Welcome to the weekend edition, a small collection of links to interesting personal finance related articles and economic news from around the web.
On December 1st, the giant cosmetic company Avon decided to boycott the oil sands of Alberta.
“We’ve asked our transportation partners to take steps that will avoid high-impact, high-carbon fuels such as those from the tar sands,” said Avon vice-president Tod Arbogast.
Let’s dwell a little bit on the decision of “the company for women”. To start, I currently have no investments in oil sands so I do not have a conflict of interest here. In 2010, 23% of daily US oil imports came from Canada and 15% came from the Middle East. Obviously, the oil sands contribute a big chunk of Canada’s growing oil exports to the US. Would the US be better off importing more from the Middle East to replace the tar sands? Does Avon feel good about buying more oil from oppressive regimes with a questionable ideology? Maybe Avon, the company for women, doesn’t really care about these second class citizens (the women) living there and was just looking for a cheap PR stunt to score quick points with the tree huggers. Talk about a company who values its profits. Oh Wait! They all do, but most are actually smart about how they do it.
The oil sands are not very environmentally friendly, they’re not perfect. Sure a couple of ducks got killed as a result and one should not dwell on that for too long. Dwell on oil exporters such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Need I expand more on these countries? I sure prefer ethical oil from Canada over oil from any of these countries until an alternative is available that would help us shut down the oil sands and make it a thing of the past.
Economic roundup:
China Changing to `Prudent’ Policy Next Year From Easing Bias
Bundesbank Predicts Fastest Economic Expansion Since German Reunification
China Should Consider Increasing Gold Reserves
Gold Imports by China Soar Almost Fivefold as Inflation Spurs Investment
Higher food prices are here, and don’t expect a break soon
On to our weekly blog roundup:
>>> The Financial Blogger is celebrating his 4th blog anniversary with the grand prize winner walking away with a 64 GB IPAD. So who wants that iPad?
Invest it Wisely: 3 Unconventional Investment Moves to Make in 2011
101 Centavos: Investing in Uranium
Money Smarts Blog: Different financial planning designations your advisor might have.
Intelligent Speculator: Top 100 Dividend Stocks – December 2010
The Rightous Investor: The gold ponzi scheme
The Wealth Artisan: How To Find a Job
Dividend Monk: 7 Dividend Stocks With Fantastic Balance Sheets
Barabara Friedberg: Things you can do to counter pending inflation
Money Reasons: Getting Paid for Recycling Aluminum Cans Update
Watson Inc: Am I A Financial Hypocrite?
Enjoy your Weekend!
