The True Cost: Moral Hazard in Government Bailouts
As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on the global economy, Congress is preparing a $1 trillion bailout package. But will this solve the problem or simply fuel the next corporate crisis?
As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on the global economy, Congress is preparing a $1 trillion bailout package. But will this solve the problem or simply fuel the next corporate crisis?
Do you remember the first time you realized that the government was lying to you?
A decade or so ago, a client I’ll call Will hired me to give him a list of tactics to prepare for an unforeseen natural or man-made disaster. I presented my research to him when we met a few weeks later.
The island of Nevis covers just 36 square miles, has 12,000 full-time residents, several hundred hotel rooms, and a tiny airport.
Our planet’s climate has been changing for billions of years. It will continue to do so for billions more. Eventually, the sun will become a "Red Giant," consuming the inner planets in the solar system, including Earth.
The world is smaller than ever, and the opportunities to internationalize your finances are right at your doorstep. In just a few hours flight from the US, you could be securing your assets in Europe’s safest vaults or earning higher interest rates in Panama.
In August 2018, an astonishing $17 trillion in global debt had negative yields. About 30% of investment-grade bonds had yields below zero. If you bought these bonds and held them to maturity, you were guaranteed to lose money.
In February 2019, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Eighth Amendment prohibition against "excessive fines and fees” applies to civil forfeiture cases and other civil, non-criminal proceedings.
Did you know Hollywood star Nicholas Cage played Lois Lane in a Superman movie? Or that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg once boasted that the social media giant has “total control of billions of people’s stolen data?”
Given shifting attitudes, it’s harder to publicly argue in favor of offshore investing than it once was.
A fundamental injustice of US tax law is that it discriminates against the approximately nine million Americans who live in other countries.
The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) is perhaps the most important organization you’ve never heard of. The G-7, which is essentially a club for the world's wealthiest nations, set up the FATF in 1989.
Italy is an amazing country with a long history, outstanding food, great wines, and unsurpassed culture. But it’s facing an economic and political crisis that will lead to a global financial collapse.
It’s here, or at least nearly here. “It,” in this case, is another recession. We can debate the causes – an escalating trade war between the US and China, too much dodgy debt, the end of the longest bull market in history, or perhaps all three.
The tax-and-spenders of the world are desperate to find new ways to pay for the crumbling welfare states of western democracies. And they’re targeting the “rich” to do it.
I sleep better at night knowing that ever-vigilant defense contractors and the politicians they’ve bought and paid for are making certain that America won’t be overrun by Communists, Islamic terrorists, or anyone else.
In the last few years, banks have been falling over themselves to get rid of “undesirable” customers. Basically, if your bank isn’t making enough profit servicing your account, it will close it.
Let’s face it, many forces are pushing for the abolition of – or at least serious restrictions on – cash.
The pornography (porn) industry is worth almost $100 billion. Laws that banned porn were struck down more than 50 years ago, so in all 50 states, you can download adult content all you want.
At the end of the trading day on August 22, 2018, the US stock market reached a historic milestone as the longest bull market in history, with a duration of nearly 10 years.
On February 20, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Eighth Amendment prohibition against “excessive fines and fees” applies to the states in civil forfeiture cases and other civil, non-criminal proceedings.
Fake news is a big problem. And as I’ve written, technology is about to make a lot worse.
On February 14, 2018, a young man walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and opened fire on students and faculty with a semi-automatic rifle. By the time he finished, 17 students were dead.
Call me crass, but I wasn’t shocked to learn last week that Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) had agreed to pay a $575 million fine to settle claims by all 50 states related to bogus account openings....
While the holiday season unfolds, global stock markets are cratering around the world, led by sharp declines in the US. Since October, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) peaked at 26,951.81, it has lost nearly 4,000 points, down 15.1%. The S&P 500 has lost even more: 15.8%.
A few months ago, the Verge leaked a training video from Google. The video, obviously not intended for public distribution, described the data produced by a girl on her cell phone – all snatched up by Google without her awareness.
Seven months ago, FBI agents raided the office and temporary residence of Michael Cohen, President Trump's personal lawyer.
One of the key points of asset protection planning is to have multiple lines of defense in place.
We’ve all experienced the realization that the security proceedings we’re humiliated by at the airport are useless.
Identity theft is likely as old as humanity itself, but the first historical mention of it is recorded in the biblical book of Genesis, chapter 27.