Story in the Times this morning about a contract becoming official for the Chinese to start developing an Iraqi oil field. It's based on a contract originally signed with Saddam.
So with oil prices going up again and our troops freeing up that oil from despotism, U.N. sanctions against the regime and whatnot, do you think we should get that oil ... and get it at a discount?
Or is it only fair that the free market play out?
Too many bicycles and motorcycles sharing the roads in Milwaukee as part of Harley's 105th anniversary could cause a few problems, as the upper Midwestern city becomes what some have referred to as "Mecca" for motorcyclists.
Check it out here.
Obviously outside of locals, the geography doesn't make sense. But on a certain level, residents there should be glad. With gas prices being what they are (no, gas is still not "cheap"), this is as good of a problem as you can have, right?
Alternate transportation unite! (Or insert your own silly phrase here.)
In the last year, there's been a lot of talk about Harley's growing appeal overseas. And with the 105th anniversary festivities underway, international devotees have made their way stateside to celebrate.
Here's a story I found this morning about a Frenchman who wants to buy Harley No. 7. He talks about why this particular European is drawn to Harley mystique.
Sure money is tight, and your significant other probably doesn't want you spending money on all the Harley stuff you love.
So just tell her or him that the proceeds go to charity and sign on to Harley-Davidson's co-sponsored auction to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The online auction began last Thursday and ends Sept. 4, and includes a whole bunch of pretty cool-looking stuff.
My dad told me at a young age to go to college for the same reasons I imagine a whole lot of York County tells their kids:
Get a better, more stable job than working in the factory ... and financial security.
From the bottom of the labor pyramid that supports this country, where I'm proud to say my father is, the view is that if you can get through college, you'll be on easy street.
Well, yes and no. College degrees might on average earn someone more over a lifetime, but it's far from easy street. Especially for those who took huge loans because mom and dad couldn't pay for college.
Some of those horror stories appeared in today's New York Times.
So a question for those York County parents sending their kids back to college this year: Are you worried about repaying the loans you and your children have to pay for college? And do you still think a college degree is worth the cost in today's economy?
This is the kind of story that rules the "most viewed" portion of the Daily Record site for weeks when it happens around here, so I figured I'd share it.
Apparently drug dealers are charging more for their weed.
So one Texas man allegedly decided to start growing his own, just like a lot of York County is apparently growing its own tomatoes and string beans and whatnot because they've gone up in price.
And since the entire country now knows about it, you can guess how the alleged farming operation ended.
The company's costs have gone up, so its prices it charges consumers and others are going up, too. Price increases were effective Friday.
To be honest, I don't know how much more expensive that will make the candy bars I like to eat.
I don't mean to sound like the proverbial detached presidential candidate who doesn't know the price of milk, but my candy purchases are haphazard at best, and usually happen at the last second in the checkout line.
So really, I don't know if this will affect Hershey's sales, if enough people buy its products like I do. What do you think?
And while I'm asking questions, what are some other things you buy in quick snap decisions, which probably wouldn't be affected by price increases?
Traffic is back. That's something I'm hearing from travelers returning from weekend trips. My wife and I went to go to Baltimore Sunday, and we saw the same thing.
Not like we or anyone else on the roads should be surprised. After all, three of the four members of our biz staff (everyone I talked to so far this morning) said they were traveling long distances recently.
It's almost like people have been waiting to drive here, there and everywhere until gas prices improved, then did it all with the $3.42-ish-for-regular weekend we just had.
So what do you think? Is this where people stop saying "ouch" at the pumps and start getting back to business as usual?
Also, while you're thinking about that, take a look at one of our stories last week about a local share-a-ride service expecting their best month ever this August, despite the month's slow drop in gas prices.
Growing up and getting my license when gas was 89 cents a gallon - just 10 years ago, mind you - my parents had their version of the "we walked uphill both ways to school" story.
It was called the 1970s, when gasoline was rationed and long lines existed at stations just to fuel up. Battlefields in the Middle East were hot, and America backed the little guy called Israel, and it wasn't the country with the oil.
I usually try to stay away from opinion pieces for blogs, but I thought this one referenced a lot of good information in terms of how people see the very broadly termed group "big business."
It ranks the profit margins (basically, the amount of money companies keep for themselves after they sell stuff to people) that the average company pulls in by industry. Anyone surprised at the leading profit margin-generating industries?
Of course, as with anything marked with the opinion label, take it with a grain of salt, but if you want to educate yourself with some background on this whole "windfall profit" debate going on, I'd recommend this as something to read.
Talked to a friend over lunch today who is planning a party this weekend, and he was going over what a lot of the stuff is going to cost.
Some of the prices he was throwing out sounded really high to me on stuff like shotgun shells and clay pigeons (it's a rural party, of course). But it's in buying stuff like that, which you don't buy too terribly often, that really drives home how much prices have been going up on everything in the last year or so.
It's not like food, which might go up a cent or two between weekly grocery store visits. For stuff you only get once a year, the increases are several dollars to $10 or more between purchases.
Then I came back to work and saw this story. Looks like this might be the only big party for the guys back home for awhile, the way prices are going up.
What are some of the things you don't buy very often (things other than food and gas that have people talking normally) that are really showing you how much prices are increasing?
Fast-food and sit-down chains were ranked together, and interestingly enough, the fast food ranked a whole lot better, according to a story posted on Yahoo Health by way of Men's Health.
I found this really interesting because of another story I heard on NPR last night about how people go to fast-food restaurants over sit-down restaurants when times get tough. And that worried me because I assumed it meant people were also eating less healthy because the economy is rough. But, looks like I was wrong.
And what's the healthiest chain tested? Chick-fil-A. The last letter in its name is the chain's score. Subway, which was probably everyone's first guess (including mine in the fast-food category) came in second.
The worst scorers, mostly the sit-down chains, got poor marks because they won't list nutritional info.
See the whole list here. Any surprises?
But the company also said it was not telling those on their payrolls who to vote for. According to Reuters, management meetings over the past few weeks have outlined how a bill backed by Obama could make it easier for Wal-Mart employees to unionize.
The result could be higher labor costs which, in addition to the obvious and implied drain on the bottom line, would result in layoffs.
Keeping overall labor costs flat while having to pay individual workers more would mean Wal-Mart could keep fewer people on the payroll.
Again, the company says it's not telling employees who to vote for. But then again, how else is could a statement like "we would have to eliminate jobs if a union comes in and does its job" come across to John Q. Worker?
Do you think that is going to hurt Obama come November? Do you think it's right for Wal-Mart do do? And do you think the only reason we know about this is because it's at Wal-Mart, and similar conversations are happening at smaller businesses all over the country?
I think Kevin Costner is one of the two most underrated actors in Hollywood (the other being Jeff Daniels, but he's not vilified, so I'll save his defense for later).
That being said, I thought I would be alone in thinking Swing Vote would have some redeeming quality, even though on its surface its summary is absolutely stupid: One man decides presidential race, yeah right.
Well, looks like the New York Times has my back. The movie holds up a mirror to a political process where politicians forget who they are to mumble a party line, and how and why our American everyman (played by Costner) has dropped out of the process. It tries to be comedy, but it's undertones are serious, and spot-on. Yes, the New York Times said all that.
So why is this on the business blog?
Because it seems like this is what the review is saying: In order to tell the story of the breakdown in the political process, you need to first tell the story of one every working man (or woman) who has been left behind. He is the backbone of this story, and when he breaks, America comes falling down. I kind of like that a Hollywood movie respects that notion.
I think I have a movie to see ...
