Quotes of the day

And unless your spouse is a complete spendthrift, compromising is a heck of a lot cheaper than a divorce.--Neal Templin

I compare the annual average beat variance of the songs in the US Billboard Top 100 since its inception in 1958 through 2007 to the standard deviation of returns of the S&P 500 for the same year and find that they are significantly negatively correlated. With the recent high stock volatility, people should now prefer less volatile music. Furthermore, the beat variance appears able to predict future market volatility, producing 2.5 volatility points of profit per year on average.--Philip Maymin

A rapidly-growing, irrational market suggests a Ponzi scheme. People are drawn to it because they see others getting rich, and as more people get drawn to it, more people get rich. ... I think there is something to be said for thinking of the 2005-2006 period in the mortgage market as Ponzi finance. The observation that the seasoned investors dropped out and new investors came in during that period would be consistent with that.--Arnold Kling

Fox News viewers (and McCain voters) were significantly more likely than viewers of CNN or MSNBC (and Obama voters) to know that Democrats controlled both houses of Congress before the election.--Carl Bialik

Our all-volunteer military is overwhelmed and doesn't have enough soldiers with the experience it takes to guard the kinds of high-profile and highly targeted Americans who must travel around Iraq. That's why veterans working for contractors such as Blackwater, DynCorp, Triple Canopy and others are stepping up to serve their country again.--Marybeth Laguna, widow of Art Laguna, who was killed as a contractor for Blackwater