Issue 5: May 2011
YEAR-TO-DATE STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE THROUGH MAY 16, 2011
Dow Jones Industrial Average +9.39%
S&P 500 +6.45%
Nasdaq +4.88%
Russell 2000 +5.41%
Barclay's US Aggregate Bond Index +2.53%
MIDWEST LAND GRAB
"What does the price of bread in Egypt have to do with the value of land in Iowa? asked Gillian Tett in the Financial Times. Quite a bit. The same forces behind turmoil in the Middle East - rising food prices - are fueling a real estate boom in the Midwest. In 2010, agricultural land prices in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin jumped 12 percent, the second-highest increase in 30 years. And speculation that the "commodity bonanza" will continue is driving up prices in some areas even more." ..... The Week
CORPORATE AMERICA - INCREASED PROFITS
Corporate America's profits rose 29.2 percent in 2010, the fastest growth in more than 50 years. While the return to profitability has resulted in hefty raises for many CEOs, the improved results have yet to trickle down to most employees. ..... The New York Times
AND, THE CEOs TOO
Median pay for CEOs of large U.S. corporations rose 27 percent in 2010, according to federal data. Three quarters of CEOs received raises in 2010, to a median salary of $9 million, including $2.2 million in bonuses. Pay increases for all workers in private industry averaged 2.1 percent in 2010. ..... USA Today
POLITICAL PROTEST
"In recent weeks we have watched people taking to the streets by the millions to protest political, economic, and social conditions in the oppressive societies they inhabit. These are societies where a miniscule fraction of the population -- less than 1 percent -- controls the lion's share of the wealth; where wealth is a main determinant of power; where entrenched corruption of one sort or another is a way of life; and where the wealthiest often stand in the way of policies that would improve life for people in general. As we gaze out at the popular fervor in the streets, one question to ask ourselves is this: When will it come to America? In important ways, our own country has become like one of these distant, troubled places." ..... Joseph Stiglitz in Vanity Fair, quoted in The Week
GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY?
So much for transparency after President Obama recently accepted an award for supporting government transparency at a private ceremony from which the media and public were excluded. ..... The Week
FIRE ANTS' COHESIVE GENIUS
Fire ants aren't just stinging nuisances, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found. They are also marvels of engineering teamwork. When a colony is washed out by flood, thousands of the insects quickly assemble into a tightly woven pancake shaped raft that can float for months without a single ant drowning. "Together they form this really complex material" that water can't get through, lead researcher Nathan Mlot tells Nature.com. You could even mold the ant cluster "into a ball and toss it up in the air, and all the ants would stay together." That unique quality comes partly from their superstrength - ants can grip one another with their legs and mandibles with a force 400 times greater than their body weight - but also because the insects are so well organized. By quickly interlocking their thousands of bodies, they create a rough surface that traps air for breathing, makes them buoyant, and repels water much like the waterproof fabric, Gore-Tex does. Bioengineers say the ants offer useful design lessons for everything from better crowd-control schemes to floating robot swarms that clean up oil spills. ..... The Week
LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES
Michelle Elaine Astumian of San Luis Obispo, California was convicted of forging drug prescriptions. She showed up in court with a doctor's note asking the judge to delay her sentencing. The doctor's note had been forged! ..... The Week
DO YOU REALLY WANT A LARGER INCOME TAX REFUND?
Taxpayers are more disposed than ever to overpay their taxes throughout the year in order to get a heftier annual refund from the IRS. Last year's average refund was $3,003, almost twice the $1,698 of 1999. The IRS expects this trend to continue. ..... The Wall Street Journal
DELUSIONAL
Recently, three Englishmen tried to sail across the English Channel on a 7-foot dinghy. They greeted resuers 11 hours later by saying "Bonjour," believing they'd reached France. They were just two miles from where they started their journey. .....The Week
BIBLES
May 2,1611 - King James Bible is published. 1947 - Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known biblical manuscripts, prompted new translations such as the following modern versions of the Good Book: 1952 - The Revised Standard, 1966 - Good News For Modern Man, 1978 - The New International Version, 1982 - The New King James Bible, 1990 - The Women's Devotional Bible, 1992 - The One-Minute Bible, 1999 - The Extreme Teen Bible and in 2008 - The Green Bible, published on recycled paper with soy-based ink. Instead of Jesus words appearing in red,verses on caring for the earth are highlighted in a soothing green. ..... Elizabeth Dias in Time
HOT JOBS
American undergraduates are flocking to petroleum engineering where the average starting salary for those with with bachelor's degrees has doubled since 1997 to $86,220. The percentage of foreign students in undergraduate petroleum engineering programs is lower than it's been in 15 years. ..... Miller-McCune
ANOTHER JOB STORY
McDonald's received more than 1 million applications for jobs during a recent, much-publicized employment drive; it ended up hiring 62,000 people, 24 percent more than planned. ..... Bloomberg.com.
MEXICO
In Mexico, more houses have televisions (93 percent) than sewerage (90 percent), refrigerators (82 percent), or showers (65 percent). Nevertheless, the Mexican home has been transformed in recent years. In 1990, one in five homes had a bare earth floor. Now, only 6 percent do. ..... The Economist
MILT'S MORSEL OF THE MONTH
"Make the coffee in the morning, and don't forget it's your job to take the garbage out now." ..... George H.W. Bush, as quoted in Time, when asked what advice he gave his son, George W. Bush about life after the White House.
JIM'S STETHASCOOP
"People who say they don't care what people think, are usually desparate to have people think they don't care what people think." ..... George Carlin, quoted in Bookreporter.com
