Greetings from Panama!
We’ve long maintained that a second residency is one of the easiest ways to internationalize yourself and a key Plan B strategy if conditions deteriorate in the country where you…
Are Puerto Rico’s Tax Benefits “Worth It”?
One of the American tax system’s many oddities is the way the country deals with US territories: Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Because…
The Rise of the Digital Nomad Visa
COVID-19 gave US citizens who travel internationally a wake-up call. Within a few months of the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the number of countries US citizens could…
The War on Whistleblowers: A Lesson in Policymaking
In May 2019, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging 18 counts of violating a World War I-era law intended to punish spies called the Espionage Act. The defendant wasn’t a…
Will Markets Continue Rising?
A question many of our clients ask is if we believe the [fill in the blank] market will continue rising in 2022. And our answer is always the same: “We…
Ransomware Malware Breach. Hacked Computer. Ransom Attack
Ransomware Hits Main Street
We first warned readers of the dangers of ransomware in 2007, comparing it to the kidnapping of your data. If you've been a victim of a ransomware attack, the first…
When Will the US Dollar Crash?
When I first started working with Mark in 2013, he handed me a big box and said, “Maybe you can use these…” It was filled with a few hundred promotional…
Inflation IS Transitory, but…
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) jumped 0.8% in November from October; an annualized increase of 9.6%. In the last 12…
Turning Crypto Users into Felons
We frequently comment on the almost uniquely American practice of “criminalization”—the conversion of our daily activities into crimes. For instance, we recently discussed how a Google search for the wrong…
How important is timing?
When it comes to his recommendations, a well-known newsletter writer simply tells people to buy. At no particular price. With no obvious exit strategy. And yet it’s mostly worked for…
Search Google, Go to Jail?
We periodically remind our American readers that by simply going about their daily lives, they’re likely committing multiple crimes. As we pointed out last month, for instance, you could be…
The Hidden World of Uncle Sam’s Sanctions
In my role as the president of Fortress Trust, Ltd., a trust and financial services company based on the island of Nevis, in the British West Indies, I receive weekly…
Is the “commodity supercycle” really over?
Investing in commodities in the 2000s was easy. Just put your money into something that tracked various commodities and largely, you’d make money. China was the reason. Never before had…
Form Your Own Country!
“What’s wrong with just starting your own country?” That’s the question my friend and mentor, the late Bob Kephart, used to ask rhetorically when he became particularly irked by political…
Airport Security Theater Is Alive and Well
The sole job of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is to keep weapons and explosives off airplanes. And despite its $8 billion annual budget, it has a long record of…
How do you spot a good offshore investment anyway?
I (Brandon) have lived the international life for a couple decades now. It’s also been the focus of my career ever since (investment research firm) Casey Research asked me to…
Why Not a Trillion-Dollar Coin?
We admit to not paying much attention to the periodic congressional debates over raising the “debt ceiling,” if only because the outcome is preordained. There’s no more doubt to it…
Will China Do What Uncle Sam Should Have Done in 2020?
Whatever your personal feelings about the People’s Republic of China, there’s no arguing with one salient point. Since what we once called “Red China” embraced capitalism in the 1980s, Chinese…
What’s the Last Crime You Committed?
If you’re an American, you probably break the law every day, often without even knowing it: Do you own a dog? You could face six months in federal prison if…
What the “Pandora Papers” Prove Isn’t What You Might Think
Another day, another offshore data leak. Last week, in what’s become a depressingly regular ritual, following yet another massive data leak, the mainstream media lined up in its latest efforts…
Will Crypto Have “Staying Power?”
The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) isn’t one of our favorite federal agencies. It’s placed numerous roadblocks in the way of Americans looking to invest overseas. And the agency’s attempt…
Sense and Nonsense about Offshore Investing
We’ve been in the “offshore” business long enough to have some fairly long memories. Thirty or 40 years ago, it was cool to have an offshore bank account. At a…
More Holes in the Dollar’s Reserve Currency Status
Would you put your life savings into this asset? If you’re an American, your life savings probably are overwhelmingly in this asset – the US dollar. Since 1913 – not…
The Only Winner in Afghanistan Was…
I came of age during the War in Vietnam. If I’d been just a year or two older, I would probably have been drafted and sent to Southeast Asia to…
Apple’s Plan to Scan for Child Porn Leaves You Defenseless
We’re proponents of encryption. When you properly encrypt your data, only you and those you intend to share it with listen to your voice calls or read your electronic messages.…
The Truth about the “Climate Emergency”
The scenes are apocalyptic. Smoke-filled skies over a large part of the planet, along with record-breaking floods. Record-breaking heat and a slow, but inexorable rise in sea level. We’re referring,…
“The AI Will See You Now…”
When I purchased my first PC in the early 1980s, I remember encountering a program called “ELIZA” on a bulletin board system. At the time, ELIZA was billed as an…
Ransomware Hits Close(r) to Home
Ransomware is a particularly vicious class of malware that infiltrates a victim’s computer, encrypts their files, and demands a ransom to unlock them. The first ransomware attack occurred in 1989…
Will Automation Fill in the Pandemic Employment Gaps?
As the US economy slowly reopens, unwinding from the COVID-related lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021, employers are facing an unprecedented shortage of available workers. Many reasons have been cited…
“Right to Repair” Is a No-Brainer
Imagine you’re a Marine Corps logistics officer stationed in South Korea. An electrical generator your unit depends on has just broken down. You order one of your subordinates to fix…