Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktMorning Report
Vital Statistics:
| Last | Change | Percent | |
| S&P Futures | 1243.8 | 7.5 | 0.61% |
| Eurostoxx Index | 2274.1 | 29.700 | 1.32% |
| Oil (WTI) | 99.5 | 0.830 | 0.84% |
| LIBOR | 0.5738 | 0.003 | 0.44% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 80.003 | 0.004 | 0.01% |
| 10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 1.93% | -0.04% |
Markets are up slightly on very light volume (around 110 million shares as of 10:15). We had a slew of economic data this morning. 3Q GDP and personal consumption came in light, but jobless claims and leading economic indicators were better. The markets will probably focus on LEI, as it is forward looking and Q3 data is old news. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment came in better than expected, but still shows that the consumer is in a foul mood.
Last, FHFA Hous Price index dropped in October by .2%. This index is pretty narrow – it only looks at conforming mortgages, but this is the center of gravity for the real estate market. It shows the Midwest outperforming the coasts.
Filed under: Uncategorized |
All Things in Moderation 
Handy federal budget reference courtesy of Ezra Klein's Wonkblog at the Washington PostBudget Infographic
LikeLike
From Wonkblog:The Los Angeles Times has the story of a healthy school lunch policy gone awry. It focuses on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s attempt to bring healthy, fresh options into schools. High school students, perhaps unsurprisingly, would prefer to eat Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Participation in the school lunch program has dropped by the thousands, a black market for unhealthful contraband is thriving and school officials are thinking about bringing back the exact foods they meant to push out:"
LikeLike
A relevant story to the above from a million years agoI went to a parochial school in a lower middle class neighborhood in the Philly area. So one thing we had in abundance was soft pretzels. They came in long rows in big bags and were sold by the school at recess, 2 for a quarter, believe it or not. Once the kids got to the 3rd or 4th grade, the teachers would assign students to do the actual selling. Now as you might suspect, this turned into quite the educational process. The future politicians tried to convince the teachers they were best to sell them of course. Some students had the money, but no interest in the pretzels, and so exchanged them for favors. Some only wanted one, but bought two and sold the second one to those who only had a dime. Some made loans, and then made friends with another student who was big enough or popular enough to enable them to “foreclose” when necessary. Now the really bold ones, just a handful, smuggled in the forbidden squirt bottle of mustard to use in the schoolyard, and either got their pretzels free or made a little cash. Of course we all thought that the “old” nuns had no idea what was going on. Now I realize that these women were financial geniuses able to educate us all on the tiniest of budgets. I’m quite sure that the pretzels were not about food, but about education. You see this was far enough back that “inequality” was not a political slogan but an accepted ordering of life. You either had the money to buy the pretzels, or you didn’t get them. Somehow, most days, the recess ended with everybody getting in on the trade as a consumer or a provider. The school had it’s academic stars, athletes and musicians but I think the nuns gave some skills and preparation to everybody, including those who learned how to wheel and deal their way through life starting with a little bit soggy and stale pretzel.Let the kids have their junk food black market. It’s probably more of a business and financial education than anything in the actual curriculum.
LikeLike
John,I saw a story on the news the other morning about a school in Seattle that funded school clubs and other student activities in part with money from vending machines in the school. When they replaced all the food in their vending machines with healthier alternatives the funding all but dried up. It went from something like $17,000 a year to $2,000. The kids would just go across the street to the gas station and buy their junk food. So the policy had virtually no impact on what kind of food the kids ate and led to less money for the school.
LikeLike
"So the policy had virtually no impact on what kind of food the kids ate and led to less money for the school. "Ah but it did! It made them evaluate what food was worth actually paying for from their own pocket. LOL
LikeLike
A little juicy gossip for Mark, apparantly one of the DOJ lawyers working on the Texas redistricting is a known perjurer. Is this interesting?
LikeLike
TMW, as related, that is one tough story!I would like to read more on this, of course, before I judge the woman, but if this is a true story and her superiors know it she should be pulled from the case and subjected to the internal discipline process, as soon as possible, and an external investigation for criminal prosecution should proceed.
LikeLike