The 5% Solution In keeping with my Mad magazine motif this week . . . remember the Spy vs. Spy comic strip they used to run? That came to mind reading a Wall Street Journal article almost two months ago that presaged the latest upward spike in gold prices (now over $1,500 an ounce). See if you can tell who’s...Read More
Post-Deal Hurdles Every day you see one more card You take it on faith, you take it to the heart The waiting is the hardest part –“The Waiting“; Tom Petty, lyrics Buyers have certainly been known to wait — sometimes for years — for the right house. At least to Realtors, however, it is Sellers...Read More
Malthus Returns — With a Vengeance Jeremy Grantham’s latest quarterly newsletter is devoted to looming resource scarcity — and its consequences. As Grantham himself allows, it’s not a cheery subject; it’s not for nothing that economics is known as the “dismal science.” But if you respect Grantham (and I do), it’s worth a read.Read More
“Stick and Stones May Break . . . “ I knew my front desk’s first aid kit included a cross section of pain relievers, because I’ve availed myself now and then. However, rummaging through it today, I discovered Pepto-Bismol (makes sense), but also gauze and band-aid’s. I hope the latter items aren’t closing-related (and no, the incessant...Read More
Revisiting the “Home” in “Home Office” Want a little educated (Realtor) speculation? Extrapolating the trend for home offices, mobile offices, car(?) offices — in fact, everything but “office” offices — a secondary, follow-on trend seem inevitable. Namely, heightened sensitivity to one’s physical location — and prioritizing of same. Put it this way: if you’re holed up...Read More
Going . . . Up The biggest price increase I’m aware of isn’t gas (up 40% in six months), groceries (up 20% in the same span), or health care (who knows??). It’s the price of online content (see, “Online Content: No More Free Ride(r)?”). So, effective March 30, David Rosenberg’s “Breakfast with Dave” will be...Read More
