(All photos: I posted the three photos above/below for a reason; namely, to demonstrate that, from a US perspective, my family members had a pretty tough life in 1950’s – 60’s Calabria.  However, if you look beyond the conditions in the photos and through the linen shirts that acted as work uniforms, you see happy people in tight knit groups […]

60 Minutes ran a segment on Sunday night on DHL (formerly Airborne Express) and how they will be shutting down their entire US hub in Wilmington, Ohio.  The job cuts in Wilmington alone will result in the lose of 10,000 area jobs.  Moreover, NPR ran a similar story on Microsoft, Pfizer, Home Dept, Caterpillar all announcing job cuts (totaling some […]

Like the popular folk song states, “I’m from New Jersey.”  Yes, that State next to New York defined by the “Turnpike”, Tony Soprano, and Bruce Springsteen.  However, and as Lee Siegel point out in an excellent Wall Street Journal article, “The Hidden State of Culture”, New Jersey often gets a bum wrap. New Jersey has produced countless artists, academics, musicians, […]

Sometimes it’s obvious, but most of the time it’s not.  What am I talking about?  I’m talking about how we, as humans, are comforted by following the pack or making decisions that everyone around us is making.  For example: – We like buying Google stock because it helps us find things (there are alternatives) and the media loves Sergey and […]

“There’s a choice we’re making we’re saving our own lives. It’s true we’ll make a better day just you and me” I think it’s time Wall Street gets together and records its own version of We Are the World, maybe something along the lines of “We Are the Capitalists”. Seriously, folks, have a listen to the original 1985 recording and it […]

The current political and financial scene in Washington and New York could not be unfolding in a more dramatic fashion.  Key congressional leaders, the President, McCain, Obama, and Secretary Paulson met late into the evening yesterday only to walk away with no deal to rescue US banks and the ailing markets.  Click here for a brilliant account of the events via Stolberg of […]

Why are Americans so divided when it comes to political choice?  The 2008 documentary Split: A Divided America takes a close look at the current state of American politics and the problems surrounding how we choose and elect a President. The movie is a must see before heading out to vote in November.  Here’s the trailer and the official documentary […]

If you’re any where near the NYC metro area, then you’re bound to notice great tension in the air.  The tension is the by-product of recent financial news headlined by the financial giant Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy.  Today’s NY Times summarizes the current state on Wall Street well: Nervous investors tried to make sense of a rapidly changing financial landscape on Monday […]

OPEC is taking measures to cut oil production in order to control market pricing – don’t you love the oil cartel. George Bush has ordered fighting to begin in Pakistan. The world didn’t suck itself into a man-made black hole. You think your family was competitive, see the latest review on The House of Wittgenstein. Finally, what makes working class […]

The NY Times has a terrific interactive map on how people across the world spend their discretionary income.  Some interesting findings include Japan spending more on recreation than clothing and Greece throwing money at clothing versus electronics.  Read the full article here. The US Government likes to keep unemployement between 2-5 percent, 0 unemployment is actually a bad thing (according […]