“The More, the Better, As Europe and Asia become ‘veritable old-age homes,’ the U.S. will enjoy the benefits of a growing population,” says The Journal’s upbeat review of Joel Kotkin’s new book, The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050. The review was written by Nick Schultz, editor of American.com, the Journal of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Schultz says Kotkin is “convincing.” Not so fast! Kotkin and his reviewer are misleading investors. Why? The book focuses on population growth in a vaccuum, failing to factor in the consequences of 50% ‘more people’ worldwide on increased commodity demand, resource needs and the environmental limits of growth here in America. You decide:

Inevitably, Europe and Asia will decline, Mr. Kotkin predicts, and America will thrive. Indeed, the U.S. will emerge, he says, ‘as the most affluent, culturally rich, and successful nation in human history. (More)

Professionals in the marketing and advertising business know how to mold, manipulate and control the behavior of Main Street investors in highly sophisticated way, whether they’re making investments decisions or any other consumer, economic or financial decisions. And most of the time the investor doesn’t even know how the subtle messages are effectively his emotional brain is being impacted. Madison Avenue knows the right formula, how to package the Wall Street’s message using all the new research, technology and tools of the new neurosciences, plus visual and auditory tricks that create an effective mind control delivery system designed to get individual investors addicted to immediate gratification, while blocking the long-term thinking gene.

During the final days of the nineties dotcom insanity, we saw Wall Street insiders and Main Street insiders alike complained that returns of a “mere” 30% were not enough. Why? In the year 1999 more than one hundred funds had returns in excess of 100%, several greater than 300%. That euphoria carried over long after the tech market has collapsed, and in one special case we also saw how the advertising industry, the so-called “independent” data-trackers, the SEC’s rules on fund advertising, the press and the ongoing greed of fund executives conspired to tell the story of a once high-flying fund that had already collapsed. (More)

Journalists often race like lemmings to the sea, all repeating the same bad news. Take the “New Normal!” It’s not a new song. But you’d think it was a smash hit! Bill Gross, super-boss of the $950 billion Pimco fund managers is running around the country like “Boss” Springsteen pushing an upcoming tour with new songs. Bill’s PR agents have him everywhere except on Letterman and SNL. Here’s Jessica Marquez’s version of Bill’s misleading message in InvestmentNews, the financial advisers weekly: (More)