Conspiracy Theories & Other Random Thoughts
I’m traveling again and so this will run shorter than normal. This trip is a combination business trip and vacation so my wife Fay is along and we’re visiting my home town of Aiken, SC this weekend. I’ve promised to take her to the polo matches this afternoon so I’m on a tight deadline. We’ve .. read more
Brother, Can You Spare A Euro?
By Brian Cronin: I am old enough to remember the horrendous conflict in the Congo in the 1960s. The players: Patrice Lumumba, Joseph Kasavubu, Dag Hammarskjold and Moise Tschombe of the breakaway province of Katanga are all still clear memories. What is also clear, unfortunately, is the question asked by a particularly insensitive British TV .. read more
The Joyless Street
By Brian Cronin In striking a blow for democracy, it looks like the preliminary decision of the German Constitutional Court has had an effect on other nations signing on for the permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. You will recall the court said that any change to the upper limit of Germany’s commitment (€190 .. read more
Black Wednesday
By Brian Cronin This week sees the 20th anniversary of a traumatic event for the British government. Wednesday, September 16th 1992 was the day that Britain exited the Exchange Rate Mechanism in rather ignominious fashion. It would forever after be known as Black Wednesday. It is also a good lesson for today’s investors in that .. read more
Judgment at Karlsruhe
By Brian Cronin: Before starting on the issues this week, let me take a moment to observe that next Tuesday is the 11th anniversary of 9/11. That fateful day, also a Tuesday, saw close to 3,000 souls lost. 88% of them were Americans with the remaining 12% foreign nationals coming from over 90 countries. I .. read more
September Song
By Brian Cronin Before starting off on another trip around Europe, let me remind regular readers that about a month ago in my essay on Spain, “The Impossible Dream” (which you will find in Alhambra’s archives if you didn’t keep it), that Spain has 17 semi-autonomous regions who run their own finances, and for some .. read more
The Best Of Enemies
By Brian Cronin Continuing our look at Europe, this week we turn our attention to France. France and Germany have had an uneasy relationship, going all the way back to Charlemagne. A number of conflicts over the last thousand years and the rise of nationalism in the 1800s culminated in the Franco-Prussian war and two .. read more
Correction On The Horizon
I’m traveling today (and a little under the weather to boot) so this will be a fairly short update. I’ve spent the last week visiting clients and potential clients in Augusta, GA and Asheville, NC and before I get started, I’d just like to thank our representatives Larry Hogue and Bob Williams in Augusta and .. read more
