Week in review
Posted by kungfucraig on Friday, January 9, 2009
Quotes of the week
“It is the foulest of creatures – the double-parasite who lives on the sores of the poor and the blood of the rich – whom men have come to regard as a moral ideal.” – Ayn Rand
“This new spending is, of course, entirely predictable, as this is what has always been done by all other bankrupt, brain-dead corrupt governments on this planet in the past 4,500 years that had racked up so much debt that they collapsed.” – The Mogambo Guru
The SEC Makes Wall Street More Fraudulent
by Robert P. Murphy
“In the private sector, when a firm fails, it ceases operations. The opposite happens in government. There is literally nothing a government agency could do that would make the talking heads on the Sunday shows ask, ‘Should we just abolish this agency? Is it doing more harm than good?’” more…
Benefit From Being A Baby Boomer
by Nathan Lewis
“People sometimes ask me: ‘What should I do with my retirement account?’ I often tell them to consider ways of retiring that are not dependent on financial abstractions and various corporate/government promises, such as Social Security or corporate pensions. This usually gets some puzzlement because they’ve been trained for decades to think only in terms of financial products.” more…
Courage and Guns
by Michael Gaddy
“[M]any first-time gun buyers have a tendency to put the cart before the horse. Many long-time gun owners fit in the same category. Before one purchases a firearm for defense of life and property, it is imperative they realize one must first possess the courage to use this tool of liberty, up to and including deadly force. The firearm should never be the source of that courage. An inanimate object is a poor substitute for character.” more…
In the news…
- A new study suggests that “just being in an urban environment impairs our basic mental processes.” It concludes that we need nature. This study also seems to explain why American liberalism thrives in cities.
- The United States deficit is headed toward record levels. Obama promises that this will not usher in an era of waste, but instead says that his plan will “save us”. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are beginning to break ranks with him. And that’s the problem with central planners. They all want a plan, but when the rubber hits the road figuring out whose plan it should be becomes a subject of immense contention. The notion of not having a central plan, and instead having 300 million individual plans never enters their minds or the conversation.
- Peter Schiff was and continues to be right.
- Here’s a couple of bits about DC’s new gun laws. Disgraceful…
- So-called European leaders call for a new “global order”.
- Unemployment claims have crashed some state websites.
- The unions are busting Starbucks in Michigan.
- Larry Flint seeks bailout for pornographers.
- They say that global warming could destroy food supplies by 2100. Could someone who buys this theory please explain to me how based upon at most 300 years of data that we can predict 100 years into the future when we can’t even accurately predict how hot next summer will be? For extra credit cite your sources.
- Sales were slow in December. Personally, I bought much less than last year.
- The unemployment rate has risen to over 7%. It might be a good time to review why the official number is almost assuredly understated.
Videos
- The damage that interventionism causes.
- Peter Schiff on the economy. It’s an excellent interview.
And now the numbers
DOW Jones Industrials – 8,599.18 (-435.51/-4.82%)
Wilshire 5000 – 8,985.80 (-378.75/-4.04%)
CSI 300 (China) – 1,918.36 (+100.64/5.54%)
BSE 500 (India) – 3,492.20 (-233.18/-6.26%)
MICEX (Russia) – 619.53 (UNCHG)
BOVESPA (Brazil) – 41,582.94 (+1338.72/3.33%)
Gold/oz – 855.00 (-24.50/-2.79%)
Silver/oz – 11.32 (-0.17/-1.48%)
Copper/lb – 1.5595 (-144.5405/-98.93%)
Oil/bbl (Brent) – 44.42 (-2.49/-5.31%)
Wheat/bu (CBT) – 6.295 (+0.185/3.03%)
Corn/bu – 4.1075 (-0.015/-0.36%)
Dollar/Euro – 1.3476 (-0.0447/-3.21%)
Yuan/Dollar – 6.831 (+0.0125/0.18%)
Yen/Dollar – 90.395 (-1.81/-1.96%)
Dollar/Real – 0.445 (+0.0136/3.15%)
3 Month Treasury – 0.06 (-0.02/-25.00%)
2 Year Treasury – 0.75 (-0.07/-8.54%)
10 Year Treasury – 2.39 (+0.02/0.84%)
30 Year Treasury – 3.06 (+0.27/9.68%)
Fed Target Rate – 0.25 (UNCHG)
U.S. Public Debt – 10,608,325,323,172.59 (-91,479,541,439.50/-0.85%)
Baltic Dry Index (BDIY:IND) – 872.00 (+99.00/12.81%)
The new year is in full swing. I’m back to school, back to work, and humming along. I have just about finished reading Economics in One Lesson, which is simply a must read. If everyone in this country read it we could take the public debate to new heights of sensibility. I’m not holding my breath though. Atlast Shrugged is another book I am reading, one that has been on my shelf begging to be read for many years. I am sad that I had not read it sooner. It’s another great one, both for the entertaining story and the philisophical statement. This weekend I start Collapse by Jared Diamond and the Artificial Intelligence text book. All neat stuff!
More basketball this Sunday. Michigan vs. Iowa. The University of New Mexico Arena (aka the Pit) rules over the University of Michigan Arena. The Pit is really something special. Be proud of it! Meanwhile in the sports world, the NFL divisional playoffs are this weekend. Yeah, I know, no one who cares needs the reminder… I’m especially looking forward to the Eagles vs. Giants on Sunday. Should be able to see that and the basketball game. Lucky me!
So that’s it for this week. I’ve got nothing interseting to say about the world right now, so I won’t say anything at all! Have a great weekend and happy football watching! Better soak it up while you have a chance because it’ll be over before we know it.
