» Posted by Martin Weil on May 28, 2007

John Moore/Getty Images; NY Times, 5.28.07

» Posted by Martin Weil on May 25, 2007

Norway began salting away its oil proceeds in a special reserve in 1996. Known until last year as the Petroleum Fund, it was renamed the Pension Fund, which is supposed to make Norwegians aware that the fund's purpose is to provide for future generations.

With the spike in oil prices, it has become the biggest public fund in Europe. At the rate it is growing, experts say it will be worth $800 billion to $900 billion in a decade. That translates into $180,000 for every man, woman and child in Norway.

"Inevitably, Norwegians feel bad about having all this money," said Gro Nystuen, a human rights lawyer who is chairman of an ethics council that screens investments. "Our job is to make the Norwegian people feel less guilty."

So reports economics blogger Tyler Cowen.

Makes an interesting comparison to the US with its trillions (USD) of unfunded future liabilities for retirement and healthcare.

» Posted by Martin Weil on May 22, 2007

Looking for a different approach to charitable giving? Tim Harford (Financial Times economics journalist) points to Kiva, an organization that serves as a gateway for entrepreneurs in the developing world seeking small business loans. Loans start as small as $25. Bootstrap a small business person in a country with an inefficient capital market, and perhaps do a small bit of good for the battered global image of the US at the same time.

» Posted by Martin Weil on May 03, 2007

"An investor who bought the Nasdaq index in 1973 and sold in 2002 would have earned an average yearly return of 9.6 percent. But the typical investor in Nasdaq earned only 4.3 percent over this period. This is true not just in the United States - the same thing occurred in 18 of 19 international markets that Mr. Dichev examined."

That's Hal Varian, UC Berkeley professor of economics, writing in the NY Times (registration required) on why most investors underperform their investments.

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