1. WSJ — “Energy intensive industries in Europe and Asia are becoming increasingly envious of the huge competitive advantage their U.S. rivals have gained from a boom in natural gas production. The gap between U.S. and international gas prices has … read more >

1. “Pittsburgh’s housing market continued strong with an 11 percent increase in sales in April. It’s the seventh consecutive month that home sales are up. Total dollar volume was up 22 percent to $306.3 million; the average home sale price … read more >

On behalf of American consumers, a slightly edited version of this afternoon’s NY Times article “U.S. Slaps High Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels” Americans Who Purchase Solar Panels Made in China”: “The United States Commerce Department said Thursday that it … read more >

From today’s WSJ article “The Future is More Than Facebook” by Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard: “Manufacturing? America will own the mid-21st century. Geopolitical instability and rising oil prices will wreck the late 20th-century rationale for outsourcing. Chinese labor costs are … read more >

There’s an ongoing debate (including in the CD comments section) about whether CPI inflation as measured by the BLS overstates or understates changes in consumer prices.  Mike Mandel makes the case here that the CPI may significantly overstate inflation because … read more >

From the article “Why Speculators?” by Percy L. Greaves, which originally appeared in the November 1964 issue of The Freeman: “Frequently, the speculator is the first to foresee a future scarcity. When he does, he buys while prices are still … read more >

The food trucks were out in force today at DC’s Farragut Square (see photos above), probably almost 20 in total, including my personal favorite DC food truck, Sauca,which featured everything on its menu today for only $5 (gotta love competition), … read more >

Tim Worstall in The Telegraph: “Even if we accept the geological conventional wisdom [of Peak Oil], then there’s still no cause for panic. Prices will rise, yes, so people will go off and do other things. Either use something else … read more >