Time for the weekend open thread, where you can discuss any topic you like.
SeaTurtleLady, aka STL, requested I put this video up on the weekend open thread. Like a good dj, I do take requests, so here it is:
If any of you have any requests for next weekend’s open thread, feel free to email them to me at edmcgon “at” hotmail.com. While I reserve the right to reject any submissions, and I also reserve the right to post them with comment, you folks do get a say here. I would ask that you only make one submission per person per week. Don’t bombard me!
Have a great weekend folks!
PORTFOLIO UPDATE: My portfolio finished the day down 0.74%.
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Wait until all of those people who don’t have health insurance find out about their individual responsibility to acquire insurance and the fines, or should I say tax, they pay for not having insurance. My guess is most will be surprised that this is not going to be free. Do you think that may have something to do with why none of this went into effect until after the election?
Old and cynical… Spot on, but I digress.
Have a good weekend all!
Yes I am. Do you think I might have some reason to be cynical? Not much I can do about the old part.
Looks like I’m following in some solid footsteps. Got the cynical part down and working on the old part one day at a time.
DING DING DING! We have a winner! Unfortunately, the only thing you win is the obligation to pay more…
News from Europe!
2% (!)of the people in Portugal (200.000) left the country past year in search for work, especially in other Portugese-speaking countries. Most of them were higher-educated … good luck for Portugal the coming years, if you ask me, like this they are losing any chance to catch up some day again.
plas,
I read an article last week which talked about how the youth in Spain were going to England for jobs. This tells you their desperation since England is entering a triple-dip recession!
I find it humorous when I hear stock analysts talking about European stocks as oversold. Just because things are quiet, doesn’t mean they’re fixed!
When I was in Spain a year ago I had a conversation with a fellow who was late 20′s and was looking to come to the US. His college educated friends had all left for Germany, England, Brazil, and the US for work. But this has always been the case history where the educated and the desperate relocate to where there is work. The ones in between are left to eek out what they can. This guys complaint was that he worked 70+ hours a week in the north while in the south people complained about having to work 30 hours. Doers vs wanters…
> This guys complaint was that he worked 70+ hours a week in the north while in the south people complained about having to work 30 hours. Doers vs wanters…
It must be because of the climate. Isn’t this the case also in Germany, France, Italy and even the US? The ones in North work hard whereas the ones in South have fun and complain. (Oops! Ed is from the South.)
So Bs you live in southern Florida………….
No, I live on the North Pole!
bsdgv,
I’ve lived in the North and the South, and I never noticed a difference in work ethic in either area.
Thanks Plas- it is very nice to get your info and perspective from Europe. None of this bodes well for the future……
Other news: Belgium is blowing its reputation up … ArcelorMittal is closing the cold-ovens for steel in Wallonia (southern part of Belgium), 1300 people are loosing their job. Both Liberals AND Socialists there want to nationalise that part of ArcelorMittal. Yes indeed, Belgian politicians are talking about nationalisation – even I am shocked. Even though its a human tragedy, I don’t think it is good talking about nationalisation – what will the rest of the industry think?
Flemish politicians are opposed – we just lost Ford Genk, with 10.000 people direct and indirect loosing their job.
Do I need to say again EU is in bad shape? Even the core of the EU – only Germany seems to be doing well …
to complete my comment: the Wallonian politicians want to introduce -quickly- a law to make a nationalisation possible if there is a company closing a factory and there is a possible buyer for the factory, so the government can nationalise if the first company does not want to sell to the second. So if a competitor wants to buy your factory, you would be obliged to sell …
So if, let’s say purely hypothethical, Nyrstar (Belgian zinc-producer) want to buy the factory for 1 euro from ArcelorMittal, and they would keep a large enough people to work, Nyrstar would have a factory for free?
What’s next? Politicians only talking about this would frighten me as a investor – once you made your investment in Belgium, you would have nothing to say about what will happen in the future …
In a short period of time, Europe has become quiet socialistic …
plas,
It’s been coming for decades. It’s a small step from controlling healthcare to controlling other industries. Healthcare is just the precedent that allows other industries to fall.