Results

We are proud to announce that Dumbagent.com is now featuring podcasts. Starting with selected (long) entries, you can now choose to press play and listen to the wonderful world of economic theory and discussion while you wash someone’s dishes (preferably your own), annoy your goldfish, or do a push-up.

These podcasts will also be available on I-tunes shortly.

Any advice or feedback is greatly appreciated.

Entries with podcasts available so far:

Dumb History: The Boston Tea Party

On a Comment About Interest Rates…

Saving Green by Going Green

“Over a ten-year period commencing on January 1, 2008, and ending on December 31, 2017, the S&P 500 will outperform a portfolio of funds of hedge funds, when performance is measured on a basis net of fees, costs and expenses.”

This is the bet between Warren Buffett and Protege Partners, LLC. The stakes are $1,000,000.

DumbAgent.com agrees with Buffett’s statement wholeheartedly. When reading the detailed analysis, however, we have some minor disagreements. Buffett states that some ‘Active’ investors will outperform the market while some ‘Passive’ investors will underperform. We believe that the investors’ performance will not be consistent throughout this time and that most will perform well sometimes and badly at other times.

The end result, however, is that the S&P 500 will outperform the hedge funds.

You can find the bet, its terms, and the link to make a wager yourself, here.

According to Wired Magazine, building a Toyota Prius consumes 113 million British Thermal Units (BTU), while a gallon of gas contains about 113,000 BTU. The 2008 Prius can go 48 miles per gallon (on highways).

A 1998 Toyota Tercel, on the other hand, does 35 mpg and, since it is used, the carbon cost of construction has already been paid.

This would mean that it would take about 129,230 miles of driving before the 2008 Prius surpasses the 1998 Tercel in eco-friendliness.

Incidentally this calculation can be made for any used car you wish to buy. You can find our worksheet that does exactly that right here.

You may recall our post that quoted Hillary Clinton as saying she would not put her “lot in with economists.” Well, we all know how the campaign went for her.

Now it seems as though John McCain is not learning from other people’s mistakes. At a town hall meeting in Lower Manhattan, McCain said he would “trust the people and not the so-called economists to give the American people a little relief.”

While we at DumbAgent.com do not wish any candidate ill, we must wonder why it is deemed politically accepted to bash economists. We also wonder if it’s a big mistake to do so. Clinton’s definite downturn started at around the same time as her comment (which, in its turn, was related to her gas-tax holiday idea). We will have to see how it works for Senator McCain.

Original Boston.com article here.