Mountain View, CA to Wenatchee, WA 1st gas stop in Redding, CA. The following were available in the bathroom (So, in case you weren’t pumped up enough about your trip aready, you can get a “glo boy extender” or a “love kit” for 75 cents)… Roads like this made it relatively easy for me to … Continue reading
Brazil has become the global superpower of the orange industry Over the last three decades, South America’s largest nation, which has warmer weather and cheaper labor than Florida, has become the world’s number one source of orange juice. The Brazilians have built oceangoing tankers to transport concentrate, port facilities to offload it and tank farms … Continue reading
During my time at Brown Brothers Harriman, an internal research report was circulated outlining the most hospitable jurisdictions for money laundering. This was generated back in 2001, but I still believe it is interesting as things haven’t changed much. The list is in alphabetical order rather than in order of the ease of laundering: Cook … Continue reading
During the 1970’s, Saudi petrodollars flowed mostly into the following four U.S. banks: Chase Citibank Morgan Guaranty Bank of America The Arabs preferred conservative, blue-ribbon banks. Continue reading
2007 Proven Oil Reserves (in billions of barrels) Saudi Arabia 259 Canada 179 (175 billion in oil sands) Iran 126 Iraq 115 Kuwait 97 Abu Dhabi 92 Venezuela 78 Russia 60 Libya 36 Nigeria 25 United States 23 Mexico 15.7 Continue reading
Established in 1671, Mocatta was the world’s earliest bullion broker and by 1774 was handling three-quarters of the world’s entire gold production. In 1890 Mocatta chaired the first London Silver Fix and ScotiaMocatta, as it became known following acquisition by the Bank of Nova Scotia in December 1997, continues to chair the Fix today. Continue reading
There is just no reason why an American worker should continue to earn $40 an hour and a foreign worker just 35 cents per hour. Most likely, the foreigner is better educated and more disciplined. I expect we’re going to see a great leveling of wage rates around the world. Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 