Marc Chagall
Eloise and I recently enjoyed the Chagall exhibit in San Francisco. He composed images based on emotional and poetic associations, rather than rules of pictorial logic. From the perspective of a critic, Chagall ranks [...]
Will Rogers
Will Rogers (1879-1935) had what it takes to tickle the national funny bone. His keen wit and the ability to see the humor in all things concerning mankind continue to endear him to millions [...]
Gene Kelly
In 1994, Gene Kelly made his last on-screen appearance, hosting “That’s Entertainment”. His last words were on the big screen were, “The song has ended, but the melody lingers on”. That is the way, [...]
Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo, novelist, poet, and dramatist, was the most important of the French Romantic writers. In an era when France was the greatest nation of the Continent, most of the nineteenth century, Victor Hugo [...]
Soft Returns Likely to Mean Hard Landings for Pensions
Unfunded pension liabilities of cities and states have doubled as their returns have fallen over the past decade and are now approaching $1 trillion. The problem has escalated a national debate about whether these [...]
Remembering Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)
The Opposite of Love, is not Hate, it is Indifference Although today’s world has not descended to the detestable conditions associated with the Holocaust, I certainly feel that today’s perpetuators of these innumerable terrorist acts [...]
U.K.’s ‘Brexit’ Vote Needn’t Be the End
The British referendum on June 23, in which 52 percent of the public voted to exit the Eurozone, remains a very contentious topic throughout the continent. It is easily the most consequential vote in Europe [...]
Brexit Revisited
Introduction The British referendum on June 23rd, where 52% of their public voted to exit the Eurozone, remains a very contentious topic throughout the continent. To put in perspective, this vote is easily the most [...]
Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck by Adam Cohen
Adam Cohen traced the infamous story of the sterilization of Carrie Buck, a perfectly normal woman for being an “imbecile.” The Supreme Court (Buck v. Bell), in a 8-1, decision upheld a Virginia Law [...]
Picking Up Where the Fed Left Off
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced that it would not only keep its benchmark interest rates unchanged but might only raise rates once over the next two years. The Fed policymakers’ altered rate outlook [...]
When Student Loans Outlive Failed Schools
By Gretchen MorgensonIn today’s New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson wrote another outstanding investigative journalistic article. Morgenson focused on several important issues:The failure of several for profit schools to provide the educational benefits that were promisedIt [...]
OPEC’s Solidarity Dissolves
On Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Nations ministers failed to agree on a new production ceiling. The cartel that controls over a third of the world’s oil has been pumping all out [...]
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 [...]