Cycles of Change

Wooden planks decay rapidly when exposed to salt water and marine worms. When an early wooden boat sinks into the Mediterranean Sea, underwater organisms strip the timber until nothing of the hull remains visible. What stays behind on the sand is stone, fired clay, and the mineral trace of commerce [...]

In December of 1823, President James Monroe sent an annual message to Congress that established a permanent foundation for American grand strategy. He warned European crowns that the Americas were closed to new colonies. Foreign meddling in the new republics was deemed hostile to peace. For two [...]

The growing move toward trade pacts outside the dollar network is reshaping the rules of world trade finance. When nations trade crude oil, grains, and factory tools in regional monies, trade gaps demand settling in hard assets. Neither trade partner wants to hold deep piles of foreign paper money [...]