Taking the express train from Paris to Frankfurt, I was playing around with the map function on my iPhone 4s. It was really cool watching the blue dot marking my location zip across the map at 200 miles per hour. When I zoomed in on my location, I realized that I recognized many of the [...]

When I backpacked around Europe in 1968, I relied heavily on Arthur Frommer’s paperback guide, Europe on $5 a Day, which then boasted a cult like following among impoverished, but adventurous Americans. Over the following years he directed me down cobblestoned alleyways, dubious neighborhoods, and sometimes converted WWII air raid shelters, to find those incredible [...]

It was an unexpected call. A close friend who ran one of the world’s largest hedge funds said he had two tickets to the London Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night. Would I like to have them? I said he must be kidding. I knew from my own research that these tickets were the most [...]

My next global strategy webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 1 at 12:00 noon EST. This webinar will be broadcast live from Zermatt, Switzerland, provided that the higher Alps don’t block my Wi-Fi signal. I’ll be giving you my updated outlook on stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, precious metal, and real estate. The goal is [...]

The full force of soaring oil prices really hit home when I arrived in Paris yesterday. As we passed a gas station, I mentioned to the driver that I didn’t know that they sold gas by the gallon in France. He answered that they didn’t. Those were the prices in liters I was seeing. He [...]