Who Is at Fault in the GameStop Controversy?

Who Is at Fault in the GameStop Controversy?

The recent GameStop scandal is not easy to understand. Suffice it to say that it involves stock market tricks that traders play to make money off the misfortunes of declining companies. By placing bets on bleak futures, traders can game the system to garner profits. Such tricks add nothing to market value. … Read more

Is the Economy Really Booming?

Is the Economy Really Booming?

The economic indicators all show the economy is booming. Unemployment is at record lows. The stock market is seeing record highs. Wages are up, and taxes are down. Stifling regulations are being lifted. Everything seems to be working just fine. There is much truth in this perception of a boom. Part of … Read more

Y’all Want Some Caviar?

Y’all Want Some Caviar?

American Caviar … Only in America Caviar is arguably one of the finest things to please the palate of food connoisseurs. Harvested from the prehistoric sturgeon, a fish found more commonly in the Caspian and Black Seas, it was once considered to be something coming solely from countries like Iran and Russia. … Read more

Three Reasons Why Bitcoin Is Not Money

Three Reasons Why Bitcoin Is Not Money

With the dramatic rise of bitcoin, many are talking about this crypto-currency as the new money of the future. Such a simplification is understandable, since the matter of money is complex. Not all that glitters is gold. Likewise, what appears to be money often is not. Bitcoin does nothing to clarify the … Read more

Why the End of Malls Will Not Make Shopping Any Better

Why the End of Malls Will Not Make Shopping Any Better

As the Christmas season ends, there is a general agreement that the age of malls is coming to a close. Retail sales are no longer dominated by the vast complexes of physical shops anchored by big-box stores once found all over the country. Indeed, malls are no longer delivering the goods to … Read more

Staying in Business in the Age of the Customer

Staying in Business in the Age of the Customer 1

A review of The Age of the Customer: Prepare for the Moment of Relevance by Jim Blasingame, (Florence, AL: SBN Books, 2014). A good book is one that provokes good questions in the mind of the reader. It need not provide all the answers. The important thing is to challenge the person to … Read more

The Crumbling of Certainties

The Crumbling of Certainties 2

In the scramble to make sense out of the present election cycle, analysts have come up with all sorts of theories. One popular explanation claims that people are hardening in their positions. On the left and the right, all parties are holding rigidly to their agendas, forcing their will upon the rest … Read more

Is the World Economy Trapped in a “Death Spiral”?

Is the World Economy Trapped in a “Death Spiral”?

Everybody is looking for ways to describe the dire state of the world economy. Some have used Crisis with a capital C, a sinking Titanic or a perfect storm. These are all dramatic expressions to describe a very serious situation. However, the latest metaphor being used is even more dramatic. Leading economists … Read more

It’s Not the Economy, Stupid!

It’s Not the Economy, Stupid!

As the nation heads into the next election cycle, there is much frustration, angst and anxiety directed at a system that does not seem to work. Everyone senses there is something terribly wrong with the country. The worst part of this growing malaise is the feeling that no one seems to know … Read more