After a few decades investing in the markets I am coming to realize that to make money in such markets you have to first and foremost think independently and be humble. You have to be an independent thinker because you can’t make money agreeing with the consensus view, which is already embedded in the price. Yet whenever you’re betting against the consensus, there’s a significant probability you’re going to be wrong, so you have to be humble.

Early in my career I learned this lesson the hard way — through some very painful bad bets. The biggest of these mistakes occurred in the early 80s, when I became convinced that the U.S. economy was about to fall into a depression. My research had led me to believe that, with the Fed’s tight money policy and lots of debt outstanding, there would be a global wave of debt defaults, and if the Fed tried to handle it by printing money, inflation would accelerate. I was so certain that a depression was coming that I proclaimed it everywhere. Boy, was I wrong.

For More: Making money consistently. A review of the state of the art

Thank You.

The good news is that unlike China, which faces structural change as it shifts from an export-driven to a consumer-driven economy, India’s growth has long been dependent on domestic demand, even as exports have risen. However, its major weakness remains infrastructure, with basic transportation, power grid and irrigation systems lagging behind those of China. In a welcome move, the government plans to increase infrastructure spending by INR1.74 trillion ($38 billion) this year and that is always welcome.

The better news is that unlike China and Brazil, which have witnessed an increase in acquisitions by local private equity firms, India attracts a greater proportion of foreign private equity firms. The country’s legal and governance systems have indeed long attracted private equity investors from around the world which bodes very well for us at Blackhawk.

Further, and since the opening of the economy in 1991, the country has seen huge improvements in both capital markets regulation and in corporate governance.

For more:  Challenges and Opportunities in India

I am appalled by the level of stupidity coming from both Washington and Main Street rationalizing that if the top 1% of income generating people out there had less, then the remaining 99% would be better off….How far this is from the truth.

Frankly, I believe making the 1% suddenly poorer does not make the 99% suddenly richer. In fact, it just creates an environment that will make the 99% poorer.

This isn’t ancient times where the obscenely rich lord keeps a cellar full of gold while his vassals starve. The wealth of today’s rich is constantly working in the economy.

If they put it in a bank, that provides capital that the bank can use to provide mortgage, car, and student loans to the 99% and hence improves their lot.

For More: Wealth Redistribution & Economic Warfare

I have a serious problem with Hillary as President.

Why?

Well I am afraid she has absolutely no clue of how our economy functions and I blame her too for backing the disastrous monetary policy which has wound up being the greatest redistribution of wealth in human history. On all counts, Clinton’s generation of politicians – Democrat and “Republican” alike – have taken the greatest country in the history of human civilization and, in the space of less than a quarter century, set it down the path toward an inevitable, inexorable collapse.

Hillary apparently believes Obama’s delusions, too. In fact, Obama lives in his own little world of denial, saying the economy is better than ever, and apparently Clinton thinks so, too.
In previous decades, the average recovery period took about two years. Seven years into Obama’s presidency, we’re still struggling in a so-so recovery.

So if anyone thinks Hillary Clinton knows how to lift the underperforming U.S. economy out of its lethargy, they’d better think again. Her knowledge of economics is close to zero.

For More: A Serious Problem with Hillary as President

Thank You,

I meet with hundreds of entrepreneurs a year…from the smart operators to the ones as dumb and conceited as a rock to the real “game changers” out to change the world.

I have always been particularly intrigued with this last group of people.

Here are some personal thoughts as to what makes them unique in their own way in case you’re still wondering what differentiates a “game changer” from the rest of us.

Game Changers have:

1. An uncanny vision – One thing that is happening today the world over is the widening gap between rich and poor. The game changer is the one who can connect the dots better and faster than most people out there and pushes the next billion people towards financial inclusion, strategically and socially.

2. Swashbuckling Guts – This may sound obvious but never underestimate how gutsy this special breed of people can be…. in addition to the fact that they can transmit this trait to their inner circle too creating a viral effect second to none. Their “take no prisoners” approach is indeed contagious.

Thank You,

For More: Game Changer

Thank You,

For your supporters, your organization’s blog is a window into your world. It showcases what matters to you, how you’re achieving your mission, and provides insight into the type of organization you are or want to be. Perhaps most importantly, it’s a critical marketing tool to spread knowledge of your work and the issues you prioritize to millions of potential supporters.

So what do you do to have your Non-profit’s message or blog at the forefront of all?

1. It all starts with fundraising :

Behind every successful and influential organization is a team of people finding the money to fund great work. While your blog shouldn’t only be a vehicle to support the development team, every post is a good opportunity to turn a casual observer or activist into a donor. Make sure your blog contributors – whether within or outside your organization – are fully aware of this. After all, money is the fuel of it all.

For More: Managing a Nonprofit is already more than a Full-Time Job

Thank You,

One argument you often see being made by pundits today – particularly those who have a “secular stagnation” view of the world – is that there’s nothing to lose by conducting extreme monetary policy.

Given the risks involved in a deflationary world, it can’t hurt to fight it in any way possible.

But everything has consequences, and you can’t expect to keep interest rates at current levels without distorting the market in some way.

Bottom Line: I strongly believe that central bankers’ actions have put the global economy today in a very dangerous position.

Interest rates are too low. As a result, we’re seeing a replay of the mid-2000s – when interest rates were too low given economic growth, and as a result, the bubble in US subprime property was inflated. And when it blew up, it triggered the global financial crisis.

For More: Are we Facing an Economic Disaster?

Thank You,

My questions are about Hillary’s emails, but they aren’t the usual ones. Everyone is agog about the hubris exhibited by the would-be President and how it reminds us of the First Couple’s dodgy past from not-sex in the oval office to stealing everything they could get their hands on when they left the White House.

However, there are much more important questions: namely the security of our nation’s secrets and Hillary’s role in giving them away.

The current White House electronic information security breach by Russian hackers came through U.S. State Department computers. It turns out State Department computers were hacked earlier and the latest report is that it is not at all certain all intrusions have yet been cleaned out.

News reports say that State was hacked “for months.” Technically that is true, the reports simply don’t say how many months. If you read all the stories carefully it turns out that those months represent years – the years Hillary was Secretary of State.

For More: Hilary’s Emails and our Nation’s Security