The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
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The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
1–10 of 71 posts
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#2The smartest man in Europe is about an enlightening as Thomas Friedman column.
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#3Why should I believe that "The Smartest Man in Europe" is anything other than a sock puppet talking up Blackstone's book?
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#4Why should I believe that "The Smartest Man in Europe" is anything other than a sock puppet talking up Blackstone's book?
Still, an interesting read nonetheless.
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#5I don't always invest, but when I do, it's in gold and Swiss francs.
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#6"All the problems really started when the dollar was no longer convertible into gold. That happened in August 1971 and eliminated all currency restraints because money became only paper and not backed by anything real."
Interesting to find that in the middle of the article.
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#7I don't always invest, but when I do, it's in gold and Swiss francs.
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Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#8I knew all this. Stocks are bound to be crap, they depend on making a profit from selling goods and services. There are only two types of people left in unequal economies. Those who can't afford the stuff and those who don't need to buy any more than they do. Consumption, profits and stocks would all be much higher if societies were more equal. There is tons of money locked up that never needs to be spent by the people who've got it. Economic demand is money + (desire or need). Every consumer has one or the other but not both. Maybe the poor deserve no more a share of the resources than they get, after Reagans tax cuts, but the result is terrible for companies. To sell anything PROFITABLY, chase the super-rich. Everyone else is broke.
We won't be able to transfer the unneeded wealth of people in Luxembourg to Nigerians or Romanians of course, we must wait a few decades for the abolition of scarcity (of most things) and the abolition of money and economics. Otherwise known by: "Tea, Earl Grey, hot."
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#9"All the problems really started when the dollar was no longer convertible into gold. That happened in August 1971 and eliminated all currency restraints because money became only paper and not backed by anything real." Interesting to find that in the middle of the article.
There's a school of thought that blames the gold standard for the great depression. The French accumulated massive amounts of gold between 1928 and 1932 and some scholars say the global deflationary effects of Bank of France's policy during this time caused the great depression.
The gold standard also ties money supply to gold production which is a little like tying fed policy to the quarterly flip of a coin. For example, the Australian and Californian gold rushes of the 1850's caused huge short term price instability.
I'd counter the above statement with the following:
Many problems were solved with our departure from the gold standard and paper money is backed by the faith and credit of the country that prints it and it's value should, and does, fluctuate accordingly.
But arguing with an anonymous "smartest man in Europe" is a little like arguing with Santa.
Re: The Smartest Man in Europe Is Very Cautious
#10After pointing out that "The central bankers throughout the world have lost touch with reality" and discussing the messes that have been created in large part by inept bureaucrats, The Smartest Man in Europe dismisses all of the problems brewing in China with a naive "the authorities will figure out solutions to solve them."
Anyone who truly believes that the "authorities" in China are any more capable than the "authorities" outside of China isn't very smart at all.