Investor CAFÉ Newsletters
Which Is Better, Value or Growth Investing?
I am at the Mont Pelerin Society meetings in the Canary Islands, Spain, enjoying a beautiful resort setting. Members of the Mont Pelerin Society are political and economic experts who come together from around the world. I’ve been attending the group’s meetings since I was invited by Milton Friedman in 1988 — 30 years ago. That […]
Should We Honor Adam Smith or Karl Marx?
On Monday, September 24, I was invited to give the first Adam Smith lecture at the Panmure House, the last home lived in by the founder of modern economics. The house is located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and recently has been refurbished by the Edinburgh School of Business. Mark and Jo Ann Skousen stand in front of the Adam […]
Ten Years after the Financial Crisis: Can It Happen Again?
“Bad government drives out good business.” I added this quote to the latest edition of “The Maxims of Wall Street,” because it applies so appropriately to the cause of the 2008 financial crisis. It was largely government, not private enterprise, that precipitated the unsustainable real estate boom that eventually brought down the monetary system. Last […]
American Exceptionalism: Why Wall Street Outperforms All Other Markets
In a book published in 2002, “Triumph of the Optimists: 101 Years of Global Investment Returns,” three British professors at the London Business School came to two major conclusions: First, in all 16 countries (primarily in Europe and North America) in their survey, stocks outperformed bonds and gold over the long term and enjoyed a […]
Milton Friedman Astutely Critiqued the Inheritance Tax
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 not only reduced the federal corporate income tax to 21%, but it also doubled the federal tax exemption on estates valued at $11.2 million for individuals, or $22.4 million for married couples. That means that you and your spouse can either give away during your lifetime, or die […]
Clash of the Titans: What is the Best Road to Prosperity and Bull Markets?
“The key to prosperity is to strive for economic policies that not only bring higher growth but also ensure that the fruits of growth are more widely shared.” — Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize economist “In his focus on market failure, Joe often misses the bigger problem — the need to roll back disastrous distortions of […]
Did You Miss Out on ‘The Mother of All Bull Markets?’
“Businessmen [and investors] can profit handsomely if they will disregard the pessimistic auguries of self-appointed prophets of doom.” – J. Paul Getty, “How to Be Rich,” as quoted in “The Maxims of Wall Street.” In 2013, Robert Kiyosaki, author of #1 all-time bestseller “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” doubled down on a book he wrote in 2002 entitled, […]
Danger Ahead: Are Retirees Running Out of Money?
On August 5, 2018, the New York Times ran an alarming cover story: “Too Little Too Late: Bankruptcy Booms Among Older Americans,” which claimed that bankruptcies among retirees have skyrocketed due to “vanishing pensions, soaring medical expenses, inadequate savings.” Several economists disputed the claim, noting that at most only 2.7 persons per 1,000 retirees have entered bankruptcy. Still, […]
Which Strategy Is Better: Rebalancing or Let Your Profits Run?
“The business of investing is not the same as investing in a business.” — Maxims of Wall Street, p. 143 At this year’s Fast Money Summit at FreedomFest, we had a panel discussing “Puzzles and Paradoxes in Finance: How to Profit from CRAZY Anomalies on Wall Street.” Examples include the Wall Street Growth trap and […]
Wall Street vs. Main Street: Which is Better, Investing in Stocks or Business?
“The business of investing is not the same as investing in a business.” — Maxims of Wall Street, p. 143 During the summer months, I enjoy listening to the audio recordings of all the sessions I missed at this year’s big show, FreedomFest. I could only attend about 15% of the sessions, so I spend […]
