You have probably been thinking to yourself lately: "What are the best practices for selling Jell-O shots to drunk young men at bars?" What a coincidence! Because The Wall Street Journal can tell you exactly that. More »
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Och-Ziff Assets Grew in August Hedge-fund manager Och-Ziff Capital Management said assets under management rose margina...
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Och-Ziff Assets Grew in August Hedge-fund manager Och-Ziff Capital Management said assets under management rose marginally in August, even though key indexes experienced a month of steep losses.
A New Digital Battlefield Wall Street Journal TV shows are emerging as a new front in the war over digital media between Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc., amid their ongoing battles over electronic books and online music. Hours after Apple said Wednesday that ... Apple TV could help Netflix growthReuters Steve Jobs Targets Living Rooms With New Apple TV Set-Top BoxBloomberg Apple to offer 99-cent TV show rentals on revamped boxLos Angeles Times ABC News -The Associated Press -WBKO all 1,467 news articles »
Labor Day weekend begins tomorrow afternoon in the U.S. It’s the traditional end-of-summer holiday, and most folks will get Monday off as a paid holiday. My own vacation is going to be a bit different: I’m going to take tomorrow off instead. This will be the last post until Sunday evening.
But as always when I take a short break, I’ll actually be working behind the scenes. Next week is Book Week at GRS, so I’ll be reading and reviewing at least three books. Plus, I’ll be writing the first batch of articles for my animal blog (as part of the GRS blog project) and editing the articles that will run while Kris and I are in Europe next month. So, even though GRS itself is on holiday this weekend, I’m not!
Before the break, however, here are a few financial articles from around the web:
First up, Erin Burt from Kiplinger has a round-up of her favorite fabulous freebies for 2010. This list of 33 items includes things like free car-repair help, free financial apps, free stock-portfolio analysis, free credit reports, and more. It’s a great list. The only puzzlement is why the web version doesn’t include links to all of these sites. (Sometimes old-media companies are baffling!)
Next, USA Today has an article about how the current generation of investors could become a “lost generation”. Mutual fund companies worry that investors are on strike. From the article: “The fear on Wall Street is that this buyer’s strike will linger for years, resulting in a lost generation of investors similar to what occurred after steep stock declines in the 1930s during the Great Depression and early 1970s, a recessionary time punctuated by high inflation.” It’s an interesting article with lots of info about the pros and cons of investing during a rocky market.
A GRS reader — whose name I’ve forgotten (sorry!) — sent me a link to this BBC article about The Age of Debt. Author Adam Curtis cites recent scholarship that says that the West’s recent debt-fueled economy came about because the rich were getting richer. The only way for governments to help the middle-class sustain their lifestyles was to encourage them to fund consumption through debt. His article includes several great old videos about debt. Interesting stuff, regardless of whether you agree with the premise.
One final note: This weekend, I’ll be a guest on the syndicated radio program Your Money Matters with Marc Pearlman. On Monday, Pearlman and I chatted about debt, investing, and the psychology of spending. Check your local listings to see if the show is broadcast in your area. If not, you can listen online, download the show from iTunes, or visit the website to find the show in the archives.
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Home Depot, Disney Help Lift Blue Chips Stocks rose, with consumer companies including Home Depot, Walt Disney and Wal-...
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Home Depot, Disney Help Lift Blue Chips Stocks rose, with consumer companies including Home Depot, Walt Disney and Wal-Mart Stores leading the gains, following better-than-expected readings from the housing and retail sectors.
From a rally at City Hall yesterday (Mary Altaffer/AP)
Governor Paterson discussed the Park 51 mosque and community center project on the radio today. Paterson, who was has previously offered to find a location other than 45-47 Park Place (two blocks from Ground Zero), told John Gambling on WOR that a solution that "would rid ourselves of Islamophobia" was essential: "There are some bigots and some racists who are alive in this discussion, however when nearly 70% of the population oppose it, you’ve got a lot of people of good will and all ethnicities you’re going to have to persuade."
According to the Daily Politics, he drew parallels between the mosque furor over the civil rights movement's bus boycotts: "They chose someone simply because it would fit the pure argument that any American has a right to sit where they want on a bus. And all I’m saying, with an a little bit of an obstacle at Ground Zero, it’s kind of the same thing. “
Speaking of Islamophobia, Archbishop Timothy Dolan wants to foster a dialogue with Muslims, telling the WAll Street Journal, "I'm afraid we have maybe not been as energetic with fostering relations with our Islamic brothers and sisters.... Our coming together is not to say we can settle the mosque site issue, [but] the wider issue of Church, Jewish, Islamic tensions." He also said of the controversy, "We can't let fanatics on either side take over" the debate.
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Hot Topic, DineEquity Rise; Movado Declines 5% Small-capitalization stocks clawed back into positive ground for the yea...
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Hot Topic, DineEquity Rise; Movado Declines 5% Small-capitalization stocks clawed back into positive ground for the year, boosted by retailers after encouraging same-store sales figures.
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Late Push Lifts Dow Before Jobs The Dow industrials rose 50.33 points, or 0.49%, to 10319.80, mounting a late afternoon...
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Late Push Lifts Dow Before Jobs The Dow industrials rose 50.33 points, or 0.49%, to 10319.80, mounting a late afternoon push as investors awaited monthly jobs data on Friday. Markets Hub: More Deals Mania News Hub: Is the Market Storm Over?
Citibank has been racking up a string of minor scandals of late, most recently for freezing out Michael Mayo, an analyst who pointed out that the company violated accounting rules to make itself look profitable. But the river of confusion from which these problems flow, argues the Journal, is an identity crisis at the top. Since the recession, Citibank has been lumbering around Wall Street like a multi-headed beast, trying to revive its commercial banking roots while integrating a brokerage (Smith Barney), an investment bank (Salomon Brothers), and various assorted entities it acquired under former CEO and chairman Sanford Weil. Worse yet, CEO Vikram Pandit seems "uncomfortable as the leader of one of the nation's biggest banks."
Turnover in the executive ranks has finally let up, but "ultimately, it is Mr. Pandit who personifies the problem at Citi," says the Journal. Pandit, an institutional-securities trader and hedge-fund manager who made his millions in a bull market, seems ill-equipped to lead the diverse set of senior managers beneath him. Not that he wants to talk to you about it.
[Pandit] shuns most interviews, and he is prone to overreact to criticism no matter the source, be it The Wall Street Journal or a minor blog. Reports suggest Mr. Pandit is behind Mr. Mayo's ban, a charge Citigroup denies.
Contrast Mr. Pandit to Jamie Dimon, head of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Mr. Dimon has emerged as a spokesman for the banking industry. He has fired off provoking shareholder letters and made controversial comments. Mr. Pandit has largely been silent and inaccessible in the public sphere, and that has made investors and the media skeptical.
Maybe instead of Rosebud, he can murmur about that falcon he held that one time.
At Citigroup the Hits—and Misses—Keep On Coming [WSJ]
Read more posts by Nitasha Tiku
Filed Under: pandit bear, citibank, michael mayo, salomon brothers, sanford weil, smith barney, vikram pandit
HAIR
• Jacquelyn Jablonski teased her hair into a bouffant, added a gray streak, and then corralled the whole thing into a hairnet for Telegraph Magazine. [Fashion Gone Rogue]
MAKEUP
• Men's use of "stealth makeup" like concealers is on the rise, GQ's grooming editor Jason Chen told the Times: “There is a little bit of that stealth makeup thing going on, where you’re not slapping foundation onto your face but as part of your other routines — it sort of creeps in." [NYT]
• The Wall Street Journal's Cranky Consumer tested out virtual makeover websites. [WSJ]
• Ke$ha on her beauty regimen: “Right before I go onstage, I lather my body in baby oil and cover my entire body with a shield of glitter. Because it just pops! It just looks great! It's really hard to get the glitter off. I've just given up. I've accepted that it will just be there. It's in all my suitcases, it's usually in my food, in my drinks. Sometimes when I pee, it's in the toilet. I don't know how it got there." [MTV Style]
HOW-TO
• Here’s a step-by-step photo guide on how to create nautical nail art. [Grazia UK]
HAIR
• The Jared Leto hair saga continues. This time he has a mullet and frosted tips. Sigh. [Terry Richardson’s Diary]
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), Newsletters, Stocks to Buy
"We do have a select number of speculative stocks and growth funds in our portfolio; among them, my favorite is Ford Motor Co. (F)," says Mark Skousen.
The editor of Forecasts & Strategies explains, "The stock, which has been my favorite speculation for 2010, reported another blockbuster quarter.
"Its second-quarter earnings blew past Wall Street estimates last month and the stock now is up more than 20% from our recommended price.
Continue reading Driving with Ford (F): A Favorite Speculation
Driving with Ford (F): A Favorite Speculation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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"@JORDANTOWERJTF @COMPTOMMENACE @TONETRUMP!!!! LIVEI N WEST PHILLY 4:00 A.M.!!!!!! JTF TO THE DEATH!!!! TO HAVE JORDAN TOWER FILMS DIRECT YOUR NEXT VIDEO EMAIL: JTFMANAGEMENT@GMAIL.COM"
When you're done reading the Lindsay Lohan cover story, you can also read about Rupert Murdoch vs. Arthur Sulzberger media war in Vanity Fair. According to a summary of the story, VF reporter Sarah Ellison spoke to Andrew Neil, who was editor of Murdoch’s Sunday Times. Neil says, "Americans have this patrician attitude that they have a God-given right to produce these boring newspapers and not be challenged to do it. The New York Times really thinks it’s the BBC...the PBS of newsprint... So, that’s what gets Murdoch’s juices going. He sees [dramatic pause here] a fat pig there for the taking." There are also bitchy comments from Wall Street Journal and NY Times executives.
Because there's rampant speculation (or at least a dearth of pre-Labor Day stories) that he's being wooed for a possible White House job, Mayor Bloomberg was extra-emphatic that he'll finish out his controversial third term at NYC mayor. The Post's David Seifman asked him, "Are there any circumstances under which you would not serve out the full third term?" to which Bloomberg responded with tantalizing "Yes," adding, "If I died."
Seifman then asked, "Are there any other?" so Bloomberg said, "I suppose total incapacitation would also [be a reason]. Short of that I can't think of any. Thank you very much." The Wall Street Journal reminds us, "Under the City Charter, if there's a vacancy in the mayor's office, the public advocate would temporarily assume the mayor's duties. A nonpartisan special election would be held roughly 60 days after a mayoral vacancy occurs. If no candidate received 40% of the vote in the special election, the two candidates with the most votes would advance to a run-off two weeks later. Depending on when the vacancy occurs in the term, a second election to fill the remainder of the unexpired term would be held at the time of the next general election."
First-year students at Harvard Law School got an e-mail this week informing them that Elizabeth Warren wouldn't be teaching their Contracts class this fall and that Professor Jerry Frug would take over instead. The e-mail's mention of the "last-minute change" fueled speculation that Warren will be tapped to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Although, as TPM points out, progressive Dawn Johnsen left her post at Indiana University only to watch Democrats bow out of confirming her for the Office of Legal Counsel for the Justice Department. Poor Jerry Frug — Harvard Law professor sounded so prestigious before you put it next to the Woman Who'll Hog-tie Wall Street.
Warren fuels speculation by dropping class [WP]
Read more posts by Nitasha Tiku
Filed Under: tarpies, consumer financial protection bureau, dawn johnsen, elizabeth warren, harvard law school, jerry frug
A picture is worth a thousand words. But if you include an entire database, make it interactive, and add filtering options, the word-to-picture exchange rate is even better.
Infographics at their best are more than just pictures — they can provide new understandings, succinct summaries, or just plain old fun.
In that respect, reading newspaper archives isn’t the only way to get a deeper understanding of current events. Infographics can help us get a better grasp on what’s going on.
Check out these 10 visualizations to learn more about the news with a quick look.
1. Google’s Appetite for Acquisition
Last month alone, Google acquired social-search service Angstro, visual shopping search engine like.com, and social currency company Jambool. Google has been on an acquisition binge for some time, and it’s getting tricky to keep track of its appetite.
This graphic shows a timeline of Google’s activity in three categories: “Building Revenue Streams,” “Cutting Competition,” or “A Little of Both.”
2. Gay Marriage Chronology
The campaign for gay marriage has passed a multitude of milestones over the last decade. Unfortunately for those trying to keep track of them, the victories and setbacks vary drastically by state. Decisions are reversed and in some cases overturned by higher courts, which makes progress hard to track.
This map from the LA Times shows the status of gay marriage in each state by month. Click on a state for its most recent ruling or watch the country change from being legally similar in its treatment of same-sex couples in 2000 to sharply divided in 2010.
3. IED Attacks from Wikileaks’ Afghanistan War Logs
The frequency and fatality of IEDs (homemade bombs) in Afghanistan was highlighted when WikiLeaks published more than 90,000 secret documents about the Afghan war. Anti-war activists published this illustrative video that includes all of the incidents reported in these leaked documents.
4. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
On April 20, an explosion on a BP drilling rig started what has become the largest accidental oil spill in history. Despite numerous strategies that were deployed to plug the leak, it wasn’t capped until July 15.
This video graphic by New Orleans online newspaper NOLA wraps timeline, graphic, and cumulative damage data into one easy-to-digest piece of media.
5. CIA World Factbook Dashboard
The CIA World Factbook has always been a great resource for putting news stories into the context of their geographic location. But now it’s also easy to get the information at a glance.
The World Factbook Dashboard allows you to color code the countries of the world by population, population growth, infant mortality, agricultural GDP, industry GDP, services GDP, total GDP, GDP/inhabitant, or inflation. Clicking on a country zooms in for more information.
6. Geography of a Recession
This map from The New York Times illustrates not only which areas suffered the highest unemployment rate after the recession, but also offers the option to filter data by metropolitan areas, areas with housing bubbles, rural areas, and manufacturing centers.
7. Afghanistan and Pakistan Regional Violence Map
The Wall Street Journal updates this map constantly with violent conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If you want to learn about the day-to-day details of the war or understand its scope, there’s no better visual resource.
8. What Does the Health Care Bill Mean to Me?
Even if you read through every health care bill article, it could be hard to exactly pick out what the law would change about your insurance coverage and taxes. The Washington Post made it easy by providing this nifty tool. Input whether you have insurance coverage, your family size, your income, and your marital status, and it will tell you how health care reform will impact your life.
For the broader picture on healthcare reform, see this subway-style map from GOOD Magazine.
9. Obama’s $787 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan
The government is still busy spending much of the $787 billion it allotted for the economic stimulus in February of last year. This infographic effectively illustrates how that huge chunk of change is being distributed.
10. American Casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Beyond
This chilling interactive graphic from USA Today simply illustrates the deaths in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Information seekers can search deaths by personal factors like name, age, gender, race, or home town as well as by military service details, date, cause, or place.
CNN has a more elaborate version here.
More Graphics Resources from Mashable:
- 5 Fab Twitter Follower Visualization Tools - 10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics - 5 Amazing Infographics for the Health Conscious - 10 Essential Free E-Books for Web Designers - 12 Beginner Tutorials for Getting Started With Photoshop
Reviews: Google
More About: afghanistan, bp, current events, gay rights, graphics, healthcare reform, infographics, iraq, News, oil-spill, stimulus, visualizations, wikileaks
In the upcoming Vanity Fair, former Wall Street Journal reporter Sarah Ellison writes about the ongoing battle between that paper and its rival, the New York Times. In the excerpt that was just posted online, there are few surprises (it's mostly Arthur Sulzberger acting goofily aloof and Team Murdoch reacting with scorn, as per usual). But there is this bit:
The Ochs-Sulzbergers have recently begun working with a company called Relative Solutions, which specializes in helping families with money work out interpersonal and intergenerational conflicts. At the moment, the main issue for the Ochs-Sulzbergers is whether they can sustain their loyalty to The New York Times even as the company becomes a financial drain on the inheritance of their children.
Sulzberger says that Relative Solutions has worked with the Ochs-Sulzbergers on “staying close as we get bigger.” He emphasizes that the company has had no interaction with the New York Times Company per se: “It’s simply a matter of family dealing with family.” And he adds pointedly, “I won’t talk about that part.”
See, you forget. It's not just the nation's paper of record and one of the foremost sources of democracy-reinforcing investigative journalism in the world that we're talking about here — it's also a bunch of kids' money. Let's keep that in mind moving forward, shall we?
Rupert Murdoch’s War On The New York Times [VF]
Read more posts by Chris Rovzar
Filed Under: ink-stained wretches, arthur sulzberger jr., family problems, media, new york times, newspapers, relative solutions
[at New York Times] - Wall Street surged out of the gate and then kept going, fueled by upbeat economic news from Australia, China and, somewhat surpr...
[at New York Times] - Wall Street surged out of the gate and then kept going, fueled by upbeat economic news from Australia, China and, somewhat surprisingly, American manufacturing.
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Stocks Gain as Economic Fears Ease The Dow jumped 254.75 points, or 2.54%, to 10269.47, cutting into some of August s 4...
[at The Wall Street Journal] - Stocks Gain as Economic Fears Ease The Dow jumped 254.75 points, or 2.54%, to 10269.47, cutting into some of August s 4.3% loss after investors were cheered by factory data from the U.S. and China.
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"We do have a select number of speculative stocks and growth funds in our portfolio; among them, my favorite is Ford Motor Co. (F)," says Mark Skousen.
