A sunny vision of that region's future that should interest anyone concerned with global business or politics. He argues that entrepreneurial, religiously conservative contingents in such countries as Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran can propel the Middle East into a democratic and prosperous 21st century. Words: 676
Read More »"The Design of Business" – A Book by Roger Martin (+2K Views)
This new book is a must-read for people who want to bake into their corporate cultures ingredients such as research, design and innovation. One of the greatest challenges in doing so, which the book deals with, is blending the two solitudes -- the "innovator" culture with the "bean-counter" culture. This is never easy, he writes, because they talk different languages and rely on different benchmarks. But winning companies have learned how to merge them, and then surgically select the best from each. Words: 451
Read More »America's Inability to Increase Revenues Via Higher Taxes Will Ultimately Cause USD to Crash
A dollar crash might happen because foreign investors decide that the U.S. has fallen into a so-called tax trap, which occurs when a nation is unable to increase revenue by lifting tax rates. This circumstance, paired with mounting deficits, can lead to wholesale flight from a nation’s assets. The Chinese will only lend money if they think we will pay it back. Words: 697
Read More »Crisis and Aftermath: Economic Outlook and Risks for the US
This boom will be pleasant while it lasts. It might go on for a number of years, in much the same way many people enjoyed the 1920s. Be that as it may, we have failed to heed the warnings made plain by the successive crises of the past 30 years, and this failure was made clear during 2008–09. The most worrisome part is that we are nearing the end of our fiscal and monetary ability to bail out the system. In 2008–09 we were lucky that major countries had the fiscal space available to engage in stimulus and that monetary policy could use quantitative easing effectively. In the future, there are no guarantees that the size of the available policy response will match the magnitude of the shock to the credit system. Words: 2262
Read More »"SuperCycles: The New Economic Force Transforming Global Markets and Investment Strategy": A Book By Arun Motianey (+2K Views)
Motianey is an engaging writer and “Supercycles” should be considered a must read for economic junkies. His ideas are fresh and innovative and he attempts to avoid the dogma that frequently leads those in the profession astray. Words: 700
Read More »Why the Fed MUST Continue to Buy Its Own Debt
The FED chose to solve the problem of too much debt by creating even more debt by taking the unprecedented action of buying it’s own debt under euphemisms like “quantitative easing” and “debt monetization” and also covert buying to artificially force negative real return rates of interest. Through this course of action, the FED so far has been able to turn what would have been a rapid deflationary collapse into a decaying inflationary depression which is euphemistically called “a recession that is now over”. Words: 955
Read More »"The Inflation Crisis and How to Resolve It" – A Book by Henry Hazlitt (+2K Views)
What actually is inflation? Is it inherent in a free market economy? Who or what is the cause? Can inflation be stopped, and how? What to do? Most people are desperately confused and searching for answers. Society is facing nothing short of a crisis. Words: 850
Read More »Claptrap! Balderdash! Flimflam! This ‘Recovery’ is a Scam
Officially, the crisis is over. Everyone says so. Central bankers and Treasury officials have been congratulating themselves. It’s been a year now since the end of the world didn’t happen. These fellows take credit for it. Claptrap! Balderdash! Flimflam! Words: 669
Read More »10 Reasons We are NOT Undergoing a Cyclical Recovery
This is NOT a business cycle: this is a one-time reversal of twenty years of inflation of the household balance sheet. An aging population needs a 10% savings rate (at least) to meet minimum funding requirements for the biggest retirement wave in US history but, instead, with 17% effective unemployment, many Americans are dis-saving. Words: 332
Read More »4 Catalysts Causing U.S. Dollar to go UP (+2K Views)
What is underpinning current dollar strength is a shift in market focus toward some of the headwinds facing the global economic environment. That’s swinging the risk appetite pendulum back toward safety, which is positive for the dollar. Words: 692
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