Douglas in Vegas

Based in Las Vegas, Douglas french writes about the economy and book reviews.

Judy, Judy, Judy

Nov 17

Nov 17 Judy, Judy, Judy

Trump’s lady in waiting for the Federal Reserve, Judy Shelton, is losing Republican support by the day. The Washington Post unleashed its comeliest columnist, Catherine Rampell, to finish off Ms. Shelton, who’s primary negative is her past support for the gold standard, and her questioning the need for the central bank at all.Adherents of the Austrian School of Economics have been cuckoo for Shelton for those very reasons, but, Ms. Rampell describes the Fed nominee as “a demonstrably unqualified partisan quack.”

With Biden in The White House and Yellen at Treasury, Do You Own Enough Gold?

Nov 9

Nov 9 With Biden in The White House and Yellen at Treasury, Do You Own Enough Gold?

Think about it; with Joe Biden in the White House, Janet Yellon at Treasury and Jerome Powell at the Eccles Building, do you own enough gold?

Fed Balance Sheet Heading Towards $40-$50 Trillion?

Oct 29

Oct 29 Fed Balance Sheet Heading Towards $40-$50 Trillion?

Maybe the economy wasn’t so hot. Dannielle DiMartino Booth, who once worked for Richard Fisher at the Dallas Fed, told Raoul Pal on Real Vision, “September the 16th [2019], when they launched Not QE. Because the inversion of the 2s 10s had passed the 30-day mark, and they're like, oh my god, history says that we're in recession.

Presidential Race Ouija Board

Oct 20

Oct 20 Presidential Race Ouija Board

That magic DJIA number is 28,052. So, as of today Trump has nearly 400 Dow points of cushion. But, keep an eye on the Dow, 400 points can be lost overnight, in a morning, or an afternoon. Now you know why Mr. Trump pays so much attention to the stock market. That’s the only poll he trusts or cares about.

The Price of Tomorrow

Oct 17

Oct 17 The Price of Tomorrow

“The cost of one megabyte of hard drive memory has fallen from approximately $1 million in 1967 to 2 cents today,” writes Booth. We can easily imagine what that means for the cool stuff that will be on our smartphones. What I can’t fathom is what cheaper computing power will do for the price of a can of beans.

Enterprising, Economics Savvy, BYU-Idaho Students Try to Collect Valuable Plasma

Oct 15

Oct 15 Enterprising, Economics Savvy, BYU-Idaho Students Try to Collect Valuable Plasma

This may be overblown. BYU-Idaho administrators might be clairvoyant and issuing warnings just to head off any bright ideas students might have to raise a little money. WRCBtv reports, “Mimi Taylor, spokeswoman for Eastern Idaho Public Health, told CNN that she believed the school put out the statement as a preemptive measure intended to keep students from getting any ideas.”

Banker's Wishful Thinking.

Oct 14

Oct 14 Banker's Wishful Thinking.

Benoit points out that the banks used a bit of financial hocus pocus to improve their earnings. “The results were boosted because the banks didn’t have to put aside as much money to cover future loan losses,”

Entrepreneurship on the Fly

Oct 8

Oct 8 Entrepreneurship on the Fly

Masks of all shapes and sizes are everywhere. But now, just in time for halloween, a company called 3wishes, the very morning after a fly landed and stayed on VP Mike Pence’s grey carefully coiffed hair during last night’s Vice Presidential debate has created the Debate Fly Wig. T

Plagues and Bubbles

Sep 30

Sep 30 Plagues and Bubbles

While speculators in London’s Exchange Alley furiously bid up the price of South Sea Company shares, word came that two dock workers unloading wool were overcome by dizziness.

The Cheshire Cat in Crazytown

Sep 26

Sep 26 The Cheshire Cat in Crazytown

Bob Woodward takes his second bite from the Trump apple, with “Rage.” Woodward has completed the interview circuit with his biggest prop being Trump on tape. Trump cooperated and the esteemed author had the president saying what he knew and when he knew it: about the coronavirus, of course.

Protecting Wealth: Under the Mattress vs. FAANG Shares

Sep 15

Sep 15 Protecting Wealth: Under the Mattress vs. FAANG Shares

“The trend could put more Americans on a path to greater wealth and financial security,” Krantz writes, presumably with a straight face. “But it remains to be seen if the beginning investors will stick around for the long haul — or if they'll have the investing skills to avoid losses when stocks take a tumble.”

The Collapse of 2020

Sep 8

Sep 8 The Collapse of 2020

“Industrial civilization,” Sale writes, “in other words, is an inherently self-destructive system with limits beyond which it cannot survive, and utterly consumes itself like the self-burning tree of Gambia discovered by Mungo Park.”

Fed and Treasury Sorcery Make Home Price Magic

Aug 24

Aug 24 Fed and Treasury Sorcery Make Home Price Magic

Tom Blanchard, realtor and president of trade association Las Vegas Realtors, describes the Las Vegas housing market as being “on fire.” Mr. Segall reports, “All told, the market has gained speed as buyers snap up homes from builders and on the resale market, with sellers fetching multiple bids.” Blanchard says simply, “It’s craziness.”

The CARES Act Kicks the Can

Aug 14

Aug 14 The CARES Act Kicks the Can

What has cloaked the recession is government largesse in the form of the added $600 to weekly unemployment claims. While the juice from that lemon ran dry August 1st, it will be replaced by a $300 or $400 weekly bump once Treasury Secretary Mnunchin gets around to cutting the checks.

Trump Knows What Homeowners Fear

Aug 13

Aug 13 Trump Knows What Homeowners Fear

Right or wrong, the president, in this case, knows of what he tweets. Go to any city council meeting when a developer attempts to rezone property for high-density zoning and angry neighbors appear in mass, organized and vocal, not an apron in sight.

Aug 7

Aug 7 Under Water

For decades, buying a house was the American thing to do. Houses always go up in value, it was claimed. Every month’s payment meant some money was going into a sort of savings. Buy as much house as you can afford was the advice, the bigger the house the bigger the gain.

Robinhood's New Normal and Price Discovery

Aug 5

Aug 5 Robinhood's New Normal and Price Discovery

Ah yes, another new normal. “Speculation in the capitalist system performs a function which must be performed in any economic system however organized: it provides for the adjustment of supply and demand over time and space,” wrote Ludwig von Mises in his book “Socialism.”

The Legal Peril of Going Without a Mask

Jul 30

Jul 30 The Legal Peril of Going Without a Mask

One of my economics professors once told the class, “Freedom is a liability for those who can’t govern themselves,” which means this argument will be thrust into the courts. The rights infringement argument is heading towards, first, statute law, and second, possibly, into a common law brick wall.

Poker: Punishing Delusion

Jul 29

Jul 29 Poker: Punishing Delusion

Her story is pure Cinderella in terms of table success, making her book compelling from start to finish. But, “Bluff” is not just a telling of “bad beats,” “bluffs,” and “big pots.” Konnikova weaves plenty of psychology and behavioral economics into her narrative.

Vegas Home Sales Defy Strip's Collapse.

Jul 25

Jul 25 Vegas Home Sales Defy Strip's Collapse.

Las Vegas Market

Despite happy talk here and there, Las Vegas, with its dependence on frequent fliers and conventioneers, is in a bad way. During an earnings call for Las Vegas Sands, owners of The Venetian and Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip, Sands President Rob Goldstein said, “We’re in a world of hurt here in terms of Vegas.”