Don’t miss the excellent piece on the importance of immigrants to Silicon Valley in the New York Times February 9, 2017. Some highlights: “Silicon Valley is unlikely, as a phenomenon — it is not the default state of the world,” said John Collison, an immigrant from Ireland who is a [continue reading . . . ]
The global economy is likely to grow at between 3% and 4% in 2017 adjusted for inflation and differences in exchange rates. Emerging economies, led by Asia, are likely again to outgrow advanced economies (the U.S., Europe, Japan). That’s the word from one of the world’s most respected and widely followed [continue reading . . . ]
Dietary supplements: I’ve got a cupboard full of them. I take several every day, even though I know that under federal law, they are almost entirely unregulated. Vitamins B, C, D, E, plus magnesium, calcium, CoQ10, you name it, I’ve got it and take it. No surprise, then, that a [continue reading . . . ]
Believing that the relationship between the United States and China, with the two largest economies in the world, is the globe’s most important bi-lateral relationship, I read everything that I can get my hands in the popular press* about China. One of my favorite writers is the Wall Street Journal’s [continue reading . . . ]
From a review of The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth’s Newest Age (David Biello) by Matt Ridley in the Wall Street Journal Nov. 17, 2016: [T]he book leans toward the notion that the solution to our environmental challenges will come from technology, and in that sense [continue reading . . . ]
What The Donald’s apparent long-time avoidance of paying federal income tax or even much in the way of federal payroll taxes teaches us about the U.S. tax system, according to Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D), as quoted in The New York Times Nov. 4: You work a shift in a [continue reading . . . ]
Terrific perspective on China’s growing importance, the coming fight in Congress over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the standing of the United States in a changed world in an op-ed in today’s New York Times by Clyde Prestowitz, founder and president of the Economic Strategy Institute. He delivers his punch [continue reading . . . ]
For a quick economic update for members of Bellevue Rotary recently, I updated several slides I usually include as a part of my talks and added a new one or two. You can download all of them as a PDF file here. Among bullet points: We live in a slow-growth world. [continue reading . . . ]
How low can interest rates go? I don’t know. Rates hit new all-time lows in parts of the world last week. The table nearby lists yields last week and a year ago on the 10-year government bonds of four of the most important issuers. At 10 years, only Japan is [continue reading . . . ]
I am a fan of the book China in Ten Words by the Chinese novelist Yu Hua (translated by Allan H. Barr). A delightful little book. I have not yet been to mainland China. When I go, I will tuck this valuable little book into my carry-on. It can easily [continue reading . . . ]
What if the negative interest rate policies (NIRP) that have been adopted by major central banks had effects opposite what was intended? The idea is to fight DEflation and to nudge consumers to spend by penalizing banks for keeping money on deposit. The theory is that banks will lend rather [continue reading . . . ]
The progressive in me cheers the idea that the minimum wage ought to go up. The federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, set by the Fair Labor Standards Act, hasn’t been raised since 2009. Good luck feeding more than one or two mouths or making rent in a city working [continue reading . . . ]