Modern economies are extremely complicated and extremely vulnerable to centralized failure. When the Federal Reserve makes the wrong move, it can crash the whole financial system.
Stinkballs…All of Them
Trump…Trump…Trump…we’re as tired of the subject as you are. But no person will have more effect on the economy or the Primary Trend than the man in the White House. Politics is ascendant.
Conspiracy of Dunces
All political arrangements, being part of life itself, decay over time. Constitutions are re-interpreted. Public mores become more elastic. Bread and circuses tend to replace modest, restrained leader
Place at the End
“Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin Six dance-hail maidens to bear up my pall Throw bunches of roses all over my coffin Roses to deaden the clods as they fall.” —Streets of Laredo, Johnny Cash version “Death is not something to be feared. It is just a part of life,” the priest explained. […]
Tools of History
“King of Kings Ozymandias am I. If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work.” —Diodorus Siculus Nations can go on…and on. The Chinese are still Chinese. The Turks are still in Turkey. And the French will always be with us. But empires rise […]
Unfinished Business
Many times in the past, Donald Trump was reportedly ‘finished.’ His many gaffes, faux pas and foibles would have destroyed a lesser figure. But he survived…and grew stronger than ever. And now…once again, the press is running hopeful obituaries. The Washington Post leads with a “It might be falling apart for Trump” headline: Multiple polls this week […]
Tranquilo
“Yes… muy tranquilo.” The fields are green. The cattle are fat. The spring flowers are blooming. And the traffic is calm. “I think the biggest thing,” said a neighbor in County Cork, “is that we’re not in a battle with anyone. You don’t feel the tension that you feel in the US.” She had a […]
A Very Dumb Idea
When the moon hits your eye Like a big pizza pie, that’s amore When the world seems to shine Like you’ve had too much wine, that’s amore –That’s Amore! By Dean Martin “Why Trump Unleashed Tariff Chaos” is still a popular headline at Bloomberg. Search for ‘Trump tariffs’ on Google and you will get “about […]
The Fog of Wars
The big story in the financial world is still the trade war. Wars are serious business. Nations tend to get edgy when they think their material welfare…or military power…is in danger. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor after the US cut off its oil supplies. Napoleon invaded Russia because he thought it was undermining his trade sanctions […]
Gold’s Rules
‘Would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?’ –Jesus, to Judas Iscariot When we left you last week, word had just come that China responded to Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariff salvo, with reciprocity of its own. Reuters: Beijing on Friday increased its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%, hitting back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s […]
