(Reprint from July 6, 2006)
In the grand history of civilization, the case of the United States vs. Mexico is one of the most prime examples of how governmental interference in markets increases poverty, decreases standards of living, and wrecks millions of lives. Much of the western part of America was under Mexican rule as late as the mid 1800’s. (more…)
(Reprint from Nov. 19, 2005)
Mahinda Rajapakse’s win today in the Presidential election has sealed Sri Lanka’s fate for the next few years and represents a huge setback for the country. Plagued for many years with internal conflict, the latest election results will only intensify the strife between the Tamils and Sinhalese. (more…)
(Reprint from 2006)
The recent uproar over the Dubai ports deal is another example of a trend of protectionist though sweeping through the United States. Is the fear justified, or is it simply a case of nervous xenophobia? To answer this question, we must examine what the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is all about. (more…)
(Reprint from July 28, 2006)
Few nations in history have shown the remarkeable progress that Singapore has achieved over the past 40 years. In such a short period of time, the city-state of Singapore has gone from swamp land to one of the wealthiest nations in the world, making Lee Kuan Yew perhaps the most brilliant politican that has ever lived. By implementing the correct policies from the start, the example of Singapore (more…)
(Reprint of Dec. 5, 2006)
The year of the election in South America ended rather undramatically as Hugo Chavez won his bid for re-election in South America. A year ago, his policies and his anti-US stance were drawing in fans across the continent and indeed across the world. Much had been made of the nationalistic tendencies of (more…)
(Reprint from Dec. 30, 2005)
Around the world, women have been making progress towards equality with men on both the business and political fronts for decades, yet always seeming to come up a bit short. But, 2005 may go down in history as the year the glass ceiling was truly broken, as two women were elected president in what has traditionally been the most socially conservative continents on the planet. The elections of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia and Michelle Bachelet in Chile may have paved the way towards the future of equal gender representation in politics all over the globe. (more…)
(Reprint from Sept. 31, 2006)
The world’s prime example of a socialist government was toppled last week as the Swedish people voted the Social Democrats out of power. Having essentially ruled the country for the past 70 years, the party’s philosophy had defined Sweden’s social structure to the outside world. Viewed as a welfare state, (more…)
This week, Rydex introduced 6 new ETFs that will enable more investors to become involved in the ever expanding currency markets. Following the popularity of the Rydex Euro Currency Trust (NYSE: FXE) the company has launched ETFs that track the performance of the British pound (FXB), the Canadian dollar (FXC), the Mexican peso (FXM), the Australian Dollar (FXA), the Swiss Franc (FXF), and the Swedish krona (FXS). (more…)
(Reprint from Sept. 24, 2006)
Just a few weeks ago, the Amaranth hedge fund flew investors in to gloat about its incredible year to date performance. Their 30% gain since January had beaten the stock market hands down and energy trader Brian Hunter was being hailed as a market guru. With natural gas prices reaching two year lows, Mr. Hunter then (more…)
(Reprint from Nov. 28, 2005)
After nearly a decade and a half of floundering in the economic environment, Junichiro Koizumi has taken Japan on its back and revitalized the land of the rising sun into one of the promising investing environments on the planet today. Year to date, the Nikkei index is up over 50%, making it one of the best (more…)