The history of interest rates is provided on this site. Interest rates in a developed economy reflect the “option” value on the expected decline in purchasing power of money. If I expect it to decline by 5%, then I expect a profit, and say want 8%. You in turn will pay the 8% only if […]

President Donald Trump                                                                                     March 19, 2020 White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20500   Dear Mr. President, As an economist with a proven track record, I have been called in by former presidents, world leaders, and central banks around the world during crises since 1985. I was summoned for help during […]

Former President Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, as a jury of 12 unanimously returned their verdict on May 30 after two days of deliberation. With this result, President Trump becomes the first ever American president to be convicted of a crime. Of course, he will appeal a […]

What completes a phase transition? Simple — capital inflow to the United States. For example, when oil was in the $10 range in 1998, we forecast that oil would rise to $100 by 2007.15. In court, the Department of Energy wanted us to develop a model, but Alan Cohen of Goldman Sachs blocked that project. […]

The earth’s climate is anything but regular, with every year a repeat of the last. The White Earth Effect is the realization of what would happen if the earth was entirely covered in snow and ice. The bottom line is that the Earth would then reflect the sunlight rather than absorb it, and hence, the […]

The primary difference between mutual funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) is that while an open-end mutual fund is priced once based upon the market closing, ETFs, as well as closed-end mutual funds trade all day. This actually goes back to the Panic of 1966 when mutual funds were open-ended but traded on the exchange and […]

All those investigating cycles within the economy made a simple mistake. Kondratieff followed agriculture/commodity prices when agriculture accounted for 70% of the GDP pre-19th century. That only began to decline from 1850 forward, dropping to 40% by 1900 as the Industrial Revolution emerged with the invention of the steam engine. Moreover, aside from climate impacting […]

All commodities, including gold, trade substantially differently than stocks or real estate. Pictured here is wheat back to 1200. Note that you see what appears to be a brain wave. Commodities trade differently because they are subject to nature. Manufactured items can be produced on a more regular basis. However, commodities are subject to weather, […]

The old idea that inflation is created by an increase in money supply has distorted the minds of many people. Inflation is caused by numerous factors for it is not a one-dimensional aspect. For example, say a bird flu has rendered half of the egg production to be worthless, which would send egg prices soaring. […]

The most fundamental truth about trading is that your opponent is YOURSELF. The majority must be wrong because they are the fuel that propels the market. The market enters a flash-type crash when the vast majority is LONG, and they try to sell, but there is no bid. Far too many people demonize trading such […]