Category Archives: Investment Concepts
How to Identify Gentrifying Localities
(710 words) One property buying strategy that has been successful for the past thirty years is to buy near the center of big towns. Even though it’s a well established trend, there are plenty of opportunities. But it is still … Continue reading
The Logic of Derelict Houses
Why would you buy a house and then do nothing to it for twenty or thirty years? By nothing, I mean absolutely nothing. Nobody lives in it, no tenants, no repairs, not even clearing the mail. So much of nothing … Continue reading
Embezzlement – the Dirty Secrets of Non-Profits
(aggregation) Notes from an investigative article in the Washington Post. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of public donations and government grants are drained each year from US institutions by fraudsters working within the organizations. A culture of silence … Continue reading
Athletes are the Worst Investors
(730 words) One of the few ways available for the poor to improve their financial situation is through sports. Team sports are especially accessible to the poor because of their low cost of entry and the organizers’ need to recruit … Continue reading
A History of Debt: David Graeber’s Four Ages
(1450 words) Standing back from a big, highly detailed painting usually allows us to understand it better. Trying to understand the current monetary system, it’s been interesting to read and listen to the anthropologist and anarchist David Graeber talk about … Continue reading
Putting a Face to an Issue Improves Donations.
Researchers have long established two facts about the size of donations. First, the amount people are willing to give does not depend on the size of the problem, secondly they will give more to save a single, identifiable, victim than … Continue reading
HSBC Refusing to Let Customers Withdraw Money?
A few people got hot under the collar last week when the BBC published an article saying that HSBC is not honoring withdrawals unless the customer gives a good reason for wanting the money. In some cases tellers were refusing … Continue reading
Gold is Malleable
A Japanese craftsman can beat an ounce of gold into a sheet thin enough for light to pass through and covering an area of nine square meters. It is not possible to do this with any other metal. Gold … Continue reading
Context Adds Value 01
British artist Banksy’s work normally sells for over $200,000. How many would you buy if you could have forty for $60 each? A lot of New Yorkers and tourists to New York were given that opportunity when the artist set … Continue reading
Work and Slavery
In Brazilian law, slavery not only include forcing people to work against their will for little or no money. It includes failing to provide them with a safe and decent working environment. This broad definition has lead many employers with … Continue reading