Hard to believe that less than 30 years ago gold was trading at $35/ounce. At that time, the US Dollar was fixed to the price of gold due to an agreement called the Bretton Woods Agreement. That agreement effectively forced countries to back their currencies with gold, which ultimately enforced sound fiscal policies on the participating countries (you can’t spend money you don’t have). Unfortunately the inability to spend money they didn’t have eventually caused the United States to break out of the BWA: In 1971 Nixon decided to end the convertibility of the US Dollar into gold, which effectively ...

Tonight I was pointed at a link, courtesy of John, that basically detailed a rumour that Apple is diverting iPhone shipments away from Canada next week. The reason for this, according to the rumour, is that Apple is not pleased with the grassroots backlash that Roger’s and the iPhone have received in Canada. The thing is, it really doesn’t matter if the rumour is true (and in my mind, I doubt it is — it’s more likely in my mind that they have general manufacturing problems and can’t meet the demand) – either way, it’s a huge PR nightmare for Rogers. There was one site earlier that ...