International Trade

December 28, 2014

Why the Metric Switch is so Tough

The expense and complexities of switching to the metric system have prevented the change, and have affected how standard weights and measures help globalization.

November 30, 2014

Three Graphs That Tell the Whole Oil Story

Following the law of supply, U.S. shale oil firms will lower output because OPEC is letting price plummet but airlines on demand side like lower prices.

November 4, 2014

The Benefits of Perpetual Federal Debt

Very long term federal debt that has no date for redemption like UK First World War bonds and U.S. Revolutionary War debt depend on good public credit.

September 24, 2014

What Do iPhones and Pencils Have in Common?

Whether looking at the supply chain for a pencil or an iPhone 6, we see globalization because price system incentives create cooperation.

August 28, 2014

The Path of the Shifting Center of Global Economic Power

Led by Chinese economic growth and other emerging markets, the center of economic gravity is moving eastward from the developed world to Asia.

August 12, 2014

What Refrigerators Can Tell Us About Global Markets

In refrigerators in developing nations, we can see the impact of affluence on their diet and on supply and demand that will change worldwide food prices.

August 11, 2014

Will You Get Your Social Security Benefits?

The 2014 Social Security Trustees Report says that after we deplete the remains of the program's trust funds in 2033, payroll taxes will not provide all promised benefits.

July 31, 2014

Argentina's (Long) Default History

With Argentina again defaulting on her sovereign debt, she is violating the sanctity of contracts and lessened her borrowing ability at home and globally.

July 4, 2014

Celebrating Economic Independence

Yes, the United States declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and won the American Revolutionary War. But still, we were not truly independent. George Washington’s Secretary of […]

April 27, 2014

When Did We Get “Tough Love” From the Federal Reserve?

Demonstrating Russia’s current plight, this graph so perfectly illustrates stagflation: When GDP sinks and inflation increases, the stagflation that results is tough to cure. If monetary […]