While the elections in Greece and France dominated the news last week as is evidenced by the story that follows, there was a “second page” news story about how Spain was preparing a bailout plan that may end up being even more relevant, more quickly. The story was published in the UK publication, “The Telegraph”[1]; here is an excerpt (emphasis added): Continue reading →
Two news stories last week brought to my attention that American voters are fed up, or, at least voters in two states are. 36 year Washington veteran Senator Richard Lugar from Indiana lost in the Republican primary in Indiana last week and President Obama managed to survive the West Virginia Democratic primary by giving up 41% of the vote to a convicted felon. First, the Lugar story; this from MSNBC[1] (emphasis added): Continue reading →
Bill Gross, who manages one of the world’s largest bond funds, is predicting more quantitative easing, or money printing, this year by the Federal Reserve. Gross’ comments were reported by Bloomberg.[1] Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added) Continue reading →
While it was a close vote in France, it was not surprising that incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy lost to socialist Francois Hollande in the recent French elections. When times get tough economically, an uneasy electorate makes changes. France was not exception and is now the seventh European country in the last 2 years to make leadership changes. An article in “The Financial Post” described the events[1] (emphasis added): Continue reading →
In another bill with unintended consequences, the State of Massachusetts has put in place a junk food ban that is now affecting school fundraisers. In my book “Economic Consequences” I devote an entire chapter to this topic pointing out that many laws have resulted in unintended consequences. The Americans with Disabilities Act has actually resulted in lower employment levels among the disabled and the Endangered Species Act has actually resulted in the destruction of wildlife habitat. In an effort to make sure children eat healthier, the State of Massachusetts has made junk food illegal in some circumstances. This from an article published in “The Boston Herald”[1] (emphasis added): Continue reading →
