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Hubris - Obama's Note for History
President Obama wrote a stirring note to the new President moments before he surrendered the presidency to Donald Trump. He left it in the top drawer of the desk in the Oval Office. Ostensibly, it was a private note from him, not one to... Read →
US Auto Industry Gets a Big Boost from Hurricane Harvey
The storm did huge damage to the city of Houston and to the lives of its residents. Its devastation is biblical. But the American auto industry, briefly depressed before the storm due to slowing sales and larger than normal inventory... Read →
EverBank Returns to Its Earlier Monkey Business Following TIAA Acquisition
EverBank today launched a 3-year MarketSafe Emerging Currency CD. I could write ad nauseum here about how inappropriate this investment is for most unsuspecting investors. I could write about why it shouldn’t be called a Certificate... Read →
Portfolio Drift
While Donald Trump has certainly caused concern to some over his style and actions as President, few have been anything but jubilant over the impressive rise in the stock market since January. Actually, if one looks back to late 2008 when... Read →
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Bangkok, Thailand – 9/20/2006; Washington, D.C. – 9/20/2017
It was early in the morning in Bangkok on September 20, 2006. Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire telecom entrepreneur who had become Prime Minister of Thailand to order to increase his own wealth, had been deposed in a military coup only... Read →
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Danny Ainge Makes the Worst Trade Since the Boston Celtics Traded Him Away
I was a college sophomore living in Boston when the Celtics traded Danny Ainge to the Sacramento Kings for Joe Kleine and Ed Pickney. While the Celtics still had their championship lineup from earlier years (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale,... Read →
Pretty, It Isn’t Going To Be, But…
Seven months into the Trump presidency, we can now see forward for the next three and a quarter years more accurately. It’s fair to say that by now we all have a full measure of the man who is President. His base is no less... Read →
Image Courtesy: Wailea Beach Resort
Marriott Merger Opens Up Opportunities for Great Starwood Redemptions in Hawaii
Editor's Note: The redemption opportunity described below was removed by Marriott effective August 18, 2018 when they eliminated the hotel and air package redemptions. If you are like me and most Starwood customers, you probably did... Read →
Image Courtesy: Marriott
Timeshares Are Wholly Inappropriate Investments for Anyone
I was in Maui, Hawaii last week and had an opportunity to pick up a few hotel program points by attending a 90-minute timeshare presentation. Since I could use the hotel points for my next Hawaii trip, I scheduled the presentation for the... Read →
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It is Torn Now
In April, I wrote an article entitled America’s Fabric is Tearing. It focused on United Airlines' forceful removal of a passenger whose only act had been to refuse to give up his seat for an airline employee. It was corporate... Read →
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Something May Have Finally Caught the Attention of the Markets!
Anyone watching the spectacular rise in the Dow would think that America is on a tear and that everything if just fine. Anyone, however, objectively looking and listening to Donald Trump and watching the ridiculous doings in the Congress... Read →
Who will Drive the Ubers, Pick the Berries, Dig the Trenches, Cook the Food at Taco Bell
Donald Trump’s decision, supported only by Senators Tom Cotton and David Purdue, to limit immigration only to those with exceptional educational credentials and fluent English rejects the well-established notion that the US economy is... Read →
If Only Drumpf Had Been Denied Entry As An Immigrant
“Sorry Friedrich, but you bring no obvious skills (you plan to be a barber) and you don’t speak English. You will have to go back to Germany.” But, that’s not what they said in 1885 when he arrived on our shores... Read →
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Indictment At the Ready
By now, with the advantage of hindsight, it is obvious where Mr. Trump is heading in the weeks ahead. There is nothing more important to him than to stop the investigation into his campaign’s and his direct associations with Russia.... Read →