How is Vegas treating jugglers?

A few months back The Long Run blog’s founder Brett Spurr was in Vegas and observed an interesting economic phenomenon: while hotel room prices were at all-time lows, food was now pricier. So a hotel room at a major hotel might run you $50 a night but the Coke machine on your floor is now charging double. The old “if you can’t make it in popcorn, make it in peanuts” strategy.

Brett cautioned his observations were purely anecdotal. I thought I’d follow up on Brett’s intriguing observation by wrangling my connection¹ with Vegas local Michael Goudeau (former co-host of the Penn Jillette Radio Show and an occasional panelist for the yearly The Amazing Meeting) and get his observations about how the down economy is affecting what is surely one of the most interesting local economies on earth.

“Cadbury shareholders stand to lose out massively”

“Cadbury shareholders stand to lose out massively” is the language a shareholder has used in suing Cadbury to reconsider the Kraft offer. More specifically, according to a Reuters story today:

Lehman Remembered

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the anniversary of the fall crap lately. Lehman, being the poster child for that fateful week, is always the topic of conversation. As a commentator on the financial world, I suppose it is my duty, accepted when they let me write a blog, to make some sort of acerbic, snide, honorary mention of Lehman. So, I’m going to do just that:

Hockey Fans- help me with this logic

Help me out, because there must be a reason I just don’t understand. I play ice hockey two seasons per year and now we’ve formed a new team, so I’ll be playing on two teams each season. Fun! Ever since I started playing ice hockey, I have heard of goalies trying to play for free. That is, they want the league or the team to pick up their league fee. Ice hockey, at least in Colorado, isn’t cheap. Something around $475 per player per season.

Pirates

Anyone notice we’re about to go through a whole summer with out a Pirates of the Caribbean movie? I have. But this posting isn’t about that. Pirates, of course, are in the news. They’re the new big enemy, the crazier-than-Hitler types we love to read about and wish our governments would squash.

Is buying bird seed for the birds?

Last week NPR’s Planet Money podcast had an interesting piece about how credit card companies judge your ability to pay (whether or not you’re a credit risk) based on what you’re actually buying. The show noted that a Canadian retailer called Canadian Tire released several examples.

The future is California – without the great weather.

California is the most heavily taxed state by most measures according to a recent L.A. Times story. According to the article, the marginal rate on taxable income over $1 million will rise to 10.55% from 10.3%.  The next-highest tax rate, which starts at $94,110 for a married couple filing jointly, will rise to 9.55% from 9.3%. Sales taxes were just increased a full point from 7.25% to 8.25% plus whatever the local municipality tacks on. Here in Santa Clara County the sales tax is 9.25%.

Tax-and-Spend Democrats, Small Government Republicans and other Myths

A few years ago, I attended an industry meeting at which TJ Rogers, CEO of Cypress, gave the keynote speech. Shortly after dessert was served, a color guard complete with blaring bagpipes followed a kilted TJ Rogers up to the podium. That night, TJ turned my beliefs about the fiscal policies of Democrats and Republicans upside down. I dedicate this posting not to TJ though, but to his former corporate controller, who claims he did the work.

Here are a few facts for your amazement and amusement.

The Chinese aren’t manipulators after all

Or so says Geithner today. The Treasury released its International Economic And Exchange Rate Policies report to Congress today. Very exciting reading, I know. Interestingly, in the very first paragraph of the report, the Treasury says:

Between 1988 and 1994, Treasury cited three economies (China, Korea, and Taiwan) several times each for manipulating their exchange rates…Since July 1994, no economy has been found to have met the standards identified in Section 3004 of the Act.

A Buffett Contest

No, not a buffet eating contest. As many of you may recall, we here are big fans of Warren Buffett. Well, I’m a big fan of Buffett, I can’t speak for Karl or Julio. Anyway, each year Buffett holds Berkshire’s annual meeting on the first Saturday in May (May 2 this year) in Omaha. The gathering is sometimes called “Woodstock for Capitalists” on account of it being a gathering of some 30,000 [mostly] wealthy Berkshire shareholders who gather to hear the Oracle of Omaha opine on a rich variety of subjects for nearly the whole day.