Dollars & Sense articles from July 2008

Dollars & Sense archives from July 2008

What free markets?(from the editors)
July 1, 2008... The government's response to the ongoing banking and credit crises is beginning to look like a massive redistribution of wealth from taxpayers and ordinary borrowers to the financial companies that got us into these crises in the first...

What housing crisis?(the short run)(construction of mansions)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Even as the U.S. housing market plummets and millions face foreclosure, the mega-rich continue to build lavish mansions. In Los Angeles's "platinum triangle" of Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and Holmby Hills, at least 20 homes larger than 20,000...

The honeymooners.(the short run)(First Advantage and Rocketplane's weddings in space)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Japanese wedding-planning company First Advantage recently announced it will offer marriage ceremonies 100 kilometers above the earth's surface, London's Daily Mail reports. For just $2.2 million, the bride and groom can bring a priest and two...

Stimulating Wal-Mart.(the short run)(effects of tax rebates on sales)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... When President Bush signed a $168 billion "economic stimulus" package earlier this year, he approved tax breaks for business along with the more-publicized tax rebates of up to $1,200 per working couple plus $300 per child. Even the rebates,...

Trade with Iran is smokin'.(the short run)
July 1, 2008... Even with the threat of economic sanctions on Iran, including further export restrictions, select U.S. industries continue to trade with the last member of the "Axis of Evil." U.S. exports to Iran include bras, golf carts, and bull semen. But...

Herald scoops Globe.(the short run)(Boston Globe's salaries)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... It seems everyone who has even the slightest eye on print journalism knows about the rampant cost-cutting in today's newsrooms--that is, everyone except the editorial staff of the Boston Globe. Globe reporters heard about management's proposed...

Bling burgers.(the short run)(Burger King's burger record)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Burger King will set a Guinness World Record for the most expensive burger, according to the London Telegraph. Named simply "The Burger," the gourmet sandwich will cost [pounds sterling]95 and boasts such extravagant ingredients as Japanese...

"Free trade" blowback.(the short run)(United States and Colombian trading)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... A recent U.N. report shows that Colombian peasants used 27% more land for growing coca in 2007 than the year before, putting the proposed U.S.--Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement in a controversial new light. The rise in coca farming...

Ceo nightmare.(Cartoon)
July 1, 2008... LISTEN UP, CORPORATIONS! FROM NOW ON, THINGS ARE GONNA BE DIFFERENT BETWEEN YOU AND AMERICA! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NO MORE SLAPS ON THE WRIST FOR KILLING FOLKS WITH UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS OR POLLUTION! FROM NOW ON, CORPORATE MURDER...

Letters.(the short run)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... To the editors: I was pleased that you dedicated four pages to an extremely important subject in "Inequality: Bad for your Health" (Jan/Feb 2008), and that you chose Professor Kawachi to discuss the subject. There is no doubt that Dr....

Freightliner five: after a rare union victory in the South, five union organizers fight to regain their jobs.(active culture)(Freightliner Corporation employees)
July 1, 2008... In 2003, union organizers and workers won a big victory in the small town of Cleveland, N.C. The United Auto Workers reached an agreement with truck manufacturer Freightliner Corp., establishing UAW Local 3520. The union victory was a rarity in...

How to stop the foreclosures? A review of the policy proposals.(making sense)
July 1, 2008... Over one million U.S. homeowners have already lost their homes due to foreclosures since the mortgage crisis began last summer. Another one million homeowners are 90 days past due on their mortgages (foreclosure notices usually go out after 90...

Hot commodities, stuffed markets, and empty bellies: what's behind higher food prices?(making sense)
July 1, 2008... Since 2003, prices of basic agricultural commodities such as corn, wheat, soybeans, and rice have sky-rocketed worldwide, threatening to further impoverish hundreds of millions of the world's poor. Shifts in fundamental supply and demand...

How to make mud cookies: a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs could be a path to riches.(comment)
July 1, 2008... Mud cookies are all the rage in Haiti today--a rage sparked by soaring food prices. The cookies, a traditional remedy for hunger pangs and a source of calcium for pregnant women, have become a staple because food is simply unaffordable for...

Climate reality eludes the business press: for the Wall Street Journal's editors, fear of a bigger government outweighs the fear of a warmer planet.(UP AGAINST THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
July 1, 2008... The Wall Street Journal's editors are celebrating having dodged a big-government bullet when the cap-and-trade global warming bill sponsored by Joe Lieberman and John Warner, as amended by Barbara Boxer, went down to defeat this June in the...

Private equity exposed: an insider gives a peek at a notoriously secretive industry.(Interview)
July 1, 2008... Today, private equity seems to be everywhere. Enter a Dunkin' Donuts, and you experience private equity. Scan your radio dial, and you're likely to encounter private equity. Purchase gifts for your children at Toys "R" Us, and you engage with...

The global oil market: how it operates, why it doesn't work, and who wants to keep it that way.
July 1, 2008... Since the United States-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003, the price of a barrel of oil has just about quadrupled to around $135. With U.S. oil imports currently totaling 4.5 billion barrel a year, this translates into a staggering $600...

"They work here, they live here, they stay here!" French immigrants strike for the right to work--and win.
July 1, 2008... France has an estimated half-million undocumented immigrants, including many from France's former colonies in Africa. The sans-papiers (literally, "without papers"), as the French call them, lead a shadowy existence, much like their U.S....

Ask Dr. Dollar.(on hedge funds)
July 1, 2008... Dear Dr. Dollar: When one hedge fund makes $3 billion, who has lost $3 billion? Where does the money come from that hedge funds capture? Who produced the value? As with any "winnings" in the financial markets, the money obtained by...