The Hun's News Invasion, Jan 7th
January 07, 2010
– Comments (5)
The Hunnish horde invades CAPS once again with news stories ransacked from all over the globe!
(That's all I got for an intro this week, so you'll just have to live with it ;) )
--- CHINA ---
China Unexpectedly Raises Key Interbank Interest Rates
Link - Wall Street Journal
Good move by China. To me, it seems clear they have a real estate bubble on their hands and need to make some moves to take some air out of it.
China to Tighten Credit Policy versus Speculation
Link - iMarketNews.com
Ditto. But I don't know that this will be enough.
GM's China Boom
Link - TheBigMoney.com
Who would've thought that Buicks would become a huge hit in China?
--- General Business/Economic/Policy ---
US Now a Renters' Market
Link - Wall Street Journal
No surprise here.
Bernanke Didn't Cause Credit Crunch; Securitization Did
Link - Seeking Alpha
Good article; not sure if I totally agree with it, but any intelligent viewpoint should get out --- or at least, that's my belief. Very well argued one way or another.
Pimco Outlook for 2010
Link - Pimco
Self-explanatory; good read.
Sears Earnings Well Ahead of Projections
Link - Reuters
I wouldn't normally post earnings numbers here, but this has turned out to be somewhat of a big story. Sears pretty much obliterated estimates. Stock is up heavily today. Not sure what this means (if anything). Does it mean retail is recovering? Does it mean that Eddie Lampert is having success turning Sears around? Is it an anomaly? I'm not sure. I'm actually tempted to red thumb SHLD here on CAPS, but I guess you could say that I'm relunctant to do that because I actually believe that Sears/K-Mart can be turned around.
"Non-Lobbying": The New Frontier in Lobbying
Link - Huffington Post
Lobbyists essentially exploiting loopholes so that they don't have to be classified as "lobbyists." Surprise, surprise. What's amusing about this is that these slimebags try to make it out as if they are leaving 'lobbying' for a more noble cause, when they are actually being even slimier than their "lobbyist" peers.
FOX News Anchor Brit Hume Says Tiger Should Convert to Christianity
Link - Huffington Post
Maybe FAUX News can add "The 700 Club" to its line-up next. How on Earth does anyone take this network seriously? If nothing else, they are giving "The Daily Show" an endless amount of material lately.
Whole Foods CEO a Climate Change Denier?
Link - Huffington Post
If this were the CEO of just any company, I'm not sure it would be news. What makes it news is that it's the CEO of Whole Foods, a company that largely sells overpriced foods to Yuppie liberals with too much money to spend. There's already a boycott of Whole Foods over the fact that the CEO condemned Obamacare; which I find kind of silly because many people on the left oppose it, too. This has attracted less media attention, but would theoretically seem to be a bigger deal since most Whole Foods shoppers presumably believe they are doing what's best for the environment (whether this is true or not is completely debatable). It's food for thought, at least. I question how Mackey continues to survive as CEO, but one writer has speculated its because of his relatively low pay for a CEO of his stature.
Food Policy in the UK
Link - BBC
An interesting read that seems to summarize a lot of developments on food policy in the UK.
---- Android vs. iPhone ----
Google Disrupting Mobile Phone/Carrier Sales Model
Link -Business Insider
Android vs. iPhone?: Wrong Question
Link - Abovethecrowd.com
Will Google Unlock the Cell Phone Industry
Link - Seeking Alpha
I don't own a smartphone and quite frankly, I have no interest in one. No way I'm paying $200+ for a phone! But I do continue to watch this story because it's of great interest to me. I want to see how this is all going to unravel. Who does Android really hurt? RIMM? NOK? MOT? AAPL? No one but GOOG?
There's also the 'what will hapen to AAPL' question. Will Android's rise trim AAPL's margins and hurt their profitability? Will Android largely not hurt AAPL? Will Android destroy AAPL's margins, but AAPL's increases in market share make those declining margins irrelevant? I'm not sure. It will be interesting to see how this all evolves over the next 5-10 years.
---- Science ----
Microbes Survive 30,000 Years Inside Salt Crystal
Link - New Scientist
No comment on this one; but interesting.
Boat Could Explore Saturn Moon, Titan
Link - BBC
I'm a huge proponent of exploring Titan and Europa, the two spots in this solar system that I believe have the greatest prospects for life, so this story definitely interests me.
Has Dark Matter Finally Been Detected
Link - The Guardian (UK)
Another interesting read for those who follow science issues.
---- Other ----
Cramer on Saving for Retirement
Link - Seeking Alpha (via Cramer's "Mad Money")
Surprisingly good advice from Jim Cramer on saving for retirement. I'd almost label this a must-read as an Intro to Retirement Savings.
Err on the G-Spot
Link - BBC
An article on the "rise" and "fall" of the G-spot? Actually, the articles discusses the historical arguments surrounding the elusive G-spot's existence.
That's all for now!
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