Investor CAFÉ Newsletters
Derek Jeter, Steve Forbes and Me: Gaining an Unforgettable Lesson
At the invitation of Steve Forbes, I was able to attend Derek Jeter’s last game as a player at Yankee Stadium. Mr. Forbes has season tickets and occasionally invites me to join him. Tickets for the game were selling for $850 and more, and those were bleacher seats, so I felt lucky. The Yankees were […]
Get Ready for the Big Krugman-Moore Debate!
“What I love most about FreedomFest are the debates!” — John Mackey (CEO, Whole Foods Market) Many of my free-market friends have attacked Paul Krugman, the inflammatory New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winner, for deliberately distorting the facts about the economic recovery, austerity programs in Europe, the federal deficit, taxes, school choice, etc. […]
How Ordinary People Become Millionaires
“There is much revenue in economy, and no revenue is sufficient without economy.” — Benjamin Franklin This week’s Barron’s tells the story of Stephanie Mucha, who at age 97 recently gave away $3 million to charity. Despite never earning more than $23,000 a year at a medical center in Buffalo, New York, she has a […]
Bruce Lee vs. Ayn Rand Philosophy: Which is Better for Investors?
“Don’t feel, think!” — Ayn Rand “Don’t think, feel!” — Bruce Lee I spent the last week in Hong Kong at the Mont Pelerin Society meetings. While there, I visited the Bruce Lee exhibit that was held at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. I took the metro, which is clean and top quality (our New […]
Top Economist Warns of the Welfare State, the Biggest Threat to Prosperity
HONG KONG — The opening Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) address by Allan Meltzer, of Carnegie-Mellon University, warned attendees that the welfare system in America is getting out of control and could result in slow economic growth for years to come. “The greatest threat today is the welfare state,” Meltzer said. “Lowering taxes does not appeal to […]
Take this Simple Test on Investing: Only 34% Got it Right!
“The college educated are more likely to own stocks and less prone to use high-cost borrowing.” — Journal of Economic Literature Financial literacy is important, but sadly, only a handful of states require students to take personal finance or an investment course. I earned a Ph. D. in economics and never took a class in […]
Tim Geithner’s Stress Test: Can the Government Do No Wrong?
Most Austrian economists argue that the best response to the 2008 financial crisis was to “do nothing.” By refusing to bail out the banks, investment firms and insurance companies, the government would be sending a clear message that Wall Street and the private markets must avoid irresponsible decisions in the future. A few make an […]
How Popular is the Libertarian Movement?
“Libertarians are living in a fantasy world.” — Paul Krugman, New York Times The New York Times magazine published a cover story last week with the headline, “Has the Libertarian Moment Finally Arrived?” It highlighted Sen. Rand Paul’s recent growth in popularity and his potential as a presidential candidate in 2016. But the reporter did […]
Good News: The Deficit is Falling
Doomsayers at various investment conferences, including FreedomFest, have been predicting “the end of America” and massive deficits in the United States. But so far, they have been dead wrong. Deficits have been shrinking since 2009, when we hit the bottom of the Great Recession (see the chart below). Indeed, the U.S. deficit now is under […]
Latest Gross Domestic Product Growth Shows Value of Using Gross Output
Stocks sold off sharply today. Finally, the much anticipated correction is happening, but I don’t see any fundamental reason for the decline. It’s purely a technical correction. Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose in the 2nd quarter at a 4% annualized rate as a sharp improvement from the negative GDP announced in the first quarter. […]
