The Collapse of Manufacturing

The article (click on the title) argues that, in light of the current financial cris, the manufacturing industry doesn't need to be saved because primarily of low demand.

If sectoral aid is wasteful, why then save the banking system? Not for the sake of the bankers, certainly; nor because state aid will create an efficient financial industry. Even flawed bank rescues and stimulus plans, like the one Barack Obama signed into law this week, are aimed at the roots of the economy’s problems: saving the banks, no matter how undeserving they are, is supposed to keep finance flowing to all firms; fiscal stimulus is supposed to lift demand across the board. As manufacturing collapses, governments should not fiddle with sectoral plans. Their proper task is broader but no less urgent: to get on with spending and with freeing up finance.

From The Economist.

Price of Everything Excerpts

Economics is not about prices and money. Economics is about how to get the most out of life.

Never confuse a person's identity or value as a human being with his/her job title. They have nothing to do with each other.

From The Price of Everything by Russell Roberts

Marriage and Fat

"Married individuals weight more on average than non-married individuals. We suggest that exiting the dating market decreases one’s incentive to maintain their appearance and thus leads to an increase in body weight"

Complete article here.

Tip from Marginal Revolution.

Wealth Quote

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants"

-Epicurus, ancient Greek philospher

Bank Bonuses

An interesting look at the incentives behind banks and how these failed to create value for their shareholders.

This somehow made me skeptical in investing in 'blue-chip' banks.

From The Economist.

American gangster

"You're either a somebody or a nobody."

What Frank Lucas did in the illegal drug business was innovate the way how business is done by going straight to the supplier. Seems commonsense and obvious these days with the available technology and ease of moving goods around. But in Frank Lucas' time in the late 60s, cutting out the middle man was challenging the norm of doing business.

We all know that both seller and customer will end up with more value by directly dealing with each other but the more important lesson here is to challenge the accepted way of doing business and then do it differently.

"The most important thing in business is honesty..."

Another thing Lucas did was to grow his business. This he did by hiring people he knew he could trust - his brothers. Trust is a much taken-for-granted prerequisite in doing business. Without it you cannot prosper and you cannot grow.

"More important than in any man's life is order."

Much as Lucas was the most successful drug dealer of his generation, what brought him down was his love for his wife. Lucas was a very low-key businessman but one time his wife bought him an extravagant fur coat which he wore at a boxing match, and that is how Richie Roberts, the cop who would later put Lucas in jail, first caught attention of him. Roberts took the first picture of Lucas that time. And the rest was history.

A must-see movie.

Outliers Review

Have posted this review in Amazon for the book, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Engaging in Battle

"Don't engage your enemy too long for he will soon adapt to your tactics."

From the movie Lions and Lambs

Shopping Cart Cash

Been busy for the past 2 weeks familiarizing myself with online shopping carts. There is an abundance of information in the Internet on how one can start an e-commerce site from scratch.

Anyway, I have written several introductory posts on the subject and they can be seen here in Shopping Cart Cash.Com. Check them out.