Category: Trends & News

Yesterday I told you how the US federal debt level is expanding at its fastest rate since the financial crisis. This isn’t supposed to be happening. The financial crisis is years behind us. The economy is supposedly on solid footing. The government keeps gushing about how much tax revenue they’re collecting. Usually when

A few days ago, the federal debt of the United States rather quietly and unceremoniously passed the $19.5 trillion mark. And while that figure may seem absolutely confounding, what’s even more alarming is how rapidly the US government is racking up this debt. In fact, for the 2016 fiscal year that ends in

Yesterday we talked about how the banking system is MUCH riskier than most people are led to believe. And there is a growing chorus of high ranking regulators and officials saying the same thing, ranging from the Vice Chairman of the FDIC to former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. I compared the banking

“Sir. SIR! This your bag,” the TSA agent barked at me last week, more as a statement than a question. “It is.” “Are you carrying any liquids?” I knew immediately; I had forgotten about the bottle of water that I had shoved in my briefcase before checking out of my hotel. They opened

On March 5, 1997, I signed up for the American Airlines “AAdvantage” loyalty program. I was 18 years old and didn’t know anything about travel. Back then it was exciting to even set foot on a plane. But over the years travel has become a huge part of my life. I’ve been all

Down here at the farm, one of the most important things we do each year for our fruit trees is the winter pruning. This happens annually during Chile’s winter period from late June through early September when the trees have put themselves into hibernation. (The trees are starting to wake up and produce

[Editor’s note: Tim Price, London-based wealth manager and frequent Sovereign Man contributor, is filling in while Simon travels to Puerto Rico today.] As Mark Twain is purported to have once said, “Predictions are hard, especially about the future.” And with this principle in mind, libertarian Harry Browne advocated a four-factor portfolio to protect

One of the members of Team Sovereign Man just arrived for the first time in his life to the United States. This is pretty unusual, especially for the incredibly well-traveled members of our team. Peter, an Australian in his mid-40s who has been living in Asia for most of his adult life, is

That was fast. Yesterday I told you how a consortium of 15 Japanese banks had just signed up to implement new financial technology to clear and settle international financial transactions. This is a huge step. Right now, most international financial transactions must pass through the US banking system’s network of correspondent accounts. This

In July 1944, just weeks after the successful Allied invasion of Normandy, hundreds of delegates from around the world gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to determine the future of the global financial system. The vision was simple: America would be the center of the universe, and every other nation would revolve around

Yesterday the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its July meeting a few weeks ago in which they decided to NOT raise interest rates. These minutes are the official archive of the meeting, providing details about the presentations, debates, and discussions that took place. They contain very formal sounding language, referring to their

It started in 1946. American Airlines, then the largest airline in the United States (and second largest airline in the world after the Soviet Union’s Aeroflot) created a bold, new technology to book flight reservations. They called it the “electromechanical reservisor”, and it was the first machine of its kind. Before the reservisor,