The Vantage Point: May 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

Keep an Eye on Silver

Silver prices have been volatile the past month, but European debt worries may still prevail to drive silver to new highs -- we live in interesting times...

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PS: My private practice continues to accept payment in gold and silver coin for services rendered...

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Highest Paying College Majors for 2011

The National Association of Colleges and Employers has announced the highest paying college majors for 2011 as follows:

Petroleum Engineering $86,220
Chemical Engineering $65,142
Mining & Mineral Engineering $64,552
Computer Science $61,205
Computer Engineering $60,879
Electrical/Electronics & Communications Engineering $59,074
Mechanical Engineering $58,392
Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering $57,734
Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering $57,231
Information Sciences & Systems $54,038

Commodities engineers occupied the top three categories followed by computer and electrical engineers. However, all forms of engineering appear to be in high demand for 2011.

Source: 10 Highest Paying Degrees 2011 – Best Majors in Demand Now, Darwin's Finance.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

ModelRisk 4.0 Standard Available Free

ModelRisk 4.0 Standard (Vose) is now available free – that’s right – free! ModelRisk was already the best-in-class decision modeling and risk analytics add-in accessory for Excel (Microsoft). However, the latest update, ModelRisk 4.0 Standard, is now available for free download as well.

Every serious Excel user will want to download and install ModelRisk 4.0 Standard onto their personal computers in order to activate the following advanced analytical functions in Excel:

Stochastic (Monte Carlo) simulations
Sensitivity analysis
Scenario analysis
Bounded, shifted distributions
Correlations between distributions
One-click function views
ModelRisk functions searches and formatting tool
Capacity to run external macros before, during, and after simulations
VBA and C++ calls to ModelRisk functions
Graphical simulation reporting
Descriptive statistical reporting
Capacity to view and simulation results as worksheets and workbooks
Versatile exporting tools
Unrestricted speed and model size
Capacity to save results in a sharable Results Viewer format
Conversion capabilities from other Monte Carlo add-ins tools
Extensive help files with example models and literature references covering every feature of ModelRisk 4.0 in detail

Graduate students in particular will find ModelRisk 4.0 Standard to be especially useful for analytics research and coursework -- the fact that ModelRisk 4.0 Standard is now free software (with a perpetual license) makes the case for adding ModelRisk 4.0 to your analytics workstation overwhelming.

Follow the link below to download a free and fully functional copy of ModelRisk 4.0 Standard now.

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PS: Please help me to get the word out about this exciting free edition of ModelRisk 4.0 Standard by forwarding this post to the expert analysts you work with using the sharing tools below, thanks...

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Risk Analysis Gone Awry

Thursday, May 12, 2011

California Lifeguards Earn $120,000+ Annually

Prudent Precautions

The Pennsylvania Amish religiously attach large and colorful hex signs to their homes and outbuildings in order to deter evil and attract good luck. The hex sign below is posted as a prudent precaution.

Regards to all my friends here in Pennsylvania!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Microsoft Acquires Skype for $8.5 Billion

Microsoft Corp announced today that it has agreed to purchase Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in cash. Follow the link below for more details.

Microsoft will no doubt begin making Skype telephone and video conferencing technologies an integral part of the Microsoft Office suite in the near future. The synergies between existing Microsoft and Skype technolgoies are obvious.

Source: Das, A & Wingfield, N (2011, May 10), Microsoft Seals Deal to Acquire Skype, Wall Street Journal Online.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Declining American Home Values Evidence Depression

According to Zillow, the median value of a home in the US declined from $240,000 to $169,600 between April 2006 and March 2011. The aggregate decline in home values totalled approximately 29% for the five-year period.

Society needs to come to terms with the facts: US home values have been steadily declining for the past five-years. The continuing collapse of real estate values in the US provides clear evidence of economic depression in America.

Source: Zillow

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Sunday, May 08, 2011

Well Said...

"One who loves necessarily strives to have present and preserve the things he loves."

~ Spinoza

The American Middle-Class is Lost

Foreclosures, plant closings, offshored jobs, underwater mortgages, persistent unemployment, stagnating or declining incomes -- what was once America's moderately educated workforce is lost...

The Story of American Public Education

Understanding the historical roots of public education in American is a good first step towards eventual reform. The PBS documentary linked below contributes to that goal. I commend the program's contents to everyone interested in improving and reforming public education in America.

The Story of American Public Education

US Employment to Population Ratio a Nagging Issue

The latest employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the US employment to population ratio* stood at 58.4% for April 2011, up from 58.1% the previous month, but down slightly from 58.7% a year ago. The US employment to population ratio has been trending downwards since 2000.

Many economists believe that reporting the number employed as a percentage of the civilian population provides a more accurate description of the current state of employment than conjecturing the number of "unemployed" in a population. The US employment to population ratio reached a historical peak of 64.4% on an annual basis in 2000.

*The BLS defines employment and population (civilian noninstitutional) as follows:

Employment consists of all persons who, during the reference week (the calendar week including the twelfth day of the month), (a) did any work at all (at least 1 hour) as paid employees, worked in their own business or profession or on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family, or (b) were not working but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of vacation, illness, bad weather, childcare problems, maternity or paternity leave, labor-management dispute, job training, or other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or were seeking other jobs.... The civilian noninstitutional population consists of persons 16 years of age and older residing in the 50 States and the District of Columbia who are not inmates of institutions (for example, penal and mental facilities and homes for the aged) and who are not on active duty in the Armed Forces.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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