Proposed(?) Realtor Publicity Stunt No, as a Twin Cities Realtor, I’m not holding my breath waiting for an email or text from a colleague trumpeting a price reduction — or even a list price — in Bitcoin. As attention-getting as that might be (no doubt, what caused a client to suggest that to me recently)....Read More
The King Has No Clothes Currency “Bitcoin mania reached new highs as the price of the digital currency jumped about 40% in about 40 hours, surging past the $16,000 mark.” —The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 8, 2017). Why is gold valuable? Mostly, because you can buy things with it, and only (very) secondarily, because you...Read More
Call it “Financial Darwinism” “Bitcoin Surges Above $5,200 on Hopes of Renewed China Trade.” —The Wall Street Journal (10/12/2017). No, I’m not rooting for Bitcoin to skyrocket to the heavens because I have a position in it. God forbid! Rather, it’s because I see Bitcoin serving a useful economic purpose. Two, in fact: One. Lightning rod. ...Read More
Labor + Capital + Raw Materials = Finished Goods I spent four years learning economics at Stanford. I’ve spent (going on) the last forty years unlearning it. It’s not that Stanford failed me. It turns out that the entire field of modern economics was built upon not one but two outmoded ideas, if not conceptual...Read More
No, that’s not the yield on the U.S. 10-year bond (rapidly dropping towards 2%). It’s the yield — as of this morning — on Germany’s 10-year bond, regarded as an even safer bet than U.S. debt. Aside from a little confusion (I thought Deutsche marks were replaced by euro’s?), it raises this question: if at...Read More
“Recently, Overstock.com — an online retailer — agreed to accept bitcoins; the Sacramento Kings basketball team will do likewise. According to coinmap.org, about 2,600 stores and businesses worldwide accept bitcoins, with concentrations in Western Europe, California and New York.” –“Bitcoin: Is it a Boom, Or a Bubble?”; Robert Samuelson (Jan. 20, 2014) Sooner or later,...Read More
