In a shocking development, banks are still finding ways to make money. I thought that a lot of the pushback against Bank of America’s ATM fees was rather misguided.

The Keystone XL pipeline became a symbol of everything environmentalists hate, and was killed. Canada will be sending their oil elsewhere. I suppose we’ll be getting ours by barge. Sounds safe to me. What can go wrong with oil on a boat?

A trio of women in Zimbabwe who raped 17 men in order to use their sperm in a ritual intended to bring good luck. I love how the article ends with: Are you outraged by what these women did?

In a bizarre couple of games, the Toledo Rockets lost to Illinois 63-60 while beating Western Michigan 66-63. The surprising part isn’t the scores, but that they came in two games that did not involve overtime.

The University of North Dakota is one step closer to no longer being the Fighting Sioux.

A former autism advocate (err, not an advocate for autism… YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!) switches sides on the vaccination issue.

If we think we have a problem getting the wealthy to pay their taxes, Greece has more Porches than taxpayers declaring an income of 50,000 euros or more.

I’m glad that the AT&T/T-Mobile measure appears to be failing, but of all the reasons for it to fail… jobs? That would be very low on my list.

This falls into the rare category of a news story that sounds so incredible that I don’t even know what to say. A six year old boy was charged with sexual assault for “playing doctor” with a five year old girl. Even granting that it was a rectal exam, WTF?

Almost half of a German city was evacuated so that they could diffuse a WW2-era bomb.

How not to understand Mitt Romney’s time as an LDS Bishop.

As Brad Plumer says, let’s hear this man out! Who does he think will win the Superbowl this year?

Sgt. Dakota Meyer is one of the more famous war heroes. He met with President Obama and became the only living Marine to get the Medal of Honor. The publicity helped land him a job with a rifle maker. That ended badly.


Category: Newsroom

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270 Responses to Linkluster: Locomotives in Kent

  1. Scarlet Knight says:

    Locomotives in Kent

    What is this horse hockey?

    I thought that a lot of the pushback against Bank of America’s ATM fees was rather misguided.

    I think your pushback against the pushback is misguided. It’s not as if God guaranteed a certain profit margin from now until the end of time. So a bank makes less profit. Big freaking deal. Banks are supposed to make money by lending it out at a higher rate than they are giving its depositors. If they can’t figure that out, then go out of business.

    playing doctor

    I don’t understand why these parents want revenge so badly. Step 1 in any sort of juvenile discipline should be telling the kid DON’T DO THAT AGAIN. Generally speaking, that will be enough.

  2. trumwill says:

    What is this horse hockey?

    I’ve changed numbering systems again.

    So a bank makes less profit.

    The issue at hand, I think, is that banks will always find a way to keep their profits going. We’re playing wack-a-mole.

    That being said, your calculations ignore some expenses. They don’t just need to make more on lending rates than they pay out on deposit rates, they need to make more than they pay out on deposit rates and checking account maintenance, debit card maintenance, ATM maintenance, and so on.

    Why should I expect to be able to utilize all of these services without cost?

  3. Scarlet Knight says:

    I’ve changed numbering systems again

    Yes I know you mean 79, but how did you get Locomotives in Kent? When I google that phrase, this post is literally the second reference. The fourth reference involves 79.

    Perhaps you should try Arabic Numerals.

    they need to make more than they pay out on … debit card maintenance, ATM maintenance

    Yes, but those items were invented in order to save the bank money. Debit card transactions are less expensive than checks and ATMs are less expensive than tellers. Then the bank acts like it is doing the consumer a favor.

  4. superdestroyer says:

    It is odd that you mentioned T-Mobile. They will eventually face the problem of spending billions to maintain their system while continuing to shrink as a part of the market.

    Eventually the U.S. will have only one wireless system since one system (most probably Verizon) will eventually get a competitive advantage that they other providers will not be able to beat.

    The real question is why the government opposes the inevitable consolidation into a single company.

  5. trumwill says:

    Yes I know you mean 79, but how did you get Locomotives in Kent? When I google that phrase, this post is literally the second reference. The fourth reference involves 79.

    You’ve never felt compelled to find out how many locomotives in Kent so that you can dazzle people with your knowledge during conversations?

    Part of the reason I am going with the new format is that it will be easier for me to tell the Linklusters apart. There are going to be a lot of them in the coming weeks. However, keeping in mind your criticism from last week, I will be trying not to rely on them as a daily post, so that there is something else up for those that are not in a surfy mood.

    Debit card transactions are less expensive than checks and ATMs are less expensive than tellers. Then the bank acts like it is doing the consumer a favor.

    They might have been at one time, but due to the sheer frequency with which debit cards are used, I suspect that the spending side of the ledger has gone up considerably. People didn’t used to write a check back then for every time they use a debit card now.

  6. trumwill says:

    It is odd that you mentioned T-Mobile. They will eventually face the problem of spending billions to maintain their system while continuing to shrink as a part of the market.

    It’s a concern, but not inevitable. There are a number of companies smaller than T-Mobile getting by, after all.

    Eventually the U.S. will have only one wireless system since one system (most probably Verizon) will eventually get a competitive advantage that they other providers will not be able to beat.

    I see no reason to believe this is the case. At minimum, I believe we’re looking at two. AT&T and Verizon aren’t going anywhere. We have two satellite carriers, after all, and the same dynamics are in play. Actually, the dynamics for two cellcos are even stronger.

    I’m pulling for Sprint and T-Mobile to both pull through. At least as urban brands. T-Mobile is the most vulnerable, but they’ve made some mistakes along the way. Maybe, absent those mistakes, they will be able to figure something out.

    But I’m not the least bit worried about AT&T or Verizon going away.

    The real question is why the government opposes the inevitable consolidation into a single company.

    Because the government would not trust Verizon (or AT&T) not to exploit their market position and has the power to stop it?

  7. Scarlet Knight says:

    SK: What is this horse hockey?

    Amazingly enough, two days after I use the phrase “horse hockey” on here, Harry Morgan dies. It was Colonel Potter’s favorite expletive on M*A*S*H.

    Morgan, who also was in Dragnet, was 96. When he was 81 he was charged with physically abusing his wife and had to complete domestic violence counseling. I hope that I am in good enough shape at 91 to do that.

    RIP

  8. Scarlet Knight says:

    I hope that I am in good enough shape at 91 to do that.

    I meant 81.

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