Category: Economics

Christie’s Practice of Fraudulent Art Auction Bids and Investment in Modern Art

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Creating the illusion of a bid in the room by an auctioneer to ensure a reserve price is met is perfectly legal and is often done so that Christie’s turns a profit because they are solely commission based and without a sale, Christie’s actually loses money when factoring in storage, transport, and the brokering of the piece which involves many people behind the scenes as well as the auctioneer. Antiquities of the art world tend to sell at bargain price points so Christie’s has put much of its resources into living artists whose works sell in the millions of dollars instead of hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most of these newer works have been created within the past 20 – 30 years and provide commentary upon a specific moment in time often one which the purchaser remembers during their own lifetime (e.g. tank man in Tiananmen Square, China)

The Advent of the Modern Shipping Container 

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Shipping containers are referred to as “TEU’s” which is an acronym meaning “twenty foot equivalent unit”. The shipping container was created almost by accident by the U.S. entrepreneur Malcom McLean who wanted to put his trucks onto ships to ship them down the Atlantic coast and avoid traffic. McLean realized that he could fit more trucks if he removed the cab from the container and from this, the modern shipping container was born. Shipping has become so efficient that it costs approximately $300.00 to send 20 tonnes of anything from the United States of America to China or vice versa

The U.S.’ Military Budget For Securing Oil Abroad

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The U.S. government spends $638,000,000,000 ($638 billion) per year on its defense budget, with $507,000,000,000 ($507 billion) of that cost spent upon Persian Gulf operations which situate U.S. military bases next to all major middle eastern oil sources. Ironically, the cost to secure and defend these oil sites is nearly 10x more expensive than the oil itself as the U.S. consumes only $56,000,000,00 ($56 billion) of oil annually. This massive offset cost is deemed necessary by the U.S. government to ensure the security of oil and to maintain its stability, making certain that oil is never again compromised as it was during the 1970’s when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to cut off the flow of oil imported into the U.S. The U.S. military occupies these regions on paper to defend democracy, but the truth is that these sites are only occupied to defend against the problem of the consolidation of oil

The Benefits of Methanol as an Energy Resource

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Methanol is the simplest alcohol to make and is the most probable choice fuel for future Mars missions. Ethanol only requires water and carbon. Methanol is colloquially referred to as “wood alcohol” and/or “natural gas”. Professional racing car drivers prefer methanol as a fuel source due to the fact that it’s much less likely to catch fire after a crash. Methanol burns incredibly clean in comparison to gasoline and methanol costs 33% of what gasoline costs to manufacture and distribute

The Exportation of Skilled Labor From the Philippines 

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Filipinos account for 40% of the seafaring workforce as they are very cost effective to employ and speak English exceedingly well making them incredibly popular with shipping companies. At sea, Filipino workers have the opportunity to work 5x – 6x more than they would on land. Every hour, 950 Filipinos leave the Philippines to work abroad. The exportation of people is the most important and profitable industry in the Philippines. Those who embark on contracts to work abroad pay 33% of their salary to the Filipino government pouring $10,000,000,000 ($10 billion) each year into the countries economy

Shipping Freighters Flying Flags of Convenience 

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The flags flown atop ships are also known as a “flag of convenience” as the owners of shipping companies and shipping vessels often fly a flag different from that of their own nationality or where their business is headquartered. Nations have 19 kilometers of territorial water which is considered part of their land, 322 kilometers of an exclusive economic zone in which countries can pull in ships for inspection and seize their goods or extract resources from the sea bed, and the high seas which belong to nobody. Ships are subject to the laws of the country of the flag they fly however most Greek, Japanese, Chinese, and German ships are registered in Panama, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, or Mongolia, slipping away from the laws of their country of origin, a move which can be very financially rewarding. Doing so allows companies to dodge taxes, safety standards and requirements, labor codes, and minimum wages. This method can reduce shipping costs by up to 65%. Countries promote the efficacy of flying their flag at large gatherings in an attempt to entice large shipping magnets into utilizing their flag which is a mutually beneficial endeavor as the country on the flag gets to collect taxes for its development and the company using the flag gets to save a lot of money, funds which would have been paid out in higher tax brackets had they used the flag of a wealthier nation. On top of all of these perks, most flags of convenience guarantee anonymity to their clients which helps ensure the entire industry is difficult to track and regulate

The Average Lifespan of a British Employee for the East India Company

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Death was quite common among the British stationed in India, with 33% of the entire British workforce dying in a single year due to the rainy season set by the monsoon. The average lifespan of a British worker in India was said to be just two monsoons, and the East India Company regularly had shipments of blank tombstones shipped from England just to keep up with the number of dying workers each month. The East India Company tried to help decrease these numbers by shipping vast quantities of spirits and wine, in the hopes that it would help increase the overall health of the workforce but unfortunately it did not do much good

Chinese Desire For Ivory and the Devastating Effect This Has Thrust Upon Africa

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China is one of the only countries in which recently acquired ivory can be sold legally, and because it is in such high demand, China’s insatiable thirst for ivory is devastating elephant populations around the world. 80% of the Chinese middle class own one or more pieces of ivory and 84% of those people intend to purchase more in the future. Trade between Africa and China between 2003 and 2013 has jumped from $6,000,000,000 ($6 billion) to over $100,000,000,000 ($100 billion). China has been investing in Africa, building roads and shipping ports as a way to streamline the trading process. Some of the most popular goods traded include turtles which are eaten, shark fins which are also ingested, rhinoceros horn which is ground up and consumed, and elephant ivory which is carved into decorations. 60,000 shipping containers enter Chinese ports each day, with less than 1% being searched, making Chinese ports a smugglers paradise. Only 16% of ivory sold in China is legally traded and can be verified to have been sourced from legally acquired sources. Kenya has achieved success with elephant protection due to private philanthropy which funds the ability to patrol Kenyan parks via helicopter and land vehicles with armed security personnel, trained guards who have been authorized to shoot to kill when poachers have been identified actively poaching or attempting to poach

The Unsustainability of Massive Debt 

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A major driver of prosperity during the last 50 years of the 20th century has been debt. Prior to World War II, significant debt (e.g. mortgages) did not exist. Debt has been the fundamental driver of all of this forward momentum. This system of prosperity is dependant upon one’s financial ability to service it, and although it is accepted as normal, it is unfortunately unsustainable. This movement has created the enormous financial sector and markets which the industrialized world is now familiar with. The mindset of enjoying now and paying later creates a mindset in which people are divorced from affordability. History has consistently demonstrated that this model is highly volatile and worse, unsustainable in the long run

The Vancouver, Canada Housing Market and the Greater Fool Theory

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The Fraser Valley is the fastest growing suburb in Canada. The housing market in Vancouver, British Columbia is by far the most expensive in Canada, even more so than in Toronto, Ontario which for a long time was the most destabilized market in Canada. The most expensive region of Vancouver to live in is West Vancouver. 65% of residents of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Area which includes the Fraser Valley are homeowners. Fundamentally, the Vancouver housing market is easy and cheap income, and from that, lots of it. The chasing of returns on a speculative basis has no basis in reality in terms of what an assets (e.g. a physical property) true valuation is but it is justified on the notion that it does not matter what a buyer pays now, as another buyer will pay more in the future. This is referred to as the “Greater Fool theory” in that the next person will cover the cost of the last person. This model is for obvious reasons unsustainable