Tag Archives: economics

You Just Can’t Get a Good High Yield Bond Any More!

Posted on 10 February, 2020 by alfin2101

Interest rate returns for bonds and investment accounts just are not what they used to be! Below is a graph showing the historical fall in bond yields, followed by a graphic revealing the historical decline of interest rates. Fall in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Why Europe Conquered the World: A Modest Booklist

Posted on 7 February, 2020 by alfin2101

It was in Europe — and the extensions of Europe, above all, America — that human beings first achieved per capita economic growth over a long period of time. In this way, European society eluded the “Malthusian trap,” enabling new … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Wealth of Nations | Tagged | 12 Comments

Global Economic Foreshocks

Posted on 26 December, 2019 by alfin2101

Anglospheric Economies Set to Grow Anglospheric countries such as the UK, Canada, and the US are expected to experience economic growth. The UK is expected to benefit from a new trade agreement with the US, perhaps similar to the one … Continue reading →

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Is the US Stock Market on the Verge of Crashing?

Posted on 15 November, 2019 by alfin2101

A lot of people will claim to be able to predict when markets will crash. But markets are full of chaos — “unknown unknowns” — and will burn the would-be prophets almost every single time. What We Know In the … Continue reading →

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Jamie Dimon: Most Prosperous Economy Ever Seen

Posted on 12 November, 2019 by alfin2101

Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was interviewed by 60 Minutes host Leslie Stahl. Ms. Stahl tried her best to draw a pessimistic response from Mr. Dimon. But the dogged reporter could not shake the financier’s optimism. Lesley Stahl: The stock market … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Economic Freedom of the World and an Abundant Future

Posted on 17 September, 2019 by alfin2101

Nations that are economically free out-perform non-free nations in indicators of well-being Nations in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per-capita GDP of $36,770 in 2017, compared to $6,140 for bottom quartile nations (PPP constant US$) (exhibit … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Europe | Tagged | 1 Comment

Billionaire Entrepreneur Trump and the US Economy

Posted on 21 March, 2019 by alfin2101

A Savvy Businessman in the Oval Office What can a savvy entrepreneur like Donald Trump do for the US economy that a proto-socialist closet revolutionary like Barack Obama couldn’t (or wouldn’t)? For starters, unemployment is at a record low for … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Obama | Tagged | 3 Comments

Leftist Economics: The Magical Accretion of Wealth

Posted on 20 March, 2019 by alfin2101

As George Orwell observed, “there are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.” __ https://www.providencejournal.com/opinion/20190319/my-turn-mackubin-thomas-owens-ignoring-socialisms-countless-corpses Socialism is once again fashionable in certain circles of American society — particularly in the university, the media, political activist circles, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Ideology, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Nations Ranked per capita GDP 2019

Posted on 14 March, 2019 by alfin2101

GDP is not the best measure of a nation’s wealth, since the nation that deliberately demolishes a building for no good reason then rebuilds it, will be assigned more points toward its GDP than a nation that simply builds a … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, geopolitics, Russia | Tagged | 3 Comments

Why President Trump is Determined to Spank Chairman Xi

Posted on 2 October, 2018 by alfin2101

Update: China’s Great Leap Backward China Enters a Stage of Vulnerability Here are some vulnerabilities, all of them affecting China’s economy and the Communist dictatorship’s ability to project power. Corruption challenges the dictatorship’s legitimacy. Managing the complex economy and addressing … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Demographics, Donald Trump, Economics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

US Prosperity: Europe is Poorer, But Switzerland is Better

Posted on 23 September, 2018 by alfin2101

… if you look at the U.S. average ($54,629), it obviously is higher than economic output in European nations. And if you prefer direct measures of living standards, then data on consumption from the OECD also shows that America is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Europe | Tagged | 2 Comments

Shocking Rules for Preventing Personal Poverty

Posted on 13 September, 2018 by alfin2101

According to the British Cohort Study, following just a few rules in adolescence and early adulthood will reduce your likelihood of being impoverished. Finish High School, or the equivalent Avoid Teen Pregnancy Avoid Long Term Unemployment in Your Early Twenties … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Economics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Empty Towers on Debt Mountains: China’s Vulnerability

Posted on 20 July, 2018 by alfin2101

Until now, China has managed to keep its huge raft of nonperforming debt afloat thanks to capital inflows, as successive waves of quantitative easing pushed dollars into the world. A tighter dollar would seem to make the bursting of China’s … Continue reading →

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Saving the US from the Obama Decline

Posted on 11 July, 2018 by alfin2101

The Obama Economic Decline One reflection of the Obama economic decline was the stark drop in labor participation rate over the 8 years of the Obama presidency. Under Obama, Americans exhausted themselves in the search for opportunity, and millions of … Continue reading →

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US: Too Many Jobs; Not Enough Workers

Posted on 5 July, 2018 by alfin2101

US Labour Shortages Intensify Across All Sectors For all areas of the US economy — from small businesses to giant corporations — a growing shortage of workers is beginning to be felt. The unemployed labour pool (6 million) is now … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Donald Trump, Economics | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Venture Startups and Disruptive Innovations

Posted on 16 June, 2018 by alfin2101

The election of Donald Trump as US President in November 2016 sent a signal to investors that the Obama government sabotage of business was coming to an end. Following 4 straight quarters of decreasing investment, investors poured a record-breaking $5 … Continue reading →

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What Has US President Donald Trump Been Doing These 500 Days?

Posted on 5 June, 2018 by alfin2101

60 of Trump’s Accomplishments so Far: Taken from an article in the Washington Examiner: 500 DAYS: In his first 500 days in office President Donald J. Trump has achieved results domestically and internationally for the American people. Since taking office, … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Economics, Government | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Germany, China, and EU Very Worried by US Tax Reform

Posted on 21 December, 2017 by alfin2101

Germany, China, and EU Very Worried! The change in the capital investment rules gives US firms “a tremendous advantage,” [Gavin Ekins] said. “It’s a pro-capital formation tax bill and this is why other countries are so wary about what the … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Draining the Swamp, Economics, Germany | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Bernie Sanders Praised Fidel Castro, the Sandinistas, the Venezuelan System . . .

Posted on 12 March, 2017 by alfin2101

Bernie Sanders’ admiration for revolutionary socialism goes back several decades. In 1985 Sanders filmed an interview in which he expressed admiration for Fidel Castro, and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. More recently, he has admired the system of Hugo Chavez’ Venezuela, … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Politics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Ugly US Economy Wins “Least Ugly Economy” Beauty Contest

Posted on 5 March, 2017 by alfin2101

By some measures, the US is neither the most productive economy nor the most innovative per capita. The US government is mired deeply in exponentially expanding debt, and US society is undergoing a demographic decline of a dysgenic nature. And … Continue reading →

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Economically Stressed China Flirts With Nuclear War

Posted on 25 January, 2017 by alfin2101

A Chronic Economic Crisis Spurs Expansionist Impulses Deep stresses within China’s bubble economy are building, forcing Beijing to take a neoimperial posture toward weaker nations in its vicinity. Inevitably, if China expands too forcefully, it risks war of a radioactive … Continue reading →

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Innovation, Productivity, and Enterprise: Wealth of Nations

Posted on 17 January, 2017 by alfin2101

Innovation Leads to Greater Productivity and Wealth Both innovation in new products and innovation in new processes tend to contribute to higher productivity for both individual firms — large and small — and for nations. “Disruptive innovation” contributes more than … Continue reading →

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Confidence, Oil, Sperm to Surge Under Trump

Posted on 12 January, 2017 by alfin2101

Surging Confidence by Consumers, Small Business, and Big Business The change in US presidential administration seems to be signalling a significant boost in confidence toward the future at all levels of the productive sectors of the economy. Consumer Confidence Surges … Continue reading →

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Why are Some Nations Rich and Others Poor?

Posted on 8 December, 2016 by alfin2101

Judging only by wealth per capita, most people might choose to live in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, or Luxembourg. But residency is tightly restricted in the smaller two nations of the three, and gaining permanent residency is Switzerland is not particularly easy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Executive Functions, Genetics and Gene Expression, IQ, Wealth of Nations | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

A Tale of Two National Economies: Central vs. Distributed

Posted on 29 November, 2016 by alfin2101

Russia’s Economy Is Focused on the Core According to the latest available data from the Federal State Statistical Service, the Central Federal District accounts for 35 percent of the entire Russian economy. Located in this district, Moscow alone accounts for … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, geopolitics, Russia | Tagged , | Comments Off on A Tale of Two National Economies: Central vs. Distributed