Inevitably, the conversation turned towards the sovereign state of South Carolina. The poor state has a jackass for a governor. Mark Sanford has become a laughingstock for the entire nation. Not because he had an illicit dalliance and lied about it – who can honestly say he hasn’t done that?
July 3rd, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | ContinuedArchive for Bill Bonner
Best-selling investment author Bill Bonner is the founder and president of Agora Publishing, one of the world's most successful consumer newsletter companies. Owner of both Fleet Street Publications and MoneyWeek magazine in the UK, he is also author of the free daily e-mail The Daily Reckoning.
The Business Bankruptcies and the Personal Bankruptcies
Yesterday’s issue of USA Today featured a report that said small businesses are going broke faster than expected. Small businesses are supposed to be the survivors. Like mammals in the Ice Age, they replace the dinosaurs.
July 3rd, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
The Economy is Getting Worse Not Better
Even at the time, it was obvious that the hacks in the administration had no idea what was going on. They were just guessing about the economy and taking advantage of the situation to pass out more money that taxpayers hadn’t even earned yet.
July 3rd, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
In 1930…as in 2009…the Average Fellow Thought the Crisis had Passed
“I see the publishers association has chosen a ’20s theme,” began the emcee. “What is wrong with you people? Don’t you know what came after the ’20s? The ’30s!”
It doesn’t seem like the ’30s…yet. Ask the man on the street and he will tell you what he’s heard on TV: the worst of the crisis is over.
Kirchners Lose Election in Argentina
As we remarked above, we’re suckers for underdogs, die hards and scalawags. That is probably one of the reasons we like Argentina; it is all those things and more. It is a measure of the lost cause status of the pampas that news of the election was hard to find.
July 1st, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | Continued
Bernie Madoff and the SEC
But all the papers seem delighted. “Locked up for Life!” says one of today’s headlines. The judge “threw the book at him,” says another. His victims wanted him to get no mercy. The judge gave him none, imposing the maximum sentence.
July 1st, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | Continued
Consumer Spending Rises
Though the fear of inflation is minimal right now, government’s deficit spending on this scale is bound to result in higher consumer price levels sometime. How long will it be before this good luck ends up kicking us in the derriere?
June 30th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Good Luck with Money
There was a story about one lottery winner in the press here in London last week. He had won millions of pounds. Feeling lucky, he invested in a number of enterprises suggested by friends, relatives and total strangers – all failed. He married a much younger woman – who later left him…
June 30th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 6 comments | Continued
Hyper-Deflation on the Streets of Paris
Scarcely a block from our office in Paris is a monetary phenomenon that has escaped the financial press. In one of the highest-cost economies in the world, you can buy a woman’s shirt for 2 euros. A dress? Four euros. A man’s jacket can be had for the price of a cup of coffee.
June 29th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 18 comments | Continued
House Prices in California and Las Vegas Hit Hard by Wave of Foreclosed Properties
A fellow loses his job; he can’t pay his mortgage. The house goes onto the market and pushes down prices. Prices in California are off 30% year-to-year, with the median house at $267,000. In Las Vegas, the median house is only $135,000…
June 29th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | Continued