The U.S. economy is on fire. According to the Atlanta Fed’s model, the gross domestic product is headed for a 4.5 percent annualized growth pace in the fourth quarter. The U.S. economy has enjoyed [...]
President Trump told Israeli and Arab leaders today that he plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. According to the New York Times this will upset efforts to broker peace between Israel and [...]
Warning: Even my most loyal readers cannot read this entire essay in one sitting. My recommendation is get a bottle of scotch, and slowly imbibe your alcohol while you are digesting this essay. Hopefully, you [...]
The Justice Department says it will file an antitrust lawsuit to stop the proposed $85.4 billion merger of AT&T and Time Warner. This marks a departure from decades of Justice Department practice of approving [...]
In recent months, evidence has increased that the high-yield bond market is under pressure. While this class of bonds rated below investment grade continue to trade near all-time highs, concerns are mounting beyond what’s [...]
Trump’s visit to Asia, he continued his efforts to shake up the world economic order and in the process raised fundamental questions about America’s global role. Trump voiced his belief that America should act [...]
by David Satter David Satter commented that 100 hundred years ago this week armed Bolsheviks seized the Winter Palace in Petrograd, arrested ministers of Russia’s provisional government and set in motion events that will kill [...]
President Trump’s nominee to be Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, is expected to continue the Fed’s restrained approach to reversing the central bank’s crisis-era stimulus policies. This would mean gradually raising short-term interest rates [...]
The Economist reported a positive development in Morocco. In the little seaside town of Essaouira, in Morocco. Rabbis and cantors wish Muslims “Shabbat Shalom.” The Kingdom has made extensive effort to reach out to Jews [...]
The October 14th edition of the Economist described the sorry state of Freedom of Speech on America’s campuses. We should recognize that unless this intolerance is not stopped, America facing a significant curbing not only [...]
Canada, Mexico and the United States are involved in contentious negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Trump administration has offered a series of hard-line proposals that the U.S. Chamber of [...]
On Sept. 28, the Trump administration said it would temporarily waive the Jones Act, a century-old shipping law, to help get emergency supplies to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico officials had urged the administration to waive [...]
I have learned a lot about the role of Great Britain and the United States during the Civil War from a Book, A World On Fire. In discussing the United States, we must recognize the [...]
Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve officially announced it will begin reducing its balance sheet. The $50 billion-per-month decrease would cut its holdings below $3 trillion by 2020. But even that figure is almost four [...]
The September 16th edition of the Economist highlighted major issues involving cancer Cancer claimed 8.8 million lives world wide in 2015 40% of Americans will have cancer during their lifetime Cancer kills more people [...]
Over the years I have thoroughly enjoyed Great Courses. In the past few days, I have listened to a series of lectures on the Constitution. In brief, this agreement between the original thirteen states was [...]
The twenty-first century promises breakthrough opportunities for American women, who have led the recovery of our workforce participation rate.Women, especially those in their late 20s and early 30s, have been responsible for 40 percent of [...]
By James Giblin I enjoyed this book thoroughly. This book focuses on the Red Scare and the role by Senator Joseph McCarthy in creating it. Although McCarthy pursued his anti-Communist crusade with a zeal, he [...]
William Cohan, one of America’s most respected financial journalists, has written an excellent, well-balanced book about Wall Street. Cohan argues that, despite the flagrant misbehavior by some Wall Street firms that led to the [...]
Federal Income Receipts $3.66 Trillion Social Security, Medicare Taxes 29% $1.070 Trillion Personal Income Taxes 42% $1.549 Trillion Corporate Income Taxes 9% $332 Billion Excise, Estate, Gift Taxes 8% $295 Billion Borrowing to Cover [...]
The weaker dollar is helping corporate earnings, which is good for U.S. investors. Multinationals’ earnings will rise because they have substantial overseas sales, which are paid for in foreign currencies. Converting these foreign currencies [...]
Exchange traded funds have grown to hold more than $4.1 trillion for the first time, according to HFR, a publisher of information on ETFs and hedge funds. These financial products strive to match the [...]
Introduction John XXIII introduced a turning point in history and initiated important reforms for the Church. He was a conservative that sought to cure the Church because it needed radical surgery. Under his leadership, the [...]
Today’s New York Times highlighted the obstacles that Asian-Americans face in getting admitted to the finest academic institutions in our country. In my judgment, the discrimination against Asian Americans is totally unwarranted and reveals [...]
Today’s New York Times the article highlighted the fate of books stolen by the Nazis. Tens of millions of books were taken from the Rothschilds, other prominent Jewish families, and Jewish Academic organizations Strangely [...]
On Wednesday, Volvo became the first mainstream automaker to say that all models it introduces in 2019 will be either electric-gas hybrids or powered solely by batteries. It is a bold move to lead [...]
In response to major progress on their balance sheets, the Federal Reserve has given the nation’s big banks a green light to take capital risks that appear to dull the teeth of the Dodd-Frank [...]
President Trump wants to make the U.S. coal industry “great again.” The president has repeatedly said, “We are going to get those coal miners back to work.” He derides the Obama administration’s “job-killing Environmental [...]
Miracle Cure: The Creation of Antibiotics and the Birth of Modern Medicine By William Rosen My cousin, Howard Plotkin, encouraged me to read this book because streptomycin saved my life in late 1945. My [...]
No Ordinary Time Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by Doris Kearns Goodwin I recently reread Goodwin’s book in which she recounted the war years, 1940 through 1945, from the perspective of the American Presidency. Both Franklin [...]
‘Give me a one-handed economist. All my economists say ‘On one hand, then but on the other .’” — Harry Truman On Friday, the Labor Department reported seemingly good news: Unemployment fell to 4.3 [...]
Amazon last week celebrated its 20th anniversary of going public. Today, according to several reports, half of U.S. households subscribe to the company’s Prime service offering free shipping and other perks for $99 a [...]
In America, does More Education Equal Less Religion? Overall, U.S. adults with college degrees are less religious than others, but this pattern does not hold among Christians Pew Research Center Survey showed the relationship [...]
Over the past few months, the investment community has begun focusing on the steps the Federal Reserve might take to reduce its current balance sheet, which now amounts to some $4.3 trillion. Because the [...]
I would love for everyone to read quality books that provide in-depth analysis of the factors leading to the Great Recession, the clumsy efforts of key participants to address the crisis, and the ad hoc [...]
Last week I wrote about the proposed 2018 Trump Budget. The Trump 2018 budget did not focus on Entitlement Programs, which represent about two-thirds of government expenditures. Since then I thought about the impact [...]
