Future historians may well define our current time on Earth as the “oil age.” It is estimated that the world consumes 80-85 million barrels of oil per day. And as industrialization expands across the globe on an unprecedented scale, long-term demand is on the rise. Read More

As the world evolves, so, too, does the landscape for income investors. Emerging markets — any country in the process of rapid growth and industrialization — were once the exotic purview of Wall Street’s high-risk trading desks. Read More

The U.S. federal government has 1.8 million civilian employees. Add in postal workers, and that number swells to 2.5 million. The government also owns a lot of land — about 30% of the country, in fact — but in addition to Grand Teton National Park and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds… Read More

They say the first time parents feel old is when they realize their children are old. When I graduated college, my mother still called me her baby. When I turned 40, she said I still reminded her of a schoolgirl. Then one night, my mother and I… Read More

It’s coming. Or, I should say, “he’s” coming. Warren Buffett? No. Bill Gross? No. I am referring to Dick Clark. He’s on his way. He will be hosting, again, the annual ball-drop on Times Square… Read More

Foreign stocks simply can’t be ignored. Thirty years ago, U.S. markets accounted for about 70% of the world’s stock market capitalization. That figure has fallen to about 40% today and is likely to keep falling with the rise of Brazil, India, China and others. Read More

Something was drastically amiss. I had turned the radio in my car to my favorite FM station, a boisterous “urban” format that’s best enjoyed loud. But that’s not what I was hearing. Not even close. I called a… Read More

Benjamin Franklin once referred to the magic of compound interest as the “8th wonder of the universe” for its ability to systematically accumulate wealth. Inflation, then, which systematically destroys wealth, must be an evil twin. Nothing is quite like the relentless… Read More

I hadn’t spoken to my friend Harriet for almost a year. We were really close in university, but with her living several hundred miles from me, we drifted apart. So a few weeks ago, I picked up the phone, dialed, and awaited with pleasure her cheery “Hello.”… Read More

When there’s no competition for your services, you can pretty much charge whatever you want, advertise as little as you want, and pay dividends to your investors for as long as you like. That’s how defense contractors and refiners have operated for many years, and that’s how… Read More