“Bueller… Bueller… Bueller“ Who can forget the Ben Stein line from one of the enjoyable comedy movies in the 1980s – Ferris Buellers Day Off. The movie continues to see success reaching near cult status for some and even found a following on social networking giant Twitter last week. A group of Chicago based Twitter […]
One of the noticeable economic signs for average Americans that our economy might be in recovery is the rise of fuel prices. An article in this mornings Wall Street Journal stated that “Gasoline prices are throttling toward $3 a gallon” and that “gasoline futures have rallied 21% since hitting a low in February to close […]
I’ve been thinking about buying a new USB ThumbDrive/FlashDrive for some time now, primarily for backups, transfer and storage when a Buy.com email hit my inbox and triggered my impulse purchase — 64GB Kingston DataTraveler. A few years ago when I was traveling more often, I purchase my first and only ThumbDrive which has served […]
In an attempt to get money/credit flowing around the world, six central banks in coordination moved to cut interest rates on Wednesday. The goal is to offset a global economic slowdown that has been rippling through the financial and business world. This half-point rate cut included the central banks in the U.K., Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, […]
U.S auto companies have been suffering and even the ‘rising sun’ of Toyota has had sales pains. Most of the pain has been felt by U.S. automakers as consumers don’t want gasoline thirsty pickups and sport utility vehicles in the face of $4.00/gallon pump prices. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler LLC have depended on […]
The fuel price discussions continue as I made small talk with clients throughout the week; Friday was no exception. Petroleum traded at an all time high to almost $127 per barrel in the morning on strong demand and there is very little evidence that we’ll see an additional supply come online this summer … or […]
The Federal reserve is expected to make a 1/4 point move lower today … many believe this will be the last and that this indication will be mentions. Anything but an expected move will certainly make markets swing wildly so it could be time to hold on. Inflation is a growing problem as we try […]
Newsy couple of items from the last feel days — from politics to the economy. Here’s are the two biggies for March 2008. First, the big news has been the offensive remarks associated with Democratic candidate for President, Barack Obama. The anti-American and racial messages from his long time pastor and friend, Rev. Jeremiah Wright […]
Wow … an 83 cents per gallon spread between unleaded regular gasoline and ultra low sulfur diesel. I ran out to Krogers (grocery store) last night and noticed the fuel prices again … as we all have been noticing lately. This 83 cents per gallon spread even starts make the diesel vehicle fuel economy benefit […]
Don’t look at your 401-K or IRAs if you are squeamish. Will this be an opportunity long term or a big time recession? U.S. Financial Markets Numbers 1/22/2008 9:35 AM After overseas markets headed down on worries about a U.S. recession, the FED makes an emergency cut this morning which hasn’t helped the panic (and […]
A friend of mine who knows I have a daughter in college and a son on the way, sent me an email with an interesting “Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome and the Potential Downfall Of American Society” study by Mike Adams. The original was from some years ago, but is probably still accurate and an enjoyable read. […]
Recently I’ve been paying a bit more attention to the health of our U.S. economy and the trend is raises concern. In my opinion, the continued higher energy and commodity costs are taking a toll on our country and the ability to fend off a recession. While increases in productivity continue to help our nation […]
The Fed cut interests rates today by 1/2 basis point; many assumed they would only react by moving 1/4 including former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. One can only assume that the Fed sees inflation under control or are hoping to fend off a recession brought on by a slump in the housing market. The Dow […]
I’ve been participating in a discussion in our CinciTDI Yahoo group over the concern that food crops a being used for fuels … particularly as it relates to biodiesel. With the demand for soybeans (and corn for ethanol) rising, these two staple food and feed crops are returning higher prices per bushel. This is good […]
Americans for all our lauded democracy, have notoriously been a lazy bunch when it comes to getting to the polls to vote. This year there is perhaps more anger and splits in how successfully the bunch in Washington (and locally) are running our country, but I wonder just how angry most Americans are? According to […]
While attending a graduation party this weekend the initial subject of “the weather sure is nice,” gave way to “the cheesecake is good” and to the high price of gasoline. While attempting to skirt the issue I did not say that perhaps we own too many SUVs or that “Americans are gas hogs,” — no […]
With oil prices on the rise again what can we surmise? A couple of days ago, U.S. light, sweet crude for September delivery rose to a record of $64 a barrel. What is interesting is to dig into the ‘crack spread’ between the different grades of refined light oils. Those in the energy business observe […]
Statistically, we all expect the price of diesel fuel to drop and the price of gasoline to rise in the summer. It is usually stated that the summer driving season puts a demand on gas, whereas the winter heating season puts the demand on heating oil. This is probably to simplistic of an answer, but […]
Most of us in the US ‘love’ cheap energy … unfortunately what we like isn’t always good for us. I’ve enjoyed regular forum debates with Mike Briggs, from UNH, on many issues. A recent issue has me rethinking my positions on a ‘new tax.’ Yes … a TAX … shame on me. Mike presented his […]