ABC asks if there will be a post-Christmas shopping boom. I believe so. First of all, I'm a big gift-card giver and receiver. And as I was out shopping, especially later this week, there were lots of folks buying gift cards. Yes, just one person's view and slice of shopping experience. Still...
- More NFL blackouts? The NFL will see slumping attendance unless the bottom teams get better and ticket prices come down. Hello again, Redzone Channel.
- Emerging markets see negative equity flow for the first week since May. ...amid concern China will continue tightening monetary policy, trimming a record-setting year for inflows. Hmm. Not sure how I feel about that.
- How many 4th graders are going to jail? Texas uses fourth grade reading scores to project the number of prison cells they're going need 10 years out. Pretty stark yet realistic: ...was not inaccurate. Moreover, Texas wasn’t alone in using elementary school reading difficulties as a proxy for serious problems later in life. 60% of America’s prison inmates are illiterate; and 85% of all juvenile offenders have reading problems.
- Barry Ritholtz looks at the Barron's iPad app.