The expected reaction to a rate hike would be a rising dollar, yet that did not happen. Why would the dollar fall on global currency markets even though US interest rates are now more attractive than those of the euro, sterling and the yen? I’d suggest that the U.S. economy is not as strong as the good press it has received recently – and a key cause, in my view, is a still over-leveraged economy.
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The job of a financial advisor may not differ significantly in terms of the specific tasks they do, but they can be worlds apart based on who they are, and who their clients are. Today I spoke with Tomas Garibaldi, vice president of Bel Air Investment Advisors in Los Angeles. The firm manages a rather astounding $7 billion for just 350 clients, with a minimum investment of $20 million. We talk about how his clients earned their wealth, how his firm justifies his fees, what are some pitfalls of the trade –
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Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff warns “our country, frankly, is bankrupt.’
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Barron’s saw great opportunity in Bear Stearns in an article it published a few months before it cratered. And little wonder why – Bear had been in business for 86 years, without so much as a losing quarter until in 2007 it booked losses, from which it seemed poised to recover. Borders too had its heyday as a killer firm, until Amazon killed it. In due course, Amazon will meet its match.
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In the wake of the resignation of Gary Cohn over the administration’s tariff policy, I offer an explanation as to why a policy that nearly every economist hates is popular politically.
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The U.S. and its main trading partners need cooperation and policy coordination -- not a trade war from which everyone loses.
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