Recent headlines have pointed to the apparent use of espionage balloons by the Chinese over U.S. airspace. Other parts of the world, including Latin America and China itself, have reported sightings of high-flying balloons drifting over their airspace. All these balloons may or may not have been involved with espionage, but they did demonstrate the […]
WHO WERE THE FIRST TO USE BALLOONS FOR ESPIONAGE? Read More »
Much has been made in the media lately about classified government documents turning up in the homes and offices of two presidents and one vice-president. These documents were supposed to be turned over to the National Archives for proper retention and disposition after their use. The handling and retention of classified documents in a special
HOW IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS ARE CLASSIFIED Read More »
He’s been called the world’s greatest lover. He was certainly a major womanizer, having over a hundred affairs with different women. In many cases his partners were what would be considered underage by today’s standards, and some of his liaisons involved women who were emotionally or psychologically unstable. He was an adventurer looking for pleasure
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GIACOMO CASANOVA Read More »
Ukraine has a secret weapon in its war with Russia. Only it’s not the firepower we’ve seen donated to them from NATO countries. And it comes courtesy of an unlikely source—Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It’s in the form of an off-grid high-bandwidth internet network named Starlink. It services consumers in 45 countries with as many as
UKRAINE’S SECRET WEAPON Read More »
To fight inflation, the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates in what’s referred to as a tightening cycle. Rates have climbed steadily by 75 basis points (3/4 of 1%) until the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting when the tightening was reduced to 50 basis points or a ½ of 1% increase. The
A PARADIGM FOR BUYING CORPORATE BONDS Read More »
During inflationary times investing can be frustrating as the measuring stick (U.S. dollar) used to determine the value of future returns keeps getting smaller. With inflation comes the antidote of higher interest rates. Inflation and higher interest rates don’t automatically spell doom for investors, but some changes to retirement portfolios and the way investments are
AN INVESTOR’S GUIDE IN AN INFLATIONARY ECONOMY Read More »
Inflation has a significant and sometimes severe impact on the overall economy. The impact on prices can be felt far and wide in the world of commerce, but an even greater concern is the impact of inflation on the investment sector. With rising interest rates, the stock market has whiplashed up and down with volatility.
INFLATION’S IMPACT ON PENSION FUNDS Read More »
To determine the worst U.S. president in history, some criteria must be selected as popular presidents are not always good presidents, and good presidents are not always popular. It would be impossible for any president to make every person in the country happy all the time with the difficult and sometimes divisive decisions that are
WHO WAS THE WORST U.S. PRESIDENT IN HISTORY? Read More »
A few years after the end of World War II, George Marshall, a former general who became the U.S. Secretary of State, put together an aid package to help the economies of the war-torn countries in Europe to rebuild. This package was referred to as the Marshall Plan. As another war in Europe is now
WILL THERE BE A NEW MARSHALL PLAN FOR EUROPE? Read More »
Since its summer offensive, Ukrainian forces have pushed Russian troops back considerably from the territory they captured in first several months of the conflict. They have caused perhaps 100,000 Russian casualties, but have suffered a significant number of casualties as well. The momentum has shifted in their favor, but what would it take for them
IS THERE A WAY FOR UKRAINE TO WIN ITS WAR WITH RUSSIA? Read More »