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While catching up on some reading over the weekend, I found two articles that both dealt with large issues that we’ll have to face over the next few decades. Predicting the future is always difficult, but sometimes the numbers can seem very compelling.

Oil & Commodities is co-founder of GMO, an investment management firm with $107B in assets. That doesn’t mean he necessarily knows the future. But in his April 2011 quarterly letter titled Time to Wake Up: Days of Abundant Resources and Falling Prices Are Over Forever, he does manage to put together a convincing argument that we are using up our natural resources very quickly, and we can’t continue on at this rate. It’s mathematically impossible.

Will we find other energy sources to replace cheap oil? Will technology allow us to do more with less? Probably, but I doubt the transition will be a smooth one. I think learning to be less dependent on natural resources (read: be frugal, efficient, and less wasteful) will even more important financially than it is now.

Medicare & Taxes is a Nobel-winning economist with a popular blog at the NY Times. In a re

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The huge pay hikes of top executives is unacceptable while workers fight for “reasonable” wages, the Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Monday.

“Cosatu is outraged that at a time when workers are struggling for modest improvements in their low wages, that chief executives are taking home increases a good 10% higher than what the workers are demanding,” said spokesperson Patrick Craven.

Craven noted with anger a report indicating that the average pay of executive directors of the top 40 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies increased last year by 23.3% to R4.8-million.

He said South Africa had already been rated the most unequal society in the world.

Modest demands
“These latest increases at the highest levels have widened the gap still further. They make the unions’ demands seem even more modest and reasonable.

“This report … Read more…

Area elementary students who were named winners in J.P. Mascaro & Sons RESPECT Program Poster Contest recently gathered at the company.

AUDUBON — J.P. Mascaro & Sons recently held a celebration dinner for grant recipients from the Mascaro RESPECT Program. At the June 17 event, nearly $18,000 in educational grants was awarded to eight area elementary schools for innovative educational initiatives related to character education. This group of grants follows $12,000 in grants awarded by the RESPECT Program in February 2011.

RESPECT is an interactive educational program developed by J.P. Mascaro & Sons three years ago that is presented annually to more than 25,000 area elementary school students to make them aware of the importance of respect in their lives, including respect for the environment.

Receiving RESPECT Program grants were Cayuga Elementary School in Philadelphia, $4,960; St. Agnes Elementary School in Philadelphia, $3,225; St. John Vianney Elementary School in Allentown, $5,000; and the Blessed Virgin Mary

Elementary School in Darby, $1,260. S

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Travel accessories for business travel have to do double duty. Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 Notepad

Besides making sure all your personal needs are met, they have to ensure that you can still do business quickly and easily wherever you are too.

This an update for my investment portfolio, including 401(k) plans, IRAs, and taxable brokerage holdings. There have been only a few small changes since my . As always, this is our own personal portfolio and may not necessarily be completely applicable to anyone else.

Asset Allocation – Target vs. Actual

I separate the stock and bond portions for clarity. My remains the same:

Here is my actual stock allocation, where it shows that I am slightly overweight US Total and will need do some light rebalancing.

My actual bonds allocation is not really worth making a chart for… the target is 50%/50% and I have 47% short-term nominal bonds and 53% inflation-protected bonds.

Stocks vs. Bonds Ratio

One way to calibrate your portfolio risk is with the balance of stocks and bonds within your portfolio. A few years ago my stock/bond ratio was 85% stocks/15% bonds, which corresponded to a formula of [Current age - 15]% in bonds. After the stock market plunge in 2009, I felt like I had to keep my stock portion high. Sin

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The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will continue wage negotiations with the Chamber of Mines’ gold producers in Johannesburg to prevent a possible strike, the union said on Tuesday.

The union would meet with mine negotiators at the Chamber of Mines offices on Hollard Street in Marshalltown on Wednesday at 10am for discussions, spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said.

The NUM is demanding an increase of 14%, but when the two parties last met on July 4, the chamber only offered a 5% increase, he said.

“If the attitude is similar to the collieries … Read more…