In March, 2022, a few weeks after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine, Western countries began sanctioning the Russian economy. The sanctions were designed to hurt the Russian war machine and provide “severe and lasting economic costs” to the Russian population. A year after the initial impact of the sanctions, the Russian economy has not been crippled, […]
IS RUSSIA’S WARTIME EFFORT SUSTAINABLE? Read More »
If the politicians are asked this question, the democrats will complain that corporate power and inequality of wealth have geared the economy to benefit and protect the rich. Ask the republicans and they will contend that the entrepreneurial spirit has been stifled and the public debt is completely out of control. What then is the
IS THE U.S. ECONOMY STRONG OR WEAK? Read More »
In the last several weeks a few regional banks in the U.S. have made headlines by facing a financial crisis. What has not yet made headlines are the number of other banks in the system that have major issues. All in all, it appears that the banking system is sound, but to what extent has
THE EXTENT OF THE LATEST BANKING TURMOIL Read More »
In 1877, France colonized the land in southeast Asia now known as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. With this occupation came Catholicism, Western Culture, and some economic growth and industrialization. It also brought about a movement of groups of the local population to seek a removal of these Western influences. Here is a timeline of pertinent
A TIMELINE OF EVENTS THAT MARKED THE VIETNAM WAR Read More »
In 1803, President Jefferson negotiated a major land transaction with the First French Republic and its First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. Known as the Louisiana Purchase, the land acquisition nearly doubled the territory of the United States, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Jefferson sent a military expedition to explore this territory and
WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION? Read More »
Is inflation over? Will interest rates be coming down soon? Some economists reading their stat sheets and perhaps their tea leaves are pointing to future trends that will be bringing inflation in many of the G7 countries under control by the end of the year. However, central bankers have thrown a damp towel over investor
INFLATION AND HIGH INTEREST RATES MAY BE HERE FOR A WHILE Read More »
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 »
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 »