Monthly Archives: July 2012

In this strange election year, it is a clear symptom of the madness that has gripped this country that it even became debatable over whether business tycoons built fortunes without the support of government and society in general. Railroad tycoons, … Continue reading →

Mario Draghi pulled rabbits out of hat this week, creating a global stock market boom by promising to do ‘whatever it takes’ to save the Euro. But is that credible?  In the monetary economy, of debts accounts, it certainly is.  … Continue reading →

Today’s financial headlines show the crumbling of the edifice of the Euro zone.  Greece is in full blown depression; Spain is nearly there, as the shrinkage of its economy is accelerating and the country plans a fiscal tightening of 10 … Continue reading →

I have not commented on the Syrian revolt for some time, because it has been unwinding basically as expected — a gradual erosion of support for the Assad regime among soliders and civilian, some major defections among his key supporters, … Continue reading →

Those who read this blog know that I favor free markets as the engine of economic growth, but only when properly governed and regulated to provide real competition, ensure wide distribution of benefits, and limits on short-term risk.   In recent … Continue reading →

Hope springs eternal in the markets — until it evaporates like dew before the hot sun (lots of that in northern VA, by the way).  There is so much cash sitting on the sidelines, or earning near-zero interest in bonds, … Continue reading →

Dear Friends, This year’s Fourth of July was a bit unusual, as we were without power for 5 days following the Washington area derecho storm.  Power was just restored to us late yesterday night. For all of you in the … Continue reading →

I have spent the last three weeks in the land of the rising sun – Japan.    I have not written about it because it has taken me a long time to figure out what is happening here.  I expected to … Continue reading →