The Big Picture

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• Human Capital and Unemployment Dynamics: Why More Educated Workers Enjoy Greater Employment Stability
• Half the Nation’s Uninsured Live in Just 116 Counties
• 10 Thursday PM Reads
• Robotics Industry Taxonomy
• 10 Thursday AM Reads
• Fed is Too Focused on Wealth Effect, Equity Markets
• WHO: A Coming ‘Tidal Wave’ of Cancer

Human Capital and Unemployment Dynamics: Why More Educated Workers Enjoy Greater Employment Stability Posted: 07 Feb 2014 02:00 AM PST

Half the Nation’s Uninsured Live in Just 116 Counties Posted: 06 Feb 2014 04:30 PM PST Source: Washington Post

10 Thursday PM Reads Posted: 06 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST My afternoon train reading: • Lehman Brothers Maybe Sold Warren Buffett a Rainbow (Bloomberg) • Weather it's worth worrying about, who knows (FT Alphaville) • If History Is Our Guide, the S&P Will Hit Highs Again in Two Months (Minyanville) • Microsoft's New CEO (Marco) see also Bill Gates’ Steve Jobs Moment (stratēchery) • Hedge Funds Preparing for $1 Trillion Property Bill: Mortgages (Bloomberg) • The "Fat Pitch" Myth (Pragmatic Capitalism) • Lured into "The Optimistic Unknown" (Reformed Broker) • Yes, Obamacare will probably downsize the workforce. Economists explain why. (WonkBlog) but see The Media Is Blowing It on Obamacare and Jobs (Slate) • 22 Messages From Creationists To People Who Believe In Evolution (BuzzFeed) • Judges Poised to Hand U.S. Spies the Keys to the Internet (Wired) What are you people reading? I really want to know!   85 People in the World Are Worth More Than the Poorest 3.5 Billion Source: WonkBlog

Robotics Industry Taxonomy Posted: 06 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Source: Myria Research

10 Thursday AM Reads Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST My Thursday (is it Thursday already?) morning reads: • Barron’s: Risk-Averse Young Investors (Penta Daily) • The Year Facebook Blew Past Google (Re/Code) but see Digitally Speaking, CBS, Time Warner, Disney Bigger Than Facebook (MediaPost) • Vanguard's CEO dances to a fanatical discount tune (FT) • Microsoft, Past and Future (Daring Fireball) but see Microsoft is Dead (Paul Graham) Continues here

Fed is Too Focused on Wealth Effect, Equity Markets Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:19 AM PST   “When will these guys ever learn that maybe, just maybe, these Fed policies aimed at targeting asset prices at levels above their intrinsic values is probably not in the best interests of the nation?” -Dave Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin, Sheff   Not long ago, I was listening to former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke discuss the central bank's actions during and after the financial crisis. I came away very impressed with how thoughtful and intelligent the former head of Princeton's economics department was. Combining a deep academic background in the Great Depression with outside-the-box thinking made him the perfect person to lead the Fed during this period. There was one issue in particular that bothered me about his tenure, and it isn’t a minor one. It is the Federal Open Market Committee’s focus on the so-called wealth effect, and its corollary impact, the stock’s reaction to Fed policy. Let's begin with a quick definition: The wealth effect is an economic theory that posits rising asset prices leads to beneficial effects in consumer sentiment, retail spending, along with corporate capital expenditure and hiring. It is based on a belief in a virtuous cycle that begins with equity prices. As they rise, investors and senior corporate managers begin to feel more secure and comfortable in their financial circumstances. This improvement in psychology releases the "animal spirits," along with a commensurate increase in spending. Pretty soon thereafter, the entire economy is moving on the right direction. Continue here

WHO: A Coming ‘Tidal Wave’ of Cancer Posted: 06 Feb 2014 03:00 AM PST A World Health Organization report reveals that the cancer burden is growing at an alarming pace, with the number of annual new cancer cases feared to reach 22 million by 2035 from the current rate of 14 million new cases per year. WHO Warns of ‘Tidal Wave’ of Cancer

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