The Old Testament portrays King Solomon as the wisest of all men. In addition to recording his wisdom in the book of Proverbs while dealing with 700 wives and 300 concubines, he also became a chart-topping songwriter in the 1960s (some 3,000 years after his death) with a little help from Pete Seeger and the Byrds.
Read moreMy friend Neil Howe titled his latest book The Fourth Turning Is Here because, well, the Fourth Turning is here. It is no longer the decades-away crisis he and the late William Strauss described in their 1990s books. As noted last week, each “turning” is generally 20 to 25 years. We are in the last half of what is the most disruptive and violent of the generational periods.
Read moreWe talk frequently about the way central banks and governments affect the economy. In the grander scheme of things, though, whatever the Fed does is more like throwing a hand grenade into a large building. Yes, you’ll make some noise and cause some damage. People may be hurt. But the building won’t care, and the owner will fix it.
Read moreIn economics we often talk about cycles. “Business cycle theory” is an entire academic sub-field whose basic idea is that economic history really does repeat itself. Not in every detail, of course, but as a recurring sequence of expansions and recessions.
Read more“Crisis” is an overused word. Actual crises are those rare times when we are on the knife edge of disaster. It’s not a crisis when a bank fails, or Congress can’t agree on a budget. Those are annoyances (unless it's your bank). While not good, they don’t spell immediate catastrophe.
Read moreThe week we’ve been waiting for is here. The Strategic Investment Conference starts Monday, and we have a jam-packed schedule.
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