Forbes: Theme For 2016 -- Hypocrisy In Economics

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A standout theme of the year has been hypocrisy when it comes to economics and economic-related matters. Read more here.

Adam Smith, Founder of Economics

Scottish National Gallery , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

U.S. News: What Italy's Big Vote Means for Investors

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Now, more than ever, Italy looks like a big, fat mess for investors.

On Dec. 4, Italian voters roundly rejected constitutional reform. The immediate impact was the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

He had promised to do so if the result went against him. That means at least one campaign promise has been kept. Still, the move creates other issues. Read more here.

Photo by Emma Fabbri on Unsplash

Video: America's Forgotten Workers

By SIMON CONSTABLE

ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan explains.

America's Forgotten Workers from Constable Confidential on Vimeo.

Photo by Gabriel on Unsplash

Video: Was The Election A Cry For Help?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Michael McKinley explains.


Was The Election A Cry For Help? from Constable Confidential on Vimeo.

Forbes Video: Grow Your Business With SnapChat? Maybe So.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Once upon a time, getting your product to market meant placing ads in newspapers, magazines, or on TV. That can still be helpful, but only in as much as that is where people are consuming their media. 

There is also SnapChat, which according to one social media expert can be useful in growing your business as well.

Socialfly co-founder & co-CEO, Courtney Spritzer explains the benefits of the service in this video. She clearly knows more about it than I do, so watch, listen, and learn.

Forbes Video: Why You Should Read Shakespeare Now.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It's a cliche to say it, but I will anyway: "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Still, there is much truth in it. 

The reason is that people are the same throughout the ages. They end up having the same weaknesses. Some are power-hungry. Others are vengeful. Occasionally, people are treacherous. You get the idea. That was true 3,000 years ago, and it is true today.

William Shakespeare, possibly the greatest playwright ever, captured such characters and how they behave in various scenarios. His plays are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them, possibly more so. 

That's why you should read some of them. Or failing that, maybe watch a movie, go to the theater, or listen to a recording of the plays. Documentary maker Michael McKinley explains his thoughts in this video.

Forbes video: Why Inflation Is Going Higher

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Even before the financial crisis, pundits expressed their concern that devil-may-care bank lending, and loose monetary policy would result in inflation. Despite the same repeated calls that such an event was imminent, the inflation didn't really show up in the government's main statistic -- the Consumer Price Index. 

That phenomenon of very low levels of recorded inflation is now coming to an end. Soon it will start to edge higher. It won't be 1970s style high, just that there will be more inflation than we've seen in a long while. That's according to Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute. He explains his thoughts in this video.