a surprisingly strong 7.1% over last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Among the average salary offers, according to the association’s summer survey:

$63,165 for chemical engineering, up 6.4%
$60,416 for computer science, up 13.1%
$52,418 for information sciences […]

continue reading.....