Some events are legitimately macro, or MACRO, such as the shifting of the Earth’s axis in the wake of the Chilean earthquake. The Feb. 27 earthquake “may have shortened the length of each Earth day,” according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Measured in dollar terms, the quake’s impact is easier to spot. One estimate puts the damage as high as $8 billion.
The human loss, of course, is beyond calculation. How can we help? No shortage of options, including the Red Cross and the International Medical Corps, to name but two of the many organizations that need financial support, for Chile as well as for the victims of Haiti’s recent quake.
Monthly Archives: March 2010
THE ENDLESS SEARCH FOR MACRO POLICY SOLUTIONS
Everyone has a prescription for managing the business cycle these days, but no one has a solution. That’s because there are none, at least nothing that passes the smell test of a workable system that can deliver nirvana: maintaining capitalism’s power to drive economic growth while eliminating its tendency for stumbling from time to time.
IS THE TAX BITE THE NEW HEADWIND?
Today’s personal income and spending update for January looks like a warning of things to come, but not for the obvious reasons. The weasel in the henhouse is all the more troubling at the moment since it’s masked by the all-important topic of consumer spending, which rose substantially last month. Beneath this rosy surface, however, is a potentially troubling trend.
ASSET CLASS RETURNS FOR FEBRUARY
The trend in February was again one of posting a wide range of results and a shifting pattern of winners and losers on a monthly basis. This isn’t a shock, but more of it is probably coming, meaning that a new set of challenges await for managing asset allocation relative to the trend for much of the past 12 months.