Are Americans Too Insouciant To Survive?

Paul Craig Roberts

When one looks at the deplorable state of the world, one cannot help but wonder at the insouciance of the American people. Where are they? Do they exist or are they a myth? Have they been put to sleep by an evil demon? Are they so lost in The Matrix that they cannot get out?

All my Catholic academic friends are infuriated by what’s happening at Mount St. Mary’s, a small Catholic liberal arts college in Emmitsburg, Md. Former TAC blogger John Schwenkler, who once taught philosophy there, tells the shocking tale. Excerpt:

Submitted by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Companies Lose Billions On Stock Buybacks

I recently wrote an article about why “Benchmarking Your Portfolio Is A Losing Bet.” In that missive, I discussed all the things that benefit a mathematically calculated index versus what happens in an actual portfolio of securities. One of those issues was the impact of share buybacks:

Authored by Steve H. Hanke of The Johns Hopkins University

The Great Recession of 2008-09 brought with it quantitative easing. This, in turn, spawned a cottage industry of books, articles and blog posts about hyperinflation. The burgeoning literature contains a great deal of hype, which validates the 95% Rule: 95% of what is written about economics and finance is either wrong or irrelevant.

One of Britain’s biggest gold dealers has said it has taken record-day sales on Thursday amounting to £5.6 million, as traders have purchased record-amounts of gold in a panic amid fears that the world is on the brink of a huge financial crisis.  BullionByPost’s managing director Rob Halliday-Stein says that Thursday’s sales are the largest ever for the company. Telegraph.co.uk reports: “The bullion market has been building with interest since the end of last year but this morning things have gone bananas,” said Mr Halliday-Stein.