Charlie Munger on Wall Street Scandals

Never one to mince words. You know he is going to defend BRKs investment in GS.

Fast Food

Click to enlarge.
These stats don't exactly make me want to run down to my local fast food joint and bulk up. But then anyone who has ever worked in the kitchen of a restaurant and knows their secrets would never eat there.

Laptop Reliability

Anyone in the market for a new laptop should take into consideration reliability in addition to other subjective ergonomic factors.  I'm a bit surprised to see HP and Gateway trailing the pack.  I know Asus makes a solid machine, and have had my share of issues with Dell PC's I used both at work and at home, a number of wacky motherboard problems.

This study published by warranty-provider SquareTrade tracks the failure rates for over 30,000 laptops covered by their warranties. Some highlights of the study:

• Looking at the first 3 years of ownership, 31% of laptop owners reported a failure to SquareTrade. Two-thirds of this failure (20.4%) came from hardware malfunctions, and one-third (10.6%) was reported as accidental damage.
• Netbooks are projected to have a 20% higher failure rate from hardware malfunctions than more expensive laptop computers.
• ASUS and Toshiba were the most reliable manufacturers, with fewer than 16% having a hardware malfunction over 3 years.

There's nothing worse than buying a new PC and having it malfunction immediately after purchase.  They call this infant mortality in the biz.  Realibility is a fickled thing, but should play a part in the new purchase decision.

The Kudlow Creed

Comcast Wins Worst Company in America Award

The votes are in, and Comcast has won Consumerist's uncoveted "Worst Company in America" award.

The Philadelphia telecom firm beat runner-up Ticketmaster in the last round of voting by a margin of 59 to 41 percent -- ending a two-year losing streak that saw it crushed by AIG in 2009 and run over by Countrywide Home Loans in 2008.

Grouch: The vote must have taken place prior to the Goldman hearings.

Brad Pailsey: American Saturday Night

As close to a pro-free trade, pro-immigration, pro-melting pot country song as you'll hear:

She’s got Brazilian leather boots on the pedal of her German car
Listen to the Beatles singing Back in the USSR
Yeah, she’s goin’ around the world tonight
But she ain’t leavin here
She’s just going to meet her boyfriend down at the street fair

It’s a French kiss, Italian ice
Spanish moss in the moonlight
Just another American Saturday night

There’s a big toga party tonight down at Delta Chi
They’ve got Canadian bacon on their pizza pie
They’ve got a cooler full of cold Coronas and Amstel light
It’s like were all livin’ in a big ol’ cup
Just fire up the blender, mix it all up

It’s a French kiss, Italian ice
Margaritas in the moonlight
Just another American Saturday night

You know, everywhere has something they’re known for
Although usually it washes up on our shores
My great great great granddaddy stepped off of that ship
I bet he never ever dreamed we’d have all this

You know everywhere has somethin’ they’re known for
Although usually it washes up on our shores
Little Italy, Chinatown, sittin’ there side by side
Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night!

It’s a French kiss, Italian ice,
Spanish moss in the moonlight
Just another American, just another American,
It’s just another American Saturday night

HT: Cafe Hayek

Paulson Shareholder Letter on Goldman and ABACUS Deal

Paulson Letter

Merle Hazard: Inflation or Deflation?