Brian Gongol
EconDirectory update for February 1, 2008
292 websites talking about business and economics, with many ranked according to daily traffic
A Southerner won't be President
Now that John Edwards has dropped out of the Presidential race, it's virtually certain that the next President will not be a Southerner. That fact doesn't yet seem to have made its way into the public consciousness yet, but after eight years of Bush and eight years of Clinton, it'll be a significant change in at least a couple of ways (not least of which is the accent we'll hear in the news more often than any other). It was also interesting to see just how quickly the Giuliani campaign imploded. And, not that it was noted, but Dennis Kucinich is officially out, too. An interesting piece of news: Paul Volcker has endorsed Barack Obama. Surprising, at least, because Volcker was an inflation hawk as chairman of the Federal Reserve -- which is exactly the right thing to be -- but Obama hasn't shown much seriousness about managing the nation's finances responsibly. Reviewing the economic platforms of the remaining Presidential candidates, Sen. Obama has opposed Social Security reform, voted against expanded free trade, and promoted expanded spending on Medicare. Larry Kudlow also thinks it's a strange endorsement. Mike Gravel, by the way, swears he's still running for the Democratic nomination.
Sioux City may extend its storm sewer fees
The world in 2018
As far out and space-agey as 2018 sounds, it's now as close as 1998 is in the rear-view mirror. Besides, the past and the future intertwine in all kinds of unexpected ways. Who'd have thought that Gorbachev would be back in Russian politics?
Growing sorghum market rides ethanol coattails
Sorghum is a much better dry-weather crop than corn, which means that if it can become a more popular input for ethanol production, it might ease the pressures on clean water supplies by reducing the need for irrigation. Related: Canola harvests are growing, too, as it's being used to produce biodiesel. Like sorghum, canola is more drought-tolerant than corn and thus needs less irrigation. Given some of the spooky scenarios foreseen by some scientists, anything we can do to back off the need for irrigation might serve us well in the long run.
Correction for Firefox security flaw is due on February 5th
Economic stimulus or just another budget-busting mistake?
Former Federal Reserve economist: "Anytime you start from a hole, digging usually isn't the strategy to get out of it." That hole, of course, is our already-staggering $9,238,008,288,942.11 Federal debt.
Baconizing America, one salt shaker at a time
A stunt to tease attendees at a Jewish wedding turns into a business to produce bacon-flavored salt
Microsoft wants to buy out Yahoo
Offer involves $44.6 billion in cash and stock, and is more than 60% over the market value of the company right now. That's pretty impressive. Would it be enough for the combined company to dislodge Google from its front-runner status as an online destination? That's yet to be seen. The only certainty is that a lot has changed since Google first emerged ten years ago, and that nothing is likely to look the same in another ten.
