Morning Journal 9/21/11

All American Investor
by Steve Cook

Economics

This Week’s Data

The International Council of Shopping Centers reported weekly sales of major retailers down 2.1% versus the prior week but up 3.4% versus the comparable period last year; Redbook Research reported month to date retail chain store sales up 4.1% on a year over year basis.

Weekly mortgage applications rose 0.6%; unfortunately, purchase applications fell 4.7%.
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/09/mba-mortgage-purchase-application-index_21.html


Other

The fallacy of the ‘Buffett rule’ (short):
http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2011/09/omaha-hokum-entire-buffett-rule-is.html

Business loans and unemployment (short):
http://www.capitalspectator.com/archives/2011/09/business_loans.html#more

Politics

Domestic

A thought on the war on drugs (short):
http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-fbi-numbers-reveal-failure-of-war.html

Mark Steyn on Obama’s jobs bill (medium):
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/277492/pass-jobs-bill-mark-steyn

My favorite liberal blogger on Obama’s veto threat (short):
http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/20/obamas-hollow-gauntlet/

The latest on Solyndra (short):
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/solargate-meets-enron-solyndra-ceo-and-cfo-plead-fifth

International

15 demands on Greece by the EU (short):
http://bbcjoelynam.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/15-demands-from-the-imfecbeu-troika-which-could-be-the-greek-default-trigger/

Thoughts on China (medium):
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/jim-chanos-debunks-myth-china-worlds-white-knight

Steve Cook earned an MBA at Harvard and did post graduate work in economics and financial analysis at New York University. He earned his Chartered Financial Analysts designation in 1973. Steve has 40 years of investment experience including institutional portfolio management at Scudder Stevens and Clark and Bear Stearns. He managed a risk arbitrage hedge fund and an investment banking boutique specializing in funding second stage private companies. Steve now manages Strategic Stock Investments which focuses on wealth building through strategic stock investments.