Polaroid Cameras and Art

Photography are probably one of the best things to happen in the world of art. A single photograph can speak a thousand words, have a thousand painting hidden within it, a thousand pieces of music captured in a single slice of frame. Polaroid made it really easy for artists of every kind to capture the beauty of everyday life, and this article talks about their course over the past decades, from its rise in the 70s to its fall in 2001; and it concludes by talking about the future for this company and the photography industry in general. An interesting read. 

Real Madrid overtakes Man Utd in Forbes rich list

This article talks about Spanish football giants Real Madrid who have overtaken Manchester United as the worlds most valuable football club. This the first time since 2004 that the English giants have lost top spot.

Real Madrid FC  have constantly been generating the highest revenues in the world of soccer . Even though one might think that the European crisis might have had affect on sales of football matches. According to Forbes , Real Madrid FC currently is valued at $3.3bn , Manchester united now at $3.17bn and Barcelona FC at third with $2.6 billion. This success could be linked with having a star studded team like Cristiano Ronaldo , Kareem Benzema and Kaka on the pitch and Jose Mourinho on the bench.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22193398

Low-interest-rate environment exposes seniors to fraudsters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/low-interest-rate-environment-expose-seniors-to-fraudsters/2013/04/18/63d065dc-9c77-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html

There are always people in the world that will scam you into taking your money. There are more privacy and protection methods to protect your money and investments nowadays but there is an upward rise in scams on senior citizens. Government regulators and advocacy groups say unscrupulous dealers are taking advantage of a growing fear among seniors that they will run out of money in their final years of life. The FED dropped interest rates in 2008 in efforts to stimulate the economy however this meant a sharp drop in income for seniors. Because of many scams seniors have become more reluctant to hold onto their money instead of investing it. But monetary policy is all about the trade-offs. 

Gold no-longer shining

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-15/the-price-of-gold-is-crashing-dot-heres-why#r=read

This article discusses the crumbling price of gold. It says that the most important factor for this plunge is   the falling global inflation rate, which is a problem because many investors hedge the value of gold against rising inflation. JPMorgan has backed the forecast that inflation will continue to fall.

The investors who hedged gold are scrambling to get a decent return on their investment.

Naked ambition

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21576366-iceland-determined-outlaw-worlds-oldest-business-can-it-succeed-naked-ambition

This article talks about how Iceland is trying to ban pornography and the steps it has already taken, like banning strip-clubs and prostitution.There are certain benefits to this like the police claims that law would be easier to enforce if such activities are totally banned. I think its a controversial issue but it will probably lead to expansion of black market operations in Iceland.

McDonald's sees fall in global sales

This article talks about a global fall in Mc Donalds sales in the first quarter. The fall in sales was directed towards a harsh winter in the states and the UK. Increasing competition from Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut was also seen as a major factor for these fall in sales. The worlds largest restaurant chain also expect sales to drop in April. The company blamed the ongoing economic uncertainty for the fall of sales in Europe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22212564

MIT shooting triggers massive police operation in Boston

At the moment, Boston police are on a manhunt for one of the suspects in connection with the marathon bombing. The other suspect was killed late Thursday evening after robbing a 7-11 and fleeing from the police. The neighborhood is on lockdown with an 18 block perimeter set. Police officials have been going door to door searching through homes for the remaining suspect. Boston police commissioner issued this statement: "We believe this to be a terrorist. We believe this is a man who came here to kill people. We need to get him in custody." 

Mother Russia Feeling the Heat

Russia has not been in the news too recently with regards to the economic crisis in Europe, but might now be facing their own problem. According to this article, they could be dipping into a possible recession if growth does not pick up in the remainder of 2013.

Putin's economic aide is '"opposed to heating up the economic growth by acceleration of inflation."' She feels the central bank, Bank Rossii, should focus more on economic growth trends. As well, she would like to implement monetary and credit policy to stimulate the economy.

In my own personal opinion, I feel some of the Cypriot crisis held a factor in contributing to this mess. This could be fixed by using reserves to buy other currency and start remaking profits. As well, taking money out of small islands, like Cyprus, could help their cause in the future. 

What is your take on the matter and what could be a possible solution?

Risk and Return

So, we have heard all of these reports in the news of North Korea showing off their missiles and making threats. However, as bad as this sounds, there has been some good. Due to this new "security breech," defense stocks have hit a high point during this time.

Now would not be the time to buy and take the one or two week gain since they have devalued and are at a true weight now. But, the real question is could now be a good time to buy and hold over the next few months to a year.

There seem to be more and more threats hitting our country which is speculated to then increase the need for weapons technology. Firms like Lockheed Martin (LMT) specialize in the creation and manufacturing high-tech weapons. Their factories and innovation labs could be swamped for the next few months.

What are your thoughts on the defense stock market?

South African Stagflation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22180851

South African has started a period of stagflation in which the economic growth is slower than the rate of inflation.  These exact numbers being economic growth expected to be at 2.8% and the inflation rate at 5.9%.  This period of stagflation is due mostly to the Eurozone's slow down in importing the goods and South Africa being one of their main exports has felt this slow down.  This stagflation can be dangerous if it continues to long hopefully South Africa's central bank can figure out how to fix this problem for the continent's biggest and fastest growing economy.  The future is bright for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa as a whole which is purposed to outpace the gobal average of growth for the next three years, hopefully this period of stagflation doesn't taint South Africa's bright future.