CC: How Much Has California Overspent? It's a mystery @JCBliss @RealConstable

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

California’s government can’t agree on how much it has overspent: $68 billion, $38 billion, or $100 billion. What’s the difference? It's only money. On top of that, the California Democrats want to introduce a wealth tax. What could possibly go wrong? We have that and more. Joining us from Orange County, California, is Jeff Bliss, a senior correspondent at California Flow Magazine, a regular contributor on John Batchelor's CBS radio show Eye on the World, and heard on many other radio stations across California.

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Photo credit: FOTO:FORTEPAN / Angyalföldi Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo description: Airplane, Soviet brand, second World War, transport, fair, fighter plane, wreck, Budapest

The intro is a shortened version of a clip by Richard Wagner, EEF OAL-1, licensed via Wikimedia Commons, performed by:

Conductor: James Allen Gähres

Ensemble: Ulm Philharmonic

Location: CCU Einsteinsaal, Ulm

Opera: The Valkyrie (Die Walküre)

Movement: Prelude from Act 3

Date 3 June 2014

The thunderclap outro is a shortened version of a clip by Jonathan Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Korn Ferry: In the UK: Belt-Tightening in 2024

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Stretched budgets will likely make way for operational agility and internal promotions. Read more here.

#Eurozone: Celebrating 25 years of the Euro's success. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow @WSJ

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Wrecked plane in Nuremberg, Germany, 1946

National Archives at College Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: Financial Flashback -- The euro is born January 1999.

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Published exclusively in the print edition of the Wall Street Journal

WSJ: Why the Strength of the Dollar Matters So Much for Stock Investors

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

As U.S. companies earn more from overseas, the greenback’s performance has an outsize impact on quarterly results—and often the stock market’s direction. Read more here.

Marcin Bond, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CC: 2024's Biggest Risks to Us: The U.S. Election and the Ukraine-Russia War

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Photo Courtesy of Robin Horsfall

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Former paratrooper and SAS soldier Robin Horsfall makes his debut on Constable Confidential. Among other gallantry, he was one of the team that rescued hostages from the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980.

For the last two years, Horsfall has chronicled the Russia-Ukraine war and recently published a book on the conflict titled "Slava Ukraine Who Dares Shares."

In this show, he puts forward the case that the Western powers must continue to support Ukraine and ensure that Russia doesn't win. Failure to do so would likely be awful. We also discuss the risks of one particular candidate winning the U.S. presidency later this year. Plus, he names some favorite authors and proffers advice for aspiring writers.

Contact Horsfall via https://robinhorsfall.co.uk.

Signed Horsfall books available via www.robinhorsfall.com

Unsigned Slava Ukraine, Who Dares Shares available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Picture credit: Horsfall

Photo description: Robin Horsfall

The intro is a shortened version of a clip by Richard Wagner, EEF OAL-1, licensed via Wikimedia Commons, performed by:

Conductor: James Allen Gähres

Ensemble: Ulm Philharmonic

Location: CCU Einsteinsaal, Ulm

Opera: The Valkyrie (Die Walküre)

Movement: Prelude from Act 3

Date 3 June 2014

The thunderclap outro is a shortened version of a clip by Jonathan Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

#REDSEA: Oil prices much unmoved by Houthi attacks. @RealConstable John Batchelor @Forbes

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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The guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) launches a strike against three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory on Yemen’s Red Sea coast circa October 2016 

Official U.S. Navy Page from United States of America U.S. Navy photo/U.S. Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. 

CC: Is Scotland on an Economic Train Ride to Socialism?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Alan Quinn, a long-standing Glasgow-based entrepreneur, weighs in on Scotland's ruling Scottish National Party and the economic policies they are pursuing. Specifically, he targets the lack of private sector experience by leading SNP figures and the idiocy of rent control, plus much more.

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Photo credit: Gus Pasquarella, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo description: photo taken during the initial explosion of the Hindenburg

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