http://www.cyrillicpartners.com An Economics Blog by Volha Baranava and Alexander Haislip Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:11:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The majority of Americans polled recently by CNN viewed free trade as a threat to the U.S. economy. That's a little like saying that oxygen is a threat to breathing. And, to trot out a Clintonism: "It's the economy, stupid!" The poll found that those surveyed thought the economy was the ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/07/01/oh-no-the-free-traders-are-coming/ Remember Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman? His new research suggests that poor people enjoy more leisure time than rich people, who typically spend their time doing high-anxiety chores. Well he should have included more journalists in his study. It seems as though I'm stressed a lot but have little to show ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/06/25/kahneman-is-wrong-im-the-proof/ Would-be air travelers pick on price. The difference between a Delta flight and a US Airways or United flight is probably un-noticeable to someone who isn't a frequent flier. That's why websites such as Priceline, CheapTickets and Expedia proliferate and prosper. But airlines are increasingly upping the fees on things that ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/06/14/cost-cutting-vs-fee-hikes/ Corporate acquisitions seldom help the buying company. Promises of synergistic growth typically fall way, way short, studies show. However, if cost saving is the goal of a corporate acquisition, then the buyer's stock goes up. That's why Delta's move to cut 4,000 jobs is a positive sign for the impending deal ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/06/14/delta-layoffs-a-good-sign/ The thinking goes like this: China's middle class is growing and the Chinese people have more disposable income to make vice-related purchases. An abnormally high relative saving rate may be an indication of repressed demand for goods and services related to leisure consumption. The U.S.-China currency exchange is stable compared ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/06/12/chinese-alcohol-stocks/ V and I have a nuanced understanding of the commercial air travel market after two years of distance dating. Still, it's stunning to see United adding a $15 charge for each piece of checked baggage on each domestic flight. CNN.com does the reporting. There is, of course, a great tendency to ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/06/12/united-ups-baggage-fees/ I was lucky enough to have a chance to teach a class of fifth graders about entrepreneurship and business ethics in Sunnyvale, Calif. this morning through BizWorld. I was stunned that when I asked them to name companies they'd heard of, the class came up with SanDisk... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/06/04/volunteering-with-bizworld/ A group of journalists/tech consultants has set up a site soliciting ideas to save the classified advertisement section that used to be a mainstay of print revenue. This idea seems DOA to my mind though. Why would anyone with a good idea actually throw it away by sharing it? So far, ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/05/30/save-classifieds-fat-chance/ A quick peek into the technologies of tomorrow from the staff at MIT suggest that some of the problems we deal with today may be solved, or at least mitigated substantially, over the next decade. My favorite was the prediction that autism will be licked. It's a health issue that affects ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/05/29/mit-makes-predictions/ I haven't been a big fan of Dell computers since the company sold me one that has chronic overheating problems. My dad came to hate Dell after it jerked him around over a cable it never sent. Now Dell is getting whacked by the NY Attorney General for "fraud, false advertising, ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/05/29/ny-attorney-general-offers-dell-beatdown/ There's some interesting stats here, but the real kicker is the percentage of news Americans consume that comes from a tiny, tiny portion of the media market. Scary. http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/05/27/the-news-commodity-condrum/ New research out of Princeton shows that the poor suffer more pain than the rich. “People in households making less than $30,000 a year spend almost 20% of their time in moderate to severe pain, compared with less than 8% for those in households with income above $100,000 a year,” ... http://www.cyrillicpartners.com/2008/05/19/krueger-tackles-pain-gap/