Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
Illinois Downgrade
Illinois, my home state, is finally giving California a run for its money. I’ve always known Illinois to be a competitive state. It seems, the legislators are finally getting serious about having the lowest bond rating in the nation. We’re second only to California. Which better watch it’s back.
Compounding this success, the downgrade now forces Illinois to pay a higher interest rate on newly issued bonds. So the state will have to borrow more money to make its interest payments. Which should be enough to push us to a tie with California soon. So how did the legislators do it? They followed a brilliantly crafted gridlock strategy.
Instead of taking action, the legislators chose to raise their arms, extend their index finger, and point it at other legislators, who in turn decided to mimic the same action and point back. Seems its early practice for when they can raise their hands and proclaim Illinois is #1!
Facebook Blame Game
The hot potato was passed to Facebook CFO, David Ebersman, as the sole person behind the Facebook stock freefall. Which is great for all the buyers out there who need someone other than themselves to blame for their losses.
This idea of deflecting blame really needs to stop. Thankfully, a voice of reason showed up to counter this argument. And put the blame, squarely were it belongs. On the brokers? Yep, still deflecting blame. Though the investor was mentioned briefly.
Last Call
- Romney, Obama, & Simpson-Bowles: How Do the Tax Reform Plans Stack Up? – The best comparison I’ve found on the competing tax plans by either candidate.
- Gold Is A Barbeque Relish – a humorous application of the Keynesian principles and dieting.
- 10 Questions Every Stock Picker Needs To Ask – For the stock pickers out there, something to think about before you buy.
- True or False: Many Americans Don’t Understand the Basics of Investing – An unflattering glimpse at the financial knowledge (or lack of) in this country.
- CBO Demands a Leap of Faith on the Fiscal Cliff – an opinion piece on how the CBO takes some literary license with its projections.
