A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the World Wide Web.
"U.S. mass transit construction costs are insanely high," a story on Vox, highlights the underpinnings of the right-versus-left debate on government spending, in both the U.S. and Canada. Most North American voters, I think, understand the need to address the increasingly moribund state of national infrastructure – highways, water treatment, bridges, and the like.
The right, however, is reasonably concerned about the wastefulness of government spending. In Ontario, former Premier McGuinty's hapless foray into natural gas plant development provided ample support for this view. In effect, while most people understand the need for, and benefits of, infrastructure development, they don't trust the government to do it right.
"U.S. mass transit construction costs are insanely high" – Vox
Few topics fascinate me like the economics of food – the subsidies, lobbying, legislation and corporate pandering to the worst elements of food cravings, all of which takes place behind the scenes before groceries ever hit our tables.
Two stories this morning illustrate why the business of food is such rich fodder for discussion. The first, from The Economist, is a review of a new book "The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet."
The book argues that we've been lied to; meat and fat are much healthier than we've been led to believe. For investors, it will be interesting to see whether this opinion turns into a trend, because it would make companies like Maple Leaf Foods a lot more interesting.
"The case for eating steak and cream" – The Economist
The view of meat consumption is becoming more positive while sugar is being demonized. University of California medical expert Robert Lustig has gone as far as suggesting that sugar should be regulated as a drug.
"The case for treating sugar like a drug" – Vox
"The Economics of Obesity" – Pragmatic Capitalism
(See also this somewhat dated but remarkable report on the history of U.S. sugar industry subsidies: "The Sweet Hereafter," originally in Harper's magazine in 1999.)
The Efficient Market Hypothesis is the zombie theory that just will not die. In a wonky blog post, prominent economist J. Bradford DeLong writes, "The variations of the price at which the stock market sells around this crude and simple-minded [Shiller P/E] measure of fundamentals are enormous."
"Noise Trading, Bubbles, and Excess Volatility in the Aggregate Stock Market" – Brad DeLong
Media-related Tweet of the Day from Arizona Diamondback pitcher Brandon McCarthy: "It's nice that we now use the word 'longform' to gently let idiots on the internet know to go somewhere else for their slideshows."
Diversion: "Heavy-metal music is a surprising indicator of countries' economic health" – Quartz
Follow Scott Barlow on Twitter at @SBarlow_ROB.
Scott Barlow