The Tipping Point – When the Cost of Rules and Regulations Exceed Their Benefit

Are we really applying common sense to the way we govern, or are we laying the seeds of our own destruction? The issue here is that free society continually strives to protect the rights of the individual in the belief that if we protect each of us individually, then we protect society against dictators, despots… Continue reading The Tipping Point – When the Cost of Rules and Regulations Exceed Their Benefit

Protecting our Rights – the Tipping Point When the Cost of Rules and Regulations Exceed Their Benefit

Supposed Basic Rights in Democratic Societies In democratic societies, we feel that we have a moral obligation to protect the rights of the individual. This basic belief pervades most of our rational thought and puts a slant on many of our decisions. If only life were that simple; that one concept was universally applicable. Unfortunately,… Continue reading Protecting our Rights – the Tipping Point When the Cost of Rules and Regulations Exceed Their Benefit

A Call For Less Bureaucracy and More Private Enterprise

New US Government Employees Republicans in the US claim to be fighting for a reduction in the US deficit. As part of this initiative, they claim that included in the Obama recovery funding was the hiring of 250,000 new government employees, whose function is to regulate and oversee business, financial, medical and other aspects of… Continue reading A Call For Less Bureaucracy and More Private Enterprise

Buy Stocks When No-One Else Wants Them

A Reminder of the Seasonality of Stocks Over the past weeks, we have seen a gradual lowering of the major stock market indexes. People are watching this weaknesses and comparing it to a number of factors that they are hearing in the news. Observers link this weakness to bad news. The market moves of its… Continue reading Buy Stocks When No-One Else Wants Them

Capitalism Needs Tweaking – Point #8 of 10 (Con’t)– Understanding ‘external auditors’

Financial Statements are Now Designed to Protect the Auditor In my previous blog, I discussed how incomprehensible financial statements have become. By the sheer volume and detail of information, they confuse the reader. The trick is to give so much detailed and professional explanation in these documents, that no-one except the most sophisticated of readers… Continue reading Capitalism Needs Tweaking – Point #8 of 10 (Con’t)– Understanding ‘external auditors’

Capitalism Needs Tweaking – Point #8 of 10 – Understanding ‘internal oversight’ as compared to ‘external auditors’

In my blog of December 9, 2010, I pointed out how our capitalist society suffers from dramatic up and down cycles that rob the middle class of their wealth and earnings. I suggested 10 points that would very much moderate these cycles and bring about a far better capitalist society. This is the 8th of… Continue reading Capitalism Needs Tweaking – Point #8 of 10 – Understanding ‘internal oversight’ as compared to ‘external auditors’

How to Enrich Yourself

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited , whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” – Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) When the Market Shows Weakness We start with a famous quote from Albert Einstein. Normally people attribute the meaning of the quote to someone searching for… Continue reading How to Enrich Yourself

Which Stocks to Invest In & How Important is the Risk Factor

Recent Weakness in Stock Prices If you read the newspapers, or if you look monthly at your portfolio statements, you will be aware that there has been quite a softening in the stock market. In particular, the stock price of banks, financial institutions and energy companies have somewhat softened. The price of juniors has also… Continue reading Which Stocks to Invest In & How Important is the Risk Factor

Investing in China – Is There any Risk?

“A gold mine is nothing more than a hole in the ground with a liar on top.” Mark Twain. Investing in China The Accuracy of Chinese Financial Reporting In the news this week, was an infamous short-seller accusing a Chinese company listed on the TSX of fraudulently mis-stating their assets and financial results. Muddy Waters… Continue reading Investing in China – Is There any Risk?