Daisy Maxey is a talented financial columnist for WSJ.com. Ms. Maxey also follows me on Twitter. Not surprisingly, then, I may be slightly hesitant to question the timing of her recent feature, “Frontier Market Funds Offer Promise, Risk.” By the percentages, Ms Maxey cites data that is supposed to represent opportunity in the least developed countries [...] [...more]
Flare-ups in the euro-zone refuse to disappear entirely. On the heels of a disastrous Italian election and a full-fledged banking crisis in Cyprus, a Portuguese court has ruled that some of the austerity requirements for bailout dollars are discriminatory. Prime Minister Coelho hopes to find a workaround, but alas… securing bailout money in the near [...] [...more]
The S&P 500 has not merely been resilient in its six consecutive weeks of gains. The celebrated U.S. stock benchmark has been unstoppable in its 8.3% unrealized run-up. Granted, nearly everyone expects a period of mild selling activity (a.k.a. “a breather”). Indeed, history certainly suggests that unbridled enthusiasm usually gets a reality check or three. The [...] [...more]
Why is the budget battle as monumental an issue as it is? Over the last 50 years, the U.S. federal government has spent an average of 20% of its economic output (GDP). It has only averaged 18% of GDP in tax revenue. In other words, for 50 years, our elected politicians have regularly spent more [...] [...more]
