Unemployment Remains Worse Than It Should Be
The U.S. Labor Department on May 6 reported that our economy added the fewest number of jobs in seven months, 160,000. So far in 2016, employment gains have averaged 192,000 per month. This is [...]
All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (1974)
I recently heard on audible, All the President’s Men. Although I had read the book many years ago, I do not believe that at the time I appreciated the incredible investigative journalism that was [...]
Interview: Warren Buffett with Betsy Quick on CNBC
For years I have admired Warren Buffett. Moreover, his eternal optimism is contagious. That is, it is hard to listen to Warren without buying America. Nothing seems to deter his belief that America is [...]
Too Big to Fail?
MetLife, the insurance giant that in 1985 secured the rights to use Snoopy in its company logo, has won a major victory, allowing it to avoid more strict federal scrutiny. Despite being the nation’s [...]
Beijing Helping China’s Banks Shed Bad Loans
Six years after the government bailed out U.S. banks and auto companies, Chinese regulators are coming up with strategies to clean up their own banks’ bad debts, primarily caused by loans to state-owned enterprises [...]
Japan’s Adventure in Negative World
“Negative interest rates are spreading like the Zika virus.” — Bill Gross, co-founder of PIMCO Bill Gross, a legendary fixed-income investor, recently expressed his alarm in his monthly newsletter over the increased use of [...]
Caterpillar’s Results Tell Woeful Global Tale
On Thursday, Caterpillar, the world’s largest construction and mining equipment maker, warned that 2016 would be a grim year for it. It predicted that its revenues would decline for a fourth straight year — [...]
We Should Listen to Gloomy IMF Forecasts
As 2015 ended, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, Christine Lagarde, lowered her forecast for 2016 in a guest column published by the German financial newspaper Handelsblatt.Earlier, she had said at a Brookings Institution event [...]
Negative Interest Rates Not Right Move for U.S.
Several years ago, news organizations described the inventors of new financial instruments as “financial engineers.” Since then, the Great Recession has taught us that a financial Mr. Hyde, not a Dr. Jekyll, conceived some of [...]
UN Ranks IDF Emergency Medical Team as No. 1 in the world
Israel became the first country to earn World Health Organizations highest ranking for its field hospital unit. The UN World Health Organization recognized Israeli Army’s field hospital as the number 1 in the world [...]
Junk Bond Concerns Should Be a Wake-Up Call
“The junk bond market was a keg of dynamite that sooner or later will blow up” — Carl Icahn, on CNBC On Dec. 12, Carl Icahn warned that a lack of liquidity could cause [...]
Doomed to Succeed’ by Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross, a senior United States policy makers through four recent Well, yes, as a matter of fact; how about the diplomat who has devoted his professional life to trying to bring about that peace, [...]
Why Immigration Remains Important to U.S. Growth
The United Nations has released a surprising report showing that, for the first time since 1950, the working-age population in the world’s advanced economies is forecast to decline in 2016. And this drop is [...]
Ending Tax Dodges Will Take Compromise
Pfizer has approved a deal to buy rival drugmaker Allergan for $160 billion, making it the largest pharmaceutical merger ever. Pfizer CEO Ian Read has repeatedly stressed his desire to move his New York-based [...]
Jobs, Interest Rates and Mortality Rates
The Labor Department last week reported the strongest jump in payrolls this year, some 271,000 in October, the fastest rate of wage increases since 2009. Unemployment fell to 5 percent from 5.1 percent. Average [...]
China Ramps Up Stimulus Program
On Friday, the People’s Bank of China took several major steps to stimulate that country’s economy after it slowed to its lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. The bank: Cut its benchmark [...]
Jobs Report Shows Fed Must Be Patient
The U.S. Labor Department recently released the disturbing news that our job growth for non-farm payrolls only rose 142,000 in September. Adding to the woes, labor gains in July and August were revised downward. [...]
Why is Merger Activity on Record Pace This Year?
Global mergers and acquisitions could set a record this year of close to $4.6 trillion, according to data provider Dealogic. This would exceed the $4.3 trillion reached in 2007, the previous record year for [...]
Cost of a Family Health Plan Tops $17,000
Today’s WSJ revealed the results of a survey conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation along with the American Health Association. My Summary of Major points The average annual cost of an employer family plan in [...]
Moves Show China’s Weaknesses
China’s recent devaluation of its currency, the yuan, highlights Beijing’s attempt to reverse the country’s domestic economic slowdown. Until now, the country’s stimulus efforts focused solely on its domestic market: Beijing encouraged its banks [...]
Why the Cost of Coal Matters to Consumers
Investors are fleeing commodities amid mounting worries about the slowdown in global growth and the significant price declines in commodities. The World Bank, in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook, predicts that commodity prices will [...]
China Reaping the Results of its Political System
The communist Chinese government has now tasted the bitter medicine of the downside volatility that accompanies capitalism. That nation’s stock market has sold off $3 trillion — some 30 percent during the past four [...]
Higher Interest Rates Will Be a Good Change
In recent weeks, global interest rates have risen dramatically because of the improving economies of many of the largest developing countries. Interest rate increases in Europe and America have recently been following each other [...]
Charging Instead of Paying Interest, What Could Go Wrong?
Investors and savers -- those who buy bonds and put money in bank deposits -- are paying banks to hold onto and use their money. Mark Kiesel, chief investment officer for Global Credit at [...]
Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal
(The New York Times Article is included at the end of this essay so that you can form your own opinions.) Today’s New York Times highlighted another instance which involved questionable behavior by both [...]
Single Motherhood in U.S. Increases Sharply
Introduction: Poor outlook for children of unwed mothers Much of what I have written derives directly from articles that cover this subject. Over the past year, I have a number of conversations about the significant [...]
Factors Pushing Mergers Grow, but is Wall Street Only Winner?
Merger and acquisition volume could reach $4 trillion globally this year, trailing only 2007's record. This time, America is much more active in deal making than Europe. The weaker countries in Europe are holding [...]
The Lady in Gold
In a single evening in November 2006, Christie's sold nearly half a billion dollars of art, almost double the previous world auction record. Driving this sale were four paintings by Gustav Klimt that together sold [...]
The Iran Deal and Its Consequences by Henry Kissinger and George P. Shultz
Mixing shrewd diplomacy with defiance of U.N. resolutions, Iran has turned the negotiation on its head. By HENRY KISSINGER And GEORGE P. SHULTZ Former Secretaries of State—Henry Kissinger and George Shultz—wrote an editorial in today’s [...]
Fallout From Low Prices Will Continue for Near Future
In recent weeks, U.S. oil companies have announced $8.3 billion in cuts in capital expenditures for calendar 2015, primarily because oil prices have declined some 50 percent in the last year. Capital expenditure in [...]
You Have to Pay to Park Money? Weird but True, and Bad for Us
Something weird is happening in Europe: negative interest rates. Some $2 trillion, about 16 percent of the world's government bonds, now offer negative yields, according to John Apruzzese, partner and chief investment officer at Evercore [...]
Gift to Sarasota, in Memory of His Wife
CAUSEWAY PARK: Beneath Ringling bridge, it’s a renaming and dedication Causeway Park was renamed Friday after the late wife of a Sarasota man who donated playground equipment and other amenities to improve it. Members [...]
Walmart and Others Know It’s Time to Raise Minimum Wage
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. - Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, 1776 [...]
In Praise of Activist Investors’ Ability to Change Companies
The sudden resignation of McDonald's CEO Don Thompson is in part a result of criticism by activist investors. They complained about the company's weak financial performance under his leadership, including poor global same-store sales. [...]
Swiss Currency Decisions Adds Pressure on Europe’s Bankers
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions" Well meaning efforts by the Swiss National Bank have backfired, sending shock waves through international markets. In 2011, the Swiss central bank took dramatic steps [...]
Rationales for Thinking the U.S. is Headed for a Prosperous Year
America enters 2015 with more momentum than it has had since 2007. Hopefully, our fire power can pull the rest of the world out of its doldrums. Despite this week's plunge in the stock [...]