Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Monday 1 December 2014

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Articles posted on Sunday, 30 November 2014
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Economics and Theology: Studies in Psychotic Delusion?

Fixing the Economists Article of the Week
by Philip Pilkington
There is a somewhat well-known phenomenon called Jerusalem Syndrome that has gained some currency in popular culture (you can see some TV clips from the 1990s here). The folk legend goes something like this: people who are perfectly well-balanced psychologically take a trip to Jerusalem where they become psychotic; that is, they start producing severe psychiatric symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and a general loss of contact with reality. The psychosis is, as one would expect, typically religious in nature.

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What We Read Today 30 November 2014

Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary "reading list" which will include very brief summaries (and sometimes longer ones) of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for "reading list" items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.
  • Russian Oil Tycoon: US Shale Boom Is 'On-Par' With Dot-Com Bubble (Myles Udland, Business Insider) Russian oil tycoon Leonid Fedun thinks that OPEC is on a mission to get rid of the "marginal" (high production cost) oil players in the U.S. shale market. For how this price war will impact oil patch players, see the next article.



'Miracle' machine turns water into gasoline


The German company says it has developed an engineering installation capable of synthesizing petroleum-based fuels from water and carbon dioxide.



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The Week Ahead: Oil, Snails and Digesting Turkey

by Jeff Miller, A Dash of Insight
Last week's economic data included many reports but a similar message: Continuing growth, but a touch less than hoped for.
slow-growth-snail-380x126




Beware of Economic Textbooks

by Dan Lieberman, Alternative Insight
Protests by British university economic students, whose demonstrations have been backed by prominent academics, highlight the notion that economic education is dominated by theories that defy practical applications and applications that can not predict, prevent or ameliorate periodic crises. Students learn economics from unverified theories, many contradicting each other, which leads to a confused understanding of the discipline and complicates approaches to resolve problems. Adding to the dilemma is that textbooks in Middle Schools, High Schools and universities lack updates with recent knowledge and contain dubious propositions. It is time to examine several propositions that are prominent but seem dubious.




The Dangers of Euphoria in Real Estate Investments

by Keith Jurow, Capital Preservation Real Estate Report
There is widespread consensus that the real estate crisis is over. The possibility of a repeat of the collapse of 2008-2009 is inconceivable to investment advisors and their wealthy clients.




The Economics of Secession: Case of the Former Yugoslavia

by Andres Rodriguez-Pose and Marko Stermsek
Appeared originally at Voxeu.org 21 November 2014.
One frequently used argument in favour of secession is that there are economic benefits from independence. However, whether or not this is the case remains largely unexplored. This column addresses this question by examining the economic implications of secession in the case of the former Yugoslavia. The authors find that independence had no favourable economic impact. The way secession was achieved, however, mattered. Whereas secession without real conflict did not leave any noticeable economic impact, violent secession has, by contrast, led to a significant destruction of wealth.

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The States With The Most Unauthorized Immigrants

from Felix Richter, Statista.com
by Niall McCarthy
US President Barack Obama's move on immigration reform could protect up to five million illegal immigrants across the United States from deportation. 




Costly Trends - Rising Disability Rolls, the Causes, Effects, and Possible Cures

from the Philadelphia Fed
Social Security disability insurance began in 1956 as a means of insuring a portion of the earned income of U.S. workers over age 50 against the risk of disability. In 1960, when coverage was extended to all workers, less than half a million workers were collecting benefits, and by 2012 this number had increased to 8.8 million people - an increase from 0.3 percent to 3.6 percent of the population. Over this period, there have been a number of changes: Initially, the law insured only against permanent disabilities, but in 1965 the definition of disability was expanded to cover impairments expected to last at least one year.




Reading Between the Lines - How the Grocery Industry Coalesced Behind the UPC Bar Code

by Charles Gerena - Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Dallas, May 1971 - the city was hosting the largest gathering of the grocery industry, the annual convention of the Super Market Institute (now the Food Marketing Institute). Reporters roamed the convention floor while friends reacquainted themselves.




Infographic of the Day: Amazon: Facts, Stats, History, and More

Some Interesting Stats to share about Amazon - the E-Commerce company.




Trefis: Highlights Week Ending 28 November 2014

Written by Trefis
Below is a summary of the activity at Trefis during the past week that Trefis thought Econintersectreaders would find interesting.
Trefis is a financial community structured around trends, forecasts and insights related to some of the most popular stocks in the US. It provides the unique feature of allowing the user to model future valuation based upon projected changes in components of each business. It also provides communication capabilities among members, including consensus of member analysis compared to Trefis staff analysis and blogging opportunities for members.

Click on graphic for larger image and go to Trefis interactive page.
Click "Read more..." to see our clickable table of contents with the most covered companies (more than 1 article) of the week identified. 



Today's 13-year-Olds are Not as Bad as We're Led to Believe

by James WilliamsThe Conversation
In 1982 I was toying with the idea of a career in teaching. That year a controversial film, Made in Britain, starring Tim Roth was released and I almost didn't become a teacher. The film's central character, Trevor was a dysfunctional, violent, foul-mouthed youth - everything society hates and fears. My natural fear was how would I, as a young teacher, cope with a classroom full of such kids? Of course the film is fictional. It portrayed the 1980s accurately - but did it portray Britain's youth accurately?




U.S. Gasoline Prices this Thanksgiving are the Lowest Since 2009

by Hannah Breul, U.S. EIA
U.S. retail regular-grade gasoline prices continue to decline, averaging $2.82 per gallon (gal) as of November 24. This average is 47 cents lower than a year ago, and the lowest price heading into a Thanksgiving holiday since 2009. Traditionally, the Thanksgiving holiday is one of the most traveled times of the year in the United States, and much of that travel is by car.




Black Friday in the United States

from Felix Richter, Statista.com
by Niall McCarthy
This chart illustrates key facts about Black Friday, one of the most important days of the year for retailers in the United States.