In recent weeks, something happened that has probably never before happened in history. Various European government bonds were trading with negative nominal yields. Just to […]

Many of the most successful investors leverage their own capital with borrowed wealth to magnify their profits. Capital they own is supplemented by capital they […]

Already among renaissance Italian city states, incessant wars were financed by bonds and annuities, while the merchant banks that issued this long-term credit on behalf […]

One of oldest forms of credit, and still one of the most important is a bill. When most of you think of “bill” you might […]

Last week we took a look at bears to consider how investors can profit from falling asset prices. Bears are harder for the public to […]

One of the first things I teach my students is that no state of the economy is good for everybody or bad for everybody. There […]

The public media, following the lead of economics textbooks, treat steady, continuous growth as the natural consequence of a market economy. If economic crises happen, […]

One of the introductory economics textbooks I often taught from (co-authored by former Fed chair Ben Bernanke) included short boxed features titled, “Think Like an […]

This blog is the first of a weekly series that will explain political economy in a refreshingly practical way, including private power and strategy. For […]