Market News (and Paris Hilton!)

• Paris Hilton leaves jail after only 3 days for home confinement.  Unfortunately, it's not at *my* home.
• The pre-options expiration week swoon continues.  Top-ticking the news today are higher oil prices due to OPEC warning about higher oil prices due to biofuels, and the fear of inflation and higher interest rates.  The housing industry also rolled from Meritage reporting large numbers of cancellations.
• Consumers able to spend-spend-spend despite high gas prices as evidenced by the retail sales numbers.  Retailers reported much better same-store-sales results for May in comparison to the near-record weakness seen in April.  Goosing the growth was a calendar shift that moved Memorial Day to the May reporting period this year from June in 2006.
• Giuliani Health Proposal Seeks Individual Coverage.  Mr. Giuliani, currently leading opinion polls for the 2008 Republican nomination, wants to move tens of millions of people from employer-based health insurance to the individual market as a way of giving people more coverage choices.   I think this is a GREAT idea.  Why should employers have to be experts on health care?  Shouldn't employers re-direct the monthly health premiums to the employees' paychecks and let the employees pick their health care?
• Toyota hits 1M mark in hybrid car sales!  Rising gas prices and concern for the environment have helped power sales of hybrid cars, which boost fuel efficiency by using both a combustion engine and an electric motor.  Who needs CAFE standards when consumers are demanding and auto companies are supplying high-mileage vehicles?  This is a great way to decrease our reliance on foreign energy and help keep the air clean.  My next car will be a hybrid.
• You crazy clickers out there clicking on website advertisements like there's no tomorrow has translated into a 26% jump in internet advertising revenue.
• People give Paris Hilton a bad time, but she has become a big entertainment icon.  Our society does value that as a diversion from our day to day routines.  Whether it's LeBron James, Carrie Underwood, Shrek or Paris Hilton, we do value our distractions. And of course, I'd be negligent if I didn't add Paris Hilton (nude, naked, topless, Carl's Jr., smoking, panties, upskirt, bowling fetish).