My Comments: I wish I knew who wrote this and who sent it to me so I could give them proper credit. The closest I’ve come to “war” was my early years in England when the Germans were dropping bombs on the surrounding countryside near London. Intellectually I know that from time to time it’s …
Category: Global Economics
Bitcoin And Its Obsessive Adolescence
My Comments: Last Friday, I brought “Bitcoin” to the financial table for a lot of you. Just as Facebook has become a fixture in our lives over the past decade, so too will Bitcoin, or something similar. Turning the clock back on the digital age is not going to happen. The challenge for us is …
Our Flawed Financial System is Reflected in Bitcoin
My Comments: What exactly is a bitcoin? I’ve been reading about them for many months now and I’ve yet to understand how I would spend one if it happened to show up in my change at Publix. Chances are it never will. But... The image suggests they are made of metal. But that runs counter …
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The Largest Supply Side Shock Since The OPEC Crisis Of The 1970s
My Comments: I realize that many of you have no idea what happened in the 1970s. I’d like to forget some of it so you’re ahead of me. The OPEC Crisis was a move by oil producing nations in the middle east to cut supply drastically, which caused gas prices to jump dramatically and leave …
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U.S. Defense Policy in the Wake of the Ukrainian Affair
My Comments: I was born in England in 1941 with bombs dropping on and around us almost daily. My father, with the Royal Tank Regiment, was across the Channel in the thick of things. Today I have memories of blasted buildings and walls standing here and there, some with staircases. My mother used to put …
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Global Markets: At A Turning Point?
My Comments: This article was published two months ago, so it is interesting to see how the ideas expressed were validated or not over February and March. At the time, the focus was a just ended and very dismal January. Everyone was asking me about the rest of the year. And I didn’t have a …
A Deal Over Ukraine is Ugly But Unavoidable
My Comments: Now that the University of Florida's march to the national title game in basketball is behind us, (Congratulations, guys, for giving us several months of enduring pleasure as we watched you grow and succeed!) it's time to come back to earth and consider how life is likely to play out on other fronts. …
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Reset the Reset – Visa Bans Will Not Deter Putin
My Comments: I made a reference last week to the effect that what happened when the Russians took over part of the Ukraine had only a temporary effect on the markets. Today’s comments are directed toward those who hate Obama and everything he stands for. The gist of those who daily and routinely criticize our …
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Don’t Fret About Soaring Asset Prices – This Time Is Different
My Comments: I hope everyone had a safe and happy celebration to start 2014. With it coming during the middle of the week, my internal calendar is kinda messed up; it seems today has to be Monday. But back to the real world. My first inclination when asked to understand something not readily understood, is …
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Why Taxi Cab Drivers Cannot Put Down Their Smartphones
By John Gapper | The Financial Times The New York minicab service I used to favour communicated in code. When you rang and gave your address, the radio dispatcher would reply “five minutes” and hang up. This meant a cab would arrive at any time from one to 10 minutes later. “Seven minutes” meant 20, …
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Helping Define Your Financial Future 