Pakistan this week has for the first time successfully test fired its surface to surface missile, that will be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads. The demonstration reminds neighboring countries and the world community at large, what a dangerous place South Asia remains. From the founding of the nation in the middle of the 20th century, an enormous amount of money has been spent on defense. Pakistan is the second most populated country in the Muslim world, after Indonesia. It has grown […]
Jeffrey Hagenmeier
The Political Genius Of Trump Starts With The Mexican And United States Border
The rumblings of trouble between Mexico and the United States already began before Donald Trump even won the Republican primary. His populist tone was resonating loudly across the regions of the United States, that had least benefited from the new economy over the past few decades. The hollowing out of traditional American manufacturing, had created a new constituency that would soon alter the domestic political landscape. Mr. Trump’s bombastic rhetoric played well in the old industrial towns of the Midwest, where the […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills January Week 3
The big investment news for the week is the end in the upward movement for the indices in the United States. The surge caused by the election of Donald Trump has now leveled off and remains just below 20,000. Mr. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President on the United States on January 20th. The feeling among investors is that President Trump will begin the roll back on business regulations almost immediately upon assuming office. However, the lack of specifics has kept […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills January Week 2
The big investment news for the week is the end in the upward movement for the indices in the United States. The surge caused by the election of Donald Trump has now leveled off and remains just below 20,000. Markets in Asia and Europe had also been at or near new highs. Growth in these exchanges are slowing as well. The other investment news is the beginning of reporting for the 4th quarter corporate sector in the United States. The financial sector […]
Independence For Catalonia, Can Spain Survive?
The European Union has sustained a number of crises over the past decade. The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 and the resulting recession were the first two blows. This was followed by the debt crisis in the ensuing years. The economic slowdown overwhelmed a number of countries, that had been used to heavy government outlays, that had been funded mostly through deficit spending. The next issue that strained the fabric of the Union, was the massive surge in migration to Europe […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills January Week 1
The big news for the week is the price level of world stock exchanges. They are now at their highest point since mid-2015. Stronger economic data from China and the United States, is fueling higher global growth and inflation. Little reported, was the release of data by the Institute for International Finance concerning global debt. Government debt rose sharply this past year and debt is now 325% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the world. As a result, global interest rates […]
The Fracturing European Union: Returning Schism Between Eastern and Western Europe
At the beginning of the 21st century, the European Union (EU) was expanding to encompass a much larger share of the continent than had previously been envisioned. The borders of the EU were moved eastward from central Europe to the borders of the former Soviet Union. In fact, three former Soviet Republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, collectively known as the Baltic Republics, would become part of the EU as well. The push to the east, began with the reunification of Germany in […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills December Week 5
The big investment news for the week was the end in the upward movement for the indices in the United States. The latest surge caused by the election of Donald Trump has now leveled off and is on a slight reversal. Markets in Asia and Europe had also been at or near new highs. Growth in these exchanges are slowing as well. The other news was the steady uptick in the price of crude on most exchanges. This was in response to […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills December Week 4
The big investment news for the week was the end in the global stock rally, partially caused by the election of Donald Trump in the United States. A number of markets in Asia, Europe and the United States, surpassed a 16 month high, but are now leveling off or beginning a reversal. All four main indices in the United States were at or near new lifetime highs earlier this week. Now they are flat or somewhat heading downward in valuation. The main […]
Landslide Elections In Romania Will Keep Corruption In Power
Despite the economic and political progress Romania has achieved since joining the European Union in 2007, the corruption of the past continues to retard the development of the country. Recent events highlighted this reality. The center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) was able to win 46% of the vote in elections held on December 11th. The problem is the party is being led by Liviu Dragnea,who was convicted of endeavoring to commit electoral fraud just last year. In most other democratic countries being […]