Category Archives: Economics

Potent Portfolio Diversifier: Managed Futures Funds Went Up When Both Stocks and Bonds Went Down

This post is to share some observations that may be helpful to readers who, like me, depend to some degree on their investments and who were rudely surprised by the simultaneous steep decline in both bonds and stocks in the … Continue reading

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“Five Talents” Microfinance NGO Helps the Poorest of the Poor to Start Their Own Businesses

It is a pleasure to be able to report on a successful microfinance outfit that helps the poorest of the poor. I heard a talk recently from Dale Stanton-Hoyle, CEO of the Five Talents organization. (He is as nice in person as he … Continue reading

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Treatments for Rusted Metal: Rust Bullet, Cosmoline RP-342, and Others

This past month I had to deal with a hole rusted through the body of my old but serviceable car. A local body shop told me it might cost more than the car is worth to replace the rusted parts. … Continue reading

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How to Earn 7% in U.S. I-Series Savings Bond or 9% Stable Interest in a Crypto Account

Inflation is up to about 7%, which means that the cash in your bank account or savings account or money market fund (all which pay almost nothing) is losing that much value in a year. That has spurred me to … Continue reading

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Private Equity Drove 50% Returns on University Endowment Funds; How You Can Join in This Investing Feast

A recent headline in the Dartmouth student newspaper reads, “Dartmouth’s endowment posts 46.5% year-over-year returns, prompting additional spending on students”.  That seems like really great investing performance. But the sub-headline dismisses it as less-than-stellar, by comparison: “The endowment outpaced the … Continue reading

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Blockchain: The Ingenious Basis of Bitcoin

Most of our financial transactions are managed by centralized institutions like banks and credit card companies. These companies have controls in place to manage digital transactions, so (for instance) no one can spend the same dollar twice. If you have … Continue reading

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GameStop Short Squeeze: Small Investors Sting Wall Street Hedge Funds

If you think the price of a stock is going to go up, you can buy shares and wait for the price to go up, then sell the shares to someone else. This is called being “long” a stock. But … Continue reading

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Central Banks, Interest Rates, and Zombies

In 2013 I wrote an Overview of the U. S. Monetary System   describing what money is and how it is created; interactions of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and commercial banks; and government and trade deficits. Much of this … Continue reading

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Some High Yielding Investments

Individuals choose to save money for a variety of future expenditures, such as purchase of a car or a house, college costs, or retirement. It makes sense to allocate these savings into assets which grow in value with time or … Continue reading

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Folding and Electric Scooters and Bikes for Commuting the Last Mile

Updated March, 2021 Many urban rapid transit systems have stations about a mile (1.6 km) apart. This leaves much of their service area a mile or more from the stations. Helping users to traverse this distance between the stations or bus … Continue reading

Posted in Bikes and Scooters, Economics | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments