Our economy is robust but we need to remember that capitalism is inherently unstable and undergoes cycles of boom and bust. In 2008, our financial institutions were overleveraged and held too many toxic assets. [...]
Ten years ago, the Federal Housing Finance Agency seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing them in conservatorship. The federal agency did this because the mortgage giants’ $5 trillion loan portfolios were in danger [...]
I want to thank all of you for participating in this celebration of life. I have enjoyed a wonderful life. I am living in the promised land. To be surrounded by friends [...]
What a difference a year makes. In 2017, the U.S. dollar was weak and the prices of commodities, metals and oil were strong. Now the strength of the U.S dollar has wreaked havoc on [...]
This past week, Apple Inc. became the first publically traded U.S. company to have a market value in excess of $1 trillion. Apple has succeeded because it dominates the smartphone market and is cultivating [...]
Last Thursday, President Donald Trump broke with tradition and criticized the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates. Historically, presidents have refrained from speaking specifically about monetary policy. On CNBC, Trump said: “I am [...]
Sadly, our polarized political atmosphere prevents the country from dealing with important issues such as immigration, infrastructure spending and coming up with appropriate trade policies. The United States is the world’s wealthiest country, with [...]
The General Electric Co. has a storied, 110-year history as one of a handful of companies that were at the center of American capitalism and industrial innovation. GE created the first incandescent light bulb, [...]
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Greg Ip wrote an excellent article in which he discussed America’s changing role from a stabilizer of the world to a disrupter. In brief, Ip argues that solving the [...]
For the first time since such record-keeping began in 2000, the number of job openings has exceeded the number of jobless. U.S. job openings rose to 6.7 million, the Labor Department reported on June [...]
The May labor report showed that the American economy is booming. Strong hiring indicated that economic growth is likely to accelerate this year, after increasing at a modest 2.2 percent annual pace in the [...]
Over dinner the other night, a good friend asked me about my outlook on the stock market. Having been a corporate bond trader for most of my Wall Street career, I have learned that [...]
Our Coming Together Against Cancer Fundraiser will provide funding to help Dr. Gorin (one of our panelists from John Hopkins) develop a novel imaging technique to address problems within the field of urologic oncology. [...]
The United States has advocated free trade policies of unrestricted imports and exports since the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. This principle of refraining from imposing tariffs or quotas remained the case even after [...]
Today’s Wall Street Journal highlighted the failure of the Job Corp program. The condemnation of the Job Corp confirms my disappointing experience as an Intern for the US Employment Service in the summer of [...]
Last Tuesday, Spotify, a superstar in the music-streaming sector, went public employing a very unusual initial public offering. Spotify listed existing shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange without relying on investment bankers [...]
I find myself in an unusual position as the debate rages over personal data and social media companies. I am a social media klutz who rarely looks at Facebook and doesn’t have Twitter or LinkedIn [...]
I find it difficult to realize that I started writing “Doc’s Prescription” in March 2008. During the subsequent decade, both our economy and I reached rock bottom and pinnacles. My first column dealt with [...]
The pension funds of state and local governments and corporations are facing a total shortfall of up to $6 trillion. Some 200 multi-employer pension plan companies face bankruptcy. And unless this fiscal shortfall is [...]
“The hypocrisy is astounding. Every one of these Republicans complained about President Obama’s deficits and now they have put forward a trillion-dollar deficit.” — Sen. Rand Paul Members of both political parties criticized U.S. [...]
The expected large-scale increase in the use of robots has prompted discussion about which jobs will become obsolete as society becomes more automated. It’s an issue that dates back long before computers were invented [...]
Playing with Fire, The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics -By Lawrence O’Donnell Introduction: I feel compelled to write up my book review for several reasons. First of all, I was probably [...]
Overview Following the Civil War the United States and Great Britain were loggerheads over damages to America by ships built in Britain for use by the Confederate Navy to destroy American merchant marine ships. The [...]
On Wednesday, Apple said it would spend approximately $350 billion in the U.S. over five years on domestic jobs, manufacturing and data centers. The impetus for Apple’s decision was the Tax Cuts and Jobs [...]
Where have all the public companies gone? According to the Center for Research in Security Prices, the number of companies that sell stock to the public on the exchanges has shrunk since 1996 by [...]
Workers in the tightest American labor markets are finally receiving pay packages that are growing faster than inflation. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 1, in cities such as [...]
At a friend’s suggestion, I am watching Netflix’s production of Viceroy’s House. The production focuses on the Last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, and the independence of Pakistan and India. The loss of India, the [...]
Five Days in London, May 1940 By John Lukacs The days from May 24 to May 28, 1940, altered the course of the history of this century, as the members of the British War Cabinet [...]
Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour By Lynne Olsen As he spoke in his last interview Eric Sevareid fought to keep his voice steady. At the end [...]
By Lynne Olson Eloise bought me the wonderful book for Father’s Day. The book, Troublesome Young Men, focuses on some twenty to forty primarily young, rebellious Conservative Members of Parliament who started in 1936 at [...]
The New York Times reported the horrendous conditions that exist in Mississippi’s Privately Owned jails. The treatment of inmates denies a fundamental Bill of Right—protection against cruel and unusual treatment. I find it inconceivable that [...]
Few Americans in the twentieth century have left a greater legacy to world peace than George C. Marshall (1880-1959). As chief of staff of the United States Army during World War II, it fell [...]
The Ku Klux Klan Act represented a major civil right accomplishment of President Ulysses Grant. That is, by 1871 the racist ideology that was prevalent in both North and South undermined efforts to protect [...]
On the eve of the Senate Passing the GOP Tax Plan, I find it disturbing that there is no middle of the road discussion of its merits or demerits. While I have not read thoroughly [...]
“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.” -Martin Luther King August 28, 1963 Introduction: The election of a Democrat to the Senate [...]
Introduction I am reading Ron Chernow’s Biography of Ulysses Grant. Needless to say, this biography provides a fantastic positive insight into one of America’s greatest generals. While Grant suffered from alcoholic demons, he possessed incredible [...]
