Today’s Mandatory Reading

Posted by T.W. Hanson - Apr 30th, 2008 at 20:04

energy

Thomas Friedman has a few words about U.S. energy policy.

Enjoy!

Consumer Confidence

Posted by T.W. Hanson - Apr 27th, 2008 at 17:04

Consumer Confidence

One of the economic indicators economists and Wall Street types follow is the result of a monthly University of Michigan survey on consumer confidence. The most recent report came out on Friday, April 25. It was the lowest level of the past 26 years. Many people, myself included, have no memory of an America with consumers this depressed. Even fewer have been working in the financial world when the numbers were previously this low. The uniform lack of knowing about this resulted in a muted response in the markets. We will see in the months ahead if this was appropriate.

I do not know what the direct impact of this sentiment divot means. Will people continue spending? Will companies reduce inventories? Is this only the beginning of the recession in the real economy, not just the financial sector? Will stimulus checks save us?

Smart real estate investments

Posted by Tad Johnson - Apr 23rd, 2008 at 19:04

Thinking about buying your first home? Be careful where you buy. As we’ve already seen, future home price appreciation (and depreciation) will vary greatly depending on location. With gasoline prices rising and no relief in site, distance from the city center is becoming a crucial determinant for home prices.

For years, home size and features (like 1/4 acre yards) drove home prices. Suburban mansions popped up all over the country in cheap converted farmland. With an ever-expanding highway system and cheap gas, many thought this was a great deal.

Now that’s all changing. With environmental and economic factors pointing home buyers toward the city, suburbs are diminishing in value. But don’t take my word for it, read on below.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89803663

Home Prices Drop Most in Areas with Long Commute : NPR via kwout

High Grain Prices = Global Unrest

Posted by T.W. Hanson - Apr 7th, 2008 at 20:04

let them eat cake!You may have noticed headlines about spiking food commodity prices.  If you haven’t, it will soon become readily apparent in your grocery store.  To prepare for the coming price appreciation, I have given up my meat consumption.  But that is too much of an aside.  The higher grain prices are a function of many factors from bad weather in Australia to diminished grain reserves.  If you were a savvy or lucky vicenarian, you may have profited from the recent moves.  However, the world will not be so lucky.

Hunger, more broadly the scarcity of resources, has been the primary cause of most human conflicts.  Good luck convincing a soldier in Zimbabwe that he should jeopardize his government allowance in the name of the democratic process.

One of the other frightening developments in this recent grain price explosion is ethanol.  Other than it being one of the factors driving up prices and starving the world’s poor, it also is destroying the environment. 

Although I have resigned my efforts in converting the adult population into vegetarians to failure, I hope you see through the next politician who proclaims ethanol to be America’s savior.  I believe “Let them eat cake” didn’t go over so well the last time it was considered a talking point.

Sobering questions about the US dollar

Posted by Tad Johnson - Apr 4th, 2008 at 18:04

Watch this excerpt from a Danish documentary that asks the question, “what if the dollar collapsed?”



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