Once More For Emphasis: SOMEONE INVENTED A MONEY MACHINE
by ilene - May 18th, 2010 11:27 am
Once More For Emphasis: SOMEONE INVENTED A MONEY MACHINE
Courtesy of Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker
I don’t know what it takes to get people’s attention these days. Peel your eyes away from the latest episode of Glee and drop the spork you’re using to shovel artificial mashed potatoes into your face for just one moment.
Is everyone following? OK, read this, please:
The founder of Tradebot, in Kansas City, Mo., told students in 2008 that his firm typically held stocks for 11 seconds. Tradebot, one of the biggest high-frequency traders around, had not had a losing day in four years, he said.
That gem appeared in a New York Times article about high frequency trading. The article came out on May 16th and no one is talking about it. Nobody seems to think that the invention of a machine that has made its owner a profit EVERY SINGLE TRADING DAY FOR FOUR YEARS is such a big deal.
Have you all Green Mountain Coffee’d yourselves into a zombie trance? Well?
An automatic money machine. Seriously. Plug it in, maintain the gears and software and voila! Money.
There isn’t any stock research or economic musing going on. According to the article, the automatic money machine’s operators don’t even know what the stocks are that it’s trading. Again – the machine almost can’t lose money because it’s holding stocks for an average of 11 seconds.…
Can Americans Work Longer?
by ilene - March 3rd, 2010 10:02 am
I agree with Tom Lindmark. Theoretically, upping the retirement age makes great sense. Practically, however, this would result in greater numbers of older people competing for jobs with younger people. Because the job market has been downsized and doesn’t appear to be getting stronger any time soon, this places a burden on people in all age groups.
And take a look at this chart, and comment by Barry Ritholtz. - Ilene
Some ugly data points, courtesy of David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff, in anticipation of Friday’s NFP release:
Employment-to-Population Ratio: Men (25-54 Years)
Can Americans Work Longer?
Courtesy of Tom Lindmark at But Then What
Greg Mankiw posted this chart yesterday.
Here are his comments:
Americans, as well as citizens of many other advanced nations, now spend about twice as many years in retirement as they did a generation or two ago. During that time, they expect the government to provide them with income support and healthcare. Is it any wonder that we face serious fiscal problems?
I hope the president’s fiscal commission makes raising the age of eligibility for these programs one of its main recommendations.
It all makes perfect sense when viewed in isolation but raises the question as to how those who find their retirements deferred are supposed to provide for their well-being.…