QUESTION: Hi Martin, What are your thoughts on preferred shares? Especially the ones with good quality DBRS ratings. Will the survive the downturn or will they fail? Thx FS ANSWER: Ordinary and preference shares are a claim on corporate earnings and assets. Dividends for ordinary shares may be irregular and indefinite, whereas preference shareholders will receive […]
We should not expect Trump to get any of his agenda items through Congress. Trump’s promises to replace the Affordable Care Act, invest in infrastructure, and cut middle class taxes have been essentially shelved. The Democrats refuse to cooperate on anything in hopes of using that against him in 2020. What this really means illustrates […]
Nigel Farage led the Ukip party to victory in the last EU elections in 2014. They won 24 MEPs and brough BREXIT to the forefront, however, Nigel split from Ukip when it turned a hard right. Seven MPs have followed Nigel and switched to the newly-formed Brexit Party after PM Theresa May refused to listen and turned […]
Marijuana has been prejudiced over the years by people who have never understood the risks and because there was concern that marijuana might compete with the paper industry. There was a campaign waged against marijuana that was born out of an anti-immigration movement against Mexicans. The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 and ran into about 1920. […]
It is time that We the People demand reform in the Judicial System. Enough is enough. Former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been thrown into Solitary Confinement to break her no different than any third world country would do to torture a person. Just because judges claim to have this self-anointed power, does not […]
QUESTION: Did China also send troops to Venezuela? What do you make of that? GW ANSWER: Yes. This is part of the fallout from the Democrats attacking the Russians for Hillary’s loss to Trump. Venezuela still subscribed to Communism. Neither Russia nor China agrees with that philosophy. Therefore, what they are doing is merely opposing the USA […]
The EU has been unable to agree on taxing the internet. As a result, Austria went ahead and passed its own digital tax this week on revenues earned by online companies in their country. The entire problem with this type of taxation is the burden of accounting. This means that the online world will be […]
QUESTION: Did insurance companies just declare bankruptcy during the 1930s to escape liabilities? PD ANSWER: Personally, I have NEVER had an insurance policy that EVER paid what they promised. To me, it is one giant scam. You lie to an insurance company and it is a crime. They lie to you, and they walk on water. They […]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have demanded recounts in 39 districts that they lost and have prevailed on eight. There has been great concern that Erdogan’s AKP will not accept defeat at the hand of any vote. Many fear there is an undercurrent of tyranny rising behind the […]
The German economy is what holds up Europe. The data on the industrial sector in Germany is out and it has disappointed everyone once again with production dropping 0.8% month-on-month in January 2019. January’s contraction was driven by a steep drop in capital goods output and a fall in intermediate goods production. However, consumer goods […]
