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January 27, 2011 Undisclosed location Moscow erupted in pandemonium this week as a bombing attack at the city’s busiest airport claimed the lives of at least 40 people on Monday. Nobody seemed to notice the bombing in Manilla, Philippines only hours later. Two people were killed on Tuesday when an 81mm mortar was
January 25, 2011 Santiago, Chile US General George S. Patton is often credited with saying “No poor bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.” Perhaps Patton was correct. But a lot of poor bastards had a significant impact on security policies by blowing themselves up for their cause. Yesterday’s suicide
Japan is causing its own demise January 24, 2011 Santiago, Chile Most people have never heard of Lee Kuan Yew… but he’s an incredibly important figure in one of the world’s most cutting-edge economies. As Singapore’s first prime minister, he governed for 3 decades, overseeing his country’s transformation into a modern, developed economic
January 21, 2011 Santiago, Chile I had a rather interesting meeting last night with a notable Chilean attorney who is the chief legal counsel of one of the country’s largest telecom firms. We talked about the growth of the local economy and the lengths to which the government here is trying to attract
January 20, 2011 Santiago, Chile On November 4, 1979, a battalion-sized group of militants who became known as the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line descended upon the American embassy in Tehran, Iran. They eventually suppressed the guards and seized control of the compound. For 444 days, fifty-two diplomats, soldiers, and their
January 18, 2011 Santiago, Chile Laos is a small, landlocked economy in Southeast Asia that’s often overlooked in favor of its neighbors: Thailand, China, and even Cambodia. But there are a few important factors that set Laos apart and lead me to believe that, when it comes to inflation, the country is the
January 14, 2011 Santiago, Chile I want to start out this end-of-week missive by reiterating one immutable fact: no place is perfect… and in these tumultuous times which I call the ‘Age of Turmoil,’ no country is going to be completely immune to the looming problems which face the world, namely rising prices
January 13, 2011 Santiago, Chile Yesterday evening I was walking around the beautiful tree lined streets of Providencia, one of Santiago’s central upscale districts. I might as well have been walking around Berlin or Strasbourg– Providencia is a clean, highly civilized area with plenty of parks, cafes, and boutique shops that adjoin the
January 12, 2011 Santiago, Chile In its latest step to make the renminbi a competing global reserve currency, China’s predominantly state-owned Bank of China will now let individuals open renminbi savings accounts… in the United States. Effective immediately, BOC’s US individual customers can now open a renminbi denominated savings account with a $500
January 11, 2011 Vina del Mar, Chile Vina del Mar is a posh beach community that’s a bit like Punta del Este, Monaco, or the Hamptons… it’s where the wealthy and beautiful Chileans go to be seen during the summer holiday period. Even on a cloudy day, you’ll still see hundreds of thong-clad
January 10, 2011 Vina del Mar, Chile I abhor violence. Non-retaliatory violence is a desperate act of intolerant men who cannot sort out their differences reasonably and peacefully. Violence is the answer for those who lack the intellectual merit to win a battle of ideas and can only resort to more animalistic behavior
January 7, 2011 Valparaiso, Chile Valparaiso is Chile’s largest and most famous beach town, only about a 2 hour drive from Santiago. It’s summertime here, so it looks more like the south of France or coastal Spain than you would expect of a relatively unknown place like Chile. This is typically the reaction
January 6, 2011 Santiago, Chile Without a doubt, the existing global financial system depends on the widespread use of fiat currencies issued by insolvent governments. The wealth of the world’s large financial institutions requires that there be currencies with sufficient size and circulation to absorb massive capital flows. The current system is based
January 5, 2011 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Sometimes opportunity arises in the most bizarre (and unfortunate) circumstances. You’ve probably seen the news from Australia– a huge portion of the country is under water, and it’s a state of emergency. Tim Staermose, our friend, partner, and resident investment guru, is on the ground in Queensland
January 4, 2011 Santiago, Chile Latvia is broke… I’m talking flat broke– more than Spain, Greece, California, etc. And because this small Baltic, former Soviet republic is not in the Eurozone, it’s generally been left for dead by the EU’s larger economies save a few handouts here and there. Latvia has recently taken
