Let's not shake on it

Everyone in Saipan, and probably everyone reading these words, has experienced this minor annoyance: You’re sitting in a restaurant, just about to take hold of the cheeseburger you’ve been craving all day, and along comes a colleague of yours who, just your luck, has six visitors in tow. Your colleague, of course, can’t help from dispensing introductions. The hands extend automatically, and you find yourself rubbing more raw flesh than a Bangkok go-go dancer. And you don’t even get a tip or a lady’s drink out of it....(finish today's column here).


Also, here's the link to the Jim Rogers interview I mentioned in my column.

Still strategically strategic

The coming Asian arms race is finally getting notice in the world's press. Today's column is about that gig, and here's a link to a piece in the same vein I did back in 2007.

We're at the juncture where economic changes (namely, Uncle Sam's slide, but, as a secondary factor, China's rise) are going to induce military changes in the Asia-Pacific region. After all, armies march on their wallets.

The smart are scared. The others aren't.

Anywhere under the U.S. flag, be it Saipan or the mainland, the total disconnect between popular perception and economic reality is really shocking now. But emotion will prove to be a very poor substitute for reason (isn't that always the case?).

If you think that my take on things is less than cheery, then here's a link to the Atlantic magazine's May edition, in which economist Simon Johnson has his say.

The economic shoe

The U.S. economy will the be the "other shoe" that drops, after the financial shoe has hit the stage. If you've got ties to Asia, opportunity will eventually knock, because the world's economic order is going to change dramatically.

Wacky economics

If you’re serious about earning a living in Saipan, then you might want to look at the opportunities appropriate to these kinds of economies. No, they’re not particularly glamorous, but they are definitely proven.

The closer

Sometimes being a fly on the wall can be mighty instructive. This week's column is about 12 minutes in a cafe that offered profound insights into investment psychology. I'll probably do a follow up piece in the near future.

This is a test...

Need to take a written test? Here are a few thoughts on making it to the right side of the Bell Curve...

Romeo void

No matter how bad your financial lot is on Saipan, you can still enjoy sunsets and warm breezes. Don’t worry, I haven’t punted economics for kum-bay-yah platitudes..." Here's the entire column.

As for the title, "Romeo void," here's a YouTube link to the 1980's New Wave band.

A few words of Tagalog

What's the most useful language for a tropical adventurer? I think that a little bit of Tagalog can go a long way, and for those who agree, today's column reviews an unassuming little book, Tagalog (Pilipino) Made Nice & Easy (Amazon link here). Synopsis: It's a great book for picking up a few useful words and phrases.

As for Saipan, it would be fun to make a list of all the languages that have been spoken here, since we're a linguistic crossroad, but I don't know if anyone will get around to it....

See? I told you so!

As the hysteria over the U.S. economy, and its moribund stock market, flows through headlines, here’s a fact for you: I warned you about this gig over five years ago. Here's today's column on the gig.

Best of all: Here is a link to my Feb. 13, 2004 column that boldly predicted exactly what we've seen recently. Not bad, eh?