Capitalogix

The Burger King - Tim Hortons Deal Isn't Just About Dodging Taxes

Burger King has confirmed it will buy Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons for around $11 billion.

The move has proved controversial, however, with Burger King confirming its intention to establish the new company's headquarters in Canada.

 

 

Critics have lambasted the fast-food chain for moving abroad in an attempt to secure lower tax rates like many other American companies.

The tax debate has been widely reported but the sheer success of Tim Hortons has been overlooked by many. The Canadian chain made $3.26 billion in revenue in 2013, almost tripple that of Burger King.

This chart shows the revenue and stores of selected coffee/restaruant chains worldwide in 2013.

 

 

via Statista.

Tim Horton's managed to do that with just under 5,000 units worldwide, compared to Burger King's 13,600. 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading

The U.S. is supposed to be the model for free market economics.  So, why do we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world?

 

Here are ten posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• These Are Some of Best Time-Saving Hacks for A Productive Day. (AlltopStartups)
• There are Now 50 Colleges that Charge More Than $60,000 Per Year [List]. (Insider)
• If Logos Had Honest Slogans ... (TwistedSifter)
• Amazon Tests Kindle Unlimited, Its Own E-book Subscription Service. (FastCompany)
• Dad Claims Kingdom So 7-Year-Old Can Be Real Princess. (HuffingtonPost)

 

Trading Links:

• The Moneyball of Quality Investing. (ResearchAffiliates)
• The Difference Between a Good and a Bad Trader: What Brain Imaging Reveals. (ZH)
• Central Bank Exec Says Stocks Are 'Irrational'; China Poised To Crash. (BizInsider)
• A Cheat Sheet for Understanding the Different Schools of Economics. (Pragcap)
• 5 Everyday Products Whose Prices Are Hitting All-Time Highs. (Fool)

Top CEOs Recall Their First Year (Infographic)

Inc.'s annual check-in with the nation's top private-company CEOs shows how owners got their start and how their views on innovation and social media have changed.

 

via Inc.

A Brief History of Money in America [Video]

Looking at the past 100 years of the US dollar's history, one theme becomes abundantly clear: in times of crisis, the US government has no issue with changing its own rules or breaking its own laws. And those "temporary" emergency measures have a nasty habit of quickly becoming permanent.

This is a surprisingly interesting video about our money system and the Federal Reserve. It presents information that I wasn't aware of ... and thought it was worth sharing.

For more, see the whole series here.

 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading

What's been good for ALS, but bad for your Facebook stream?

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• Ask This Small Question To Make Big Changes. (FastCo)
• The Next Twenty Years Are Going to Make This Last Twenty Years Just Pale. (CDixon)
• Hackers reverse-engineer NSA's leaked bugging devices. (NewScientist)
• Masters of Love. Science says lasting relationships come down to these two things. (Atlantic)
• How Our Delusions Keep Us Sane: The Psychology of Our Essential Self-Enhancement Bias. (BrainPickings)

 

Trading Links:

• The Hockey Stick of Human Prosperity. (MarginalRevolution)
• America's Top 10 Fastest-Moving Housing Markets. (Forbes)
• Mind-Blowing Fact Of The Day: China Has Over 52 Million Vacant Homes. (ZH)
• Offshore Accounts. Far-reaching new rules aim to catch overseas tax cheats. (WSJ)
• Echo Boom. There are more 23-year olds than any other age group in the US today (BusinessInsider)

This Is Why I Let Machines Trade ...

Humans make baffling decisions.  And fear is a powerful motivator. 

My shoulder has been inflamed since having surgery a few months ago.  I've tried being patient, rehab, etc.  However, nothing seemed to work.

I joked that I would try anything.

I don't like pills, needles, or doctors (fear is a powerful inhibitor too).  Nonetheless, I'm trying accupuncture.

 

 

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.  It seems to be working.

Watch out, though, I think one of the side-effects is that it causes hair growth.

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading

If you need a suggestion on how to fix your broken vacuum ...

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• Secrets of the Creative Brain. (The Atlantic)
• Isn't it ironic? The value of sarcasm. (NewScientist)
• Is Coding the New Literacy?. (Mother Jones)
• Is MSG Bad For You? The Truth Behind Notorious Flavor Enhancer MSG. (BI)
• Comparing Beauty Standards: Woman Had Her Face Photoshopped In More Than 25 Countries. (BoredPanda)

 

Trading Links:

• Financial Stress Just Hit A Record Low - Here's Why You Should Worry. (Forbes)
• "Cluster Of Central Banks" Have Secretly Invested $29 Trillion In The Market. (MW)
• Fast Money: The Battle Against the High Frequency Traders. (TheGuardian)
• Tim Cook, Making Apple His Own. (NYTimes)
• The Top 20 Angel Investors. (CBInsights)

"Humans Need Not Apply" - Video about Automation and Humanity

Here is an interesting video about automation and what it will do to jobs and humanity.

 

 

via YouTube.

The point is to anticipate (and be prepared) for what is coming.

Almost All of the World’s Biggest Cities Will Be In Asia and Africa by 2030

Tokyo is the undisputed champion of mega-cities. With a population of 37.8 million, it dwarfs second-place Delhi. The Japanese capital has such a big lead in population that even though it’s expected to lose about half a million people over the next 16 years, it will still be the world’s biggest metropolis in 2030, according to a new report by the United Nations:

Here is a list of the Top 10 "mega-cities" by population in 2014 and projected in 2030.

 

 

 

Some of the mega-cities on the 2014 list aren't projected to rank as high in 2030 ... For example, New York, Osaka, and Sao Paulo will no longer make the top 10, and Mexico City will barely hang on as the sole representative outside of Asia and Africa.

This projection reflects the major shift driven by the urbanization in Asia and Africa, particularly in India (404 million projected new city dwellers by 2030), China (292 million), and Nigeria (212 million).

Why is the balance shifting so radically? Mostly because the rest of the world is already highly urbanized, while Africa and Asia are home to nearly 90% of the world’s remaining rural population.

Related articles

Urban future - World 54% urban today, 66% urban in 2050 and 85% urban in 2100

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading

Imagine when robots read the news ...

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• Instinct Can Beat Analytical Thinking. (Harvard Business Review)
• Online Tracking Is Getting Creepier. You are being tracked offline as well. (ArsTechnica)
• The 20 Best Airlines In The World. But where are the U.S. carriers? (BI)
• 37 Photographic Proofs That Iceland Is A Miracle Of Nature. (Demilked)
• Watch Google Glass Confuse & Amaze Old People. (WebPro)

 

Trading Links:

• The IPO is Dying. Marc Andreessen explains why. (Vox)
• Rolling the Drunks - And How That Works On Wall Street. (ReformedBroker)
• Why Listening To Economists Is Dangerous For Your Health. (ZeroHedge)
• This Time is Different, Yet with the Same Ending. (HussmanFunds)
• The Fed's Ever-Burgeoning Market Manipulation (strike-that) Support. (NakedCapitalism)