Largely ignored by mainstream media, the dollar’s monopoly on global oil transactions is coming to an end. On March 26, 2018 the Shanghai Futures Exchange began trading oil in yuan (or renminbi), China’s currency. The ramifications of this event cannot be overstated. Some keen observers, as in this article, have eloquently analyzed … Continue reading
Category Archives: Economy
Speaking of Trade
March 20, 2018 Rarely, if ever, are trading partners able to achieve a balanced stasis, even among friends and allies. Today keeping personal, trade, and military secrets is fast becoming a thing of the past. Computers and the internet, like flooding waters, continually disseminate them throughout the world. Witness North … Continue reading
Pressuring Appraisers
WorkingRE Magazine – reprinted by permission Pressure, Subtle Influence and Plausible Deniability Editor’s Note: Appraisers report that despite tough new appraisal independence laws, lenders, AMCs and others haven’t stopped trying to influence the process- they’re just being more careful about covering their tracks. Fraud expert Richard Hagar, SRA, explains how … Continue reading
2017 U.S. – China Trade
January 31, 2018 A picture is worth one thousand words. Here’s a chart of the U.S. trade deficit with China. 2017 : U.S. trade in goods with China (U.S. Census Bureau) NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not … Continue reading
Speaking Of National Security Strategies
December 25, 2017 Background President Trump did not cause America’s decline; it’s been many years in the making. Once the preeminent surplus nation with a strong manufacturing base, it has morphed into an alarming case of perennial trade deficits and a (growing) $20.1 trillion national debt, the worst in history. … Continue reading
Income Inequality Report – 2017
December 16, 2017 On December 14, 2017 renowned economists Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman, Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel and Thomas Piketty published a comprehensive and exhaustively researched World Inequality Report. Here’s a summary of what they found. Income inequality has increased in nearly all world regions in recent decades, but at … Continue reading
Avatar Income
July 30, 2017 Background According to the 2016 World Economic Forum, “the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which includes developments in previously disjointed fields requiring college degrees such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and genetics and biotechnology, will cause widespread disruption not only to business models but also … Continue reading
Millions of Jobs To Disappear by 2020
The World Economic Forum (2016) warned that “the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which includes developments in previously disjointed fields such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and genetics and biotechnology, will cause widespread disruption not only to business models but also to labor markets over the next five … Continue reading
Deeds, Not Ineffective Rhetoric
July 14, 2017 The comings and goings of the Trumps and Clintons are but skillful distractions from the grave issues afflicting our country and the world: climate change, the global water crisis, the flat-out refusal of the world’s nuclear powers to eliminate humanity’s sword of Damocles, the lack of commitment … Continue reading
Hydrogen Exports as a Specific Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Criterion
January 29, 2019 Western Reserve Currencies and the Quest for Dominance Historically, shifts in reserve currencies have brought pivotal changes in the global balance of power. Beginning with the 15th Century, which marked Western Europe’s global ascendancy, the currencies of the empires of Portugal (1450-1530), Spain (1530-1640), the Netherlands (1640-1720), … Continue reading