Tim McMahon

Work by editor and author, Tim McMahon, has been featured in Bloomberg, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Forbes, Washington Post, Drudge Report, The Atlantic, Business Insider, American Thinker, Lew Rockwell, Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, Oakland Press, Free Republic, Education World, Realty Trac, Reason, Coin News, and Council for Economic Education.

Oil vs Gold Chart

Which is Over Priced? Oil or Gold?

Leave a Comment / Gold, Oil / By

Was gold in a Bubble? Does the recent correction mean anything? With the value of the dollar constantly changing it is hard to tell what it all means. After all, can you imagine trying to build a house if every day when the workers arrived you gave them a different size ruler?

With everything from lumber to bitcoins skyrocketing in price (or the dollar devaluing), is there any way to tell the real value of something? How much is anything really worth? Is Oil overpriced? How about Gold? Is it overpriced? Is it cheap now that the price has come down? Looking at these commodities in the standard way, it’s often difficult to tell.

Which is Over Priced? Oil or Gold? Read More »

Bitcoin Trading

Is Bitcoin Headed For a Fall?

Leave a Comment / Bitcoin / By

These days, whether or not you’ve actually bought any, you’ve at least heard of bitcoin. The first “ cryptocurrency”, bitcoin was introduced in 2009 and enjoys far more notoriety than its counterparts Etherum, Litecoin, and Cardano et.al.
For the uninitiated, however, bitcoin is created, distributed, traded, and stored with the use of a decentralized ledger system, known as a blockchain. The currency has no physical manifestation; it simply exists as balances in a public ledger. If you’re considering investing in it, you’re probably wondering if bitcoin is headed for a fall. Well, let’s take a look.

Is Bitcoin Headed For a Fall? Read More »

Blockchain

Blockchain Goes to Ethiopia

Leave a Comment / Bitcoin / By

When you think about blockchain you probably think about Bitcoin, e-commerce, and possibly Ethereum.  What you probably don’t think about is Africa, Schools, and Open Source Software.  But according to the World Economic Forum blockchain is making inroads in Ethiopia. Because the code for blockchain is “open source” it is available to the public domain and can be used for a variety of applications. Recently, the Ethiopian government signed a deal to create a national database of student and teacher IDs. This system will enable peer-to-peer interaction between network participants. This will provide IDs for 5 million students across 3,500 schools which will be used to store educational records. The premise is to allow primary, secondary, and university students a way to track their educational, career, and future progress via a digital identity built on Atala Prism which is a decentralized identity solution that enables people to own their personal data and interact with organizations seamlessly, privately, and securely. It is hoped that once they have a secure digital ID it will enable future “financial transactions”.

Blockchain Goes to Ethiopia Read More »

Robinhood Statistics

Online Stockbrokers Going Public

Leave a Comment / Stock Market / By

2020 was a big year for the online stock broker industry and 2021 may be an even bigger year. The initial public offerings of eToro and Robinhood will leave both companies flush with plenty of capital to capitalize on that growth. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge in demand for online stock brokers. Stock markets worldwide were in freefall during the early stages of the pandemic, and many new investors recognized an opportunity to buy shares of beaten-up companies via online brokerage companies. This was truly a global trend. While Robinhood dominated new account creations in the US and media headlines worldwide, other stockbrokers were competitive outside the USA.

Online Stockbrokers Going Public Read More »

Asset Allocation

Aspiring Investors: Getting Started in the Stock Market

Leave a Comment / Stock Market / By

The fear of a missed opportunity, if the stock market does indeed continue to rise throughout 2021,  is often a powerful motivator to the new investor. Although starting out is relatively easy, navigating the various pitfalls of investment can be an extremely intricate challenge without the right knowledge to back you up. In his classic book “Influence” Robert Cialdini lists “fear of loss” as an extremely powerful motivator, so we must be cautious in the face of the temptation to jump in with “both feet” without knowing what we are getting ourselves into.  Here are some tips for anyone wishing to act upon their interest in the stock market. 

Aspiring Investors: Getting Started in the Stock Market Read More »

Ripple Crypto

Ripple the Cryptocurrency of Banks

Leave a Comment / Bitcoin / By

More and more people are delving into the use of cryptocurrencies for more secure online transactions. Some even consider investing in these digital assets. One of the most talked-about cryptocurrencies that have emerged is Ripple, which is also known as a platform that paves the way for fast and inexpensive transactions. Ripple which trades under the symbol (XRP) is the token that is often used to transfer value across the international banking network. Here are some other things that you need to know about Ripple.

Ripple the Cryptocurrency of Banks Read More »

The Future of U.S. Energy Independence

Leave a Comment / Energy / By

Historically, access to energy has been of strategic importance as countries that are not energy independent are subject to embargos, shortages, and political blackmail. In years past, wars were fought over land that produced oil and gas, but more recently we have seen battles like those in Ukraine where the battle was for the land that held pipelines transporting the gas. So, one reason that being energy independent is so important is that it makes your country more secure. But it also makes it less susceptible to price increases.

The Future of U.S. Energy Independence Read More »

Cutting Edge

The Death Of U.S. Shale Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Leave a Comment / Oil / By

The current year marks the 15th anniversary of the U.S. shale boom, a period in which fracking technology across such states as Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming helped establish the nation as a top oil and gas producer. Unfortunately, high costs of production compared with conventional drilling has led to the sector consistently printing red ink and resulted in considerable destruction of shareholder value. The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent oil price crash has led to investors souring on the industry further, credit becoming harder to come by, and a cross-section of Wall Street calling the end to the sector.

The Death Of U.S. Shale Has Been Greatly Exaggerated Read More »

World Oil Production

Oil Demand Impacts Foreign Exchange Rates

Leave a Comment / Forex, Oil / By

To say that the past year has been an extraordinary period for the global oil market would be an understatement. Entering into 2020, the commodity was still feeling the impact of the late 2019 drone attack on a Saudi Aramco oil processing facility. In early 2020, oil prices were highly volatile in the aftermath of the killing of Iran’s Qasem Soleimani.

Oil Demand Impacts Foreign Exchange Rates Read More »

Scroll to Top