The S&P 500 closed below 1200? Again? How is this possible?Operation RubiconNovember 21, 2011. A date which will live in infamy. The United States of America was repeatedly and deliberately attacked by the same deflationary debt forces as the Empire of Japan.There is some good news though.
We've also got $97 oil and a massive trade deficit with the world. Unlike Japan, we're therefore in a much better position to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity over the long-term.
Sarcasm!Rubicon = Con the RubesSee Also:Crossing the S&P 500's Rubicon v.29 (Musical Tribute)
Click to enlarge.I've taken the consumer price index for carbonated drinks and adjusted it by the overall CPI. The chart shows the average real price increases over the previous 5 years.Here's why I was curious.I moved to Seattle in 1988. I remember thinking it was a really good sale if I could buy a 6-pack of Coca Cola for $1. When it reached that price, I backed up the truck.As recently as 2004, I remember thinking it was a really good sale if I could buy a 12-pack of Coca Cola for $2. When it reached that price, I backed up the truck.16 years had passed but I was still buying Coca Cola at that same price. You can see the effect of that in the chart. Carbonated beverages were not keeping up with inflation.As seen in the chart, those days are over. My Coca Cola supplies have dwindled to nothing. It might very well stay that way. This week's sale is $3 for a 12-pack. I'll pass. We do have an ample supply of Dr. Pepper though (purchased at Costco recently with one of their in-store coupons).Coca Cola is really pushing their luck, at least with us.The company hopes its smaller, cheaper packages will appeal to consumers on tight budgets.Yeah, well, good luck on that one. Everyone on a tight budget should be thinking in terms of dollars per ounce. Smaller packages are generally not the way to save money.
Stubborn people on tight budgets should look at Coca Cola's 27.59% profit margin during a period of high unemployment and decide for themselves if that is something they wish to support.
I find myself drinking more Gatorade lately (Pepsi product). The container costs about $10 (at Costco and/or Sam's Club) and makes 9 gallons (the equivalent of eight 12-packs). It doesn't pack the calories and high-fructose corn syrup rush of a soft drink, but that's actually a good thing.Source Data:BLS: Consumer PricesSt. Louis Fed: CPI
It turns out that inflation-indexed TIPS are highly correlated with the stock market and the economy. Declining investment returns, sinking stocks, and falling economic growth are all captured in declining real TIPS yields. - Larry Kudlow, October 1, 2001Hey, at least we've got that going for us.Source Data:St. Louis Fed: 20-Year TIPS Yield
November 17, 2011Bloomberg Businessweek: U.S. TIPS Demand Wanes as Europe Crisis Pares Inflation OutlookThe Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS, were sold at a yield of 0.99 percent, compared with a forecast of 0.060 percent, the average estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of seven of the Federal Reserve’s 21 primary dealers that are required to bid on U.S. debt auctions.November 17, 2011TREASURY AUCTION RESULTSHigh Yield 0.099%0.99%? 0.099%? It's all good. At least it wasn't reported as 99% in honor of the Wharton School of Business.Students at the Wharton School for Business at the University of Pennsylvania mocked Occupy Wall Street protesters...As for Wharton School of Business mocking, I'm reserving that for Jeremy Siegel of the Wharton School of Business and Mark Zandi who got his Ph.D. at the Wharton School of Business.
Maybe that's just me though.See Also:Does Jeremy Siegel Live in a Cave?
Click to enlarge.The data represents August 2011 participation rates (people participating divided by the state's population).It's a smooth scale from green to yellow to red.Pure green represents Wyoming's 6.3% participation rate.Pure red represents Mississippi's 20.0% participation rate.So here's the question of the day. What's up with Oregon's 19.2% participation rate?
Source Data:USDA: SNAPList of U.S. states and territories by populationSt. Louis Fed: Unemployment Rate in Oregon
Texas does!Ultimate Fun Birthday PackagePLEASE BRING CAKE AND CANDLES.NO OUTSIDE FOOD ALLOWEDThe ultimate fun birthday cake is inedible? It makes sense if you think it through. Nothing says fun like a diamond encrusted birthday cake with solid gold filling!ALL PACKAGES MINIMUM OF 8 KIDSIt is common knowledge that the ultimate fun can only be achieved by outgoing extroverted kids who have many friends. The staff at the funplex are not miracle workers. If your child is a shy introverted book reading type, sorry about that!$15.99 PLUS TAX PER CHILD*$25 DEPOSIT (NON REFUNDABLE)GRATITUDE/TIPS ARE WELCOME & APPRECIATED BY SERVING STAFFThe fun sure adds up!Florida too!The Funplex of Gulf BreezeParty Central
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Bare feet are requiredMust remember not to wear socks! Ultimate fun!This post was inspired by the ultimate fun. It is an ongoing joke that never gets old to me.June 3, 2009Innovation Danger!The first quote comes from the president of the division where I once worked. I saw it in a magazine. It needs a bit of back-story first though. We'd just gone through one of the biggest frauds in the history of the stock market (it was before Enron and Worldcom). It was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for a good month. There had been layoffs. Morale was in the toilet. So what was the quote?
We have a fun environment with creativity and fun.
I don't think I have ever laughed so hard. What the heck was "fun" doing in there once, much less twice? Hahaha!
On to the second quote. I'm reminded of it quite often, especially when watching the financial news on TV.
You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. - Eric Hoffer
Fun! Creativity and fun! The lack of "fun" is clearly what the president of my division feared most, and for good reason. Dark gallows humor was the only fun we had. I'm reminded of one team walking by my door. They'd just been laid off. One said, "Dead men walking." We all laughed, but nervously.
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