What’s Cheaper: Buying Stock or Buying Beer?

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Are there any guardrails left?

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Gawker’s John Cook has a fun Recessionomics list today answering the newest age-old question: Should you buy a “Baconator” combo meal? ($8.24) Or stock in Wendy’s/Arby’s Group? ($4.03)

Go here for Cook’s illustrated death match comparisons involving beer, boxer shorts, sea scallops, cigarettes, and more.

Over at Rolling Stone’s National Affairs blog, Tim Dickinson points out that for less than the price of a Big Mac, you can get three patties of AIG. You can also get several squares of Fannie Mae for less than a roll of toilet paper. (Ironically, stock in toilet paper producer Kimberly-Clark is doing just fine.)

Are stock prices finally low enough to usher in more shareholder activism? Buy enough shares in the Bigs and you can make them progressive from the inside out.