Daily Digest 11/12 - Gold Loves Obama, Beyond Bayonets And Battleships

Economy

An Effort to Bury a Throwaway Culture One Repair at a Time (amanda)

“In Europe, we throw out so many things,” said Martine Postma, a former journalist who came up with the concept after the birth of her second child led her to think more about the environment. “It’s a shame, because the things we throw away are usually not that broken. There are more and more people in the world, and we can’t keep handling things the way we do.

Camden's bloody year worse than it appears (Thomas C.)

According to Camden officials, Holder's death marks the 58th homicide in the city, tying the record set in 1995.

Cash-strapped Spaniards ditch their mobile phones (Nervous Nelly)

Customers cut off 254,000 Movistar connections, while Vodafone noted a decline of 178,000. Yoigo gained 40,000 new customers, while France Telecom's (FTE.PA) Orange attracted 25,000 new mobile clients.

Telefonica and Vodafone had used Spain as a testing ground for scrapping smartphone subsidies and stopped offering customers cut-price or free phones earlier this year.

7 unexpected events that could blow apart investor portfolios in 2013 (Nervous Nelly)

While the fiscal cliff and the euro crisis have been consistently at the forefront of investors’ minds throughout this year, there are plenty of other big risks to markets and the economy as well that haven’t garnered the same attention and awareness.

The Tragedy Of The Euro! What About Germany? (Taki T.)

Economics is the study of value creation. It does not consider itself with the question what values men should pursue, nor how value should be shared in a community. These are questions for respectively moral and political scientists. Economists take the valuations of individuals as the given and goes from there. A value is something one wants to gain or keep, and economics studies the means people use to achieve these ends. About the desirability of those ends, it has nothing to say.

Japan economy contracts as global slowdown hits exports (westcoastjan)

To add to its woes, the debt crisis in the eurozone and weak recovery in the US have seen many investors flock to safe-haven assets such as the yen, resulting in the Japanese currency strengthening against the US dollar and the euro.

Auguries: Gold ♥ Obama (westcoastjan)

Hurricane Sandy has become a government-mediated FUBAR of almost-Katrina proportions. After running out of water, FEMA has now fled the scene due to “weather.” Yet an NBC exit poll shows that 68% of Obama voters agreed that “Obama’s hurricane response” was an important factor in their decision. And the nature of his response? He showed up, looked concerned and was photographed with the Governor of New Jersey. Welcome to the United States of Reality Shows. Expect sales of bomber jackets to soar.

The 5 types of leadership Canada needs right now (westcoastjan)

There has never been a greater need, or better time, for moral leadership. The economic recession that struck in fall 2008 was not simply a financial crisis, but rather a crisis of morality, characterized by excessive greed and misplaced priorities, all predicated on a completely distorted and selfish view of what it means to succeed. Somewhere along the way certain decision-makers started to believe that achieving success was worth letting go of their values, whatever the cost. I’ve seen what happens to people who operate in business and life ethically — and to those who don’t. Some of my own mistakes have confirmed for me that the consequences of flexible moral or ethical standards are too high.

Beyond Bayonets And Battleships (westcoastjan)

With words of withering mockery, President Obama shot back: “Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed... the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships. It's what are our capabilities.”

Gold Supply And Demand Dynamics And The Potential Dollar Endgame (Joe Y.)

Gold, even when viewed as a commodity, is unique in that it is not consumed. As there is little cost effective industrial application for the yellow metal, little to no “natural” industrial demand exists. Virtually every ounce ever mined from the earth is still above ground, either in a vault or a safe or an earring. An estimated 170,000 metric tons sits above ground, hoarded and unambiguously owned. Given that the annual supply of mined gold is approximately 2,500 metric tons, how is it gold not priced close to zero? After all, there is a 65 year overhang in supply! Despite all that we know of supply and demand dynamics and economic ‘law’, gold’s price is within striking distance of its’ all-time-high – in every currency on the planet.

Canada looks to lure energy workers from the U.S. (westcoastjan)

He'd heard there was work in western Canada. Turns out he'd heard right. Within days he was wearing a hard hat at a Shell oil refinery 15 miles away in Fort Saskatchewan. Within six months he had earned almost $50,000. That was 2009. And he's still there.

China Heading Towards an Unavoidable Water Crisis (James S.)

This situation was exacerbated after Chairman Mao’s death, as economic reforms led to a farming renaissance. This meant a ramp up in agricultural production, ergo…….a ramp up in water use.
Agriculture makes up the lion’s share of water consumption in China, and when combined with industry, this number reaches 85%.

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