Friday, February 28, 2014

Richest Cities in the World

Here are the cities where the most billionaires live.  Some of this is based on other lists, some of it is a wild guess.

1 New York 84
2 Moscow 77
3 Hong Kong 65
4 Beijing 57
5 London 49
6 Mumbai 33
7 Istanbul 28
8 Taipei 28
9 Paris 27
10 Seoul 27
11 Shenzhen 27
12 Tokyo 27
13 Singapore 27
14 Sao Paolo 26
15 Riyadh 25
16 San Francisco/San Jose 24
17 Shanghai 24
18 Dubai 24
19 Los Angeles 20
20 Jakarta 19
21 Hangzhou 19
22 Bangkok 17
23 Dallas 17
24 Kuwait City 17
25 Chicago 16
26 Houston 15
27 Guangzhou 15
28 Abu Dhabi 13
29 Washington DC 13
30 Qatar 12
31 Delhi 12
32 Jeddah 10
33 Miami 10
34 Munich 9
35 Sydney 9
36 Amsterdam 8
37 Boston 8
38 Frankfurt 7
39 Rome 6
40 Mexico City 6
41 Toronto 6
42 Stockholm 6
43 Zurich 5
44 Berlin 5
45 Montreal 5
46 Osaka 4
47 Geneva 3

I think this is a complete list of cities with more than 2 billionaires who live there. I could have very easily made a mistake as it is very hard to get this information, and half of these are guesses.

Update:  It seems like Hamburg should be on the list.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Health Care Sharing Ministries: Scam or Solution

http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1341&context=jlh

Benjamin Boyd, Health Care Sharing Ministries: Scam or Solution?, 26 J.L. & Health 219 (2013) available at http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/jlh/vol26/iss2/4

In conclusion, Health Care Sharing Ministries are not some kind of scam or “part 
of the problem[s]” with America’s health care system. HCSMs are “part of the 
solution” for America’s health care needs and this for several reasons. First, 
HCSM membership exempts members from the individual mandate in the PPACA; 
second, HCSMs are affordable for most qualifying individuals and families; and 
lastly, HCSMs demonstrate the faith, values, caring, and ideals “all too often lacking 
in many health insurance options available today.”
 
In conclusion, state legislatures should enact “safe harbor” provisions for 
HCSMs – and defer to federal regulation of HCSMs under PPACA, because some 
state insurance departments likely will continue to challenge HCSMs. Yet, why do 
state insurance departments seek to conform HCSMs to the image of insurance? 
Why, as one judge noted with a touch of irony, do “the consumers apparently 
needing the Department’s protection seek an exemption from those regulations”?
 
Perhaps one reason some state insurance officials view HCSMs with suspicion lies 
with the fact “our mentality has moved far from that of our ancestors.” Indeed,
the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries notes, “we hardly know what . . . the 
mandate to bear one another’s burdens . . . . means anymore.” Thus, for many of 
us, “[i]f an emergency medical problem arises, the government or the insurance 
company takes care of it, and our friends, relatives and neighbors have little 
participation in restoring us to our former state.” In the words of Indiana Insurance 
Commissioner James Atterholt, “all regulators [should] respect citizens’ rights to 
freely pursue their own solutions for their medical expenses, and recognize HCSMs 
for what they are: charitable organizations serving individuals who voluntarily 
support one another in their time of need.” In sum, HCSMs should be protected 
and not put off as insurance scams. HCSMs should be helped, not hindered, as the 
many thousands of HCSM members seek to “[b]ear one another’s burdens, and thus 
fulfill the law of Christ.”

Rumba Cha Cha Cha



This is very similar to Rumba Frenesi, and might be the same with slightly different words.

Cumbia de la Cerveza



I hate this song.  But Mexican nightclubs play it all the time.  So here is the name of it.

Escandalo

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Friday, February 21, 2014

What is a healthcare sharing ministry?

Members of a healthcare sharing ministry are exempt from the Obamacare penalties.  Here is the applicable code:

26 U.S. Code § 5000A(d)(2)
(B) Health care sharing ministry
(i) In general Such term shall not include any individual for any month if such individual is a member of a health care sharing ministry for the month.
(ii) Health care sharing ministry The term “health care sharing ministry” means an organization—
(I) which is described in section 501 (c)(3) and is exempt from taxation under section 501 (a),
(II) members of which share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and share medical expenses among members in accordance with those beliefs and without regard to the State in which a member resides or is employed,
(III) members of which retain membership even after they develop a medical condition,
(IV) which (or a predecessor of which) has been in existence at all times since December 31, 1999, and medical expenses of its members have been shared continuously and without interruption since at least December 31, 1999, and
(V) which conducts an annual audit which is performed by an independent certified public accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and which is made available to the public upon request.

The biggest healthcare sharing ministry is Christian Care Ministry, and the cost would be about $200-$300/mo.  It's something to look into at least.


 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Farmer's Almanac more accurate than NOAA

This exceptionally cold and snowy winter has shown that government climate scientists were dead wrong when it came to predicting just how cold this winter would be, while the 197-year old Farmers’ Almanac predicted this winter would be “bitterly cold”.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/20/report-farmers-almanac-more-accurate-than-govt-climate-scientists/


NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has massive supercomputers running simulations.  What does the Farmers' Almanac use to make predictions?  "The Farmers’ Almanac makes predictions based on planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles — a prediction system that has remained largely unchanged since its first publication in 1818."

It looks like the CPC could learn a thing or two from the Farmers' Almanac.

==============================================
See also: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/08/26/the-farmers-almanac-outrageous-forecast-a-stormy-super-bowl-and-frigid-snowy-winter/

"The Farmers’ Almanac is generating a tremendous amount of buzz around a “C-O-L-D” winter forecast.  And it’s ratcheting up the hype by forecasting a “Super Storm” for Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.  But its forecast is baseless and lacks credibility."  Really, Washington Post? (Note that the Farmers' Almanac forecast was made in August 2013.)

Top 100 US cities by GDP

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,358,416 1
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 765,759 2
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 571,008 3
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 449,439 4
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 448,741 5
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 420,340 6
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 364,009 7
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 360,395 8
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 336,232 9
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 294,589 10
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 274,105 11
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 258,819 12
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 220,167 13
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 208,379 14
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 201,653 15
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 177,410 16
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 173,908 17
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 167,886 18
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 157,260 19
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 146,975 20
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 137,189 21
St. Louis, MO-IL 136,677 22
Pittsburgh, PA 123,577 23
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 119,926 24
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 116,094 25
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 113,998 26
Kansas City, MO-KS 113,090 27
Cleveland-Elyria, OH 111,597 28
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 108,236 29
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 106,123 30
Columbus, OH 100,512 31
Austin-Round Rock, TX 98,677 32
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 97,558 33
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 95,602 34
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 94,789 35
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 91,995 36
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 88,708 37
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 86,338 38
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 84,836 39
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 84,835 40
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 80,670 41
Salt Lake City, UT 72,072 42
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 69,530 43
Richmond, VA 68,612 44
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 66,778 45
Oklahoma City, OK 63,338 46
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 62,782 47
Jacksonville, FL 62,251 48
Raleigh, NC 61,392 49
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 58,992 50
Urban Honolulu, HI 56,561 51
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 51,878 52
Tulsa, OK 47,891 53
Baton Rouge, LA 47,709 54
Rochester, NY 47,317 55
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 47,057 56
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 43,862 57
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 42,479 58
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 42,129 59
New Haven-Milford, CT 40,084 60
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 39,731 61
Madison, WI 39,297 62
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 39,077 63
Albuquerque, NM 38,784 64
Greensboro-High Point, NC 36,875 65
Knoxville, TN 35,621 66
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 34,353 67
Columbia, SC 34,301 68
Bakersfield, CA 34,268 69
Dayton, OH 33,858 70
Worcester, MA-CT 33,826 71
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 33,358 72
Tucson, AZ 33,353 73
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 31,988 74
Fresno, CA 31,890 75
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 31,017 76
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 29,974 77
El Paso, TX 29,717 78
Wichita, KS 29,644 79
Akron, OH 29,466 80
Anchorage, AK 28,616 81
Syracuse, NY 28,453 82
Trenton, NJ 28,406 83
Toledo, OH 28,311 84
Colorado Springs, CO 28,029 85
Boise City, ID 27,455 86
Portland-South Portland, ME 26,887 87
Winston-Salem, NC 26,887 88
Jackson, MS 26,414 89
Lafayette, LA 25,386 90
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 24,493 91
Lexington-Fayette, KY 23,915 92
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 23,548 93
Chattanooga, TN-GA 22,405 94
Manchester-Nashua, NH 22,160 95
Ogden-Clearfield, UT 22,149 96
Springfield, MA 22,111 97
Corpus Christi, TX 21,915 98
Huntsville, AL 21,695 99
Peoria, IL 21,299 100

Source: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_metro/gdp_metro_newsrelease.htm

This need some adjustments.  If Washington and Baltimore were combined, it would be #3.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Mexican Mormons vs. Narcos



A very interesting documentary.  Blood atonement still exists.  It's a modern Western.

Crazy Russian guys climb Shanghai Tower



Not just the tower, but the crane on top of the tower.  And the satellite dish on top of the crane.  They have no ropes or safety equipment.  Everything is foggy and probably slippery.  And at the very top, they high-five each other.  More than 2000 feet above the ground.

See: http://dedmaxopka.livejournal.com/


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Mil horas

There is no debt threshold

"Our analysis of historical data has highlighted that there is no simple threshold for debt ratios above which medium-term growth prospects are severely undermined. On the contrary, the association between debt and growth at high levels of debt becomes rather weak when one focuses on any but the shortest-term relationship, especially when controlling for the average growth performance of country peers. Furthermore, we find evidence that the relation between the level of debt and growth is importantly influenced by the trajectory of debt: countries with high but declining levels of debt have historically grown just as fast as their peers. The fact that there is no clear debt threshold that severely impairs medium term growth should not, however, be interpreted as a conclusion that debt does not matter. For example, we have found some evidence that higher debt appears to be associated with more volatile growth. And volatile growth can still be damaging to economic welfare."
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2014/wp1434.pdf

Translation:  Go ahead and whip out the national credit card and spend spend spend!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Rebelión

Eres muy bonita pero mentirosa



Eres muy bonita pero mentirosa 
engañas a los hombres 
siempre con mentiras con mentiras mentirosa 

dicen te quiero ,te quiero mi amor 
dicen te amo con loca pasión 
pero no lo dices con buena intensión 
por que tu tu no tienes corazón

Mentirosa por El Dasa

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Es Demasiado Tarde



Tu, quisiste estar alla
Dijiste que quizás, ese era tu destino
Despus que todo te fallo, hoy quieres regresar
Y ser feliz conmigo

Pero tu, no piensas que mi amor
Por siempre te olvido, y exiges mi carino
De veras lo siento no poder
Volverme a enamorar, de ti ya no es lo mismo

Solo espero que entiendas que un amor
Se debe de cuidar y no jugar con nadie
Porque yo te daba mi querer y aun sin merecer
No te dolio dejarme

Ahora vuelves, buscando mi calor
Diciendo que jamas lograste olvidarme
Pero yo te aclaro de una vez
Lo debes de entender, es demasiado tarde

Yo no te guardo rencor
Pero tampoco amor, de ti ya nada queda
No niego fue mucho mi dolor
Pero eso ya paso, mejor ya nunca vuelvas

Solo espero que entiendas que un amor
Se debe de cuidar y no jugar con nadie
Porque yo te daba mi querer y aun sin merecer
No te doli dejarme

Ahora vuelves, buscando mi calor
Diciendo que jamas lograste olvidarme
Pero yo te aclaro de una vez
Lo debes de entender, es demasiado tarde
Porque tu, quisiste estar all

Te Quiero A Ti

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable in all stock deal

See: http://www.businessinsider.com/comcast-to-buy-time-warner-cable-2014-2

Comcast stock is currently worth about $144 billion.  The purchase price will be about $45 billion. Which will make the bigger Comcast worth about $189 billion.

A short history of the National Debt

All numbers in billions

8/5/1997: raised $450 from $5500 to $5950
6/28/2002: raised $450 from $5950 to $6400
5/27/2003: raised $984 from $6400 to $7384
11/19/2004: raised $800 from $7384 to $8184
3/20/2006: raised $781 from $8184 to $8965
10/1/2007: raised $850 from $8965 to $9815
6/30/2008: raised $800 from $9815 to $10,615
10/1/2008: raised $700 from $10,615 to $11,315
2/17/2009: raised $789 from $11,315 to $12,104
12/28/2009: raised $290 from $12,104 to $12,394
2/12/2010: raised $1900 from $12,394 to $14,294
8/2/2011: raised $400 from $14,294 to $14,694
9/8/2011: raised $500 from $14,694 to $15,194
1/30/2012: raised $1200 from $15,194 to $16,394
2/4/2013: (suspended until 5/19/2013) effectively raised $306 from $16,394 to $16,700
10/17/2013: (suspended until 2/7/2014) effectively raised $526 from $16,700 to $17,226
2/12/2014: (suspended until 3/16/2015) effectively raised about $600 from $17,226 to about $17,826

The debt limit has been raised every year since 2006.

See also: Debt Ceiling History

Update:  I'm not sure where I got some of these numbers. The total debt was $17,258.8 on Feb. 7 and stayed there until Feb. 18, after the debt limit was raised again.  There is about $47 bn not subject to the limit.  So the actual limit on Feb 7 was about $17,211.  Oh well, pretty close.

Noah



With Russell Crowe playing Noah and Anthony Hopkins playing Methuselah.  And Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson. It's a winner.

Kleptocracy in Ukraine

Ukraine is run by deadbeats and thieves.  And as long as they can keep playing the EU against Russia, the situation will continue.  Nobody has the heart to shut off the gas and let Ukrainian babushkas freeze to death.

"Starting with gas and including most other commodities, Ukraine has become a pyramid of debt for stolen goods. Lend or pay any amount of cash into the system, and it will disappear immediately, converted into real goods consumed with the intention not to pay for them, leaving nothing but growing debts behind.
When Yanukovich, Putin and their subordinates agreed in December on a Russian programme of rescue measures, $15 billion was promised to refinance Ukraine’s treasury and foreign debts, partly to repay $2.7 billion in debt already owing for deliveries of Gazprom gas last year; and partly to enable Gazprom to continue delivering gas this year at a higher volume than 2013, and at a newly negotiated 36% discount in price.
But it’s now clear the first instalment of $3 billion in Russian bailout financing has gone – Ukraine still isn’t repaying the old Gazprom debt, and Naftogaz cannot afford to pay for current deliveries. Where did the money go? Putin is asking publicly – there’s not a Russian, nor Ukrainian, who doubts the answer.
According to Russian calculations, during the month of January Gazprom delivered 2.5 billion cubic metres of new gas for an invoice value of $658 million. At the start of the new month, however, Naftogaz was owed $3.4 billion by the country’s municipal and regional administrations. How much more is owed to Naftogaz by the Ukraine’s commercial enterprises hasn’t been counted. If the defaulters were paying up, Naftogaz would be able to repay Gazprom as promised, and start meeting its new delivery invoices. But the defaulters won’t, so Naftogaz can’t.
In order for Naftogaz to continue supplying local consumers with gas at a tariff which has been fixed below its supply cost, the state budget must meet its promised subsidy for Naftogaz. But it too cannot pay. There is simply no free cash left in the Ukrainian government."
http://johnhelmer.net/?p=10168

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Besame Mucho, Russian-style

Besame Mucho, Korean-style

The American dollar reigns supreme because it is flawed

Read: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101396524

"But there are now few genuinely safe assets. In a world where even US government debt no longer seems risk-free, asset managers have rushed towards the second-best option: a flight to liquidity, not safety.
In that respect, America reigns supreme. Its capital markets are deep and the pool of dollars seems bottomless. Or to put it another way (though Prof Prasad, now an economics professor, does not quite say this) what is happening with the dollar turns the normal rules of economics on their head: it has become ultra-attractive because of bountiful supply, not because supply has been constrained."
The Euro should be a stronger currency because Europeans aren't wildly spending.  And the ECB isn't technically responsible for member nations debts.  But the markets don't care about that.  They just want to make sure that when it is time to sell, that they will have a buyer.  And that is where America rules the roost.  Like the article says, it is about liquidity, not financial stability.  And how did the dollar become so liquid?  Because of profligate spending and quantitative easing.  It's a paradox.  The number one US export in the world is the US dollar.  Our economy is screwed up, but we uniquely among all nations in the world have the ability to create a high-demand product which costs us almost nothing to produce.

See also:  Why the dollar reigns supreme
The Biggest Export of the United States

Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir, Japanese-style

Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir, Korean-style



It's a little slower, but the piano player (from 2:00 to 2:30) is awesome.

 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Mas que tu amigo

La Duena Del Swing

Tiene espinas el rosal

Karachi is the world's most dangerous mega-city

"Foreign Policy magazine recently ranked Karachi the world's most dangerous mega-city, topping Bogota, Colombia; Lagos, Nigeria; and Mexico City.
A string of Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, have pledged to clean up Karachi, where teeming millions elbow for an edge in the tropical heat. Owners don't leave their property empty, even for a few days, because they worry that gangs will take it over. Even in posher areas, residents venture out at night on unlighted streets at their own peril.
Little reform is expected, given the clout of local political bosses and their affiliated criminal gangs. Of the estimated 10,000 police officers on duty at a given time, more than half are reportedly chauffeuring VIPs around. According to a leaked 2009 U.S. Embassy cable, the armed militia of one political party alone numbered 25,000.
In March, police official Niaz Khoso reported that half the sprawling city was a no-go area for police, who routinely advise the relatives of kidnapping victims to take the lead in dealing with the criminals."
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-c1-pakistan-karachi-crime-20131112-dto,0,7429758.htmlstory

In my latest ranking of the world's top 30 cities, I included Karachi, Pakistan, based largely on its population.  But I think to be one the top cities, a city would have to show that it isn't totally screwed up.  Every city has problems, but Karachi is insane.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Deficit projections worsen


Each year, the CBO does a 10-year deficit projection.  The latest projection for 2024 shows the cumulative deficit at 79.2% of GDP, up from 72.3% of GDP projected by the last report for 2023.  And this is without taking into effect the next recession, which is starting now.  Next year could be 85% of GDP in 2025.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Top 30 Cities in the World

I've done this like 100 times, and here is my latest list:

Rank City Country Pop HDI Pop Score
1 Tokyo/Yokohama Japan 34800 0.912 3174
2 Seoul S.Korea 25800 0.909 2345
3 New York US 21600 0.937 2024
4 Los Angeles, CA US 17200 0.937 1612
5 London UK 15500 0.875 1356
6 Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe Japan 16800 0.912 1532
7 Mexico City Mexico 23800 0.775 1845
8 San Francisco/San Jose, CA US 7200 0.937 675
9 Jakarta Indonesia 26400 0.629 1661
10 São Paolo Brazil 21500 0.73 1570
11 Shanghai China 21766 0.699 1521
12 Washington DC/Baltimore US 8100 0.937 759
13 Beijing China 19300 0.699 1349
14 Manila Philippines 22200 0.654 1452
15 Buenos Aires Argentina 14500 0.811 1176
16 Paris France 10700 0.893 956
17 Moscow Russia 16500 0.788 1300
18 Delhi India 24000 0.554 1330
19 Guangzhou-Foshan China 17680 0.699 1236
20 Chicago US 9800 0.937 918
21 Rhine-Ruhr Germany 11300 0.92 1040
22 Mumbai India 21400 0.554 1186
23 Miami,FL US 5800 0.937 543
24 Karachi Pakistan 22700 0.515 1169
25 Cairo Egypt 16100 0.662 1066
26 Istanbul Turkey 13800 0.722 996
27 Bangkok Thailand 14500 0.69 1001
28 Taipei Taiwan 8950 0.882 789
29 Hong Kong China 7150 0.906 648
30 Tehran Iran 13200 0.742 979

Yep, New York is #3, not #1, and London is #5.

I take the population and multiple it by the HDI to get a number, then adjust it for various factors. I like the number 30. It is big enough to be comprehensive, but also small enough to be an elite group.

Here is a list of cities that didn't make the cut, with some comments:
Singapore.  Singapore only has about 6 million people (Wikipedia says 5.4 million, another source says 6.75 million including suburbs in Malaysia), less than all these other cities, except for possibly Miami. Using the 6.75 million number, and an HDI of 0.895 gives it a score of 604, lower than every other city on the list except for, again Miami.  On a survey of what cities wealthy people prefer, Singapore and Miami are both in the top 10, with Singapore ranked higher.  So why is Miami ranked so high? Because every rich person in Latin America wants to buy a condo there.  Anyways, this is the strongest contender.  In my extended list, which I don't show here, it ranks #34, behind also Rio, Nagoya, and Boston.

Rio de Janeiro.  Miami is ranked higher.
Toronto
Zurich.  Seriously, Zurich - all 380,000 residents, maybe 1.8 million in the metro area?
Boston
Sydney
Madrid
Dallas
Houston
Berlin
Brussels
Auckland
Stockholm
Milan
Kuala Lumpur
Abu Dhabi
Johannesburg
Shenzhen
Philadelphia
Tianjin
Atlanta
Frankfurt

====================
Update: I am kicking Karachi off the list because of its extreme crime problems and adding Rio. It's numbers look like this:

Rio de Janeiro Brazil 12900 0.73 942

Note that its weighted population score, calculated by multiplying the population by HDI, is at 942, and no other city in the world, other than those listed above, has a score above 900.  The next highest one is Calcutta, India, with a score of 886.

No Sex Please, We're Japanese

Lago Azul

La Lambada

Monday, February 3, 2014

M6 down 1.24%


12/31/13 01/31/14
M2 10990.3 11017.2
Public Debt 12355.4 12308.1
Fed Owned -2208.8 -2243.2
G30 Market 6857.2 6564.9
Total 27994.1 27647.0 -1.24%

This is trouble.  This number should be going up every single month.  I think the recession has started.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

John Frum is the Messiah

Cargo Cults

I just learned about this.  In the South Pacific is one of the strangest religions in the world.  Primitive tribes during WW2 discovered modern technology (planes, manufactured goods, radios, clothes, etc).  But they didn't understand where they came from since they never saw a white man do anything other than sit behind a desk shuffling papers or march up and down the fields wearing uniforms (military parades).

They developed the belief that the manufactured goods were a gift from the gods, and that the activities the white men performed were religious rituals.  They believed that if they performed the same rituals, they would get the goods. I'm not going to repeat the whole story, read the links, but somehow they believed that the messiah was a mythical man named John Frum whose birthday was on February 15 and who was born in the state of Georgia and was in the US Marine Corps.  On the high holy day of Feb. 15, they paint the letters "USA" on their chests in red paint, and march up and down the fields, with homemade rifles made out of wood.  They build "planes" out of bamboo.



Update:  There is a similar movement in Vanuatu that sees Prince Philip as the Messiah.

Hyperinflation in Argentina

When the temperature insisted on staying at around 40C and humidity levels rose to a drenching 90%, Fernández rushed to buy an air-conditioning unit she had seen on sale a week before.   "When I went to buy it, the price had gone up 25% since when I checked prices last week," she complained outside the Alto Palermo shopping mall. "The same thing just happened to me at the pharmacy where I went to buy the medicine my husband takes: the price was up 20%." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/01/argentina-peso-crisis-shakes-queen-cristina

I think inflation of over 3%/month qualifies as hyperinflation.  At this rate, prices would double in less than 2 years.


The black market rate is at 13 pesos to the dollar.  So prices will keep going up.  This will cause a vicious spiral as workers will demand higher salaries which will cause prices on everything to go even higher. "Moody's expects a devaluation of the Argentine peso 50% in 2014."

Argentina previously experienced hyperinflation from May 1989 to March 1990 when prices rose 12,000% in one year.

The cause?  Generous social spending, causing large deficits, which erode the central bank's hard currency (petrodollar) reserves.  They need dollars to buy foreign oil.  Printing more pesos won't give them more dollars.

Argentina has a current account deficit, so they are sending more money (measured in dollars) out of the country then they are receiving.  Unless this situation changes, the peso will continue to drop.

The Argentina Central Bank is trying to stop all imports.  Good luck with that, they will still need foreign oil.