MOSAIC may not be a household name, but they are the world’s largest phosphate mining company. They provide the raw materials that go into the fertilizer that grows the fruit and vegetable products that you consume every day. Last week, they announced plans to lay off over 200 workers from their plant in rural Polk County, FL. You read the headline that a company resorted to layoffs and your logical response is “it’s the economy, stupid.” Good answer, but wrong. It isn’t the economy. It isn’t a lack of demand or resources and it isn’t...

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There was much hullabaloo this week over Apple’s decision to ban all pornographic applications from their app store. Porn-addicts around the nation huddled in Internet chat rooms and decried Apple for abridging their first amendment rights. Over and over again, in all form of media, the cry went up: “1st Amendment, 1st Amendment”. So, as a public service, I’d like to provide here the unabridged text of the first amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the...

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Goldman Sachs is the face of what's gone wrong with the American financial system. They are nigh universally reviled among the blue collar general populace who has no use for an investment bank.  Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is considering dropping them.  In England, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called them morally bankrupt.  Back in the US, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing them. So, obviously all this is having a pretty big impact on Goldman Sach's bottom line right?  Right?  Well, it is true that there has been a big change in Goldman's earnings for the...

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Microsoft unveiled Windows 7 this week. It didn't take long for the first reports of problems to begin trickling in. How is it possible that the biggest software company in the world, with something like 96% market share, cannot roll out a new product without taking two steps backward for every one forward? It's not like expectations are very high.  Vista was such an unmitigated disaster that Windows 7 would have to cripple the user's computer immediately upon installation for it to be viewed as a downgrade.  Despite millions of dollars in advertising, the Official Random Stock Survey of...

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Recently, sources have revealed investors are dumping large amounts of money into Twitter.  There has been much speculation and rumors that Twitter.com could be prepping for an IPO.  Why else would companies dump $100 million into a company with zero revenue? According to Bloomberg.com, the company is believed to be valued at $1 billion.  The only rationale for valuing the company this high is if they are ready to unleash a massive revenue plan or if they are going public.  Either strategy would require some type of plan to make some money for this social media company.  The traffic is there...

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