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The state of the American auto industry is in quite a mess. And while Americans are divided about if, how, or what our government should do to help revive it, Germans have an altogether different faith in their auto industry. In fact, they trust their automakers to act as banks, and gladly keep their savings with the auto companies.
Here is the full story at WSJ.
I just got home from my first trip to Washington DC and the trip lived up to my expectations:
Monument: Lincoln Memorial
Building: The Library of Congress – Its elegance is second to none. It was easily the most beautiful building I toured.
Smithsonian Museum: National Gallery of Art – I spent more time in this museum than any other.
Athlete: Pete Sampras- The man who won 14 Tennis Grand Slams was born in DC.
All in all, my three days in DC weren’t even enough time to put a dent in the attractions the city has to offer. I will be planning a return visit in the next couple of years.
The stimulus bill signed by President Obama will put about $8 back into most people’s weekly paychecks. The Wall Street Journal asked leading economist to give advice to how the average American could best use the extra money.
Here is my favorite response:
Ethan Harris, Barclays Capital: Get a haircut. It is a purely domestically produced service with extremely high labor content. This means no drain in spending power out of the country: it is “Buy American” without violating any trade agreements. It also has a high impact on employment due to the high labor content. Finally, an $8 haircut–as opposed to the $100 variety– is probably being done by a low income person who is likely to spend rather than save the 8 bucks, ensuring strong second round spending effects. We will groom our way to recovery…
Here is the full story at the WSJ.
He does not seem convinced. Paul Krugman does not seem to enthusiastic either.
Conway housing prices are up about 16% according to Zillow. Conway prices are shown by the red line while the national averages are shown by the green line.
There central bank is issuing new $50 Billion notes. Unfortunately, that is enough to buy about 2 loafs of bread. Here is the full story via CNN.
The International Accounting Standards Board, which is chaired by Sir David Tweedle, has come under scrutiny for bowing to political pressure from the European Union. The issue at hand is the method banks use to value their assets on the financial statements. Political interference in the accounting and financial sectors are nothing new in the US or abroad, but one of the key components of the IASB is supposed to be its ability to resist such political pressure.
Sir David, defended the boards decision even though his stated that it nearly led to his resignation. I am a big fan of the movement to International Accounting Standards, but I forsee such political pressure being a much larger issue then either the Securities Exchange Commission or the IASB has let on so far.
Here is the full story by Glenn Kessler courtesy of the Washington Post.
GM has 96,000 employees but provides health benefits to a million people.
from Mark Steyn via the National Review.
It has been a true pleasure watching Nathan lead the Bear’s offensive unit over the past several years. He has served as an excellent example of a top notch person. player, and leader.
Today, UCA announced that Nathan Brown has been invited to play in the Senior Bowl. Brown is the first player in the history of the school to receive an invitation.
See the full story here at UCASports.com.
Via KATV
Conway – The University of Central Arkansas announced Thursday that it will be making significant budget cuts in the coming months to offset a budget deficit.
Speaking at a budget forum, UCA interim president Tom Courtway told the crowd the school will suffer from a cash flow deficit by the end of this year.
The university plans to implement, among other things, a salary freeze and cutbacks in travel and advertising, in order to erase the debt.
(Tom Courtway, Interim UCA President) “I don’t believe–quite candidly–that we’re going to wipe it out in six months. I think that’s an unrealistic expectation. But I do think over time we will eliminate it.”
Courtway says the university will draw on its $6 million credit line to finish out this year. He does not expect any layoffs.
Whatever your outlook on the economy, it is more likely that UCA’s budget problems are due mostly to the high-profile advertising campaigns and expansion efforts that the university has finance over the past five years.