Forbes: What You Should Love About Trump's Tax Proposal

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Wednesday we got a look at how the Trump Administration wants to overhaul the U.S. tax system.

While it is not perfect there are some things to love about the proposal.

First, remember that it is a wish list. That is to say, not everything on the proposal will come to pass, but some of it shall. Hopefully, what gets enacted are some of the better ideas. Read more here.

Forbes: It's The Corporate Tax Cut That Will Drive Growth

By SIMON CONSTABLE

President Trump is set to announce tax reform today. Anyone interested in economic growth should focus on what he says about corporate taxes.

While the likely proposal will likely involve changes to individual tax rates, it is the corporate tax rate that has the potential to spur economic growth more than what will likely happen to individual taxes. Read more here.

U.S. News: Does OPEC Matter Anymore?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There was once a time when oil market traders could win or lose based on just a few words from OPEC oil ministers. These days, not so much.

For investors, there is an important question: Is OPEC even worth worrying about?

Just as with many things in investing, the answer is nuanced. Read more here.

Pensions & Investments: How institutions caught gold fever last year

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Large money managers and investors dove into gold bullion and other precious metals in a big way last year. They did so through exchange-traded funds. Read more here.

 

Photo by Scottsdale Mint on Unsplash

Forbes: Why Slavery Wasn't Just A Monstrous Evil, It Was Also Bad Economics

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It should be clear to all right-thinking people that slavery was and is a moral abomination. Most would leave the matter at that, hoping that never again will the practice become entrenched in any society.

Not so, Robert E. Wright, chair of political economy at Augustana University and treasurer of Historians Against Slavery. He decided to delve further into the matter, looking at the economics of the situation.

The result is his recently published book, The Poverty of Slavery. Read more here.

Middle East Eye: Saudi sale of Aramco a major economic challenge

By SIMON CONSTABLE

For more than half a century, Saudi Arabia and crude oil have gone together like baseball and hotdogs. But that may be about to change.

One young prince wants to ditch the country’s dependency on oil exports, with the process starting in earnest next year when there are plans to sell the state-owned oil company, Aramco. It’s a high stakes move with the future prosperity of the kingdom depending on the success of the effort.

Few observers expect the process to be smooth. Worse still, the world will be watching closely to see if the kingdom is serious. Read more here.

U.S. News: Why You Should Learn Accounting Now

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There's no reason for the average investor to not know some basic accounting.

The reaction of most people will be something akin to "Ugh!" and "Oh no, not chopped liver again!" But smart people who want to get even smarter will learn accounting.

There's also a bonus, you can now do so for free. Here's the why and the how:

Learning the language. "Whenever you move to a new world [or country] you need to learn the language," says Stephen Wood, chief market strategist of Russell Investments in New York. If you want to do well in France then you'll need to learn French; if you want to do well in Germany, then at least an introduction to German would be helpful.

When it comes to investing you need to learn the language of business, which is accounting.

"If you aren't conversant with the language then you can't expect to do well," Wood says. Read more here.