Features
Skip the Small Talk
Researchers measured the length and type of conversations happy people have. Apparently, happy people skip the small talk. (Or perhaps, skipping small talk keeps you happy.) Instead, happy people dove into deeper conversations: The happiest participants had twice as many substantive conversations and only a third as much small talk as those who are least content. Click... »
An Asteroid Killed the Dinos After-all
After careful review, a single 10km wide asteroid impact near the Yucatan remains the best explanation for the mass extinction that occurred 65 million years ago. The impact spewed rock so high, some of it likely was shot into orbit, whereas other pieces entered the upper atmosphere, reheating as they fell back to the ground.... »
Remembering Happiness
Did reading this sentence make you happy? Or do you merely remember reading it as a happy experience? Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman reveals how our “experiencing selves” and our “remembering selves” perceive happiness differently. »
California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief
Jamie Dimon, chairman of JP Morgan Chase, has warned American investors should be more worried about the risk of default of the state of California than of Greece’s current debt woes. Source: Telegraph »
Nouriel Roubini Launches Book
Attention NYC socialites, the party-animal himself is releasing a new book. This is bound to occupy prime shelf space on my bookshelf. Here’s the description: This myth shattering book reveals the methods Nouriel Roubini used to foretell the current crisis before other economists saw it coming and shows how those methods can help us make sense... »
North Sea Oil Could Last a Decade
Britain is looking to the North Sea to provide around 1/3 of its power needs until 2020. Sounds great, but in the grand scheme of things 1/3 is a small number and a decade is a short period of time: In recent months the industry has identified up to 11bn barrels of oil and gas... »
The Inconvenient Truth of Clean Coal
The dirty, dirty black stuff is being passed off as clean in some circles. Sounds too good to be true? »
Smithers on De-Levering
Solving the structural economic issues requires delevering the economy. This can be done via bankruptcy or restructuring debt for equity. Andrew Smithers, of Smithers & Co, proposes how to achieve this without tanking the economy. Smithers 2009 November – »
‘Italy has got to be Worried’
Robert Mundell, father of the Euro, argues that Italy is the biggest risk for the Euro. Greece can be dealt with and he feels that this is not presently a Euro crisis. »