The Economist did a special report recently (October 3, 2015) on the World Economy. They talked about rise of China, the shift from developed world growth to emerging markets and the future of America. They concluded that the U.S. is still a “sticky economic superpower”. The chart at the bottom shows where America was 10 […]
Eric Hanson
The U.S. Scene – From Our First Newsletter – September, 1995
Twenty Years On…
Hard to believe it has been twenty years since our first newsletter. Back then we were convinced that Value Investing was a profitable strategy. You can read our original thinking on Page2. Why Value? Because people don’t like to be associated with losers and they drive prices of many securities to levels below which they […]
Wall Street From Our Vantage Point
With the recent volatility in the world stock markets we thought we would comment now rather than wait for the September Newsletter. As Always, be in touch with any questions or thoughts. This is the best definition of Wall Street we know: “The stock market is only indirectly related to economics. It is a function […]
Never Having to Say Goodbye…
Bloomberg Businessweek had an interesting article recently about something we rarely think about or notice – how we sign off on e-mails. E-mails started showing up in the 1990’s as a quicker and more informal option to letter writing. Originally e-mails were more like a memo and there wasn’t always a salutation or any kind […]
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…
We are all very rational… at least we like to think so. At times we think things through thoroughly before making a decision. Other times we make snap decisions based on whatever. We drive out of our way to save a couple of dollars on a small item and then drop $10,000 on a stock […]
Required Minimum Distribution – Demystified…
Each year about this time we send a notice to all eligible clients reminding them they need to take the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from their IRAs before year-end. For those investors wondering what the fuss is all about, we thought we would put together the following primer on IRA distribution rules. What Is an […]
Let’s Do An American Restaurant…
Recently I was stumped by a foreign visitor. When asked where they would like to eat, they said, let’s go to an American restaurant. An American restaurant? Do you want to do Italian, Thai, Chinese, French? Maybe Vietnamese or even Nepalese? But American? What’s that? We are a land of immigrants and always have been. […]
The Travel Bug Bites…
Wealth and travel go hand in hand. The British started taking the Grand Tour of Europe in the 18th century. America first got its travel bug in the 19th century and things really took off after World War II. Travel opens your eyes to new places, new people and new customs. Most of all, travel […]
When Life Gives You Lemons
… make lemonade. Sounds easy but it is not. After you have been knocked down you need a lot of resilience to get back up. Resilience is the ability to recover when bad things happen. We usually think of resilience as pertaining to big things like a death in the family, divorce or the loss […]
It’s The Country of the Next Twenty Years
… and always has been.” Brazil is a country of highs and lows. It is enormous. Brazil and Mexico make up half of South America’s total GDP. Brazil is blessed with natural resources, abundant rivers, a dynamic manufacturing base and a growing middle class. Unfortunately Brazil has always been able to snatch defeat from the […]
A Journey on the Old Silk Road
“We travel not for trafficking alone: By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned: For lust of knowing what should not be known We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.” – James Elroy Flecker The Golden Journey to Samarkand (1913). Central Asia brings to mind many images: vast uncharted deserts, camel caravans […]
