March 18, 2010 · 1 comment
in bonds, currencies, debt, emerging markets, financial education, foreign investment, forex, government, international economy, money supply, networth, world order, world reserve currency
The entire world officially owes itself more money than it can produce in the form of equity assets. Of course, the calculation might be meaningless, since the numbers are an aggregate of the nations involved, and it doesn’t make sense to imagine the world not being able to pay itself back.
But it’s still a thought-provoking [...]
January 30, 2010 · 5 comments
in BRIC, China, G20, G8, GDP, India, OPEC, US debt, US dollar, capitalism, currencies, emerging markets, exchange rates, foreign investment, forex, gold, government, international economy, international stock market, market trends, oil, wealth, wealth protection, wealth transfer, world order, world reserve currency
With the phenomenal growth in sovereign wealth funds over the past thirty or so years – but especially in the last ten – it’s good to stop and take a look at where this new investment phenomenon is at today in 2010.
Here’s a list of the current top 10 sovereign wealth funds around the world.* [...]
January 25, 2010 · 5 comments
in Asia, China, G20, Latin America, US economy, capitalism, central banks, economics, economy, emerging markets, foreign investment, future, international economy, politics, preparedness, protectionism, reviews, wealth transfer, world order
As soon as I saw this title on the bookshelf, it caught my eye. Since I’ve been trying to curb my spending, I just skimmed it and put it back. Well, I returned a week later and decided to buy it after skimming it again.
I’m not finished with the book yet (although it’s just a [...]
January 15, 2010 · 10 comments
in diversification, economy, education, emergencies, lifehack, market crash, risk, self-protection, survival, sustainability, unemployment, wealth protection, world order
Do your “transferable skills” include survival skills? If you work in financial markets, accounting, tourism, real estate, university-level teaching (certain fields), administration, human resources, and a number of other fields whose central activities are not connected in any real way to the basic “stuff” of living, it is more likely that you are lacking in [...]
January 11, 2010 · 7 comments
in BRIC, China, G20, OPEC, capitalism, commodities, currencies, emerging markets, environment, future, international economy, investing (general), market trends, stock exchanges, sustainability, theories, wealth transfer, wealthbuilding, world order
Have you ever thought about how investing will change over the next century? What will the investment landscape look like in 2110, or even in 2080?
I have to admit, I don’t think I’ve ever thought about this specific question before. But it occurred to me when I heard an analyst from London talking about what [...]
The US dollar has served in the role of world reserve currency since 1944, but there is nothing intrinsic about the US dollar which requires that it – and not some other, new currency – continue to fulfill that function. If anything, the long-term secular decline in the greenback since 2001, coupled with much more [...]
July 5, 2009 · 5 comments
in US debt, US dollar, currencies, foreign investment, inflation, international economy, investing (general), politics, savings, world order
China was the first to open the floor for discussion on the continued viability of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency a couple of months ago. With good reason, since they are now the largest foreign holder of US debt instruments (that’s the paper money the Fed prints out of thin air). Just [...]