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The world’s current struggles with waste are not new. Many of us first became aware of the problem in the 1980s as recycling programs across the country gained steam. Since then, a steady stream of regulations at both the domestic and international levels have done little to stem the tidal wave of waste. Is there […]

Electronic waste, or “E-waste,” is the byproduct of our ever-increasing appetite for electronics, including smartphones, tablets, laptops/desktop PCs, e-cigarettes, small and large household/kitchen appliances, and flat televisions. We not only own more of these devices than ever before, but have come to view many of them as disposable after a few years of use. The […]

The creation and commercialization of plastic may be one of the crowning achievements of the twentieth century. It may also end up being one of the most harmful to humanity and the earth. For better, and certainly for worse, disposable plastic products are perhaps synonymous with a stereotype of America, like fast food and baseball. […]

The weekly pilgrimage down the driveway with garbage and recycling in tow is a common rhythm of domestic life. The conscientious among us take the additional time to rinse and sort. Many of us have two bins, and may have seen those “sorted” bins end up in the same truck! So what really happens next […]

There are plenty of books out there trying to explain why we’re not great with money. Most of them walk you through a checklist of behavioral traps, pointing fingers at our irrational brains and poor decision-making. While those lessons still matter—and it’s still amazing how quickly we forget them when faced with short-term market disturbances—Meir […]

We think the world is a wild place to be an investor right now. What about during the turn of the 20th century? Back then, panics and crashes were a feature of the market, occurring in 1873, 1884, 1893, 1896, 1901, 1907, and 1914. The average loss in U.S. stock market value during those times […]

When I started in the investment business back in the early 1970s, global investing meant looking at a few markets in Europe (mostly London), the Asian market, but limited to Japan, and for the truly adventurous, buying a few British trading firms in the infant Hong Kong market. Today, there are thriving financial markets everywhere […]

“April is the cruellest month…” When T.S.Eliot wrote those words in “The Waste Land”, I’m not sure he had our current calamity in mind, but it feels appropriate given the wild ride that has been April 2025. Trump’s shock to financial markets arrived with showman’s pageantry, complete with Greek symbols, props, and “math” equations. But […]

It has been five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Recovering from it, whether on an economic, social, or psychological level, has been a slow and uneven process. Some facets of our daily lives, like sporting events and school calendars, have largely returned to their pre-pandemic traditions. But, as the […]

The Trump administration’s policy actions over the last few weeks have dented confidence in both the U.S. economy and the stock market. This shift towards negativity happened despite President Trump largely sticking to his campaign pledges to implement tariffs and cut government spending. So what has changed since the election to cause the widespread turn […]

The word comes from the Greek, “Adamus,” meaning unconquerable and indestructible. For centuries this was the case. In 1948, Mary Frances Gerety dreamed up the tagline, “Diamonds are forever.” The catchphrase has lasted for more than half a century. But, as with many things in life, forever is not necessarily forever. About 10 years ago, […]

In 2020, as the globe was grappling with the first chaotic year of the pandemic, The New York Times ran a feature on a small shop in Kyoto, Japan called Ichiwa that had been operating for over a thousand years by selling the same toasted mochi it always had. The pandemic had reduced visitors to […]