en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/559515 Comments by Damien Hoffman http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/dan-gilbert-is-a-total-hypocrite/?p=14123/#IDComment85857335 I am a tremendous sports fan. As a fan, I know the athletes owe me nothing more than performing their best while they are on the team. They are employees who have a contract. When the contract ends, they are free to move on. It&#039;s exactly the same as your employment contract. Talented people leave businesses and jobs ALL THE TIME. It&#039;s their right. When it comes to sports, fans think they have a claim of ownership on another human being. Well, we don&#039;t. They are doing their job like anyone else. People need to keep things in perspective. Sports is entertainment. LeBron gave a TON to Ohio. I&#039;d be grateful rather than spiteful. I think there are a lot of great people there who know one person is not the entire key to their destiny. I have faith the state will move on in a positive direction. With that said, I know it sucks LeBron left. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 21:09:32 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/dan-gilbert-is-a-total-hypocrite/?p=14123/#IDComment85857335 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/say-hell-no-to-a-black-swan-free-world/?p=14068/#IDComment85843726 Very nice twist. Black Swan hunting has been all negatively focused ... until now. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 19:33:12 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/say-hell-no-to-a-black-swan-free-world/?p=14068/#IDComment85843726 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/3-critical-restrictions-which-must-accompany-a-us-transaction-tax/?p=14088/#IDComment85834987 Yeah. It would suck. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 18:35:15 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/3-critical-restrictions-which-must-accompany-a-us-transaction-tax/?p=14088/#IDComment85834987 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85818581 ANF exploded yesterday on excellent sales growth. That&#039;s another teen barometer. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:53:44 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85818581 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85804925 Thanks, geneva. I hear you. I actually read the entire bloomberg article and am discussing some of it in our Premium content ;) Some weeks are harder than others to blog. This week is my daughter&#039;s first birthday and I took off the most time I have in a year. To regain my sanity for the second half, my posts were shorter. Thanks for hanging in there. I appreciate you reading!! Feel free to email me anytime. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 15:18:04 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85804925 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/was-the-branding-of-lebron-a-failure-already/?p=14065/#IDComment85793342 The bulls won with Jordan, Pippen, and Grant. The Celts won with Allen, Pierce, and Garnett. The Heat will win with Wade, James, and Bosh. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 13:52:05 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/was-the-branding-of-lebron-a-failure-already/?p=14065/#IDComment85793342 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85789725 John, You make some good points. However, the entire country is not unemployed or behind on their mortgage. There are plenty of people still taking home a paycheck and consuming. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 13:33:24 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85789725 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85789602 I think the US will be refinancing their debt at record low rates. There has been no decrease in appetites for Treasuries because Europe is screwed. At the end of the day, the old paradigm is still in effect: US Treasuries are a safe haven. I agree this status is in jeopardy. But if there was a viable alternative, sovereigns would flock to it. As of yet, there is none. Call me crazy, but the US has been the most entrepreneurial social experiment in world history, and I don&#039;t see that coming to an abrupt end. Our days as a manufacturing powerhouse are probably over, but we are absolutely leaders in the new internet economy -- and I don&#039;t think most people yet understand how ginormous that economy will be. Transitions are confusing and chaotic. We are undergoing one now. But there are a TON of Americans figuring out how they can profit. When the dust settles, I think the doomers will be surprised. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 13:32:25 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85789602 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85787947 Great points. A few things: What is pent up demand? Since college I have found this to be an elusive academic theory. Of course post WWII was an economic driver. But we have new ones now such as the internet, telecom, healthcare, etc. Moreover, talk with anyone who lived through the 30&#039;s and they have a radically different DNA for consuming than any other living generation. They don&#039;t buy little gadgets at BBBY or replace their TV every time a new one is 2 inches bigger or another square inch has more pixels. I think we agree on the basics, but we disagree that history requires an identical setup in order for us to get through our current problems. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 13:25:17 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85787947 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85786614 Bloomberg is the de facto standard for accurate business and finance information. Again, if you have a better source, please cite it. The retail report on bloomberg is 100% factual and was cited in every media outlet. I do not run a research operation, and I don&#039;t have the time or money to poll the country&#039;s retail outlets. If you can provide an accurate reason why their study is flawed, let me know. If you are just picking to pick, that&#039;s fine too. Youth consumerism: there are a bunch of posts on our site about retail. The obvious example is Apple, Amazon, Activision, etc. These companies are thriving. Fri, 9 Jul 2010 13:19:48 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85786614 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/was-the-branding-of-lebron-a-failure-already/?p=14065/#IDComment85685889 I am an active Heat fan who is predominantly happy right now! Fri, 9 Jul 2010 02:13:48 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/was-the-branding-of-lebron-a-failure-already/?p=14065/#IDComment85685889 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85348133 Do you have a more accurate source? Wed, 7 Jul 2010 18:12:12 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85348133 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85322888 This morning&#039;s headline on Bloomberg: &quot;U.S. retailers&rsquo; sales are growing at the fastest pace in four years&quot; Wed, 7 Jul 2010 15:16:32 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85322888 http%3a%2f%2fwallstcheatsheet.com%2fbreaking-news%2fis-canada-the-new-economic-king-of-north-america%2f%3fp%3d12119%2f#IDComment85316210 Not sure I understand what you&#039;re saying. Can you explain? Wed, 7 Jul 2010 14:25:03 +0000 http%3a%2f%2fwallstcheatsheet.com%2fbreaking-news%2fis-canada-the-new-economic-king-of-north-america%2f%3fp%3d12119%2f#IDComment85316210 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85308643 Terrible is a strong word. Your comps are flawed because what first stimulated GDP in the WWII era was FORCED artificial production for the war. Your other points are true, but that generation was hardly as rabid a consumption culture as has been created now with a much larger population. Moreover, not a single soul could lever up with a credit card. That alone makes todays consumers much more powerful a force to stimulate economic transactions. I agree the US is not currently setup to become a production powerhouse. But to assume there will be no new economic expansion is to assume nothing new or important will happen. It is also an assumption that the HUGE younger generations are not a consumption force which has never been seen. And they are. They were born and raised in the era of ubiquitous commercialization and branding. It is a mistake to underestimate their ability to keep the US consuming. Wed, 7 Jul 2010 13:56:57 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85308643 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85306936 The short term trend is down. Prechter fails to account for the HUGE generational demographics of the younger people. They are rabid consumers and have been completely ignored. What has also been ignored is the fact that consumers have hardly changed their behaviors. Yes, we are off the peak of 2006-07, but we are not in a depressed state. The parking lots at Applebee&#039;s and Fridays are still packed. There are a bunch of articles on this site about how the American culture of consumption is still alive and well. Prechter&#039;s major presupposition is markets unfold in fractal patterns called waves. If reality were to unfold in a different manner, his entire model would be worthless. I think a commenter above pointed out some of Prechter&#039;s incorrect calls. Wed, 7 Jul 2010 13:47:35 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/is-<B style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:#IDComment85306936 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/23-#IDComment85000974 Could be wrong. It&#039;s a post from our partners at Business Insider. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 19:37:00 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/23-#IDComment85000974 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/what-does-uncle-sam-pay-government-employees/?p=13847/#IDComment84889015 I wish we did. But this is what Princeton University put together. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 13:40:54 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/what-does-uncle-sam-pay-government-employees/?p=13847/#IDComment84889015 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/trading-markets/gold-will-emerge-as-the-only-safe-haven/?p=10680/#IDComment84747280 Studies show that is not correct. Buying MSFT at $4 when it was an all-time high in the 80&#039;s would have made you a mega millionaire. If you take a moment to think about it, that is the case with EVERY investment that grows nicely over the years: it&#039;s logically necessary to continue making new highs. Sun, 4 Jul 2010 18:17:48 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/trading-markets/gold-will-emerge-as-the-only-safe-haven/?p=10680/#IDComment84747280 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/the-worst-oil-spills-in-world#IDComment84706861 We did not produce the original graphic. They are very time intensive and expensive. But your thought of adding the entire history is a good one. Sun, 4 Jul 2010 13:41:55 +0000 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/economy/the-worst-oil-spills-in-world#IDComment84706861