The punitive fine being proposed for the Exxon Valdez oil spill is about three days worth of profit for them, or $3.5 billion. Even so, they are protesting that they have suffered enough already over this accident, and should not be held to account indefinitely. Yet, without hefty punitive fines for this kind of ecological [...]
Archive for February, 2008
Exxon and Other Oil-Related Musings
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bernanke, oil, prime, stagflation on February 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Job Opening: Human Punching Bag
Posted in Uncategorized on February 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This week is my last full-time week at the call center. Starting next week, I go to four hours a day. If I’m very lucky, sometime in the coming year I’ll be out of there altogether. My spouse and I were discussing customer non-service this weekend, and we decided that, along with almost every other [...]
Oil hits $100 a Barrel
Posted in Uncategorized on February 20, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Everyone knew it was coming, and now it’s here. $100 a barrel oil. I clearly recall a financial pundit saying in an interview early last year that there was just no way oil would ever hit $100 a barrel, that he doubted it would even peak as high as $80 before stabilizing. I have given [...]
Rebuffing Buffet
Posted in Uncategorized on February 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Warren Buffet’s offer to back municipal bonds insured by MBIA and Ambac has been rebuffed by at least one of these giants, and will likely be rebuffed by the other as well. Bond insurers don’t want selective help, they want a total rescue that includes the crappy sub-prime mortgage backed securities that are running their [...]
How to Survive Hard Times
Posted in Uncategorized on February 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I thought for a change of pace I would try to put a positive spin on my fascination with the American Apocalypse by making some constructive suggestions for how to get by while the country falls apart. Here goes:
Cultivate Multiple Sources of Income.
The cash cow full time job is about to go the way of [...]
A Call for Reform in the Finance Industry
Posted in Uncategorized on February 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I work in the call center of a major financial institution, and while my specific employer is mostly ethical, I think the financial marketplace has gotten so out of control it should, at this point, be call the usury marketplace.
If I ruled the world, here are some reforms I would initiate pronto:
Outlaw Payday Loan Shops. [...]
Down? Oh Yeah.
Posted in Uncategorized on February 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday the Dow fell almost 400 points in a single day, and this morning Asian markets are following suit. This economy deathwatch is becoming something of an obsession for me. So many people (me included) are not reassured by any of the false reassurances spouted by pundits. Bush’s $3 trillion proposed budget for a single [...]
Between Supers
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bank, housing, subprime, super, tuesday on February 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Last night was the Super Bowl and tomorrow is Super Tuesday, and I am still working at the bank, watching my choices shrink. When I started there, I was most impressed by all the opportunities that existed to move out of the call center after a year. I planned to put in my year and [...]
Microsoft versus Google
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Uncategorized on February 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
No, it’s not a Japanese monster movie, it’s the latest thing to cheer up the stock market. Microsoft is trying to purchase Yahoo because Google is leaving them in the dust with lots of innovative online software and gadgets that make boxed software a lot less appealing. So Microsoft is belatedly trying to compete. I’m [...]
