China posted a trade deficit – no, that’s not a typo, I did mean deficit – in March, of $7.2 billion. That’s the first monthly deficit since 2004. It couldn’t come at a more auspicious time, for China that is. Beijing is in the middle of a tug-of-war with Washington over the value of its currency, and the deficit takes a bit of …
Bad Week for Coal Workers, Not So Bad Week for Coal Stocks
Wall Street, it appears, likes tragedy. The worst U.S. coal accident since 1984, in which 25 workers were killed in a mine explosion, not to mention 150 miners that were trapped in China, turned out to be not such a bad week for the shares of companies that explore for black gold. In general most of the stocks of miners were up slightly …
Whine Time: 31 Annoying Fees, Ways Your Money Is Wasted, and Other Reasons to Gripe
Read up and pay attention or you’ll have good reason to complain too.
It’s a Deal: $10 Off $50 Staples Purchase
From April 11 to 17, you’ll get $10 off in-store purchases of $50 or more at Staples, so long as you print out and present this coupon (thanks Fat Wallet).
Shout Out: ‘Why Top Colleges Squeeze You Dry’
“Based on my experience as the vice president for finance and administration at a prominent college in the early 2000s, I suggest that the answer is simple: Top private institutions charge what they do because a substantial number of people will pay it.”
Everything that Guzzles Gas Must Go!
GM’s Hummer brand is being shut down, but there are still thousands of the oversized, impractical gas guzzlers sitting at car dealers needing to be bought—hence a going-out-of-business sale.
The Recession That Will Never End, Even Though It Already Has
Back in 2007, everybody seemed willing to believe the housing market, stock market, and economy as a whole would keep humming along uninterrupted for, well, forever. Now, few people seem to believe that the recession is over—even though it supposedly ended last summer.
China’s yuan reform: Keep your pants on
Everyone’s gotten themselves all hot and bothered at the prospect that China’s leadership may actually loosen up policy on their currency, the yuan, and allow it to appreciate against the U.S. dollar. Optimism was sparked by U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s unexpected pit stop in Beijing for a meeting with China’s vice
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A chat with Japan’s Prime Minister
I had the honor last week to interview Japan’s new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, in Tokyo. My full story on Hatoyama appears in the April 19th magazine, and you can also read the full text here. But I thought I’d add some more details from the interview on Curious Capitalist.
I only had 40 minutes with Hatoyama so it’s hard to …
More trouble for the housing market?
Economic Indicator: The Price of a Haircut on Craigslist?
Among the data that may give some indication of how the economy is doing: Sales of generic toilet paper and cheap liquor, how new your underwear is, and how hot your waitress is, and how busy the fast-food drive-thru is at breakfast time. Also: passenger subway traffic near San Francisco’s Union Square, and perhaps even the asking prices …
Management, Plain and Simple
The Amish have an enviable success record. Is it their lifestyle or the way they work?