Forbes: Free Government Money For All? Some People See A Need For It

BY SIMON CONSTABLE

This last decade there's been a growing concern that the capitalist system isn't working enough for all members of society. Income inequality, job insecurity, the working poor, etc. have all been pointed to as problems that need solving, at least by some people.

Now step forward Universal Basic Income (UBI,) a form of standard government-funded stipend that citizens would receive each month if the idea were ever realized on a broad scale. Its proponents think it might solve the perceived ills of our system.

It is also the topic of a soon-to-be-published book titled "Give People Money: How A Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, And Remake The World," which was written by journalist Annie Lowrey. Read more here.

Forbes: Washington's Latest Plan To Waste Your Tax Dollars

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There's wasteful, and then there's government wasteful.

You can guess which one is worse.

Just in case you didn't already know, earlier this month there was a stark reminder of our need to be ever vigilant against government excess. This time, the offending item was in the latest defense spending bill and includes the plan to ship coal to Germany all the way from the U.S., all on the taxpayer dime. Read more here.

P.J. Media: How to Make ObamaCare Pay

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It looks like some enterprising individuals have found a way to make the Affordable Care Act (ACA) more affordable -- at least for themselves.

A new study reveals how they did it, and comes just in time to plan for next year when yet another round of absurdly hefty hikes in insurance premiums are already in the offing.

Read more here.

Forbes: Still Going Strong -- How One Startup Bucked The Financial Crisis And Thrived

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It's something of a maxim on Wall Street that the best trades are often those which are hardest to make. For instance, when the price of a stock has dropped like a stone, there is generally a lingering doubt that buying the stock is the right thing to do. Thoughts whirl around all based on one question: What does everyone else know that I don't?

Imagine then how nerve-wracking it must have been to start a new financial company in 2008, the very depths of the financial crisis. That was a time when waking from even a few hours sleep might bring news of yet another company's demise. It was a period when even the storied firms of Wall Street, such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, were not immune from financial disaster. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: Will Women Reign in Spain?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Of all countries, Spain is probably not viewed as the forefront of gender equality—think bullfighting and the macho culture of old there, for example. But score one for a country that has been working to change perceptions: Recently, the country’s new prime minister appointed 11 out of the 17 top ministerial roles to women, the first such majority-women cabinet in the country’s history. Read more here.

John Batchelor Radio Show: Socialism Fails

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Forbes: 5 Lessons From Tesla's Recent Rollercoaster Ride

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Tesla has had a bad few months, that's for sure.

But any student of business should learn from what's happened. And that's where there are plenty of lessons.

Here's what you need to know.

Forbes: 5 Reasons The Drop In Gold Prices Shouldn't Worry Investors

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Gold prices took a hit at the end of last week, and it has some observers concerned.

But the truth is it shouldn't be worrying. Here's what you need to know.

Barron's: Why You Should Buy Europe's Beaten Down Banks

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Italian politics is knotty. But lately, it has become as twisted as a bowl of spaghetti bolognese, providing a chance to buy beaten-down European banking shares that will likely jump when the clouds over the sector evaporate. Read more here.

PJ Media: Why Bernie Sanders' Goal of More Unions Won't Work

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said last month that he wants to foster more unions, but the very things that allow organized labor to increase membership are often also the things that cause their destruction.

At least that’s the way new research points. Read more here.

Forbes: Venezuela's Latest Desperate Plan

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Venezuela just keeps on delivering new economic absurdities.

The country, which has the largest oil reserves in the world, is now considering the idea of importing the stuff. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: Raises Have Arrived…In the Public Sector

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Ancient prophets once wrote that seven years of feasts would get followed by seven years of famine. These stories pushed the idea that neither good nor bad times last forever. But now reality is mimicking the parables.

For the last seven years, the one million-plus workers in the National Health Service, the U.K.’s state-funded health system, have received just a 1% raise annually. But this month the U.K. government agreed to raise wages 6.5% over the next three years, more than doubling the recent annual increases. Read more here.

Forbes: A Deep Look Inside The Gig Economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

How good or bad is the so-called gig economy compared to holding a permanent staff role? It all depends who you ask.

Sarah Kessler, author of Gigged: The End of the Job and the Future of Work, spoke with more than a few people about the matter and discusses it at length in her book which is scheduled for publication June 12. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: In Spain, Italy-- Surviving a Void

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It isn’t something one would expect to see, two major European nations without leaders at the same time. But that’s where Italy and Spain found themselves last week—and where a surprising number of companies find themselves as well. 

For those who missed the headlines, Italy went three months without a majority government, until two major parties finally agreed last Friday on a new prime minister. Meanwhile, a few hundred miles west, Spain’s government collapsed after the prime minister was unseated in a no-confidence vote, and experts wonder how long the new government will last. But as unnerving as this can be, leadership vacuums are of course not limited to politics. Indeed, from abrupt CEO departures to boardroom succession battles, such voids are becoming more common and troubling. Read more here.

John Batchelor Show: Jeremy Corbyn Preaches

By SIMON CONSTABLE

P.J. Media: Numbers Don't Bear Out Corbyn's Claims on 'Soaring Inequality'

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Has Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn become king of the political fibbers? Maybe so.

The ultra-leftist leader of the country’s Labour Party won’t let up from pushing the idea that the divide between those on high incomes and the rest of the population is only getting worse.

The problem is that the pontificating politician hasn’t checked the facts. Worse still, he fails to mention how much better off even the poorest have become these past few decades. Read more here.

Parliament

Photo by Massimiliano Morosinotto on Unsplash

WSJ: What Is CCAR?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Over the next few weeks, the abbreviation CCAR, which stands for Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, is likely to crop up in news articles and online posts. It matters for anyone who follows the U.S. banking industry. Read more here.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

WSJ: Emerging Markets Have a Dollar Problem

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Emerging-markets stocks have been pummeled lately, and the strength of the dollar gets much of the blame.

“The dollar remains the single most important consideration for EM [emerging-markets] finances,” says a report from debt-ratings company Fitch. In general, a stronger dollar tends to mean lower stock prices in emerging markets. Read more here.

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

Barrons: Tariffs Won’t Dent Steelmakers

By SIMON CONSTABLE

In boxing it’s considered unsporting to kick your opponent when he’s down. Apparently, not so in international trade.

Soon after last week’s Italian-inspired market wobbles, President Trump decided to pile on. As of Friday, imports of European-made steel and aluminum are subject to tariffs of 25% and 10% respectively. Read more here.

Steel tubing

Photo by Christophe Dion on Unsplash

Middle East Eye: Good as gold -- Turkey uses bullion to stabilise its economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Turkey’s economy has been in a tailspin with an inflationary currency, but the country is using something rare to help stabilise itself: gold.

In late 2011, Turkey started to allow commercial banks to use gold instead of the Turkish lira for their required deposits at the central bank. These deposits are known as reserve requirements and help ensure that the banks are capitalised. Read more here.

Photo by Zlaťáky.cz on Unsplash