FOX News Digital: How Venezuela went from South America's richest to poorest economy despite massive oil reserves

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

In the early part of the last century, Venezuela was considered the leading economy in South America. At least part of the story is that the country discovered massive oil reserves in 1922. Currently, the country has the largest reserves of any country, 303 billion barrels. While that sounds good on paper, it doesn’t change the fact that the economy is the poorest in South America. The puzzle is, how did it get so bad with all that oil wealth waiting to be monetized?

The first big move in the wrong direction was in 1976, when Venezuela’s government decided to nationalize all foreign oil companies in the country. In turn, the acquired new oil businesses were broadly placed under the already state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). 

Yet perhaps surprisingly, the economy didn’t initially crash. "What kept it up was they were still producing oil," Robert Wright, a visiting professor of history at the University of Austin, told FOX Business. "It takes a while even for a socialist to screw it up." READ MORE HERE.

FOX Business Digital: How Italy’s PM Meloni sparked an economic turnaround

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

When Italy’s Giorgia Meloni took the job of prime minister in 2022, the country wasn’t in good shape. But since then, the economy has bounced back in ways that few outsiders would have expected. Now the country looks healthier than either Germany or France, the two largest economies in the European Union.

In 2022, Italy’s deficit was 8.1% of GDP, according to Trading Economics. Unemployment in December 2022 was 7.9%, and inflation exceeded 12%. READ MORE HERE.

WSJ: How Much Do You Know About Rare Earths? Test Yourself With This Quiz

You may know they are crucial to power many technologies, including AI. But there’s much more to understand.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

1 OF 10

The periodic table identifies 118 elements. How many of those elements are rare earths?

READ MORE HERE where you will get the answers after each question.

 

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FOX News Digital: Churchill, Shakespeare and the UK flag all under siege in modern Britain, commentators say

‘Decades of woke education policy have taught people to deny and decry the history of this country,’ political analyst says.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Over a century ago, Britain was seen as the place to be. It pioneered science, including medicine. It built industries such as railroads, major bridges and created a strong middle class. And despite what some would say, it was the only major empire that abolished slavery and policed the oceans, at its own considerable expense, to make sure other countries didn’t enslave people. And it had the largest Navy in the World. Now, many say that all seems like a distant memory.

The latest controversy involves images or statues of some of the United Kingdom’s most lauded people. The face of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister during WWII, is being removed from the five-pound note by the Bank of England. The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the decision “absolutely crackers,” noting the proposal was to replace Churchill and others with a picture of a beaver. READ MORE HERE. 

View of Union flags flying on the roof of Costa and Prezzo on Trafalgar Square by Robert Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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View of Union flags flying on the roof of Costa and Prezzo on Trafalgar Square by Robert Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kiplinger's Retirement Report: Stocks That Could Take Off in the New Year

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

American stocks have performed well over the past three years, with annualized returns greatly exceeding the long-term average of 10.5%. That is true of both the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The big question now is: What are the best bets in 2026?

"At the end of every year, I get the question of whether investors should buy stocks that have dropped or should I stick with my winners," says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at research company CFRA. "It depends on what happened the prior year."

Broadly speaking, if the market was loss-making in the previous year, then buy low. If the market is up, then keep those stocks that performed well, Stovall says. He bases this on deep analysis of how stocks have performed for decades. READ MORE HERE.

Julian Herzog (Website), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kiplinger's Retirement Report: Yes, artificial intelligence stocks are booming

By SIMON CONSTABLEch in 

Using new tech in the workplace and at home is nothing new. But the November 2022 introduction of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence service, made the use of AI the norm, and at breakneck speed.

Since the end of 2022, anyone who purchased the so-called Magnificent Seven (Mag 7) stocks, all of which are embracing AI, should have profited handsomely. The stocks are Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA). Collectively, these stocks were worth about $20 trillion recently, up threefold from $7 trillion less than three years ago. But stock market professionals are divided on their prospects. 

Some are bullish, others see a bubble. Brian Glenn, chief investment officer at private wealth adviser Premier Path Wealth Partners, says the surge in AI-related stocks is not yet in a bubble. "If everyone is talking about a bubble, it probably isn’t," he says. He has a point. "No one rings a bell at the top of the market," says Wall Street veteran Art Cashin. READ MORE HERE.

Kurt Kaiser, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kiplinger's Retirement Report: What Made Warren Buffett's Career So Remarkable

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Warren Buffett, 95, the so-called Oracle of Omaha, is set to step down by year-end as CEO of investment company Berkshire Hathaway. Over 60 years, he and his deputy, Charlie Munger, who died in 2023 at the age of 99, produced outstanding investment returns that made other investors’ returns pale in comparison.

Look at the numbers: From 1965, the year Buffett took over a struggling textile company, through the end of 2024, Berkshire’s shares rose 5,502,284%. That’s an annual compounded return of 19.9%. Over the same six decades, the S&P 500 index rose just 39,054% or 10.4% annually.

“Buffett is the most legendary investor in the history of investing,” says Adam Patti, CEO of exchange-traded fund company VistaShares. “And he has changed the way people invest.” READ MORE HERE.