You so stupid!

Click HERE for today's column, which delivers a linguistic diagnosis from my Mandarin tutor.

Aloft, alone!

Click HERE for today's column, which gives some highlights of my days as a flight instructor.

Risks and Swans

Click HERE for today's column. Thailand's turmoil was a surprise, but Saipan's problems were easy to see coming. Some folks have lived through both events.

Class of 2010

Click HERE for today's column. What's it like for graduates to be thrown into the maw of a looming fiscal crisis? I guess we'll find out...

China's economy

Click HERE for today's column, which ponders the Chinese economy.

Never bet the devil your head

Click HERE for today's column, which ponders a risky world.

The office has got the man...

Click HERE for today's column. Running a small, one-man office has advantages and drawbacks.

Economics: Two pieces

Click HERE for today's column, which splits its focus between local and international stuff.

Here we go again...

Click HERE for today's column. Oil prices have doubled over the past year (measured as of April 6, 2010 in US markets vs. April 6, 2009), and gasoline in Saipan is once again near the $4 a gallon mark ($3.779 yesterday).

As for the big picture, here's one paragraph from my column:

"I reject the dreamy notions that some sort of mythical recovery in the U.S. is bidding up the price of oil. I think that oil, somewhat like gold, may be attracting money as sort of a safe haven status as a prized commodity. If that’s the case, then oil can zoom up, or fall down, based on capital that is either running scared or sitting smug. This can be a recipe for volatility, as speculation, not fundamentals, drives the oil market."

Risk and reward

Click HERE for today's column, which looks at risk, reward, and economics.

The referenced United Nations article is here.