Category: Trends & News

First of all, I want to say thanks for all the well-wishes. I’ve been flat on my back for the past several days with a particularly nasty case of the flu that I likely contracted en route to Los Angeles last week. Picking up the occasional bug is one of the hazards of

“This is a global problem,” said billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio yesterday to a packed audience of central bankers. “Japan is closest to its limits, Europe is a step behind it, the US is a step or two behind Europe, and China is a few steps behind the United States.” I can

In the modern history of the US economy over the past seven decades, the longest period of time the country has gone without a recession was 10 years. Since the end of World War II there have been 11 recessions in the United States of America, so the average time in between recessions

It’s official. The United States government closed out the 2016 fiscal year that ended a few days ago on Friday September 30th with a debt level of $19,573,444,713,936.79. That’s an increase of $1,422,827,047,452.46 over last year’s fiscal year close. Incredible. By the way, that debt growth amounts to roughly 7.5% of the entire

When I saw the chart, the first thing I thought was, “hockey stick”. It’s flat on the left side, then suddenly soars up and to the right, indicating an abrupt and rapid rise in prices. Which chart am I talking about? Real estate prices, specifically in an uptown enclave of Dallas, Texas– the

I used to watch wrestling when I was a kid… I come from the age of Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Huddling close to the television each weekend, my friends and I would cheer for our favorite stars and their signature moves. My dad ruined it all one day

I’m in New York City this week meeting with the Prime Minister of a Caribbean nation about his country’s citizenship-by-investment program. Citizenship-by-investment is exactly what it sounds like: foreigners invest a certain sum of money in a country in exchange for citizenship and a passport. Depending on the country, the investment amount can

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