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August 8, 2011 Vilnius, Lithuania Ancient Greek mythology tells the tale of Odysseus, the heroic king of Ithaca whose 10-year journey home after the Trojan War became one of the world’s most famous epics. At one point in the journey, his ship was heading straight for two deadly hazards– on one side was
August 5, 2011 Vilnius, Lithuania Fridays are normally the days I like to engage in a light-hearted Q&A, answering subscriber questions on a variety of topics ranging from libertarian philosophy to exotic international travel to investment insights. Given the meltdown that we witnessed yesterday, however, I wanted to take a moment to cut
August 4, 2011 Vilnius, Lithuania Here’s some food for thought that I’d like you to chew on for a bit. The debt ceiling debacle has been settled… President Obama is celebrating his 50th birthday, no doubt dancing a little jig that a major crisis has been averted, and equity markets in the US
August 3, 2011 Vilnius, Lithuania As is typical for me, I woke up this morning with the sun shining in my face from the east-facing window of my apartment here in Vilnius. It’s a really spectacular place– 2 bedrooms, around 1,000 square feet, and generously decorated with a lot of elegant finishings. From
August 1, 2011 Sofia, Bulgaria Even with so many things wrong with the world right now, there are a lot of interesting opportunities out there. When you watch the news, it seems like the world is coming to an end. It’s all doom and gloom. But I’m here to tell you that there
July 29, 2011 Belgrade, Serbia It’s a rainy morning here in Belgrade, one of those days where the gray skies and drizzle sap the spirit and motivation to do much at all. But I have quite a few things to be excited about today. Most importantly, we’re making great progress in our property
July 28, 2011 Belgrade, Serbia When I was a kid, it was a big deal when the postman came around. He was an important man carrying important documents from far away lands that we could only dream about… and each time he pulled up there was a brief glimmer of anxiety, wondering what
July 27, 2011 Zagreb, Croatia There’s one question that I’ve been seeing over and over for the last several weeks as the price of gold has taken out its all-time highs and continued a nearly uninterrupted ascent: Should I buy gold now? It’s understandable, especially for people who don’t own precious metals yet.
July 25, 2011 Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines I first started coming regularly to Daet, in the Bicol region of the Philippines, more than 13-years ago. It’s a sleepy, quiet, relaxed place without the bustle of Quezon or Manila… perfect for people looking to live an easy, simple life. Despite the bucolic setting, though,
July 25, 2011 Split, Croatia Friday’s dual massacre in Norway was an utter perversion of humanity, the worst that the world has seen for quite some time. The confessed perpetrator, Anders Breivik, was a committed detractor of Europe’s lax multiculturalism and tolerance for immigrants. However you feel about his views, I know we
July 22, 2011 Split, Croatia Over the last few weeks I’ve gotten away from our usual tradition of having a weekly Q&A session, so I’m going to get right to it today. First, Constanza asks, “Simon, you were writing recently about ‘international diversification.‘ Can you explain a bit more about this?” Sure. It’s
July 21, 2011 Split, Croatia Print. Lie. Borrow. Deceive. Deny. These are a the principal tenets of the Greek restructuring plan that were released today from Brussels… it’s as if EU policymakers put it together after shaking a Magic 8-ball. The whole world knows that Greece is bankrupt and has been living bailout
July 20, 2011 Split, Croatia Bruce Lee, a long-time hero of mine, died 38-years ago today, and in tribute to his intellect and philosophy, I wanted to blow the dust off an old quote of his that seems quite prescient: “Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the
Reporting from Becici, Montenegro In March 2010, President Obama signed into law one of the most arrogant, unfeasible bills ever to hit the books. Known as FATCA [Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act], it was enacted as part of the inappropriately titled HIRE Act; the law requires that foreign banks must disclose personal account
July 14, 2011 Thessaloniki, Greece Last night I had quite an unexpected surprise. You see, at my hotel here in Thessaloniki, there’s a delegation from some group of the European Parliament called the Committee on Regional Development. They’re here to help… Hey, isn’t that what they always say? The Committee wants to supervise