WSJ: How to Boost Income Without Too Much Risk

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The Federal Reserve last week pledged to keep interest rates low until the jobs picture improves massively.

Sounds great, right? But not for investors searching for significant income. The Fed's decision to stay on its low-interest course means safe investments like government bonds, money-market funds and certificates of deposit will continue paying peanuts. See more here.

Barrons: Lumber to Soar in the Long Run

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Futures prices for lumber have been riding a wave churned by hurricane Sandy. Quotes for plywood have surged 15%, to $340 per thousand board feet, since the beginning of October, propelled by the prospect of rebuilding in the northeastern U.S. after Sandy's onslaught.

Investors thinking about jumping on lumber for the short term will likely get wiped out. But those willing to hang in for the long haul could enjoy a sweet ride. Read original story here.

Photo by Facundo Sosa on Unsplash

WSJ: Five Gifts of the Financially Inclined

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The holidays are fast approaching and for many that means spend, spend, spend…sometimes too, too much.

Here's a better idea. Give people gifts that at least stand a chance of improving their finances.  Read more here.

WSJ: Earnings Per Share, Explained

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It should be clear that when you invest in a company, you need to know how much money it makes.

But here's the rub: There are several "earnings" figures that a public company reports to its investors. So which one should you look at?

When you look at a company's earnings reports (also known as 10Q and 10K Securities and Exchange Commission filings), they can be a tad confusing. You'll see net income, basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share—three different measures of profit. See original story here.

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

Barrons: Get Ready for the Iron-ore Rebound

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

 If your portfolio is looking a little anemic these days, why not fortify it with some iron-ore stocks? They look set for a boost, but investors be warned: These stocks are volatile, so you may need a strong stomach.

The world's largest iron-ore miner, Brazil's Vale (ticker: VALE), and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), North America's largest, have taken a beating over the past few months, down 29% and 44% since the beginning of March as China's economy has slowed. That's the bad news. See original post here.

Mining truck

Photo by Dominik Vanyi on Unsplash

WSJ: Spence: Obama's Economic Policy Beats Romney's

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Michael Spence

Photo by Niccolò Caranti, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

via Wikimedia Commons

NBR: Should You Trust Wall St.? Maybe Not

By SIMON CONSTABLE



Something has vanished from Main Street: Trust in Wall Street.

How do we know this? Small investors are dumping stocks.

Even as the stock market has soared close to record highs, retail investors sold $138 billion in shares.The data comes from The Investment Company Institute and tracks mutual and exchange-traded fund investments, a rough proxy for the retail sector.

Some people will tell you that small investors are bailing on stocks because they are too emotional and so they make terrible decisions.  They were burned by the credit crunch and the popping of the tech bubble and are now gun shy.  

In short, the message is, they are stupid because they’ve missed the recent rally, but maybe they aren’t.  Maybe they are justly shy of the shenanigans on Wall Street.  

New research shows that one in five chief financial officers of public companies admit to cooking the books, according to a recent study from professors at Emory and Duke Universities.  In a survey they found that about 20 percent of CFOs used accounting tricks that didn’t reflect the companies’ underlying operations.  The size of the misstatements—about 10 percent of earnings.  

Wow! If that sounds bad, it’s actually worse than you think.  

This type of book cooking is completely legal.  And because it’s legal, nothing will be done about it.  If you don’t know what the company’s truly making, why would you invest?  

Maybe that's a good reason to steer clear of the U.S. stock market.

WSJ: Five Light Reads for Your Financial Library

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Now that the kids are back in school it's time for you to hit the books. Here are five light reads that will boost your financial acumen and (hopefully) inspire you to a more fulfilling career. (Most are available in multiple formats, both in print and as eBooks.) See original post here.

Barron's: Rice Price Ready to Snap Crackle and Pop

By SIMON CONSTABLE

In May I warned Barron's readers in this column that rice prices were set to surge. And they did, rising 9% on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, to more than $16.30 per hundredweight in early August from just shy of $15 three months earlier. Prices have retreated since, to around $15 recently. But that doesn't mean the rally is done.

Analysts say the market is poised for a price surge that could take rice even higher, with futures prices exceeding $20. Read more here. 

Photo by Mgg Vitchakorn on Unsplash

NBR: Congress Needs to Stop Playing Chicken with the Budget

 By SIMON CONSTABLE


Genius physicist Albert Einstein famously commented that insanity is defined as doing the
same thing over again and expecting a different result.  It’s an idea that Congress needs to wake up to

More precisely, it needs to stop playing chicken with its fiscal decisions.  The last few years we’ve seen nothing but dysfunction.  Remember the debt ceiling debate last year?  That was when our elected officials waited until the very last minute to come to a decision.





That sort of behavior isn’t doing us as a country any favors. Quite frankly it’s nuts. 

It isn’t just me that thinks so.  Ratings agency Moody’s just scolded Congress.  The firm that determines the riskiness of a borrower said Tuesday the U.S. risks losing its coveted triple-A rating if Congress doesn’t shape up.  Specifically it pointed to the pending tax increases we face starting in January if the government doesn’t act swiftly and prudently. 

Why does what Moody’s say matter to you?  If the U.S. loses its triple-A rating, it will have to pay more to borrow.  If it pays more then you will also, for everything from credit cards and car loans to mortgages. 
That’s something you need to think about when you go to the polls in a little less than eight weeks.

WSJ: What You Need to Know About Yield

By SIMON CONSTABLE

How much yield you earn from a fund is important. But calculating it can be tricky.
In basic terms, a fund's yield is whatever the dividend or interest payment is divided by the current price. If the annual dividend is $1 and the price of the fund is $20, then the yield is 5%.
But as with most things, it's rarely that simple. That's because fund investments and payouts change over time. So, savvy investors should look at different ways of measuring yield. In simple terms, here's what you need to understand. See original post here.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Barron's: How QE3 is a Mixed Bag for Commodities

By SIMON CONSTABLE

What will it mean for commodities if "Helicopter Ben" Bernanke cranks up the printing press once again?
Some investors simply expect prices to soar across the board if the Federal Reserve chief institutes a new round of quantitative easing, aimed at stimulating economic growth. They see such a move flooding markets with dollars, weakening the U.S. currency, and pushing up the prices of dollar-denominated commodities, as stronger economic activity boosts demand. See original post here.

Photo by Alex Bierwagen on Unsplash

WSJ: Wall Street Sees Dark Clouds Ahead

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Wall Street professionals earn a lot of their oversized paychecks playing the roles of modern-day clairvoyants, peering into the future and telling investors where the economy is heading.

As the presidential election drones on, you could be forgiven for thinking that the country is headed over a cliff. After all, that's what the one guy keeps saying about the other guy.

Here's a news flash: Whoever wins, the country probably isn't collapsing.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of uncertainty about the economy—and lots of reasons to be cautious.

We asked some of the savviest fortune tellers on Wall Street to look beyond the election rhetoric and give a sense of what to expect in the next six to 12 months. Here is the short version.

Photo by Johny Goerend on Unsplash

WSJ: What Is EBITDA?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When portfolio managers and analysts talk about stocks, they often praise or bemoan a company's Ebitda.

Huh?

That's an accounting acronym and stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The somewhat complicated formula aims to get at something very simple: how much cash a business generates from operations. See original post here.

WSJ: Why The Individual Mandate May Cost You More

By SIMON CONSTABLE

With many things in economics more is better. More food, more production, more profits — generally all good. But when it comes to health insurance more might actually be worse.
In June the Supreme Court ruled that the health-care law requiring us all to have health insurance was constitutional. A lot of people cheered saying it would pave the way to solve the nightmare problem of health-care costs in the U.S. 

Not so fast. Insurance may actually be the root of the problem with our health-care costs. Or in other words, more people having insurance could actually make things worse. Read more here.

Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

WSJ Guide...Now in Korean

WSJ: Barton Biggs: ‘Charming Man of Deep Intellect’

By Simon Constable

Sad news. Famed hedge fund investor Barton Biggs died over the weekend after a distinguished financial career.

It was particularly meaningful to me as I’d had the opportunity to meet or speak with him a number of times over the years both here at WSJ and at my previous employer, TheStreet TV. Most recently I spoke with him about his father and last year he invited me to his home in Greenwich Connecticut where we taped The Big Interview. There were other occasions also.

While some people found him to be somewhat crabby, I found a charming man of deep intellect. There are many people who throw back sound bites during interviews. Not so with Biggs. He pondered each question, thought it through and called on his many years of experience.

He was also modest. Once he proclaimed that he wasn’t very good at timing his investments. That’s something small investors might want to consider. If even a veteran of markets and investing found it tricky to jump in or out of a stock, what chance do the rest of us stand?

He will be missed. See original post here.

WSJ: What Are Covered Bonds

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Is there a path to higher yield and lower risk in the bond market? Apparently there is, if you believe the promises of so-called covered bonds.

These are a type of mortgage security, issued mainly by financial institutions in Europe, that offers fixed-income investors a double layer of protection against default.

Covered bonds differ from typical mortgage-backed securities in the U.S. in that the issuing bank retains ownership of the underlying mortgages. "The fact that it's on [the] balance sheet means that the issuer has skin in the game," says Kristion Mierau, a portfolio manager and covered-bond expert at Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco. See original post here.

Barrons: Why Commodities Are Set to Tank

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors in commodities need to watch out.

Fresh data show the U.S. economy is weakening. The economy added a paltry 80,000 jobs in June, not enough to keep up with population growth. Earlier last week, we learned the manufacturing sector contracted in June for the first time since July 2009. Other indicators have been equally uninspiring. 

Why does this matter to commodities? The raw-materials sector tends to get hit harder than the rest of the economy in a recession. See original post here.

WSJ: Anna Schwartz, Mother of Monetarism, Was Intellectual Giant

By SIMON CONSTABLE

If it’s rare to find one’s self in the presence of greatness, it’s even rarer to know it at the time.

Yet, the one and only time I met the late economist, and so-called mother of monetarism, Anna Schwartz, I knew she was awesome. She died Thursday aged 96.

How did I meet her?

At the height of the recent financial crisis on March 30 2009 she was part of a panel discussion on the Great Depression that I moderated at the Council on Foreign Relations here in New York City. Watch video from the event below.



The others on the panel all showed their smarts, but intellectually she dwarfed us all. That’s not meant to take anything away from anyone else, but rather to point out that even on a panel of distinguished intellectuals she stood out.

In that 60 minute-long discussion three years ago it was all I could do to keep up with Schwartz. Afterwards my mind was fried.

Although it’s an unfashionable view in some quarters now, she made it clear she hated Keynesianism: the idea that government spending could stimulate growth. She also hated the bailouts. Policymakers might want to take note of those things.

Schwartz, along with Milton Friedman, invented monetarism: the idea that monetary policy can stimulate economic growth. If he was its father, she was its mother.

Friedman got more credit for inventing monetarism that than she did, but likely that is a function of a time when women got less recognition than men, even for the same achievements.

The two authored the 1963 tome A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960.

See original post here.

WSJ: What Yogi Berra can Teach the Winner of Presidential Race

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Yogi Berra had it right when he said: “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Whoever will be U.S. president next year needs to do just that, and make a decision on which way to go. That will go a good way to help the ailing jobs market.

You see the problem with the economy, the most pressing problem of our time, is at least in part due to lack of decisiveness from government itself. That’s according to 2011 research from Stanford University economists Nicholas Bloom and Scott Baker and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business‘s Steve Davis. They point out that uncertainty over which of many strategies the government will pursue is actually making things worse.

They call this “policy uncertainty” and according to the trio, it’s up more three-fold since 2000.

See original post here.

WSJ: What I Learned from Dad About Money

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Listen up. It's Father's Day, and, believe it or not, the old man still knows his way around the block. He still has a few lessons worth learning.

So The Wall Street Journal Sunday asked some really, really smart people in the business and financial world what they learned at home.

The question: What did you learn from Dad about money and finance?

The answers (in a nutshell): Work hard, save your money and diversify your investments.

And what dad would disagree?  Read more here.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Barron's: Its Back to the '60s As Central Banks Embrace Gold

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Big changes are afoot in the gold market. The short take: The new environment will favor long-term investors who buy and hold for years over speculators who try to trade day-to-day gyrations.

For one thing, central bankers are back buying gold. Think it's no big deal? The last time we saw the so-called official sector as such a consistent and major buyer was in 1965. See original post here.

Photo by Zlaťáky.cz on Unsplash

WSJ: Beyond the Tried-and-True: Generating Cash in Later Life

By SIMON CONSTABLE

These days trying to find high-quality income-producing stocks or bonds—ones yielding better than a measly 2% or 3%—can be as frustrating as trying to tie your shoelaces with one hand.

Don't despair: There are ways to boost income in retirement that go beyond the usual suspects—sometimes way beyond. Here are five ideas.

WSJ Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators Now Available in Japanese!

Here's a link to Amazon in Japan

Socks!

Our new studio, and me doing the first broadcast from it. May 18, 2012

FOX News May 18

Michael Castner on WhoSay

WSJ: Lax Regulation Not to Blame for J.P. Morgan Loss

By SIMON CONSTABLE

By now you must have heard about J.P. Morgan Chase’s $2 billion trading loss. You’ll also have heard the screams of outrage and the calls for more banking regulation. Maybe the regulation is part of the problem. But it’s not all of it: Not by a long way.

What you may not know is that at least part of the problem comes from what economists call “agency cost.” That’s the cost of having someone run the business who doesn’t own it.


See original post here.

The original uploader was Urbanrenewal at English Wikipedia., 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: Real Interest Rates Explained

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There are interest rates. Then there are "real" interest rates.Looking at real rates can help you determine how much your purchasing power may grow, says Mihir Worah, head of the real-return portfolio management team at Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco.

Many of the savviest investors suggest paying closer attention to the latter. To determine the real rate, you need to start with the rate quoted for holdings in bank accounts, bonds and the like—it is known as the nominal rate—and then adjust it for inflation. Read original here.

Barrons: Rice Prices Getting Set to Pop

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Bad news: That cheap bowl of rice you were counting on to stretch your paycheck may soon get pricey. Good news: You'll be able to profit off the coming move, although you'll need to be nimble.

It's happening because Western Hemisphere farmers are cultivating less rice while inventories are set to plummet. "Stocks are running low now, and rice prices do not go down when acreage goes down," writes Milo Hamilton, in a recent edition of his newsletter, The Firstgrain Rice Market Strategist. "Never [has that happened] in any year that we have traded rice, which is for over 30 years."

In short, prices are going higher. See original story here.

Rice Paddy

Photo by Joel Vodell on Unsplash

Reynolds Center: The many paths for finding a job in business journalism

By Meena Thiruvengadam 

As if being at the center of the biggest story in recent years isn’t enough, business journalists also tend to earn more than the average reporter. The hours may not always be better, but the jobs are there. And there are lots of ways to get them.

Wall Street Journal reporter Simon Constable, host of the Journal’s afternoon News Hub, got his start in business journalism with an internship. After years of working in the business sector, Constable attended New York University and earned a master’s degree in business and economics reporting. He then signed up for an internship with TheStreet.com, which quickly led to a full-time job. Read more here.

Barrons: Why Fertilizer Prices Remain Stubbornly High

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Here's a puzzle: How is it that fertilizer prices are so stubbornly high while the production cost has plunged?

The answer lies in the Corn Belt—and it will boost fertilizer equities for the foreseeable future.

Anhydrous ammonia, a nitrogen-based plant food, now sells for nearly $700 a ton. That's off from the highs of $800 late last year. But the biggest variable cost in making fertilizer, natural gas, has seen its price collapse. It's off over half from $4.50 a million British thermal units in mid-2011. Natural gas for May delivery closed at $1.927 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, down 2.7% for the week. See the original post here.

Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

Constable: Stimulus Not the Solution to Jobs Bust

FRIDAY’S DISAPPOINTING JOBS NUMBERS SHOULD HAVE THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS PANICKED. THE PROBLEM IS THAT OUR LEADERS ARE LIKELY TO DO EXACTLY THE WRONG THING TO FIX THINGS. THEY’LL PROBABLY WANT TO SPEND MORE GOVERNMENT MONEY.

THE PROBLEM EVERYONE SEES IS THAT THE 120,000 JOBS CREATED IN THE U.S. DURING MARCH IS JUST WOEFULLY INADEQUATE TO KEEP UP WITH POPULATION GROWTH, LET ALONE MAKE A DENT IN THE BACKLOG OF THE MILLIONS OF LONG TERM UNEMPLOYED.

THE SOLUTION THE GOVERNMENT OPTED FOR IN THE DEPTHS OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS WAS MASSIVE GOVERNMENT STIMULUS AND BAILOUTS OF NEAR-DEAD COMPANIES. IT WAS AT A COST OF HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

BUT NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THIS SORT OF MASS SPENDING DOES LITTLE TO HELP.

A PAPER PUBLISHED IN THIS MONTH FROM THE MERCATUS CENTER AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY STATES:  “…the data exhibit no evidence of stimulus spending having any effect on economic growth.’

IN FACT THE AUTHORS GO EVEN FURTHER, THEY SAY THE EFFECT OF STIMULUS LOOKING OVER A VARIETY OF TIME HORIZONS IS “ALWAYS STATISTICALLY ZERO.”

OR PUT ANOTHER WAY, THAT’S HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WASTED.

I HOPE SENSE PREVAILS ENOUGH IN CONGRESS TO KEEP THE CHECK BOOK CLOSED, BUT I FEAR NOT.

I’M SIMON CONSTABLE

WSJ: Why Your Mutual Funds Won't Beat the Market

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Good news: The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is up 12.6% (including dividends) for the year, one of the best first quarters in a long, long time. Many stock analysts are projecting a banner year for stocks, as investors pile into the market to counter today's low interest rates and fears that bond prices may be soon tumbling.

 Bad news: Some of the biggest funds just aren't keeping up. The $59 billion large-cap American Funds Investment Co. of America Fund (AIVSX) was up 11% for the quarter. The story's similar for the $54 billion American Funds Washington Mutual (AWSHX), up just 7.7%, and the $37 billion Vanguard Windsor II fund (VWNFX), up 12.4%. See original post here.

Photo by Gilly on Unsplash

WSJ: What Short Interest Means to You

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Short sellers do things differently. Unlike most investors, they want to see the securities they've selected decline in value.

Specifically, they borrow stocks or bonds and sell them, hoping to buy them back later at a lower price for profit. The short-seller maxim is "sell high, buy low." See the original here.

Photo by Ibrahim Boran on Unsplash

NBR: Greeks Still Face Uphill Struggle

NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT MARCH 15


SEE THE VIDEO HERE.

TODAY GREECE GOT A BIG NOD FOR ITS LATEST BAILOUT.
THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND APPROVED ITS PART OF A 130 BILLION
EURO LOAN, THE BULK OF WHICH IS COMING FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION.

SO IS GRRECE OUT OF THE WOODS AND CAN WE REST EASY THAT THE CRISIS
WON’T RETURN TO GIVE THE MARKETS THE JITTERS AGAIN?

WELL IN A WORD – NO

EVEN THE IMF SAYS SO.

“THERE IS NO WIGGLE ROOM ON THE GREEK ECONOMIC PORGRAM,” IMF STAFF WARN.

WHAT THAT MEANS IN ENGLISH IS THAT GREECE IS STILL BROKE AND ITS
GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO HAVE TO REALLY KNUCKLE DOWN WITH IMPLEMENTING
ITS SPENDING CUTS

ADD TO THAT SOCIAL PROBLEMS WE KEEP SEEING ACROSS THE ADRIATIC COUNTRY
AND ITS NOT DIFFICULT TO ENVISION THE CRISIS RETURNING IN SHORT ORDER
AND WITH IT A POSSIBLE SCARY RIDE FOR THE US STOCK MARKET. That’s WHAT
MOST OBSERVERS ARE SAYING, BUT I’D GO FURTHER AND SAY THERE IS STILL A
BIG CHANCE GREECE LEAVES THE EURO, THE SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCY.

AND BELIEVE ME WHEN THAT HAPPENS INVESTORS WILL HAVE FEW PLACES TO HIDE

I’M SIMON CONSTABLE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Photo by Dim Hou on Unsplash

Barron's: Palladium Is Set to Soar

Tight supply, and continued demand for growing car and truck markets, should keep expanding the metal's price.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Here's something to put a shine in your portfolio: Palladium, the often-overshadowed cousin of the precious metal platinum, is poised to gleam brilliantly.

Thanks to both rising demand and sketchy supply, some analysts are looking for a 20% jump in futures prices this year, with continued growth through 2014. Link to Barrons.com.

Photo by Mackenzie Marco on Unsplash

WSJ: Six Ways to Squeeze Money From Your Boss

By SIMON CONSTABLE

First, the bad news: For most workers, fat salary hikes won't happen this year. The economy's still too weak.

Now, the good news: You can get other financial goodies from your employer, if you know how.

Most people are unaware that corporations are riddled with seams of gold. Here's a guide to finding the buried treasure. The specifics will be different for each company, but this should get you close enough to mine some dollars.

1 Your 401(k) plan.

To the extent you can afford to do so, put enough money in your 401(k) retirement plan to collect the entire company match.

A lot of data suggest people don't do that, says Mark Schmit, vice president of research at the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va. "If you don't take advantage of it, you are leaving money on the table."

It can be like getting an extra 3% or 4% raise, on top of any annual salary increase. For more read here.

Photo by Caroline Attwood on Unsplash

WSJ: When Investing, Try Thinking Outside the Box

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sometimes it pays to look beyond the obvious when it comes to investing.

That means adding some exotic investments to a portfolio laden with blue-chip stocks and Treasury bonds. Think platinum and pipelines.

The popularity of blue chips has driven the Dow Jones Industrial Average to levels not seen since before the financial crisis. And investors so crave Treasurys that yields have plunged and remain close to historic lows. The way to find bargains is where others aren't and that means going off the beaten path. For more read here.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

NBR: Feb 21, 2012: Rising Oil Prices vs Recovering Economy

Rising Oil Prices vs Recovering Economy

by EditorTB on FEBRUARY 21, 2012 in COMMENTARIES, ECONOMY
SUSIE GHARIB: As we reported earlier in the program, oil futures traded at
a nine-month high today. Tonight`s commentator worries those higher oil
prices could hurt the U.S. economic recovery. He`s Simon Constable,
columnist at “The Wall Street Journal.”

SIMON CONSTABLE, COLUMNIST, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Something in the
Middle East has a good chance of blowing a hole in your pocketbook. A
growing spat between Israel and Iran has oil prices surging. A row between
Sudan and south Sudan is making it worse. Right now, oil costs $106 a
barrel, up from around $98 at the beginning of the month. What that means
for you is higher gas prices — much higher. A gallon nationally now
averages $3.57, up 13 percent from a year ago, according to the latest AAA
report.

It will likely reach $4 soon. It`s already there in California. Heck,
it`s not even summer driving season yet. So, what? Well it`s likely that
this surge in prices will worsen and put the brakes on a very fragile U.S.
economy. Think of it like a tax hike just when we don`t need one. The
higher gas bills will suck money out of your wallet that could have been
spent on other things. It will be bad for jobs. It means it could be time
to hunker down and save whatever extra cash you have. I`m Simon Constable.

Read more here.

We Won An Award

WSJ Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators that Really Matter.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"The WSJ Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators That Really Matter"A Winner in 2012 Small Business Book Awards

Cleveland, OH, February 17, 2012 - "The WSJ Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators That Really Matter" has been voted a Winner for a 2012 Small Business Book Award, in the category of Economics.

The Small Business Book Awards recognize business books that were published in 2011. Small business owners often seek advice and information through books. While there are many thousands of books published each year, it's those of interest to small businesses and entrepreneurs that the Small Business Book Awards seek to honor.

"With so many books being published each year, we wanted to recognize those that made a difference to small business owners and managers and startup entrepreneurs," said Ivana Taylor, Book Editor at Small Business Trends, which produces the Awards. "Our annual Small Business Book Awards are a way to highlight the books that entrepreneurs are reading and learning from."

The Awards are an honor to the authors who write books for the small business and entrepreneurial community. Says Anita Campbell, CEO of Small Business Trends, "For many of the authors, writing a book is a labor of love. Often they get up early in the morning before the rest of the family awakes, and they devote their evenings, weekends, holidays and vacations to writing. They deserve recognition."

About the Small Business Book Awards

The Small Business Book Awards, now in its fourth year, enable the small business community to nominate, show their support for, and vote on their favorite business books. The top 10 winners will be selected by readers based on number of votes as the Best Small Business Books of 2012, while the top five vote-getters in each category become Category Winners. Voting commences February 1, 2012. In last year's Awards, over 41,000 votes were cast by the community.

The Small Business Book Awards initiative is produced by Small Business Trends, an award-winning online publication, which along with its sister sites, serves over 4,000,000 small business owners, stakeholders and entrepreneurs annually.

CONTACT:

Small Business Trends
admin@smallbiztrends.com
Twitter hashtag: #BizBookAwards

###

Barron's: Baltic Dry: Not Washed Up

By SIMON CONSTABLE

News that the Baltic Dry Index is sunk as an economic indicator is much exaggerated.

The index—which measures the cost to haul dry freight over the world's oceans—has merely run aground after getting hit with a shipping-market tsunami. Don't worry. It will right itself soon enough–and should once again become a useful forecasting tool, as early as the end of the year.

The cost of shipping dry commodities, such as coal, iron ore and grains, forms the basis for the BDI. When more raw materials are shipped, it is because they are needed to be made into finished products. Also, when more of them are shipped, the price of chartering a vessel increases. That makes the index a gauge of industrial expansion. Link to Barrons.com

Cargo Ship

Photo by Jens Rademacher on Unsplash

News on WSJ Guide to Economic Indicators...

We're going to be translated into Japanese. Here's a sneak peak of what will be translated...