Burton Malkiel, the author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street has a very interesting editorial in the WSJ today. The article is primarily about the reduction of risk premiums in financial assets:
The facts are that stock prices are high not only in the U.S. but also in the world’s developed and emerging markets. We [...]
Another WSJ article highlights the link between a weak dollar and inflation:
Overall import inflation has moderated because oil prices aren’t rising as fast as they did a couple of years ago. But other signs of import inflation are out there. In March, prices for imported consumer goods, excluding automobiles, were 1.8% higher than they were [...]
The WSJ has an article about a conundrum facing the Bank of Japan. The Japanese economy is expanding but deflation remains persistent (prices are falling again). Apparently this is viewed as a problem:
Still, such weakness in prices would make it difficult for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates. Raising interest rates too quickly [...]
The WSJ has an article about the Wii-mote, the remote control for Nintendo’s Wii video game console. Apparently hackers are reprogramming the remote for other functions:
A deejay in the Netherlands uses his to mix techno music at dance parties. A medical student in Italy has reprogrammed his to help analyze the results of CT scans. [...]
