Bloomberg reports on the soaring prices of gold and silver; both are hitting all-time highs. What’s going on? Earthquake and tsunami in Japan, war in Libya, and the persistent debt crisis in Europe are prompting a flight to safety.
The Times reports on Google’s attempt to quantify the elements that define a great boss. The result that probably surprised them more than it would non-techies: It’s not about technical skill.
What’s the economic fallout from the crisis in Japan? Barron’s says it’s a great time to buy Japanese stocks, but on SeekingAlpha, a blogger named Rougemont couldn’t disagree more. And Pimco’s Mohamed El-Erian argues that there’s no economic silver lining whatsoever emerging from the Japan tragedy — this is far worse than the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Back in the U.S., the housing market is dead, claims Marketwatch’s Rex Nutting—but it’s “just too small to do any real damage to the economy any more.” The Times’ Floyd Norris agrees that new home sales are dead — and points out a new phenomenon: “a complete disconnect between sales rates of new and existing homes.” The Economist, meanwhile, looks at Las Vegas — the “foreclosure capital of America”—and sees widespread ripple effects.
A Harris poll reports that 25% of Baby Boomers have no retirement savings whatsoever; for Gen Xers, aged 34-45, that figure is 32%. The Times reports on how late savers can start to catch up.
Mashable reports that one event company compared the revenue-generating efficacy of Facebook “likes” to Tweeter tweets — and Facebook was the clear winner. Meanwhile, David Leonhardt, in his new “Top Down” blog, reports on the 10 most influential people on Twitter. The answers aren’t what you’d think.
