When I was a young boy, growing up in the suburban splendor of Louisiana, I had a very pleasant middle-class childhood. Even at a young age, though, children are able to discern who is more “middle class” than others. My father was a manager at a large international company, and we lived in this house……….
I haven’t done many real estate posts lately, although, as an update to this one (in which an empty dirt lot was being offered for $10 million) I’ll mention that although the For Sale sign seemed to linger longer than usual, it was supplemented with a SOLD sign yesterday. So I guess the Chinese are still buying.
I’ve become quite inured to the lunacy of Silicon Valley real estate, so not much surprises me anymore, but I saw a full page color ad this morning in Gentry magazine (which is a free magazine they distribute around here, packed with a combination of real estate ads, for the tech zillionaires, and plastic surgery ads, for their vain spouses) that demands a post. So I’m writing it, you lucky so-and-so.
The color photographs of this nearly $5 million property featured the most blase, ordinary, McMansion style place you could imagine, but the headline was……. (more…)
Stock market indices are mirages
What does a stock exchange index like DJIA, S&P 500 or AEX mean?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index is the oldest stock index in the United States. This was a straight average of the rates of twelve shares. A select group of journalists from The Wall Street Journal decide which companies are part of the most influential index in the world market. Unlike most other indices the Dow is a price-weighted index. This means that stocks with high absolute share price have a significant impact on the movement of the index.
The S & P Index is a market capitalization weighted index. The 500 largest U.S. companies as measured by their market capitalization are included in this index, which is compiled by the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s.
PREFACE/SHAMELESS PLUG: If you’re not a Slope Plus member, this weekend’s post is reason enough for you to become one. I hope you’ll considering joining after checking out the goodies. Danke schoen.
I don’t talk about politics much here on Slope, but it’s a topic I find of great interest. Since 2016 is a U.S. Presidential election year, we’re going to be absolutely buried in news, debates, advertisements, attacks, counter-attacks, and hip-deep in B.S.
I think the result of the election is actually pretty straightforward, since its outcome is dependent on the state of the world around us. From my point of view:
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