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You can almost categorize investors into two types when talking about gold. The first group is known as the “bugs”, people who have hundreds of reasons for investing in gold and will praise the precious yellow metal no matter how deep its prices decline. The other group is known as the "bears", people who seem to always have something negative to say about gold despite its value when the economy is doing badly. Whatever these two groups [...]
On today's show we'll be talking about the new version of Windows 8 that will be release later this year. If you want to download a preview (beta test) version of the software to kick the tires, you can download it here: Download link for the Windows 8.1 preview
The employment report today, along with the annual benchmark revisions, sends a conflicting message. The headlines are all about the Establishment survey: mammoth upward revisions, especially last fall. November’s job change number was +767 thousand, which makes the 3-month average around +350 thousand for the past three months. Happy days are here again! But before we break out the champagne, the household survey sends an exactly opposite message. November’s change number was -51 thousand. That’s right, minus. [...]
If you or someone you know receives their Social security or other federal benefits by Paper Check. You have until March 1st to switch to electronic payments. This change affects anyone who receives a check in the mail for Social Security, VA, SSI or other federal benefits. Going forward the ONLY way to receive these benefits is through electronic payment. Either through a direct deposit to your bank account or deposited to a Pre-Paid debit card called [...]
We’re Sorry … Oops. That’s what Apple said last week about their new mapping application. In a rather embarrassing press release, CEO Tim Cook apologized to iPhone users for the buggy, fault-laden app the company put out last week. Users of the new iPhone 5 and folks who upgraded to the new operating system saw the Google Maps application replaced by Apple’s, which made a lot of mistakes: […]
Of Bazookas, Bailouts, and Bubbles – They can’t say he didn’t warn them.In July European Central Bank Chairman Mario Draghi said that he would do “whatever it takes” to save the Euro. He was backed up—and not slapped down—by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande. Since then the European debt markets have been largely constructive: the yield on Spanish 10-year government bonds declined from a high of 7.6% to 6.3% in late August. […]
September 2012 An interesting look at the US Unemployment rate by US County. This graph was created by the US Dept. of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics. Click this link to view the PDF: US Unemployment by County
Economics has been called the “dismal science,” and economists are stereotyped as dour, unsmiling grumps immersed in their data and charts. But sometimes they have flashes of whimsy and caprice. Such is the case with the “Big Mac Index.” Since 1986 The Economist magazine has published the price of a Big Mac, around the world, in order to compare which currencies appear to be overvalued and which look undervalued. Since Big Macs are perishable and can’t easily be transported [...]
Is the economy giving us a head-fake?Back in the Cretaceous Era, I played a little football. And one of the first moves I learned was a ball-carrier’s head fake. When approaching a defender, a ball-carrier will look and lean in one direction, then change at the last minute. If the defender has been watching the carrier’s head, he’ll be deceived and miss his tackle. […]
Amazon shares surged after their earnings call last night. The 1st quarter's total sales amounted to $13.2 billion compared to last year's $9.9 billion. In 2009 Amazon's total sales were only $4.9 billion for the 1st quarter. The 1st quarter numbers were led by Kindle sales. Even with the company investing aggressively in new shipping centers, data centers, online content, and its new line of Kindles, they still managed to beat the analyst expectations on profits with [...]
