Using the Labor Department’s local area unemployment statistics, Slate presents the recession as told by unemployment numbers for each county in America. Because the data are not seasonally adjusted for natural employment cycles throughout the year, the numbers you see show the change in the number of people employed compared with the same month in the previous year. Blue dots represent a net increase in jobs, while red dots indicate a decrease. The larger the dot, the greater the number of jobs gained or lost. Click the arrows or calendar at the bottom to see each month of data. Click the green play button to see an animation of the data.

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via ritholtz.com

It is something I have been training for all my life - or at least the past 10 years. Tomorrow I will have my moment on the biggest stage of them all...FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.  Yes, it is bigger than JerryWorld.

This year I played in 4 fantasy football leagues with 3 of them being money leagues; so as you may have guessed the 4th one did not receive much attention. After finishing anywhere from 4th to 12th (last place) in years past, this year I finished the regular season in first place in two leagues and fell to 5th in the third (cant win em all).

Last week my teams entered the playoffs with one team advancing to the championship game (destroyed this guy 180 to 115; really enjoyed beating this guy more) while the other lost. I was set to win the game but lost when Eli whooped the Redskins and was pulled with 8 mins left in the 4th quarter....just saying.

Championship Game Roster
QB - Aaron Rodgers
WR1 - Andre Johnson
WR2 - Miles Austin
WR3 - Reggie Wayne
RB1 - Joesph Addai
RB2 - Cedric Benson
TE - Jason Witten
W/R - Felix Jones
K - Mason Crosby
DEF - Indianapolis
DB - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
DB - Yeremiah Bell
DL - Osi Umenyiora
LB - London Fletcher

Tomorrow it is WIN or GO HOME!

Love Amazon's latest press release!

It isnt your standard, "Company XYZ is proud to announce that we have achieved...blah, blah, blah". Instead they've summarized their big announcements by making them fun and relevant.

"Amazon customers bought enough Levi's jeans to clothe everyone at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver."

"One of our most remote shipments contained the EMU Australia Toddler Boot and was delivered to Atqasuk, Alaska."

These are stories / messages that people can easily tell their friends, families and co-workers. Ultimately, that's what it's all about...

Cloud computing noted as #1 internet-related M&A theme. highlight of report: top 100 private internet companies listed on page 3

It is an expectation I have going into every season and it is what has made the last decade incredibly difficult to bear. Nevertheless, I'm once again hopeful that the Cowboys will finish this season on top. Why?

Gerald Sensabaugh

This past off-season the Cowboys finally decided to cut ties with Roy Williams (safety) and signed Sensabaugh.  When Williams was drafted back in 2002 with the number eight pick he was a hard hitting safety who just CRUSHED opponents. With Darren Woodson to help guide Williams the Cowboys were able to play him close to the line where he devoured running backs and punished receivers who ran across the middle.  Then Woody left and Roy Williams was asked to defend the pass.  Ask Santana Moss how that turned out...

With the addition of Sensabaugh the Cowboys ability to defend against the pass will be vastly improved.  The best part about all this is we do not need him to be great, just good.

i'm a believer in technical analysis. I use fundamentals to screen stocks and technicals to time the market. if you only use one pattern make it the ascending triangle (bottom left chart above). very easy to follow. simply line up the resistance point; resistance is the price point at which the stock keeps bumping its head against. once a stock has broken through its resistance and it has high volume - typically 1.5x daily avg - it signals market conviction. meaning the big boys (banks, mutual funds, etc) are buying and the break is legit.

dont believe it works?  go pick a stock. any stock. and decide for yourself!

I took a look at GM's website regarding their reinvention efforts.  it just doesnt feel authentic. its not real. its simply not them.

perhaps its because I have the old GM burned into my head and no matter what the new one does I'll still tie it back to the old one? not sure. Fritz talks about all the right stuff: transparency, getting closer to the customer, focus on product development, fiscal responsibility, etc but he just seemed out of his element.

side note, I am rooting for them to make it through this mess; however, I doubt they will. just too big and too old school.

fascinating behavioral economics video. Ariely does a great job of making this clip both informative and entertaining. its 17 mins well spent - promise!