{"id":34511,"date":"2015-11-14T05:15:39","date_gmt":"2015-11-14T13:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=34511"},"modified":"2024-01-27T11:14:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T19:14:28","slug":"black-coffee-more-proof-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id34511-black-coffee-more-proof-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: More Proof There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

I’m still recovering from a business trip I took this week. Long story short: It took 22 hours to complete my 2000 mile journey from Huntsville, Alabama to my home in Los Angeles with all of that time spent either in the air or waiting in airport terminals in Alabama, Texas and Arizona — including an overnight stay at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (yes, that was me waiting at Gate 29 at 2:30 a.m. for a 5:45 a.m. flight to another connecting city).<\/p>\n

You know, it’s amazing how empty and peaceful a major airport terminal can be after the clock strikes midnight.<\/p>\n

Oh well, off we go …<\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Janet Yellen has been strongly hinting that the Fed is finally going to raise rates in December<\/a>. That’s after seven long years of holding them at the zero-bound. I know — but just play along.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, the chance that the Fed will raise rates is a lot less likely now after the latest data released this week showed significantly weaker<\/a> than expected retail sales in October. Oops.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, poor sales figures for places like Nordstrom and Macy’s suddenly has analysts fretting<\/a> that the economy may not be as healthy as they originally thought. Welcome to reality, folks.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> The truth is, the last two times that reported retail sales figures were this poor, the US was in a recession<\/a>. (Psst. Back then the US debt load was also $10 trillion lighter. Yes, I’m talking about the debt the US officially admits to.)<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Needless to say, Nordstrom’s stock was punished<\/a> for its recent poor performance — and they’re not alone.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Disappointing GoPro sales — you know, the “camera-on-a-stick” company — suggests it’s a flash in the pan; after falling more than 72%<\/a> since last year, GoPro stock is below its IPO price. Say “cheese!”<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Then there are those profitless companies with dubious business models<\/a> that are probably surviving only because of the Fed’s zero-interest policy. I’m talking about companies like Twitter<\/a>: its stock is currently less than its IPO<\/a> price too. Again.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? The largest Obamacare co-op in the nation, New York’s Health Republic Insurance, has failed. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the company misled state and federal officials<\/a> about its finances. You know, just like state and federal officials misled voters<\/a> about Obamacare. Forward!<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Frankly, Obamacare only worked in the Utopian minds of its ivory-tower advocates. Here in the real world, Obamacare is such an unsustainable disaster that 11 of the 24 Obamacare co-ops<\/a> originally funded with federal dollars have closed their doors. So far.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, socialism’s apologists love to use Sweden as “proof” of the nanny-state’s success<\/a>. However, Sweden’s negative interest rates, swelling debt and rising workplace absenteeism — made possible through generous government sick pay “incentives”<\/a> — proves the exact opposite.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> The truth is, the socialist experiment going on in Sweden — or here in the US — is no different than the failed “workers’ paradise” in Venezuela. The latter is just further down the road to failure, where a large order of McDonald’s french fries is now $126. No, really<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> By the way, I know what you’re thinking: Unfortunately, Venezuelans still have to pay $79 for even a small<\/em> order of Mickey D’s fries. But, hey … at least their healthcare is “free.”<\/a><\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

While 11\/11 is Veterans Day in the USA, it’s Singles Day in China — get it? — a celebration for the “lonely” that offers a chance for unattached shoppers to buy presents for themselves. Here are some statistics from this year’s event:<\/p>\n

1993<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Year that Singles Day originated. (Nanjing University)<\/p>\n

94,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of shoppers who purchased Singles Day presents for themselves on their mobile phone.<\/p>\n

72<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Percentage of all Singles Day sales generated from mobile phones.<\/p>\n

$9,800,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Singles Day revenue just from mobile phones.<\/p>\n

$14,300,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Total value of all Singles Day merchandise sold by Alibaba, which is China’s version of Amazon.<\/p>\n

8<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Minutes it took Alibaba to sell the first $1 billion in merchandise on this year’s Singles Day.<\/p>\n

Sources: ABC News<\/a>; USA Today<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

[poll id=”88″]<\/p>\n

Last Week’s Poll Result<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you think you could be doing something better with your life right now?<\/p>\n