Gas Is Up; Drivers May Not Cut Back
Some analysts expect to see gas rise above $2.50 a gallon this summer. The number of people traveling by car this weekend is projected to rise by 2.7 percent compared with 2008, to 27 million people, according to projections from AAA. Last year, road travel fell by 9.6 percent when prices surged, according to the automobile group.
XX Sean’s note – And now, following up on yesterday’s blog post …
D.O.T.: U.S. Vehicle Miles off 1.2% YoY in March
As the DOT noted, miles driven in March 2009 were 1.2% less than in March 2008. Year-over-year miles driven started to decline in December 2007, and really fell off a cliff in March 2008.
Although this data isn’t seasonally adjusted, it appears that miles driven has stabilized.
A new mentality has emerged among some investors, who are rethinking the traditional approach to asset allocation. The upheaval in the markets and in the broader economy has led them to question long-honored principles of investing and to sound a death knell, at least for now, for the buy-and-hold mind-set.
Moving away from the conventional mix of stocks, bonds and cash, many affluent investors and their advisers are turning to alternative investments — like managed futures and hedged mutual funds — that are liquid but behave differently from the rest of the investment pack.
U.K. May Lose AAA Rating at S&P as Government Debt Approaches 100% of GDP
Britain may lose its AAA credit rating for the first time as government finances deteriorate in the worst recession since World War II. Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook on Britain to “negative” from “stable” and said the nation faces a one in three chance of a ratings cut as debt approaches 100 percent of gross domestic product. The pound fell the most in four weeks against the dollar, the FTSE 100 Index slid as much as 2.8 percent and the cost of insuring U.K. debt against default rose.
XX Sean’s note – this next story may be intertwined with the previous story …
New research has found that a whopping 11 million Brits are thinking of taking a job overseas within the next two years - a significant dent in the population - and a fifth of those would choose a new life down under…
Britain is experiencing the greatest exodus of its own nationals in recent history while immigration is at unprecedented levels, new figures show.
Dollar’s Decline Is Beginning to Take on a `Life of Its Own,’ RBS Says
The dollar’s drop is broadening amid the thaw in credit markets and investor concern about the long-term effects of the Federal Reserve’s asset-buying program, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.
What Industrial Policy Should Be
America now has a full-blown industrial policy. But it’s an odd one — a combination of lemon socialism and taxpayer-financed regulation.’
Industrial policy ought to fill in where the market fails — providing basic research to help spur new technologies and industries, reducing the negative side-effects of the market (such as carbon pollution), and easing the adjustment of workers and communities out of older industries that are shrinking toward new ones. Ideally, these three parts of industrial policy would be synchronized so the new technologies and industries address negative side-effects while also creating opportunities for communities and workers to gain new employment.
Barter clubs expose Argentina’s weakness
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — They line up early every Saturday morning at the decrepit gymnasium that houses the La Matanza Barter Club. Club members shuffle in carrying sacks stuffed with everything from homemade clothing to homegrown vegetables, set up their stands and begin a day of bartering.
The La Matanza Barter Club in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Isidro Casanova is one of more than 100 that now function throughout Argentina. They provide a vital service for people who are short on cash by helping them make ends meet.
XX Sean’s note – I think we’re going to see barter clubs in the U.S. before too long.
John Michael Greer: The economics of decline
The post in question pointed out that today’s much-hyped “information superhighway,” far from being the wave of the future so many of its promoters claim it to be, was a temporary product of the last hurrah of the age of cheap energy and can’t be expected to survive for long as that age winds down. Instead, as the economic burden of the internet’s immense energy usage begins to bear down, other technologies less dependent on huge energy inputs will become more economical, driving a spiral in which rising costs and restricted access will cut into internet service while simpler technologies absorb a growing range of its current economic roles. Finally, when economic contraction and social disintegration have proceeded far enough, the internet will simply drop out of use altogether because the economic basis for its operation will have gone away.
Mideast gold demand drops 26% in Q1
During the first quarter gold sales in the Middle East fell by 26 percent to 53.6 tons, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its quarterly report. Both jewelry and investment recorded similar percentage declines, with a fall of 26 percent to 49.5 tons and 28 percent to 4.1 tons respectively, it added. “With 90 percent of total consumer demand in the region in the form of jewelry, this decline was largely down to the combination of the high gold price and a tightening of consumer spending,” said Rozanna Wozniak, investment research manager at WGC.
Related Posts
- Thursday Charts — Crude Oil and More (05/14/09)
- Why Lost Jobs Aren’t Coming Back and Other Links for Thursday (12/03/09)
- Thursday — the Lone Star Republic, and Other Stories (04/16/09)
- Thursday — Here’s What I’m Reading (04/23/09)
- Semi-Good Thursday (04/09/09)
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AM I STUPID ? HOW DOES THE INTERNET USE VAST AMOUNTS OF ENERGY? WOULDN’T IT’S USE BE CHEAPER THAN CARS TO MALLS?