Can the US win a Cold War with China? (Part II)
Buenos Aires, Argentina The horse has already bolted. But the stable hand hasn’t noticed, continuing to put faith in his …
Can the US win a Cold War with China? (Part I)
Buenos Aires, Argentina On the day after Christmas in 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved. The great communist empire …
“Modern” money for nothin’
Buenos Aires, Argentina “That ain’t working, that’s the way to do it Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free.” …
Is America “close to a major crash”?
The US economy looks like it’s in pretty good shape. But a question from a reader prompted me to think …
The “multiple uncertainties” that are on my mind
Buenos Aires, Argentina Heavy rainstorms swept through Buenos Aires in the past few days. Lightning flashed, thunder cracked, streets were …
A short note to myself about market crises
Buenos Aires, Argentina Just a short note today, as I’m hopping on a plane later and heading west across the …
What causes a financial crisis? Too much faith or too little?
Question one: What causes a massive loss of faith in a country’s political and financial systems? Answer: About a century …
Turkey gets roasted
Just last Thursday I highlighted how Turkish stocks were approaching their 2009 lows, in dollar terms. But I also said …
The hard lessons of populist failure
Today I want to share with you a recent email exchange I had with a reader named Patrick, who I …
Trade wars weigh on stocks…again
Global stock prices are under pressure as trade wars have come back on the agenda. US actions and rhetoric have …
Faking GDP growth: in the US and elsewhere
Structural factors make low economic growth a virtual certainty in the US and most other developed countries. But that doesn’t …
A snapshot of the state of the World (in charts)
It’s easy to get distracted by immediate developments and daily news flow. But it pays to keep an eye on …
A decade on: Europe’s huge bad debt problem
The global financial crisis (GFC) got rolling in 2007, and the financial sky had caved in by late 2008. You’d …
Is deflation a bigger risk than inflation?
Consumer price inflation (CPI) has scraped itself off the floor in the past couple of years. In the face of …
Will rising rates pop the world’s housing bubbles?
Almost 10 years ago, in May 2008, I sold my apartment in London before emigrating to Argentina. That was at …
The country that’s banned its own money
You’d think that any coins and notes that qualify as “legal tender” would be widely accepted in the country where …