In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama proposed raising the Federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $9.00 per hour. 19 States already have minimum wages of over $7.25/hr and the state of Washington has a minimum wage of over $9.00/hr. As expected this topic is being hotly debated by economists and media pundits. …
Continue reading ‘Will Raising The Minimum Wage Increase U.S. Unemployment?’ »
I wrote about auto parts makers back in January. Among the five big companies in this industry Genuine Parts Company(GPC) reached a 52-week high last week. From a low of about $25.00 in March 2009, the stock reached over $74 last week as shown in the chart below: Click to enlarge Source: Yahoo Finance The company …
Continue reading ‘Auto-Parts Maker Genuine Parts Company Reaches 52-Week High’ »
There are many reasons to invest in foreign stocks. In addition to emerging and frontier markets, U.S. investors should have exposure to other developed markets. This is is because companies in other developed countries operate differently with respect to management and other factors and their sales territory is not only limited to their home markets …
Continue reading ‘Why Invest in Developed Markets Outside Of The US?’ »
One of the mysteries in the modern day world is the price of crude oil. Nobody really knows why the price of oil varies on a daily basis and why prices continue to go up. So it is not surprising that even the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration states the following on its website: “The world …
Continue reading ‘A Short Review Of The Major Players Supplying The World Oil Market’ »
The global financial crisis exposed the big flaw in debt-led growth in most developed countries. The U.S. became the poster child for the world see the harmful effects of how unsustainable debt levels held by individuals, companies and governments alike. Even after the credit crisis debt levels remain still high in many countries. For example, …
Continue reading ‘Gross Debt Levels in Select Countries 2012’ »