Kaplan Inc., a subsidiary of Washington Post Co. (WPO), recently formed a strategic alliance with web-based education firm ConnectEDU Inc. to provide industry-leading test preparation instruction manuals for admission to various courses.

Under terms of the deal, students enlisted in ConnectEDU National Network schools would be able to access Kaplan’s test preparation offerings. These include interactive tools, videos, learning games, practice tests and articles designed to acquaint the students with the standardized college entrance examination.

The module also provides test preparation recommendations to students based on individual collegiate goals and regular test performance vis-à-vis the applicant pool. Additionally, the module provides an opportunity to counselors and parents to track the performance of students and take corrective action based on these recommendations.

Kaplan is the largest and the fastest growing division of Washington Post. It is the leading global provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and

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Recently, Washington Post Company’s (WPO) wholly owned subsidiary Kaplan, Inc, the provider of higher education and professional training, acquired the Murdoch Institute of Technology from the Alexander Education Group for an undisclosed sum. The Murdoch Institute of Technology is one of Australia’s leading educational institutions, and provides courses in fields such as commerce, information technology, mass communications and science to help prepare students to enroll directly in Murdoch University. The agreement also includes the acquisition of The Murdoch Language Institute. The Institute caters to a wide range of students who want to enhance their English proficiency to enroll in secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Earlier in 2007, Kaplan had acquired Bradford College and Grange Business School, which was later renamed Kaplan Business School. In 2006, Kaplan entered the Australian Education market, and since then it has expanded its education business slowly and steadily. Kaplan is ...

How do you like this recovery? Pretty good, huh? Except for the jobs, of course. And except for the retail sales. And except for the foreclosures… and house prices. And incomes. And consumer prices. And business profits. It’s like a female impersonator… just like a real woman in every way, except for the essential ones.

At least stocks are doing well. The Dow rose another 36 points yesterday. In terms of time, it’s already beat the bounce of ’30… it’s in its 6 th month. In terms of stock prices, it’s still a laggard, however. US stocks are up about 45% from their low of 6,547 on the Dow. By that measure, the current reading of 9,398 falls a little short of the 50% increase registered 5 months after the ’29 low.

Yesterday’s news was a big disappointment for mainstream economists. It’s ‘back to the drawing board,’ says the Wall Street Journal.

The

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TODAY: Re-set still top of the headlines; military disarmament a benefit or a loss for Russia?; Caucasus talks see no resolution; Russian academy invitation to denounce 'falsifiers'; legendary Soviet singer diesThe Moscow Times reports on Barack Obama's comments on his first trip to Russia, four years ago: 'Thinking of the Russians more as partners does mean being more thoughtful, respectful and consistent about what we say and what we do'.  ITAR-TASS reports that the Presidents have had a telephone conversation in advance of their meeting.  In the Washington Post there is an analysis of the riddles that abound in Russia political identity; with Putin's anti-Americanism and authoritarianism, will Obama strike more of a chord with fellow ...

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days (while touring through Europe) that you may also enjoy.

• Gary Stix (Scientific American): The science of economic bubbles and busts, July 2009. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has prompted a reassessment of how financial markets work and how people make decisions about money.

• Matt Taibbi (Rolling Stone Magazine): The great American bubble machine, July 9-23, 2009. From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression - and they’re about to do it again.

• Bill Gross (Pimco - Investment Outlook): “Bon” or “non” appétit?, July 2009. Investors who stuffed themselves on a constant diet of asset appreciation for the past quarter-century will now be

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“Words from the Wise” this week comes to you in a shortened format as I do not have access to my normal research resources while on the road in Europe (also see my post “Gone A.W.O.L. - to Slovenia and Switzerland“). Although very little commentary is provided, a full dose of excerpts from interesting news items and quotes from market commentators is included.

While investors’ hopes of an economic recovery might have got ahead of reality, the cartoonists continually reminded us of worrisome issues …

Source: Signe Wilkinson, Washington Post,  June 18, 2009.

The past week’s performance of the major asset classes is summarized by the chart below - a mixed bag so to speak.

Source: StockCharts.com

A summary of

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It was a very uneventful Thursday…at least as far as gold and silver prices were concerned. Both metals rose and fell gently from the beginning of Thursday’s trading in the Far East…right up until the London silver fix 13 hours later…which is noon in London and 7:00 a.m. in New York. By that time, their respective prices were both back to almost unchanged on the day. But once the silver fix was in, gold tacked on about $7…and silver gained around 16 cents by the end of New York trading at 5:15 p.m. A certain amount of this rise may have had something to do with the falling US dollar…which began its descent shortly before 11:00 a.m. in New York.

The only happening of note, was that every attempt by gold to breach $940…or silver to break above $14…was quietly turned back.

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A Collapse of Bond Prices Could Send Investors into Stocks.

Summer begins in 3 days. We can hardly wait. We predict it will be a killer.

Several interesting things are likely to happen this summer.

1) Unemployment rates will go up.

2) Rising joblessness will increase rates of defaults, foreclosures, and bankruptcies. Not just at the consumer level – but throughout the system… including banks, states, businesses, as well as households.

3) The stock market will take a dive as earnings fall and investors realize that there will be no quick recovery.

Oh… and one more thing: US bonds could collapse. But watch out; here’s where it gets tricky. Another swoon in the stock market could send investors running for the smelling salts in the bond market. A collapse of bond prices, on the other hand, could send them helter-skelter into stocks.

Yesterday, the Dow rose 7 points. Oil held at $71. The dollar lost a little

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TODAY: Kremlin downplays hopes of START breakthrough; Belarus won't offer political support for money; Gorbachev argues need for perestroika on global level; Putin playing to the crowd, Medvedev left in the wings?; Litvinenko suspect to sit in duma; Sochi construction chief ousted The Kremlin is being 'pragmatic' and does not have 'high expectations of the outcome' of Obama's upcoming Moscow trip, saying as long as the issue of missile defense remains 'unclear', it will be unwilling to reduce its own weaponry.  Mikhail Gorbachev has penned an article in the Washington Post suggesting that the US is in need of its own perestroika.  Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has rejected Russia's offers of a $500 million loan as it is reportedly contingent upon ...

Mikhail Gorbachev has some advice for the United States in today's Washington Post (also see Mikhail Khodorkovsky's very similar "global perestroika"):

Elements of such a model already exist in some countries. Having rejected the tutorials of the International Monetary Fund, countries such as Malaysia and Brazil have achieved impressive rates of economic growth. China and India have pulled hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. By mobilizing state resources, France has built a system of high-speed railways, while Canada provides free health care. Among the new democracies, Slovenia and Slovakia have been able to mitigate the social consequences of market reforms.The time has come for "creative construction," for striking the right balance between the government and the market, for integrating social and environmental factors and demilitarizing the economy.Washington will have to play a special ...