Saudi Arabia is often looked at as a vast desert that contains a major religious center and a huge amount of oil. Formerly sold to industrialized countries in crude form, the country has gradually taken over the entire industry by replacing most workers with Saudi nationals. Nowadays the products sold are not only crude oil, […]
IS SAUDI ARABIA TURNING GREEN? Read More »
Global warming is a fact of life today, and it brings with it another nemesis—rising sea levels. This condition is exasperated by the huge amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels for energy. Efforts are being made in many countries throughout the world to reduce the consumption of
THE DANGER FROM RISING SEA LEVELS Read More »
An economic boom usually occurs wherever oil is discovered. State and local governments in particular come out on top, and the growth in the area generates much in the way of income for local businessmen and real estate developers. But in the case of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields in north Alaska, the impact to
THE OVERALL IMPACT OF THE TRANS-ALASKA PIPELINE Read More »
In 1708 a small fleet of Spanish ships loaded with treasure obtained from mines in South America was attacked by a flotilla of British warships that aimed to take their cargo. After two hours of fighting, one of the Galleons, the San Joquin, escaped without forfeiting its cargo. Another one, the Santa Cruz, was captured
THE TREASURE TROVE OF THE SPANISH GALLEON SAN JOSE Read More »
In 1907, the U.S. banking system was brought to its knees by a bank panic—a condition where depositors lose confidence in their bank’s ability to pay back their money and thereby withdraw it. This situation occurred several times throughout U.S. history causing economic mayhem until the panic settled back down and liquidity returned to most
HOW THE FEDERAL RESERVE WAS FORMED AND HOW IT FUNCTIONS Read More »
On March 13, 2024, The House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress voted to outlaw the distribution of all “foreign-adversary-controlled applications.” Although the bill that passed the House could have far reaching implications for numerous applications, the debate was centered around one—TikTok. The impact would mean a change for 170 million American TikTok users that
SHOULD AMERICA OUTLAW TIKTOK? Read More »
Chinese emigration is on a long-term rising trend. Many Chinese of all stripes have mustered the courage to leave China for a better life in another country. However, thanks to the current regime, the shadow of the Chinese Communist Party follows all emigrants wherever they go. Just as the regime expects proper political behavior at
THE DIFFICULTIES FACING CHINESE EMIGRANTS Read More »
Jack Daniel’s line of Tennessee whiskeys is one of the largest selling groups of distilled spirit beverages sold as whiskey in the world. What separates it from other competitor brands is the refining and aging process that was taught to Jack Daniel at an early age by a slave named Nathan “Nearest” Green in the
WHO WAS THE MASTER DISTILLER THAT HELPED CREATE JACK DANIEL’S WHISKEY? Read More »
When the China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, an up-and-coming economy soon became an economic powerhouse with dynamic 6-10% plus growth in GDP year after year. The Chinese stock markets became the market of choice for many foreign investors to take their money for great, and sometimes outsized, returns. For sundry reasons this
IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO INVEST IN CHINA: PART III Read More »
Life insurance companies do not always make a profit from the insurance underwriting portion of the business. Most of the profit comes from investing the policyholders’ premiums and realizing the financial returns. In a way this amounts to a double-edged sword of risk taking—first in the underwriting of insurance policies, and secondly in the management
HOW LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE IMPACTED BY PRIVATE-MARKET FIRMS Read More »