By SIMON CONSTABLE
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Los Angeles County Museum of Art , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Thursday, March 27, 2025
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Friday, March 21, 2025
WSJ: How Much Do You Know About Online Romance Scams? Take Our Quiz to Find Out
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Being robbed is a terrible thing, and may be emotionally draining. The same is true of being fooled in romance. When you combine the two, it’s far worse.
Online romance scams do just that. To avoid being devastated this way, it helps to understand the intricacies of this type of crime. Take our quiz to find out how much you know.
Thursday, March 20, 2025
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Thursday, March 13, 2025
#FRANCE. THE MISSING CAFES AND WINE BARS. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW OCCITANIE
By SIMON CONSTABLE
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Le Café de la Société Artistique et Littéraire Française et Etrangère, 171, Boulevard de Montparnasse, Paris, 1909
Unknown authorUnknown author. Carte postale publiée par Phototypie l'Abeille, Paris., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
WSJ FINANCIAL FLASHBACK: 25 Years Ago, Nasdaq 5000
By SIMON CONSTABLE
On March 9, 2000, the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite Index surpassed a then-staggering 5000 for the first time, up from its first breach of 1000 in July 1995.
“It is a crowning milestone in investors’ unprecedented love affair with technology stocks,” The Wall Street Journal wrote at the time. “It’s hard to believe, but the Nasdaq Stock Market is still a 20-something.” It was formed in 1971 and included American Express and Anheuser-Busch, both of which eventually moved to the New York Stock Exchange.
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at analytics company CFRA, says the late-1990s surge resulted from several factors. “It was overly exuberant earnings projections, fear of missing out, and a constant reminder of being in a new era and that this was different,” he says.
The day after the 5000 milestone, the index set its then-record of 5048.62, but that top didn’t last long. The index tumbled by 77% to its trough in early October 2002.
The initial break in the index came when Yahoo reported data showing the number of people looking at the site fell disappointingly short of expectations. Read more here.
Thursday, March 6, 2025
#WHEAT: THE CROP IS THREATENED BY FROST. @REALCONSTABLE @BatchelorShow BARRON'S
By SIMON CONSTABLE
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Nikolay Nikanorovich Dubovskoy , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Wheat Prices Look Set to Jump. Consider This ETF.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
As if the Russia-Ukraine war wasn’t enough to raise wheat prices, unusually unfavorable weather conditions—plus dwindling Russian wheat inventories—look set to lift them higher.
Shawn Hackett of the Hackett Money Flow Commodity Report says foul weather could add at least $2 to wheat prices, which recently fetched $5.26 a bushel. Read more here.
Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Monday, March 3, 2025
FOX Biz: Just like Trump, Hungarian leader Orban wants more babies for his country, offering big incentives
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Earlier this year, Donald Trump announced that he would like Americans to have more babies and pushed forward ways to help that happen. These include expanding access to invitro fertilization and increasing spending in areas with higher marriage and birth rates.
But over the Atlantic, Victor Orban, Hungary’s Prime Minister, presented an audacious new idea. He wants to introduce a lifetime income tax exemption for all women who have two or more babies. Read more here.
Victor Orban: European Union, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
Thursday, February 27, 2025
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#FRANCE: ROBINS AND ELECTRICITY SPIKE. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW OCCITANIE
By SIMON CONSTABLE
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French R.R. Cherbourg 1910:
Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sunday, February 23, 2025
FOX Business: Expert says President Trump 'is absolutely right' that world needs more energy resources
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Just one month into the job and President Donald Trump is making big changes in government. That includes energy policy, which is vital for the economy.Trump has to do a couple of things, Bjorn Lomborg, political scientist and president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, told FOX Business on the sidelines at the three-day Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London last week.
"We need to get much more energy because we know energy is the lifeblood of making sure you have very prosperous societies… He will be doing that." Read more here.
Kiplinger's; Investing in Art: 10 Things You Should Know
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Savvy collectors know that investing in art blends an eye for aesthetics with a head for business. Read more here.
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Thursday, February 20, 2025
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Thursday, February 13, 2025
WSJ: Office Technology Comes to the Movies: Test Your Knowledge With Our Quiz
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Workplace technology has been featured in movies for longer than you might imagine—think silent films. From the familiar to the futuristic, it often serves to advance a film’s plot and help deliver its message.
So, how much do you know about workplace technology in movies? Find out by taking our quiz.
1 OF 10
Read more here.
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Fritz Lang. Joost Evers / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
#POLAND: Prospering and arming. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie
By SIMON CONSTABLE
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Fox Business Digital: Europe’s best kept secret: Poland, the region’s economic tiger
By SIMON CONSTABLE,
Nothing seems to get in the way of Poland going from strength to strength despite being part of the sluggish European Union. There are multiple reasons why and many facets, including the country’s outstanding defense spending and its conservative Donald Trump-like approach to illicit immigration.
Late last month, Poland’s economy was estimated to have grown by 2.9% last year, according to the country’s StatOffice. That performance trounces Europe’s single currency area, also known as the eurozone, by more than threefold; it eked out a mere 0.7% over the same period.
Poland’s growth also overtook the U.S., which grew a robust 2.5% in the 12 months through December.
“The last year or two has seen a boom, and it’s getting publicity,” says Mateusz Urban, a senior economist at Oxford Economics in Warsaw, Poland, told FOX Business. “There really is a European tiger right at Germany’s door.” Read more here.
The flag of Poland at the cemetery of the Polish refugees in Koja, Uganda.
RomanDeckert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Fox Biz: France, Europe attempt to flex tech muscles at Paris AI summit in clash of civilizations
By SIMON CONSTABLE
FRANCE – Without a doubt, this week’s artificial intelligence summit in Paris was to showcase how Europe intends to catch up with the U.S. and China, the leaders in the field. But that’s not all.The summit was also aimed at bringing together the major players in this new technology. But in reality, it looks more like a clash of civilizations, cultures and national priorities. In simple terms, the main players are at substantial odds with each other.
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday presented the keynote address at the plenary session. The Trump administration "will ensure that American AI technology continues to be the gold standard worldwide," he said. American AI tech is "the partner of choice for others, foreign countries, and certainly businesses, as they expand their own use of AI." The administration also wants AI to create jobs. Read more here.
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Monday, February 10, 2025
WSJ Financial Flashback: 40 YEARS AGO: The Dollar’s ‘Volcker Rally’
By SIMON CONSTABLE
After World War II, the U.S. dollar became the world’s top reserve currency, and the global economy flourished. But fast-forward to 1985, and things got a bit out of control.
The dollar index—a measure of the greenback’s value against a basket of major currencies such as the British pound and the German mark—hit an all-time high of 160. There seemed to be “no end in sight to the dollar’s strength,” as The Wall Street Journal quoted one banker in late February of 1985.It was called the Volcker Rally, recalls Win Thin, chief strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. Paul Volcker headed the Federal Reserve and successfully crushed U.S. inflation by raising short-term interest rates to 20%.
Deregulation from the Reagan administration and corporate tax cuts helped boost stocks. And higher U.S. rates meant the dollar became a magnet for foreign capital, sending the dollar sky-high, Thin says. “It was sort of exceptional.” Read more here.
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Fox Business Digital: Europe’s best kept secret: Poland, the region’s economic tiger
By SIMON CONSTABLE,
Nothing seems to get in the way of Poland going from strength to strength despite being part of the sluggish European Union. There are multiple reasons why and many facets, including the country’s outstanding defense spending and its conservative Donald Trump-like approach to illicit immigration.Late last month, Poland’s economy was estimated to have grown by 2.9% last year, according to the country’s StatOffice. That performance trounces Europe’s single currency area, also known as the eurozone, by more than threefold; it eked out a mere 0.7% over the same period.
Poland's growth also overtook the U.S., which grew a robust 2.5% in the 12 months through December.
"The last year or two has seen a boom, and it's getting publicity," says Mateusz Urban, a senior economist at Oxford Economics in Warsaw, Poland, told FOX Business. "There really is a European tiger right at Germany’s door." Read more here.
The flag of Poland at the cemetery of the Polish refugees in Koja, Uganda.
RomanDeckert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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