Confusing Accounting Identities With Behavioral Equations
Fixing the Economists Article of the Week
by Philip Pilkington
Here's an interesting little debate from earlier this year that I came across yesterday evening. It is between a number of market analysts over whether the current stock market is overvalued. Why is that interesting? Because the argument is focused on one of the best known foundational stones of heterodox economics: the Levy-Kalecki profit equation.
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The Week Ahead: January Effect?
by Jeff Miller, A Dash of Insight
The pros are back from vacation and ready for a new year of punditry!
While there is a normal flow of news and a full trading week, I expect the financial media to focus on the New Year. That means an emphasis on slogans and seasonality.
Trader lore views January as including special predictive powers:
Will there be a January Effect?
21 Things That Turned 21 This Year
A weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, John looks back at things that turned 21 in 2014.
What We Read Today 04 January 2015
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.
Russia, Iraq Supply Most Oil in Decades as 2015 Begins With Glut (Grant Smith and Anna Andrianova, Bloomberg) Oil production in Russia and Iraq surged to decades high levels in December 2014 as global oversupply pushed prices lower. The price of oil has declined by almost half from earlier in the year. Russia and Iraq combined supply 15% of the world's oil. See also next article.
Debunking the Stubborn Myth that War Is Good for the Economy
by Washington's Blog, Washington's Blog
About.com notes:
One of the more enduring myths in Western society is that wars are somehow good for the economy.
It is vital for policy-makers, economists and the public to have access to a definitive analysis to determine once and for all whether war is good or bad for the economy.
That analysis is below.
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2015 Investor Preview
Sungarden Investment Research Article of the Week
by Rob Isbitts, Sungarden Investment Research
2014 is nearly behind us. And since we tend to not want to do things the way the Wall Street herd does, our 2015 outlook is formatted this way: we list a group of potential scenarios, and then assign our "best guess" probability that they will happen next year. This is about considering the possibilities, not making outright predictions. Big thanks to Sungarden analysts, Mark Jakupcik and our new addition Mike Ratelle.
Documentary of the Week: Bill Mitchell Demystifies Modern Monetary Theory
Econintersect: Prof. Bill Mitchell, Newcastle University, New South Wales, Australia is interviewed by Marshall Auerback of The Institute for New Economic Thinking. The topics addressed include the "basic truths of economics such as every dollar spent is somebody's income" and the economic proposals for "fiscal contraction expansions" which holds that "an economy will expand if you cut spending". Among other things, Mitchell discusses what really limits an economy and why unemployment is an unnecessary economic condition, the level of which is chosen by the government.
What Investment Bankers Say About Rating Agencies Behind Their Backs
Special report from ProPublica
by Cezary Podkul, ProPublica
Credit-rating agencies are supposed to make independent judgments about the risks of a deal. But in their pitches for state business in tobacco bonds, bankers bragged they could manipulate the raters to get favorable treatment for their transactions.
Infographic of the Day: How to Make Fresh Food Last Longer
Have you ever bought huge amounts of fresh food, only to realize you are throwing away more than you eat?
Brick-and-Mortar Retailers must Reinvent Themselves to Survive the Shift to Online Shopping
by George Cook, The Conversation
Department stores and other brick-and-mortar retailers registered another lackluster holiday shopping season, while online sales have remained upbeat since Cyber Monday. As more consumers spend a larger share of their dollars online, does this signal the days of shopping at department stores and shopping malls are numbered?
Trefis: Highlights Week Ending 02 Janaury 2015
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.
Silicon Valley Lags Behind in Gender Equality
by Felix Richter, Statista.com
This chart illustrates how the Silicon Valley 150, the largest companies in the hot bed for tech startups, lag behind S&P 100 companies in terms of women in leadership roles.
