Big Mac Index

Very few people in the USofA have ever worried about currency exchange, at least once they returned from a vacation in another nation.  The US Dollar has been a stable rock in the world that simply has not been subject to the ups and downs of foreign commerce as much as other currencies.  That may be about to change dramatically, so it’s worth thinking about how currencies move in the mysterious world known as Foreign Exchange (ForEx).

Young at Heart

An economy that is struggling needs an injection of cash to get it going again, at least according to basic Keynesian economic theory. That’s more or less what our government is doing right now, and  we’re running up massive debts in order to do it.  The biggest concern is how this debt will cripple the next generation when they have to pay it down.  Surprisingly, however, this may be a lot easier than we think because the USofA is, by one important measure, a younger nation than it has been in a long time and worth a significant investment.  The issue is, as always, what we get for our money.

ForEx is Foretold

A year ago, the realities of the economy were just beginning to sink in.  The situation that we know now as a Recession, Depression, bailout, or whatever you want to think about didn’t happen overnight, but realization of it came to most people very quickly, like a nightmare that hit just as the clock was chiming 3AM.  We’ve been awake for a whole year yet, but the clock is only chiming four times and dawn is still hours away. Since we’re awake, why not spend the time thinking it through?

Digital Paperboy

How much would you pay to read your favorite newspaper online?  If the answer is nothing, because that’s what you’re paying now, you’re not alone.  But 170 dailies are agonizing over how to make you pay for their craft in a semi-public way that we are just beginning to learn about.  The company that wants to make this happen is Journalism Online, and they’re serious.

At Yer Feet

When people talk about the economy, whether on talk shows or in bars or just standing at the bus stop, the conversation eventually goes the same way.  Everyone has a theory about who is to blame, where the money went, or at least how this might play out in the distorted politics of our time.  If you let the conversation play out a bit, however, there’s one thing that always seems to turn people’s gaze to the floor as if the answer is written at our feet – what the Hell really happened?