I love roadside stands that sell fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs and flowers. Some growers use an honor system: take what you want, leave some money on the table. It seems to work, since most people are honest.
Sweet Lemonade Kid Slapped (New York Post) 10-year old girl and her father fined for illegal lemonade and cookie stand.
San Francisco is one of the most popular arrival points into the United States. A million foreign travelers spend over eight billion dollars here, each year. It’s a city of great natural beauty and wonderful neighborhoods. But it also smells like urine, and that’s embarrassing.
Abercrombie & Fitch double their prices in the UK (The Fashion Police)
Once again, we’ve wasted time and money by dealing with the homeless backward. Too much energy has gone into deciding where we do not want them to be, and making sure that they would not be there.
Quotation from Anna Quindlen, Thinking Out Loud
The world is vulnerable to additional crisis. Institutions are hedging the weakness of the dollar by buying oil. When the oil price bubble bursts, there will be additional strains on the financial system as traders scramble to unwind positions or cover losses. Lawmakers and regulators should impose additional equity requirements on the commodity markets immediately.
The Price of Oil (This New York Times article published in 2005 is even more timely now.)
Oil Price History and Analysis (WTRG Economics)
“When speculation has done its worst, two and two still make four.”
Quotation from Samuel Johnson
“Any onset of increased investor caution elevates risk premiums and, as a consequence, lowers asset values and promotes the liquidation of the debt that supported higher asset prices.”
Quotation from Alan Greenspan
“I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you’ve probably misunderstood what I’ve said.”
Quotation from Alan Greenspan