President Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam was a major disappointment. Overshadowed in part by conflict between India and Pakistan, Trump came away from the summit with no progress made towards resolving the situation on the Korean peninsula. And with the breakdown of the talks there has now been some […]
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For decades progressives in the United States have slowly chipped away at the freedoms enjoyed by successive generations of Americans. But the latest generation of progressives is growing impatient at the pace of their “progress.” Unwilling to remain patient in bringing about a centralized socialist state, frustrated Democrats are openly discussing plans to pack the […]
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After two years of keeping its gold reserves static, the Chinese government has begun ramping up its gold purchases in recent months. Its gold-buying binge has entered a third straight month, with another 10 tons of metal added in February to its official reserves. It’s worth noting, however, that it’s widely assumed that China under-reports […]
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If you’re old enough to remember what air travel was like pre-TSA, you probably shake your head at people who think that the security theater at airports today is actually keeping us safe. And because a bunch of terrorists used box cutters to take over airplanes, the ability to take anything onto a plane that […]
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After a January jobs report that saw over 300,000 jobs added to the economy, most economists expected a milder February, with consensus estimates expecting about 180,000 new jobs. It came as a huge shock, then, that only 20,000 new jobs were added in February. That was one of the worst numbers in years, and feeds […]
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The zero interest rate environment created by the Federal Reserve spurred the issuance of trillions of dollars worth of corporate debt. With cheap money being readily available, it was no surprise that businesses took advantage of it in order to fund their operations and buy back their stock. Given the tax advantages afforded to debt […]
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Since the financial crisis more and more people have become familiar with the concept of stress tests, the tests which central banks and financial regulators use to determine the strength and resilience of the banking system. Stress tests require banks to analyze their potential performance under a series of hypothetical scenarios. The tests are designed […]
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It’s no secret that the topic of immigration divides most Americans. President Trump’s supporters largely want to restrict illegal immigration while his opponents want to encourage it. Even on the issue of legal immigration there’s a huge divide. But as much as Democrats like to paint Trump and his supporters as racists for wanting to […]
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The half dollar was once the most popular circulating coin in American commerce. Its purchasing power through much of the early 20th century was the equivalent of $8-12 today. Take a look at older circulating coinage and you’ll find that half dollars are often the most worn, with features and dates worn down and reeding […]
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The zero interest rate environment created by the Federal Reserve in the aftermath of the financial crisis stimulated the issuance of massive amounts of debt by all sorts of entities, both public and private. After all, why not try to take advantage of low interest rates to borrow money? But for entities that lacked fiscal […]
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