ECONOMICS

"Gold looks better every day with growing sovereign risks." - Hussein Allidina, head of commodities research at Morgan Stanley "Paper eventually returns to its intrinsic value -- zero" - Voltaire Gold recently closed near [...]

"There is no better way for individuals to build diversified investment portfolios. Every asset class is available at rock-bottom costs." - Charles Schwab, founder and chairman of Charles Schwab Corp. After all these years, [...]

"In a world in which the policy interest rate is close to zero, the (Federal Reserve) must consider the costs and risks associated with the use of non-conventional tools when it assesses whether additional [...]

I'm forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air. They fly so high, Nearly reach the sky, Then like my dreams, They fade and die -1918 lyrics by James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat [...]

"We've pressured Cisco, saying, 'We would like a share. You don't need all that money.'" - Susan Byrne, chief investment officer of Westwood Holdings Cisco Systems recently joined tech titans Microsoft and Oracle in [...]

"Governments should not become addicted to borrowing as a quick fix to stimulate demand. ... Deficit spending cannot become a permanent state of affairs." - Wolfgang Schaeuble, German finance minister, Spiegel Online, June 25, [...]

Suggestions on How to Give the U.S. economy a tune-up "It's the economy, stupid." - James Carville, lead strategist for Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign This phrase was used effectively during Bill Clinton's successful campaign [...]

"China's main mission is to protect and fuel its growing economy, and to do that China is engaged in a concerted campaign to grab conventional energy resources around the world." -Karen Harbert, head of [...]

"We need an all-out effort, a Manhattan Project, a man to the moon, to become less dependent on fossil fuel and the Middle East." - Rep. Chris Shays R.-Conn. In 1957, the Soviet Union [...]

"Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance," by Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm "In practice, we have seen that things that should have happened once every one hundred years are becoming [...]

"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."-Benjamin Franklin Last weekend, Helmut Kohl, frail and confined to a wheelchair, implored his countrymen not to abandon his lifetime goal -- a [...]

"Time and again, problems emerge from a failure to heed the lessons of history. The recent market turmoil would not have occurred without unrealistic ratings, excessive leverage and government actions that distorted markets and [...]

Many Americans share my passion for courtroom dramas. We are riveted by the thrust and parry of trial lawyers and applaud when our legal matadors make the defendants break on the stand. Unfortunately, my [...]

In Greek mythology, Greek Sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis were situated between Sicily and Calabria in Italy. They were so close to each other that they posed an inescapable threat to passing sailors; avoiding [...]

"Keynes, The Rise, Fall and Return of the 20th Century's Most Influential Economist" by Peter Clarke Clarke explains very clearly, in about 200 pages, the shifts in John Maynard Keynes' reputation from 1920 to [...]

Derivatives’ Destructive Role in the global marketplace In my studies of the European conquest of Native Americans, I leaned how a relatively few invaders could subdue millions. Europeans possessed several formidable advantages, including rifles [...]

In the memorable movie "The Graduate," a family friend of the Braddocks, Mr. McGuire, says to the aimless Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman): "Let me give you one word -- plastics. There is just one [...]

"The Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-The Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History" by Gregory Zuckerman Gregory Zuckerman, an award-winning Wall Street Journal columnist, provides a wonderful, fast-paced [...]

In 1986, Steven Spielberg produced a slapstick film, "The Money Pit," about a married couple whose efforts to renovate their home are sabotaged by costly accidents. A generation later, the American taxpayers' efforts to [...]

Introduction In the aftermath of the Greek fiscal crisis, there needs to be a realistic assessment of the “lifetime superpower” assumptions that have dominated political actions in most advanced economic states. Specifically, capitalistic countries [...]

"The future ain't what it used to be."- Yogi Berra It has always been difficult for the retail industry to keep its customer base because of constantly changing consumer preferences, rapid commoditization and low [...]

"There are rare moments in this institution when you can implement fundamental change. This is one of them." –Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. President Obama is considering forming a bipartisan commission to reduce the nation's [...]

For decades the American government sought to increase homeownership because of a belief that it reinforced a faith in capitalism and made better citizens. Unfortunately, this effort turned into government mandates that led the [...]

Too Big To Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System – and Themselves. By Andrew Sorkin. Andrew Sorkin, business writer for the New York Times, [...]

The decline of the U.S. dollar over the past six months is reviving concerns about its status as the world's reserve currency. A reserve currency is held in significant quantities by many governments as [...]

The movie "It's a Wonderful Life" highlights the fragile dependence of the community of Bedford Falls on its banking institutions. The potential failure of its saving and loan because of a financial crisis will [...]

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro recently said the rating agency industry needs to be subjected to a stronger regulatory framework because investors frequently consider those ratings in making investment decisions. Schapiro needs to follow up [...]

"(I)t is important to note that the very absence of common-sense regulations able to keep up with a fast-paced financial sector is what created the need for that extraordinary intervention. The lack of sensible [...]

Much of the benefit of the Merrill Lynch (ML) and Bank of America (BAC) merger has been lost to investors for a lack of full disclosure. It is a fundamental principle of American finance [...]

Jeff Taylor wasn't happy that the Senate approved another $2 billion for the "cash for clunkers" program last week. For him, the program means fewer clunkers, and possibly less cash. Taylor hates the term, [...]