Forbes: Goldman-- Fed To Hike Rates 11 Times By End Of 2023

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Get ready for some serious increases in the cost of borrowing money.

Red hot wage inflation and an exceptionally tight labor market will lead the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rate by 11 times by the end of next year, according to a new report from Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs. Read more here.

Pete unseth, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: Ukraine Crisis-- Fertilizer Shortage To Boost Plant Food Stocks

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

The war in Ukraine looks set to have global consequences particularly in the farm patch. There could also be profits to be made for investors. Read more here.

Photo by Léon McGregor on Unsplash

Citywire: How a commercial real estate deal happens at Cadre

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Theoretically, investing in commercial real estate should be simple – buy a property, renovate it, lease it, and sell the building. In practice, commercial real estate investing is far more complicated. Read more here.

Photo by Étienne Beauregard-Riverin on Unsplash

Seems appropriate right now...

This scene from the Italian Job movie (2003) seems appropriate right now...

Forbes: Ukraine Crisis - Initial Indications Show Bitcoin Is Failing As A Safe-Haven Asset

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Gold rose to the occasion. Read more here.

Photo by Kanchanara on Unsplash

Forbes: Ukraine Crisis Dilemma — A Total Blockade Of Russia’s Banks Would Hurt Europe

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Banning Russia from the SWIFT payment system would hurt Europe. Read more here.

The Kremlin

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: #Ukraine: Commodities spike.@RealConstable

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Listen here.

Kyiv, Ukraine

Photo by Robert Anasch on Unsplash

Time Magazine: Why Sanctions on Russia Won’t Work

By SIMON CONSTABLE

As the U.S. and Europe roll out an arsenal of economic sanctions to combat Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there is scant understanding that the financial interdependence of the crisis’s significant players means quick and easy solutions are unlikely to work. Worse still, imposing sanctions on Russia’s elite will do little if anything to bring order to what has fast-become chaotic. Read more here.

Russian Soldier

Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: #Ukraine: Storms over Europe @RealConstable

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Listen here.

Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Korn Ferry: The Ukraine Crisis Hits Home -- Wherever Home is

Five key ways the tension in Eastern Europe will impact leaders and their organizations, everywhere. Read more here.

Russian Tank

User:Jno, CC BY-SA 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

U.S. VP Kamala Harris And Her Weird Speeches to World Leaders

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

A friend sent me a link to this video of U.S. VP Kamala Harris. Draw your own conclusions about her style of presentation to world leaders. I can safely say I was not impressed 

U.S. VP Kamala Harris

The United States Senate - Office of Senator Kamala Harris, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Government obstructs man committing an act of journalism

By SIMON CONSTABLE

This video is particularly telling and instructive about how journalists approach stories. They do so with skepticism. They ask for proof, which may come in the form of official documents. They don't just take the government's word for it.

All of us remember only too well the weapons of mass destruction mess two decades ago. It was used as a pretax to start a costly war in the middle east.

 

This is legitimately crazy. Click here to watch

— Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) February 3, 2022

 

Private Eye Comment on Beijing Olympics

 

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: #Scotland-- Nicola Sturgeon vs Boris Johnson in the pandemic @RealConstable

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Listen here.

Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon

Scottish Parliament, OSPL, via Wikimedia Commons

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: #Scotland Green mining is now @RealConstable

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Mining Truck 

Photo by omid roshan on Unsplash

Briefings: An Unexpected Twist in the Green Movement

By SIMON CONSTABLE

What a difference a year makes when it comes to environmental matters. Late last year, the great and the good descended on Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 climate summit. It was no small affair. Dignitaries weighing in included the UK’s Prince Charles, US President Joe Biden, Greta Thunberg, former Secretary of State John Kerry, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Even Pope Francis proffered his views from the Vatican. Read more here.

Solar Panels

Photo by Anders J on Unsplash

Barron's: British Stock Market Is Beating the U.S. How to Catch the Momentum

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Over the past three months, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both took a beating. Not so the FTSE 100, which tracks the United Kingdom’s largest publicly traded companies.

It was a good place to invest when the U.S. markets were not. Even better, the U.K.’s outperformance could continue for a while. Read more here.

Photo by A Perry on Unsplash

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: Fifty years after Crazy Eddie's 1970s troubled New York City

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Listen here.

United States Marshals Service, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: The Wall Street Revolution that Failed

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

This story screams “David versus Goliath,” only not in the holy land thousands of years ago, but rather on Wall Street recently and with a twist. Read more here.

Citywire: What effect will rising interest rates have on commercial real estate investments?

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

While recent fears of rising interest rates sent securities prices tumbling in May, that shouldn't be a problem for direct investors in commercial real estate, experts say. Read more here.

Photo by Viktor Jakovlev on Unsplash

WSJ: Financial Flashback "Crazy Eddie"

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Available exclusively in print, a look back at a saga that ended 25 years ago.

Capital Group: How some RIAs prepare clients for market downturns

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

When the stock market goes into a tailspin, individual investors often get jittery and some choose to bail on stocks. But veteran RIAs know that such client behavior is counterproductive, as it usually ends up having a negative impact on investment returns.
 
Market drawdowns are not uncommon, as demonstrated at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Between February 19 and March 23, the S&P 500 Index, which tracks the price of the largest U.S. listed public companies, fell by 33.9%, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis database. The market bounced back within a few months after the crash. Read more here.

Photo by Vinicius Marques on Unsplash

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: Holyrood vs Parliament in the pandemic

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Edinburgh Castle

Photo by Cameron Gibson on Unsplash

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: The Bears and the Bulls look to history. Edinburgh Scotland

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo by Jessica Weiller on Unsplash

WABC Radio with Frank Morano: Discussing the Folly of Crypto Investing

By SIMON CONSTABLE

About half way through the February 2, 2022 broadcast Frank and I discuss crypto.

Listen here.

Photo by Aleksi Räisä on Unsplash