Nobody Rides For Free

I noticed in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal this headline: China Relents, Accepts 19% Rise in Iron-Ore Price. Did they actually think they could dictate the market for raw materials? The really cool thing about free markets is that no matter how big a player is, as long as there are several market participants and more than one source of goods, no one player can manipulate the market for any sustained period of time.

China can't have a free ride- they sell billions of dollars worth of exports every year, then try to get a better-than-market price for their inputs. It'll never happen. They should enjoy the fact that their labor costs are lower than most of the industrialized world, and the business outlook is good for the forseeable future...

New Bank Account, Anyone?

I was in a public place having lunch today, reading the Wall Street Journal, when a couple in the booth behind me were talking quite loudly about their situation: the wife's purse had been stolen from their vehicle, and they were in the process of changing bank accounts for direct deposit purposes. Of course, I heard account numbers. I thought about writing them down on my newspaper and giving it to them as I left, but decided not to. Someday their recklessness will cost them more than the contents of a purse...

Sell in May and Go Away

The old stock market adage was certainly holding true, until today... I hope you made some $

Defense Attorneys, Take Note!

I heard on today's news that "road rage" has a new, clinical name: Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Yes, that's just what the doctor ordered. We've been given a new medical name to replace "Neanderthal idiot," and have provided defense attorneys with a legitimate defense for stupidity! Are we creeping back into the 1990's? My actions are not my fault!