Apparently Americans' twin habits of overeating and driving everywhere, coupled with the push to reduce fuel prices by mandating the production of biofuels, has finally caught up with world food prices: We are on the brink of taking food from the mouths of the hungry so that we can afford to drive our Ford Explorers to the Burger King drive-through.
Noted bond investor Bill Gross is concerned that increased regulation of investment banks may cut into these banks' profits. I think that's going to be a huge problem too. As if the bubble-blowing, free-market fanatics at the Fed would be more than a paper tiger. Monetize the gains, socialize the costs, as Kris in JP says.
Although Americans' sedentary lives may be starving the rest of the world, they are providing great opportunities for profit for companies making drug treatments for high cholesterol and obesity. Fortunately for investors, the companies no longer need to worry about whether the drugs actually work. Thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, Merck and Schering-Plough were able to rake in billions of sales for Vytorin and Zetia while at the same time suppressing the scientific evidence that these drugs didn't work.
If you're looking for less stridency from the PF blogosphere this morning, I would suggest two fine posts from two fine bloggers: A slice of warm, sunny family life from Claire, and a bit of a shocker from Jane over at Boston Gal's Open Wallet.
0 comments:
Post a Comment