The U.S. Navy rescued 13 Iranians held hostage by Somalia pirates.
The flip side of this rescue was that it decreased the revenue the pirates would have otherwise obtained for eventually returning the hostages. Therefore, those Somalis who might have invested in this pirate company probably listed on the Somalia Pirate Exchange lost money today as the price of this stock undoubtedly tumbled.
The Somalia pirate exchange, the Harardheere Stock Exchange (“HSE”), opened for business in 2009 in Harardheere, Somalia, about 250 miles northeast of Mogadishu. It operates 24 hours a day. Pirate groups of a certain size register to trade on the exchange. Currently the exchange lists 73 entities. Individual investors donate weapons or pay cash to buy shares of one or more of the registered groups. Thus, pirate groups can raise money and weapons for expeditions and local investors can share in the profit—receive dividends—if the expedition is successful. Just as in the usual corporate world, not all pirate groups are successful. Currently however, the pirate business is up; in the first quarter of 2011 there were 97 attacks off the coast of Somalia, which is a 177 percent increase over first quarter of 2010. Wired has a fascinating (excellent graphics), non-typical economic analysis of the Somali pirate business.
Yes, middle school and high school students can identify quality, high-performing stocks. The following was compiled by the New York office of the Stock Market Game program—the best performing stocks from student portfolios nationwide during fall semester 2011 (as of the end of Nov—the game ended Dec. 16th):
CompanyTicker 9/6/2011 11/21/2011 Increase
5. Build-A-Bear Workshop BBW 5.31 7.92 49%
4. Aéropostale, Inc. ARO 10.39 15.76 52%
3. Commercial Vehicle Group CVGI 6.31 9.66 53%
2. American Dental Partners ADPI 10.01 18.65 86%
1. Pharmasset, Inc. VRUS 70.53 134.14 91%
5. Build-A-Bear Workshop: At Build-A-Bear Workshop, their mission is to bring the teddy bear to life. Located mainly in malls, the company’s stores allow kids to design their own teddy bears and other stuffed animals complete with clothing, shoes, and a multitude of accessories. Customers can build bears online, too.
4. Aéropostale, Inc.: A mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 14 to 17 year-old young women and men through its Aéropostale stores and 7 to 12 year-old kids through its P.S. from Aéropostale stores.
3. Commercial Vehicle Group: A leading supplier of fully integrated system solutions for the global commercial vehicle market, including the heavy-duty truck market, the construction and agriculture markets and the specialty and military transportation markets.
2. American Dental Partners: Helping dentists focus on drilling (and not billing) is the mission of the company. It provides management and support services for the growing group practice segment of the dental care industry. Through long-term service agreements, the company manages about 25 general and specialty dental practice groups operating some 275 dental facilities in more than 20 states, mainly in the eastern and midwestern part of the US.
1. Pharmasset, Inc.: A clinical-stage pharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing novel drugs to treat viral infections. Its primary focus is on the development of oral therapeutics for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (“HCV”). Congrats to the SMG students who uncovered its potential!
Last night I attended the Anchorage Lutheran Community Carol Sing. I love singing Christmas carols—one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season. However, the real bonus of the evening was the community choir’s presentation of John Ritter’s Magnificat conducted by Charlotte Smurthwaite. What a difficult “sing” and so well done!
Here is John Ritter’s explanation of Magnificat Anima Mea—-the opening section.
Here is a link to a performance by the Cambridge Singers. Please enjoy this as much as I did last night’s performance.
It’s been a month of house renovation projects—a new tile entryway, wooden stairs going up to the main floor, a new living room window, newly painted kitchen walls and ceiling, and the interior of the kitchen cabinets painted.
I don’t know which new item I’m enjoying the most. I love the interior of my kitchen cabinets. It is so much fun to open them—oh, wow. Three Tuscany colors are involved in an alternating color order from cabinet to cabinet.
The window has needed replacing for at least several years. The section that opened no longer closed tightly nor anything resembling tight. We certainly did not have to worry about fresh air exchange in the house. For the past two years, L taped it shut outside. However, the duck tape solution was no longer working. The week after the window was installed the temperature dropped to 20 below. Goodness, we felt warm and cozy in our living room.
As for the wooden stairs—-I had become so tired of vacuuming the carpet with a hand vacuum. Now, its once over lightly with the regular vacuum brush attachment. Also, I really enjoy the sound of going up and down the stairs. I grew up with wooden stairs. To top it off, the tile in the entryway is a nice change.
I love the new changes but it’s nice to be back to regular life.
This study by the U.S. Treasury looked at the income mobility of individual tax payers adjusted for inflation by tracking 96,700 tax returns from 1996 through 2005. It involved a sample of 117.1 million taxpayers on 76.9 million tax returns—excluding those who were under 25 in 1996— and found the following:
Top Income Quintile
Top 0.01% Income Group
25% only, remained there from 1996 – 2005
59% experienced declines of 50% or more during the 10 years
Top 1% Income
57% dropped to a lower income group
Top Income Quintile
30% dropped to a lower quintile
2.6% fell to the bottom quintile
A majority of those who were at the top in 1996 were not there by 2005.
Middle Income Quintile
42% moved up the income ladder
33% remained in the middle quintile
24% moved down
Lowest Income Quintile
58% moved to the higher quintile
29% moved at least two quintiles
5% moved all the way to the top
Comparison With Another Time Period
Individual income mobility from 1996 through 2005 matched individual income mobility from 1987 through 1996.
My Musings:
Staying on top is difficult and not guaranteed.
Upward income mobility for the middle class still exists.
The American dream exists for individuals in the lowest income quintile.
What will the study show about income mobility from 2006 through 2015?
Fairness is about having an individual opportunity to move up the income ladder. The opportunity still exists. Whether we recognize the opportunities, whether we seize the opportunities, or whether we create the opportunities are different issues.
I spent a lovely evening at an Anchorage Concert Association soiree—a lovely home overlooking the inlet with music by the Brasil Guitar Duo. They are giving a concert tomorrow evening in the Discovery Theatre.
