Inflation is upon us, and it won’t be going away very soon, echoes the sentiment in Washington D.C. as the Federal Reserve sets out to combat it. Whenever inflation passes above 4% and unemployment falls below 4%, the U.S. economy has gone through a recession, as per Lawrence Summers, Harvard professor and former Treasury Secretary. […]
IS THE NEXT U.S. RECESSION JUST AROUND THE CORNER? Read More »
The era of easy money is coming to an end thanks to a combination of geopolitical events that have spurred a wild rush of inflation. Central banks in many parts of the world are already beginning, or are set to begin, tightening cycles, designed to quash this inflation. The demand for housing has held up
COULD THERE SOON BE ANOTHER GLOBAL HOUSING CRISIS? Read More »
Investors as well as central bankers have been lulled into complacency by forty years of controlled inflation coupled with major economic growth. It’s possible that policy makers were hesitant to react when inflation started up with a vengeance about one year ago. But for many months since that time, it appeared that the Federal Reserve
DID THE FED BLUNDER WITH ITS INFLATION POLICY? Read More »
Inflation is upon us as evidenced by rising fuel and food prices, along with almost everything from clothing, to housing, to new vehicles. Most economists point to this round of inflation as owing to ultra-low interest rates coupled with low unemployment thereby providing strong demand. The supply chain, still recovering from Covid, cannot rise up
THE ROLE OF QUANTITATIVE EASING IN INFLATION Read More »
At the end of World War I, the U.S. economy went through a major boom era known popularly as the roaring twenties. Rising incomes meeting up with rising technological advances created progressive lifestyles for many middle and upper class Americans. It also nourished the get-rich-quick attitude that has long pervaded American society. Those times and
THE 1920’s, AN ERA OF GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEMES Read More »
Thanks to the war in the Ukraine and corresponding sanctions, crude oil markets have been roiled worldwide as traders in various parts of the world grapple with sharply higher crude oil prices. The trickle down has hit just about all phases of oil production to the retail level. The mayhem has reached the natural gas
THE FUTURE OF THE SANCTIONED CRUDE OIL MARKET Read More »
In Response to the military invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Russia has been sanctioned by numerous countries in an effort to force economic pain on the invaders. As an economic weapon in the face of military action sanctioning is not new—it dates back to 432 BC in Greece. It typically arises when a trading partner of
SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA—WHERE ARE INVESTORS MOST AFFECTED? Read More »
When World War I ended in November, 1918, Germany’s economy was in a shambles. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Germany was obliged to accept defeat and agree to pay a huge amount of money for reparations primarily to France and Belgium, owing to the great destruction and loss of life inflicted on those
INFLATION IN GERMANY AFTER WORLD WAR I Read More »
Today’s financial markets have shown considerable volatility that’s likely to unnerve many private investors. Much of the reason for it comes from the changing character of the economy due to the massive amount of government stimulus stemming from the pandemic. As this stimulus winds down in the face of inflation, financial markets have been shifting
HOW HEDGE FUNDS IMPACT TODAY’S MARKETS Read More »
Ninety-three years ago on October 24, 1929, the U.S. stock markets went on a sharp decline that eventually fell by 89% of the all-time high of 381.17 reached on September 3 of that year. On July 8, 1932, the bleeding finally stopped as the Dow Jones Industrial Average bottomed out at $41.22, and didn’t reach
THE 1929 STOCK MARKET CRASH Read More »