The Real Economy Trumps Republican ‘Dark Ages’

My Comments: If I’m guilty of a ‘liberal media bias”, so be it. As an economist and financial professional for the past 40 years, I think I know how to read the tea leaves of global economic reality. They say our economy is relatively solid. Unemployment is low and growing. Corporate earnings are OK, if …

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This Stock Market Rally Is Going To Fall Apart

My Comments: Another brick in the pile that says we’re headed for a market correction. A major clue is called the price to earnings ratio or P/E. It’s a readily available metric that helps understand relative valuations. The Shiller CAPE ratio is today recognized as the better measurement of market valuations. Currently, it is almost …

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The 19 Most Productive Countries In The World

My Comments: Computers and the internet have been the major drivers of worker productivity across the planet over the past three decades. Here in the USA, we think of ourselves as being the best and throw scorn on anyone who suggests otherwise. And like with so many things, we don’t let facts get in the …

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Why Interest Rates Are Lower Than Ever

My Comments: Please keep reading… Paul J. Lim,  July 6, 2016 If you think the financial panic over Brexit is over — because stocks have bounced back somewhat from their initial sell off — think again. As scared investors continue to seek shelter in boring government bonds, fixed income prices have soared while yields on …

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The Only Way To Save the EU Is For The UK To Leave It

My Comments: Forget the UK and Europe. There’s a message here that applies to us in the United States and the anger among so many that gives rise to a choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. It echoes the comments I’ve made here for years that “It’s economics, stupid!”. A primary driver of deteriorating …

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Do Record Low Yields And Record High Stocks Spell Trouble?

My Comments: This week I’ve focused my posts on what other people think is likely to happen to your money if you have it invested in stocks and bonds. It’s pretty obvious that no one has a clue. Until a lot of stuff gets sorted out, my recommendation is to go to cash and sit …

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A DIVIDED AMERICA: Rural vs. Urban

My Comments: Economic reality drives most lives today. It shapes our ideas about politics, about family, about national security, and our fears. Almost all of us agree that life is better with more money than with less money. So where you live has a huge influence on your economic reality, and as a result, how …

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The Economy Is Adding Jobs, But The Divide Between The ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-nots’ Is Bigger Than Ever

My Comments: I’ve been railing for some time about the income divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. If a remedy is not found, my fear is that my grandchildren, perhaps my children, will see rioting in the streets. It’s increasingly profound, and it’s contributing greatly to the political divide in this country. It’s …

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Brexit: Why Most Commentaries Miss The Point

My Comments: I found this a couple of days ago and it really helped me understand what happened in Great Britain the other day. If Brexit concerns you, this might help. It appeared in a news feed I follow written by a Tom Dispatch, if I have his name correct. 06/26/2016 Economist Robert Kuttner has …

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Young People Just Got Brexited by Their Parents

My Comments: As someone with strong personal ties to Britain and the United Kingdom (I was born there in 1941), the vote to leave is profoundly shocking. One of my grandfathers and my favorite uncle served in the British Army during the Great War. They somehow came home alive. My father and his brother fought …

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