How to stop Amtrak’s bleed: The rail service needed $1.4 bn in subsidies from
Congress in 2012, but it’s not a dog: think of it as 2 operations: (1) 26 shorter
passenger routes that connect major cities that carry 4/5 of Amtrak’s
passengers in rapid growth, this part is profitable; (2) 15 long-haul routes
over 750 miles to please Congress members, these routes lost $597.3 mm in 2012.
Solution? Asks the states where the money-losing routes go through to chip in.
[Note: Brings me to another thought, is the NYC metro operating at a loss?]…Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/01/amtrak-loses-a-ton-of-money-each-year-it-doesnt-have-to/
Why car companies should be extremely nervous about millennials: per Zipcar’s report,
people b/e 18 and 34 don’t care about driving nearly as much as the generations
before them. The reasoning boil down to less money and more options for
replacement of freedom. [Note: Careful in jumping to conclusions there: for
starters, you see mobile phone in the mix for the Q “most negative impact”,
which automatically skews the result given the devices’ proliferation among our generation]…Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/why-car-companies-should-be-extremely-nervous-about-millennials/273653/
Is slow growth America’s new normal? Let’s take a look at Kevin Warsh’s pessimistic theory:
by neglecting basic economic infrastructure investments, baring export
expansions, failure of tax-code streamlining to promote investment, and passing
regulations to solidify oligopolies, the government single-handedly dampened
USA’s growth prospect….Source:
Opinion: let the market decide our energy sources: From Robert McFarlane and George Olah, that the
ongoing grassroots uprising throughout the Middle East, the massive windfall of
shale gas, and the innovations to get around gasoline could get the U.S. off
the treadmill in spending too much in importing oil and be subject to Opec’s
mercy. [Note: the solution, I think, ultimately comes down to energy
efficiency, and oil is still by far the best out there]..Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6441ae3a-81cf-11e2-ae78-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2MXH4tDBm
The Berkshire den awaits you, bearish adventurer: “Finally – to spice things up – we would like to add
to the panel a credentialed bear on Berkshire, preferably one who is short the
stock. Not yet having a bear identified, we would like to hear from applicants.
The only requirement is that you be an investment professional and negative on
Berkshire. The three analysts will bring their own Berkshire-specific questions
and alternate with the journalists and the audience in asking them.” [Note:
This is seriously exciting, will the guy get out of the room alive?]…Source: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2012ltr.pdf
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