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POPSThe Downside of Optimism in comparison, extreme optimists: * Work significantly fewer hours * Hold a higher proportion of individual stocks in their portfolios * Are more likely to be day traders * Save less money * Are less likely to pay off their credit card balances on a regular basis * Are more likely to smoke “The differences between optimists and extreme optimists are remarkable and suggest that over-optimism, like overconfidence, may in fact lead to behaviors that are unwise,” Puri said.
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POPSNo Shortcuts to First-World Wealth New cluster-analysis of the world's product export space reveals the differences in connectivity and diversity between nations' production capacities as well as the very sizable developmental gaps in this network that keep poorer countries on the industrial fringes. The rich countries of the industrialized world tend to have broad portfolios of industries, and accordingly occupy large areas of the product space, usually including much of the network's core. Fast-growing developing countries such as China, Thailand, and Hungary are strong in some of those central, well-connected regions. The poorest countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, tend to specialize in a few of the peripheral products—such as oil for Nigeria and copper for Zambia. EDIT :My first title was too generic ("Mapping the Wealth of Nations.")
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POPSGraphic Digital Artistry Some of the Art was designed for Magazines, book covers, some for Promotions, Some for T-Shirts, and three have large JPG files for Wallpaper
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POPSBarney Frank and Chuck Schumer’s Role In Fannie Mae's Failure
In Congress, they made sure there was no additional oversight, no additional limit on executive behavior and compensation, and no further restraint on the growth of the companies’ mortgage-backed-securities portfolios, among other changes. (All of these needed reforms, by the way, have been championed for years by Sen. John Sununu.) They wanted more loans to people who might not qualify for traditional bank financing. And, as The Wall Street Journal has pointed out, Frank “pressured regulators to ease up on their capital requirements — which now means taxpayers will have to make up that capital shortfall.” Barney Frank is the very symbol of Washington’s deliberate refusal to prevent the collapse — the predicted collapse — of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rules were relaxed and money was loaned and predictably low income families defaulted on loans that they never had any business getting in the first place and now you and I have to pay for it.
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POPSCommodity speculation and the cost of living As high-tech stocks and real-estate investments have started to look less promising, financial speculators have turned to commodities. This is why energy and food prices have shot up so dramatically around the world.
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POPSWeak Dollar and Traders Behind Gas Prices, Not Supply and Demand This refutes a lot of talk about OPEC and such causing high oil and gas prices. It also explains higher prices on consumer goods, not just driven by fuel prices alone. The dollar is becoming as valued as the paper its printed on, which (this articles does not go into) is because of national indebtedness for heavy war spending, as Ron Paul pointed out during his campaigning. Traders and speculators in the investment community are increasingly buying oil futures for their portfolios and war fears (i.e. war on terrorism, middle east war-mongering) increase price on the trade floor, period.
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POPSHedge Fund Bubble Isn't Really a Bubble Article astutely points out that 1) hedge funds make money, 2) hedge funds aren't making huge returns anymore en masse, but are returning solid amounts with low volatility, and 3) if there's a bubble, it's in the underlying assets owned by hedge funds, not in the hedge funds themselves.
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POPSSlideShowPro Director Wow. This looks very slick. Makes me want to purchase SlideShowPro just so I can try out SlideShowPro Director. $20 for SlideShowPro and another $20 for SlideShowPro Director. Hrm, not too pricy I suppose. Sure looks quality and I've been seeing these slideshows used all over the place.. mostly in portfolios. P.S. Make sure to watch the video to see what its capable of. Looks nice.
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POPSCongress And The Countrywide Scandal As for Republicans, most members of the Senate Banking Committee voted for the Dodd-Frank bill in exchange for reforms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The reforms, part of a deal brokered by Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), create a new regulator to establish tougher standards for the portfolio holdings of Freddie and Fannie. While both of these agencies are in dire need of reform, this deal is still a mistake. By foisting this compromise on their Republican colleagues, Democrats are holding the reform of Fannie and Freddie hostage in order to increase bipartisan support for a bailout of reckless mortgage lenders. In a free market, businesses take risks and reap either profits or losses. But markets only work when businesses are held accountable for their bad decisions. The message this proposed legislation sends to the market is clear: Big lenders like Countrywide who make bad bets can count on generous bailouts
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POPSCelgene Buying Pharmion For $2.9 Billion This is a sensible move for Celgene, maker of the multiple myeloma drugs Thalomid and Revlimid, and a big payday for holders of Pharmion shares, which had already doubled this year.
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POPSFED LOANS TO BANKS NOW $500 BILLION These loans are not based on traditional criteria. Banks should be strictly limited as to which mortgagees can be recipients, as well as limiting bank profits on the subject loans. It should be prohibited for FED money to be used in such a manner to make banks or hedge funds any significant profit. Let the current bank ownership go bust, put the portfolios up for bid... with the FEDS being buyers of last resort... and make sweet deals to owner occupiers only. This should not be like the 'S&L crisis' where pols and their friends made BILLIONS without putting up any significant amount of their own cash.
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