Carnival of the Capitalists

Happy President's Day!

Today we'll be breaking our usual format to host the Carnival of the Capitalists, a weekly, travelling collection of interesting links from throughout the business-blogosphere, that people have submitted from their own blogs.  Some categories may interest you, some may not, but it may be a good opportunity to find some new blogs or at least get a sample of what different people are writing about.  Next week's carnival will be held at Idedologic LLC, you can find more information about submitting your blog, for future carnivals here.

And while you're here, thanks for checking out The Stalwart, if you feel so inclined.

So, without further ado:

The Markets

Steven Towns at the Japan Stock Blog, explores some recent weakness in the Nikkei that has occurred despite some positive economic data.  (Ed note:  But we thought Asian markets were a slam dunk these days?)

Top shelf financial blogger, Barry Ritholtz points out the surprising ignorance of treasury secretary John Snow.  (Well, we're not that surprised)

Author Steven Silvers predicts coming chaos when new SEC rules on pay disclosure come into force.  (Wait, unintended consequences of government regulations!?)

From the ETF Investor, a look at sub-sector ETFs.

From The Real Returns, a survey of managers and their take on individual sectors.  (This looks like some great material if you're a contrarian, really.)

From Bargaineering, we're not the only ones skeptical of peer-to-peer lending exchanges.

Mover Mike explores the possibility of a derivative induced financial shock.  This is always a good thing to be thinking about.

Fat Pitch Financial debates the merits of investing in florist, FTD. (Recall that they were the company talking about high CPC ads on Google)

Ed from Daily Dose of Optimism argues that reading The Economist is a waste of time.  Probably reading most things is a waste.

Economics & The Economy

Stalwart favorite econo-blogger, James Hamilton, looks at why recent oil spikes haven't produced more of a drag on the economy.

We've heard a lot about rising labor prices in India, what's the real labor situation there?

Here's something we've been discussing lately--is the concept of the trade deficit outdated?  Umm, sure hope so.

JLP, at AllThingsFinancial, presents An Interview with Jonathan Clements - Part 1.

From The Liberty Papers--On Markets and Morality.

Kevin W at The Liberal Wrong Wing presents Democrats Hate America?  Of Course Not.

nickel at fivecentnickel.com presents Natural Gas Prices Change (Again)

From Financial methods--Are further fed rate hikes a threat to growth, especially now that the yield curve is is inverted?

David Foster points out that shockingly, we still have a tariff on foreign energy sources, and not coming from a hostile nation.

The Ghost of Carternomices--A lesson that can never be taught enough (price controls are a bad idea).

The Housing Bubble, a recent history, from Searchlight Crusade.

Variations on a theme--why it's silly to say things like "China is a large producer of Steel".  From Marketplace Monitor.

Brian Gongol does a financial cost benefit analysis of funding the Voice of America radio programming in the war on terror.

General Business

Clyde Smith at Pro Hip-Hop takes a look at an Ecko brand marketing campaign, and delivers post-mortem.

Another Stalwart Favorite and corporate governance expert, professor Stephen Bainbridge, explores the various functions of corporate boards.

David A. Porter asks, will the likes of Zillow.com render the realtor obsolete?

Nope, SmallBizTrends argues that Zillow won't be a threat to the realtor.

From Sportsbiz, how Real Madrid became the world's most profitable soccer team.

And also for the sports fan, Ma. Merdekah Ybanez-Delid at Six Sigma presents A Six Sigma Black Belt’s Batting Average.

Daniel Mark Harrison looks at the economics of the global weapons trade, noting that trade in contraband is governed by many of the same forces as other goods.

Rob at BusinessPundit offers up some very insightful ideas on becoming a better business decision-maker.

Big Picture Guy at Big Picture, Small Office presents Blog Party

Canadian Financial Stuff talks about the company Despair Inc. Check 'em out, it's funny stuff.

Corporate Ethics?  Ha, that's a good one. (joke)  Boyette San Diego finds some online resources for corporate social responsibility.'

Jack Yoest on how to make money at trade shows.

Joe Kristan looks at the IRS going after tax-shelters.

Just as PhDs don't confer business success, experience, as measured in years, doesn't mean a whole lot either. (And if anyone keeps reminding you of how much experience they have, run the other way)

From Blog Business World, it can be deadly when businesses bask in past glory.

Here's a quiz--How do you bureaucrats solve problems?  From Political Calculations.

Some insights on marketing to women online.

And more lessons on marketing to women.

From David Daniels, some advice on treating customers better.

And a clever idea for getting customers involved in the business.

And, in a new and interesting blog from a private equity professional, a look back on the stress of post-grad recruiting.

Personal Finance and Entrepeneurship

Free Money Finance makes a great point, most people spend too much time worrying about their investments as opposed to their career, which is likely to be the main driver of their income.  (I've always wondered, should people factor in time spent on investing research as a cost when figuring out their returns?  Probably yes.)

This is cool.  A comparison between today's internet scams, and their originator, the infamous Charles Ponzi.  (They're pretty much the same)

This is amusing.  A look at why it's not a good idea to follow your dreams, if your dreams aren't very good.

And here's some stuff you should know about resumes.

Jared at Firevalt has a good entry explaining the difference between money and wealth, a concept that is often lost on people.

Ilkka Kokkarinen at Sixteen Volts compares retail banking in different countries.

Josh Cohen at Multiple Mentality presents the cost effectiveness of Valentine's day.  Umm, a little late don't you think?

Yaro Starak at Entrepreneur's Journey presents Dealing With The Loss Of People Resources

Well, that's this week's carnival.  Thanks to everyone who submitted entries.

Comments

[Daniel M. Harrison]

Fantastic. Well commented, many thanks. Incidentally, great, informative and intelligent blog.

[lecentre]

Hey,
First, thanks for the high listing under economics about the stupidity of trade deficits and surpluses.
I was surprised to hear that other people are broaching the subject (I thought I was being all original). Could you email me and point me to these discussions?
Thanks
lecentre, of

[Steven Towns]

Thanks for your hard work in getting this week's carnival up.

I wanted to respond to your comment re. Asia's markets being a slam dunk. I will limit this to Japan and S. Korea because I am most familiar with those two markets.

Neither country is anywhere near the gains it achieved last year at 40+% appreciation. One reason is the rapid surge and subsequently the recent profit taking. Foreign investment capital is being re-positioned with the succession of short-term corrections. The Nikkei 225 was approaching an 8% correction until today's rebound.

In terms of FOREX, the weak yen essentially helps Japanese companies (esp. exporters) but at the same time hurts U.S. investors' returns. The surprisingly strong won (S. Korea currency) might now be seen as a drag on the nation's conglomerates, which overwhelmingly dominate the economy.

In conclusion, Asia or S. Korea and Japan in this case are not "slam dunks" at the moment as they were in '05. However, I believe both will outperform U.S. markets/indices this year based on improving macro fundamentals and improving corporate profitability. Japan fund investors will need some help in FOREX in order to secure more of the gains.

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