-
When Europe Will Start to Recover
Tweet Share on Facebook June 8, 2012 CommentNobody can pinpoint the date on which Europe will start to pull out of its financial nosedive. But there's a phrase that captures the general idea: one minute to midnight.
-
Withdrawal of I'll Have Another Is a Big Loss For Racing
Tweet Share on Facebook June 8, 2012 CommentIf any sport needs a jolt of excitement, it's thoroughbred racing. But with I'll Have Another out of the Belmont Stakes, the sport has once again lost a chance to transfix the world with a Triple Crown winner.
-
Barnes & Noble's Convoluted Defense of Pricey Books
Tweet Share on Facebook June 7, 2012 CommentYou practically need a study guide to understand why book retailer Barnes & Noble thinks more expensive books are in readers' interest.
As everyone knows, Amazon has become a goliath in the book business, at one point grabbing a 90 percent market share for books sold online and effectively driving Borders out of business. Part of its strategy has been aggressive pricing of e-books—perhaps taking a loss on each book sold—in order to corner the market. That led to a counter-strategy by five publishers, in conjunction with Apple, that allowed publishers, rather than the retailer, to set the price—with Apple taking a 30 percent cut. That effectively allowed publishers to raise their prices by $2 to $5, since there was no pressure from the retailer regarding what to charge. The publishers, in turn, agreed not to allow any other retailer to sell their books cheaper than Apple did.
-
The Wisconsin Union Smackdown, Coming to a Town Near You
Tweet Share on Facebook June 7, 2012 CommentRecent election outcomes in Wisconsin and California are being hailed as victories for Republicans and setbacks for unions. But there's a much broader message in these elections that has less to do with politics and more to do with the fading fortunes of the middle class: Government can no longer help you.
-
Mitt Romney's Stance on GM Sale Would Cost Taxpayers Dearly
Tweet Share on Facebook June 6, 2012 CommentIt's not very often that a presidential candidate promises to promptly write off $15 billion in taxpayer money if he's elected. But that's what Mitt Romney has done.
Romney told the Detroit News recently that as president, he'd quickly sell the U.S. government's stake in General Motors, which is valued at about $10.6 billion, based on GM's current stock price. But GM still owes the government about $26.4 billion, so selling at the current price would leave taxpayers out roughly $15.8 billion.
-
Washington Is Blowing a Chance to Lead
Tweet Share on Facebook June 5, 2012 CommentThe world economy at the moment is like the march of the strugglers.
In Europe, cross-border bickering stands in the way of pragmatic solutions that would keep the 17-nation eurozone intact and ease fears of a financial meltdown, which has been hammering the world's financial markets.
-
Why Romney's Record as Governor Barely Matters
Tweet Share on Facebook June 4, 2012 CommentWe've now reached the I'm-the-rubber-you're-the-glue-bounces-off-me-and-sticks-to-you phase of the presidential campaign.
For the last few years, Republicans have been blasting President Obama as a job-killing president. But Obama has now found somebody he can call a job killer: his Republican opponent in the presidential campaign, Mitt Romney.
-
The Weak Economy Actually Helps Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook June 4, 2012 CommentThere are three numbers that will likely determine whether President Barack Obama gets re-elected in November: the unemployment rate, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the price of gasoline.
Unemployment is working against Obama right now, with the weak economy creating too few jobs. The stock market is in the dumps, depressed by the European debt crisis. But gas prices have become a bright spot for Obama, with oil prices down more than $25 per barrel from the highs reached earlier this year, and gas prices are following.
-
Companies Are Too Scared To Hire
Tweet Share on Facebook June 1, 2012 CommentThe latest jobs report was a big dud, with the economy creating just 69,000 jobs in May, when economists had been expecting about 165,000. But a quick scan of the world economic environment makes it easy to see why CEOs are cautious and companies are reluctant to hire.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Occupy Wall Street]
-
Why It's Time To Let Up On Facebook
Tweet Share on Facebook June 1, 2012 CommentI couldn't wait for Facebook's initial public offering, because once it was over, it meant I could stop writing about the most hyped story of the year and move on to more important stuff. Except that the Facebook IPO is still the most hyped story of the year, with fresh headlines seemingly every day.
