As January goes, so goes the year

That's an old, old Wall Street adage. So old, in fact, that I couldn't even track down its origins. What the maxim means is that the direction of January foretells the stock market's direction for the rest of the year (February through December) that is. Financial journalists love to pull this one out every year, particularly since a little quick math is impressive. In the 82 full years since and including 1926, this metric has worked 70% of the time. Considering markets are either up or down, 70% is much better than the coin flip odds would suggest. Or is it?

Poor logic makes for good sales tactics

I happen to be a pretty loyal Toyota customer now. We have two "Toys" and get them both serviced at the dealer. I'm not a do-it-yourselfer and I have had my share of bad service from non-dealer shops. Once upon a time, I tried to save a few bucks by using Midas for brakes. What I saved in dollars paled in comparison to the aggravation of getting it re-done over and over until they got it right. Another time, my non-Toyota vehicle had something wrong, but I didn't know what. The local mechanic couldn't tell me either because they didn't have the scanner/computer/technostic thingy the dealer uses to read the vehicle's computer error codes. So I learned to just build a relationship with my dealer and get all the maintenance done by them. You know what? They give me a discount, don't make up repairs and the work gets done right with genuine parts. Saves me aggravation in the long run. While that is my experience, your mileage may vary, as they say.

The Conspiracy Skeptic Podcast

Want to know the truth behind Roswell and UFOs? You know how I write, but are you curious how I sound? Then listen to Karl's fantastic The Conspiracy Skeptic Unplugged podcast with this episode's guest- me. You can find it on iTunes, the links to the right, or here.

One thing that became obvious to me, is that Karl really knows a lot about conspiracies. Several times right before the recording, I emailed him with a change in the conspiracy I wanted to talk about. Karl's response was always "great, that'll be fun" where I had expected him to need time or preparation to change topics. Nope. Karl knew almost everything he needed off the top of his head. That, my friends, indicates a genuine conspiracy groupie! If you want to wade through conspiracies to find the truth in a fair, logical and fun fashion, you are in good hands with Karl.

If you haven't yet tuned in, I highly recommend it. In fact, I had asked Karl to participate here at TLRB after listening to his double show about the Fed. He gets it!

Is buying bird seed for the birds?

Last week NPR's Planet Money podcast had an interesting piece about how credit card companies judge your ability to pay (whether or not you're a credit risk) based on what you're actually buying. The show noted that a Canadian retailer called Canadian Tire released several examples.

The future is California – without the great weather.

California is the most heavily taxed state by most measures according to a recent L.A. Times story. According to the article, the marginal rate on taxable income over $1 million will rise to 10.55% from 10.3%.  The next-highest tax rate, which starts at $94,110 for a married couple filing jointly, will rise to 9.55% from 9.3%. Sales taxes were just increased a full point from 7.25% to 8.25% plus whatever the local municipality tacks on. Here in Santa Clara County the sales tax is 9.25%.

Obamanomics- Chrysler Style

Republicans haven't been shy about branding Obama a socialist, communist or anti-business liberal. After all, they love labels. That Obama leans left is no secret, but there really hasn't been a evidence for any of those labels to stick. I use "Obamanomics" not to denote any particular philosophy, but to capture the whole of Obama's actions in the economic realm. What I see so far is wildly inconsistent.