by John E. Charalambakis | Jun 23, 2016 | Commentaries
“A greater Quantity [of money] employs more People than a lesser Quantity”, said John Law in 1705 in his pamphlet titled “Money and Trade Considered, with a Proposal for Supplying the Nation with Money.” And so started the story of paper money and credit, which...
by Daniel Stelter | Jun 19, 2016 | Commentaries
“Please don’t go” pleads the German newsweekly Der Spiegel on its cover this week, asking the British to vote against Brexit on June 23rd. Indeed, especially from the point of view of Germany, Brexit would be a disaster. We Germans would be left without a pro-market...
by John E. Charalambakis | Jun 14, 2016 | Commentaries
Last week the European Central Bank (ECB) started buying corporate bonds. Over the course of the last four year the ECB has committed to “do whatever it takes” to save an ill-conceived monetary union and a dysfunctional Euro. Among its programs were the purchase of...
by John E. Charalambakis | Jun 1, 2016 | Commentaries
Productivity growth in the US will decline for the first time in over thirty years, raising the obvious question: How about all those magnificent innovations that constantly change our lives and transform our world from the internet of things to the latest smart phone...
by John E. Charalambakis | May 26, 2016 | Commentaries
In September 2010 we warned of the Chinese Wall of Steroids, http://stage.blacksummitfg.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/The-Great-Wall-of-Steroids-Vol-2-Issue-3.pdf . In that newsletter we also explained the dangers of WMPs (wealth management products) in China where...
by John E. Charalambakis | May 19, 2016 | Commentaries
Recent reports by major investment banks carry a flavor of pessimism, by suggesting underweighting equities and higher exposure to high yield. We are cautious over the course of the next few months regarding equities and we would suggest defensive tactics (such as...