40 Years of Market Wisdom

As the old saying goes -- Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Sometimes it is indeed a very good idea to look at the Big Picture. With that theme in mind, once again we hear from James Grant as he gives us 40 years of perspective on the markets. 

40 Years of Market Wisdom

November 17, 2023

Dear WEALTHTRACK Subscriber,

This week we present the second part of our in-depth interview with financial thought leader and historian James Grant. A regular guest on WEALTHTRACK, Grant is marking the 40th anniversary of his influential Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, a twice-monthly, self-described “independent, value-oriented and contrary-minded journal of the financial markets.”    

As he pointed out in the foreword of his Grant’s, An Anthology At Forty Years, he has opined on “...booms and busts, corporate finance (with a spotlight on General Electric Co., a multi-decade Grant’s bete noire), real estate and inflation.” Topics like “modern monetary theory,... the evolution of central banking. Or, I should rather say, the retrogression of central banking. The substitution of the Ph.D.  standard for the gold standard… not my idea of progress...”

Grant rightly toots his own horn in pointing out that “Highlights include prescient analyses at both ends of the 2007-09 credit-cum-mortgage crisis,... and insightful warnings on the perils inherent in special-purpose acquisition companies (a.k.a SPACs), cryptocurrencies and, especially, long-suppressed interest rates.”  He points out a glaring error too: “The signal failure to comprehend the duration and power of the greatest bull bond market in history.” 

In this weekend’s episode, Grant shares his insights on the Fed, market speculation, gold, and the one trait shared by successful investors.

In our online EXTRA feature, I ask Grant about his prodigious output as a journalist, editor and historian. How does he do it? 

If you miss the show on public television, you can watch it on our website over the weekend, along with our past programs. The WEALTHTRACK podcast is also available on SoundCloud as well as iTunes and Spotify.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and make the week ahead a healthy, profitable and productive one!

Best regards,

Consuelo