Forbes.com: More Signs Of A U.S. Economic Slow Down In 2024

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Despite some horrendously wrong predictions, there hasn’t been a recession since the COVID-19 pandemic. But the last few weeks show that things have been changing for the worse.

It’s something investors should consider carefully because certain assets do better in a recession than others, history shows. Read more here.

Frederick John Skill The Illustrated London News, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The Distress in Coventry, 

Distribution of Soup for Distressed Weavers in the Kitchen of St Mary's Hall circa 1862

Forbes.com: Iran’s Economic War On The West

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Iran’s threat to close the Mediterranean Sea to commercial shipping is a declaration of economic war on the west. It’s something that investors should take seriously as much of the world’s trade relies on shipping routes through that water. Read more here.

Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A British Centurion tank of the 6th Royal Tank Regiment disembarks from the tank landing ship HMS Puncher (L3036) at Port Said. In the background can be seen the De Lesseps statue which stood at the entrance to the Suez Canal.

CC: Flash Back: Constable and Batchelor Play Scrooge and Marley

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Here's a flashback to 2008, in which John Batchelor and I play Scrooge and Marley to tell the story of mega-conman Bernie Madoff who was charged with fraud in 2008 after running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Photo credit: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo description: From a 1900 illustrated edition of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 

with a drawing of Scrooge by Frederick Simpson Coburn

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CC: Inside the Hamas Tunnels and the Attacks on Merchant Shipping in the Red Sea

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo description: Royal forces in North Yemen Civil War circa 1965

Photo credit: unkown Author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#RedSea: The price of shipping, oil, insurance, war-fighting as the Houthis attack. @BatchelorShow @RealConstable, Occitanie

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Sir Mohinder Dhillon covering the civil war in Yemen in 1967

Sir Mohinder Dhillon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

#UK: Britain slides to negative GDP; PM Sunak slides to as unpopular as Boris Johnson at the end. @Realconstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie, France

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

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Anthony Harrison / Houses of Parliament 1952 via Wikimedia Commons

CC: Edinburgh City Government Takes A Black-eye from Scotland's Courts @FionaCampbell74 @RealConstable @bellacaledonia

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo credit: Jacques Callot , CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo description: Drill of the Cannon: The Shooting), from The Military Exercises

CC: California's Epic Financial Mess @JCBliss @RealConstable

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo credit: Joseph Warren Revere, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo description: Drawing of Monteray, the then-capital of California. Joseph Warren Revere was part of the United States military that invaded Alta California in 1846 during the Mexican-American War. In his 1849 book about his military stories and life in a Rancho, Revere includes illustrations. This one is an illustration of Monterey, the capital of California.

Date: 1849

CC: The Inspiring tale of Iranian-Born British Activist Vahid Beheshti

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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William Lionel Wyllie , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#Ponzi: Fifteen years after Bernie Madoff and now nothing much learned: Sam Bankman-Fried. @RealConstable, @WSJ @BatchelorShow

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Mug shot of Charles Ponzi (March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949). Charles Ponzi was born in Italy and became known as a swindler for his money scheme. His aliases include Charles Ponei, Charles P. Bianchi, Carl and Carlo. US Goverment, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CC: 1924-2023 Charlie Munger's Legacy

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo credit: FrankTursetta, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo caption: Charlie Munger on the rightside of photo.

Photo Date: March 3, 1998

CC: Israel's Ambassador to the UN Slams George Soros @RealConstable

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo description: Israel Defense Forces between 1969 and 1971 עברית: אימוני צליחה, Original Image Name:אימוני צליחה בנמל הקישון, Location:נמל הקישון

Photo credit: udi Steinwell, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons PikiWiki - Israel free image collection project

WSJ: Financial Flashback -- Bernie Madoff Charged with Mega Fraud Ponzi Scheme

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

 

Exclusively in the print edition of the Wall Street Journal

#France: Commodities plateau and Winter arrives in Paradise. @RealConstable, @WSJ @BatchelorShow

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photograph shows a taxi being pulled from a collapsed section of Rue St. Augustin in Paris, 

after a heavy rainstorm on June 15, 1914.

Credit: Bain News Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Korn Ferry: A Surprising Lack of Follow-Up

By SIMON CONSTABLE

More than half of British companies don’t give exit interviews when workers quit. Are they missing out on hidden morale issues? Read more here.

Kiplingers Retirement Report: Stocks To Consider For The New Year

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Investors seeking out the best stocks picks for 2024 may want to focus on these four areas of the market. Read more here.

C. Burton, artistHatch & Smillie, engraverGeorge Melksham Bourne, 

publisherJ. & G. Neale, printer, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: AI Wizard Sam Altman Shows What Real Leadership Is. His Bosses Were Clueless

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Leadership doesn't magically disappear when someone loses their title. Read more here.

TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CC: Housing Crisis in Scotland and How the Edinburgh Festival Will Never Be the Same Again

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

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Photo credit: Thomas Annan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo caption: Slum in Glasgow, 1871

CC: Flashback: Iran's Government Should Be Scrapped - @PahlaviReza

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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#MrMarket: An Online Fraud multiple choice quiz at Thanksgiving. @RealConstable, @WSJ @BatchelorShow

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Jeopardy Productions, Inc., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Take the quiz here.

WSJ: How Much Do You Know About Online-Shopping Scams?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Take our quiz to test your knowledge and find out how to protect yourself. Read more here.

Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CC: Israel Hunts Terrorists in the West Bank and Germany Loses the Plot

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo credit: Boris Carmi /Meitar Collection / National Library of Israel / The Pritzker Family National Photography Collection, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo caption: מוצב השומר על קיבוצים בגבול עזה. Military outpost guarding kibbutzim boundaries the Gaza Strip 1967

Korn Ferry: British Women and AI

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Only about a third of women are using AI at work or at home, less than men. Can leaders reduce an important tech gap? Read more here.

CC: Iran's Economy NeedsClean Transparent Government: Rez Pahlavi

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo credit: Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo description: Tehran Municipality Palace. no date

#UK: The alarm of antisemitism in Britain today. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie, France

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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National Library of Norway , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CC: Hamas Leaders Revel in Luxury with $11 Billion in Wealth, While UN Workers Celebrate the Murder of Israelis

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo credit: Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#MrMarket: Ten years ago the Twitter IPO. @RealConstable @WSJ @BatchelorShow

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress, Public domain, 

via Wikimedia Commons

Constable Confidential: AirBnB-ers Up in Arms Over Scottish Holiday Rental Laws

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Joining Constable Confidential today is Fiona Campbell, CEO of the Association of Scotland's Self Caterers. She explains how new Scottish laws have made renting out your bedroom harder or prohibitively costly, depending on where you live—that and much more.

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Photo Credit: Thomas Hosmer Shepherd , Public domain, 

via Wikimedia Commons

Photo Caption: Edinburgh from Calton Hill

Forbes.com: Times Running Out For College As Student Enrollment Dwindles

By SIMON CONSTABLE

For many people the cost of getting a degree is the biggest investment they ever make. It’s supposed to be a path to higher earnings, many experts say. Read more here.

 

Haverford College. Class of 1900, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: Financial Flashback November 2013 -- Twitter Goes Public

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Published exclusively in the print edition of The Wall Street Journal

WSJ: Where Are Commodities Prices Headed?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

China’s economy, war in the Middle East and a predicted El Niño are among the factors experts are looking at. Read more here.

Lady Maria Mine at Charters Towers, 1891.

Early diggings on the Charters Towers mining district. Makeshift shade for the miners.

Allom, H. B., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#France: BUY Japan, Defence, Energy for the long wars ahead, @RealConstable, Kiplinger's Retirement Report @BatchelorShow

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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State Archives of North Carolina, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons 

Photograph of a pilot and his aerial observer with the 278th Aero Squadron, 2nd U.S. Army Air Service, pictured seated in their airplane on an airfield in France during World War I (undated) [Photograph taken by or collected by Henry L. Graves].

CONSTABLE CONFIDENTIAL: Mid-east Update: Yemen Fires Rockets At Israel and Israel Braces for an Attack from the Lebanon

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Photo caption: soldiers in the Gaza Strip 1956

Photo credit: Boris Carmi /Meitar Collection / National Library of Israel / The Pritzker Family National Photography Collection, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Constable Confidential: U.S. Refuses To Offer Passports to Non-American Hostages Held in Gaza

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Ben Weinthal joins Constable Confidential from Jerusalem to discuss his recent story about lobby groups urging the U.S. and other countries to give hostages held in Gaza citizenship.

So far, no country is offering such potential refuge.

Photo caption: Great Britain: The children of Polish Jews from the region between Germany and Poland on their arrival in London on the "Warsaw".

Photo credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S69279 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Constable Confidential: Reform UK's Ben Habib weighs in on the Israel-Hamas conflict and explains how the Tory Party dropped the ball on Brexit

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Photo Credit: אלכס אגור / . Tanks of the 14th Brigade advancing on the Crimson Axis (south of Abu Aguila). 

Location - Sinai Desert (Crimson Axis). This file contains content and released by the IDF Spokespersons Unit.

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Forbes.com: Bad Weather And War Could Send Wheat Prices Skyrocketing

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It’s gonna get rough for wheat farmers and buyers this year. Suboptimal weather across key growing areas and potential disruptions emanating from the war in the Middle east are to blame. Read more here.

Harvest Time in Romania 

Old public domain work, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Scotland’s Latest Energy Idiocy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Scotland’s government is at it again: Meddling with its absurd energy policies.

This time the ruling Scottish National Party wants to sell energy to Europe. It looks like a bright idea on the surface, that is until you look under the hood. Read more here.

North Sea Oil Rig 

RERUN VAN PELT, CC BY-SA 2.0, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Forbes.com: What’s It Take For Economists To Forecast U.S. Recessions Accurately?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Getting a job as a Wall Street economist is supposed to require great skill. But apparently that skill doesn’t mean developing the ability to forecast big events like recessions.

A year and a half after the ‘recession call’ started and we still have no recession. In fact, the U.S. is now growing faster than it has in ages. It flies in the face of the collective message from Wall Street. And that has me wondering what’s up. Read more here.

Gottscho-Schleisner Inc., photographer, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#France: Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron stand side by side with Jerusalem. @BatchelorShow @RealConstable

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

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ebay (image), archievied, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons