Tag Archives: World Bank

For those unfamiliar with what goes on at the annual January boondoggle at the World Economic Forum in Davos, here is the simple breakdown. Officially, heads of state, captains of industry, prominent academics, philanthropists and a retinue of journalists, celebrities and hangers-on will descend Tuesday on the picturesque alpine village of Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. Unofficially, it’s the world’s...

Just over a year ago, we reported that in what was set to be a pilot experiment in “universal basic income”, Finland would become the first nation to hand out “helicopter money” in the form of cash directly to a select group of citizens. As of January 1, 2017, the experiment in “basic income” has officially begun, with Finland becoming the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens the guaranteed monthly sum...

If you thought 2016 was full of market maelstroms and geopolitical gotchas, 2017’s ‘known unknowns’ suggest a year of more mayhem awaits… Here’s a selection of key events in the year ahead (and links to Bloomberg’s quick-takes on each). January Donald Trump will be sworn in as U.S. president on Jan. 20.QuickTakes: Immigration Reform, Free Trade and Its Foes, Supreme Court, Oil Sands, Confronting Coal, Climate Change,...

[See also The Numbers Show Trump Win NOT Due to Racism and Sexism] You can only understand the victory of Donald Trump and Brexit once you understand the failure of globalization … Trump Trump made rejection of globalization a centerpiece of his campaign. In his July 21st acceptance speech as the Republican nominee, he said: Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo. The Boston Globe bannered this headline on...

[See also The Numbers Show Trump Win NOT Due to Racism and Sexism]   You can only understand the victory of Donald Trump and Brexit once you understand the failure of globalization … Trump Trump made rejection of globalization a centerpiece of his campaign. In his July 21st acceptance speech as the Republican nominee, he said: Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo. The Boston Globe bannered this headline on Thursday:  “Trump won. Globalization lost. Now...

College students are back at their desks this month facing bleak prospects. With tightening job markets leaving kids with no place else to go, universities continue to jack up fees. The upshot is growing signs that America is in the midst of an “education bubble,” just as big as those in stock, bond, and real estate markets. Case in point: four years at Harvard University now costs nearly $250,000 [1]. If you want an...

    The Education Bubble: Is A Harvard MBA Worth $500,000? Written by Peter Diekmeyer   College students are back at their desks this month facing bleak prospects. With tightening job markets leaving kids with no place else to go, universities continue to jack up fees.   The upshot is growing signs that America is in the midst of an “education bubble,” just as big as those in stock, bond, and real estate markets.   Case in point: four years at Harvard University...

Submitted by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog, The central banks have gone so far off the deep-end with financial price manipulation that it is only a matter of time before some astute politician comes after them with all barrels blasting. As a matter of fact, that appears to be exactly what Donald Trump unloaded on bubble vision this morning:  By keeping interest rates low, the Fed has created a “false stock...

Submitted by Nicole Foss via The Automatic Earth blog, Part 1 Here. History teaches us that central authorities dislike escape routes, at least for the majority, and are therefore prone to closing them, so that control of a limited money supply can remain in the hands of the very few. In the 1930s, gold was the escape route, so gold was confiscated. As Alan Greenspan wrote in 1966: In the absence of the gold...

Submitted by Valentin Schmid via The Epoch Times, Warren Buffett claims that gold is worthless because it doesn’t produce anything. Fair point, but what if the other sectors of the economy also stop producing? “If you think of gold, the only way gold loses is if normal business and private sector cycles come back. If that is the case, gold goes back 100 dollars per ounce. The other outcomes, deflation, stagflation, hyperinflation are good for gold,” said Viktor Shvets,...