Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Friday, December 27, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Good Grief and Great Tits by Dan Savage - Seattle Features - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper
Good Grief and Great Tits by Dan Savage - Seattle Features - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper:
All this for me—and I wasn't even that good. Translate that into Latin and it could be on the Palin family's coat of arms.
All this for me—and I wasn't even that good. Translate that into Latin and it could be on the Palin family's coat of arms.
Japanese Premier Visits Contentious War Shrine - NYTimes.com
Japan risks alienating allies to placate domestic right wing.
Japanese Premier Visits Contentious War Shrine - NYTimes.com
Japanese Premier Visits Contentious War Shrine - NYTimes.com
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
The Strength of Weak Ties
The Strength of Weak Ties is one of the classic works of sociology and social networking.
http://sociology.stanford.edu/people/mgranovetter/documents/granstrengthweakties.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Granovetter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bm93gN1zJg
http://sociology.stanford.edu/people/mgranovetter/documents/granstrengthweakties.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Granovetter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bm93gN1zJg
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Spike in Harm to Liver Is Tied to Dietary Aids - NYTimes.com
Spike in Harm to Liver Is Tied to Dietary Aids - NYTimes.com
Why markets do not always work: fraud.
But a federal law enacted in 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, prevents the Food and Drug Administration from approving or evaluating most supplements before they are sold. Usually the agency must wait until consumers are harmed before officials can remove products from stores. Because the supplement industry operates on the honor system, studies show, the market has been flooded with products that are adulterated, mislabeled or packaged in dosages that have not been studied for safety.
Why markets do not always work: fraud.
But a federal law enacted in 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, prevents the Food and Drug Administration from approving or evaluating most supplements before they are sold. Usually the agency must wait until consumers are harmed before officials can remove products from stores. Because the supplement industry operates on the honor system, studies show, the market has been flooded with products that are adulterated, mislabeled or packaged in dosages that have not been studied for safety.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Hedge Fund Secrets Lie in Short Term Over Luck: Cutting Research - Bloomberg
For the top investors, it is not about luck.
Hedge Fund Secrets Lie in Short Term Over Luck: Cutting Research - Bloomberg
Hedge Fund Secrets Lie in Short Term Over Luck: Cutting Research - Bloomberg
Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Gives Drew Magary a Tour
Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Gives Drew Magary a Tour
As we speed along, a speck of mud gets on my shirt—OMG MUD EWW SO GROSS!—and I flick it away. Meanwhile, Phil sits next to me, and his whole life is caked in mud. He’s been out here plunging his hands into the earth and ripping the heads off ducks while I’ve been in suburbia with my thumb up my ass. I feel both inadequate and ungrateful. There’s only one way to absolve myself, I figure, and that is to shoot the fuck out of this crossbow.
What is Duck Dynasty?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/20/9-questions-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask-about-duck-dynasty/
As we speed along, a speck of mud gets on my shirt—OMG MUD EWW SO GROSS!—and I flick it away. Meanwhile, Phil sits next to me, and his whole life is caked in mud. He’s been out here plunging his hands into the earth and ripping the heads off ducks while I’ve been in suburbia with my thumb up my ass. I feel both inadequate and ungrateful. There’s only one way to absolve myself, I figure, and that is to shoot the fuck out of this crossbow.
What is Duck Dynasty?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/20/9-questions-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask-about-duck-dynasty/
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
“Invert, always invert” | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
My favorite math problem "the planes that did not return"
“Invert, always invert” | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
“Invert, always invert” | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
Harvard Student Accused of E-Mail Bomb Threats to School - Bloomberg
Harvard Student Accused of E-Mail Bomb Threats to School - Bloomberg: “According to Kim, he was motivated by a desire to avoid a final exam
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion - Bloomberg
Not accidental at all. The rich are different, they do not pay taxes.
Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion - Bloomberg
Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion - Bloomberg
Monday, December 16, 2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Bloomberg Focuses on Rest (as in Rest of World) - NYTimes.com
Bloomberg Focuses on Rest (as in Rest of World) - NYTimes.com:
In a twist on the traditional business model of consulting, clients will not be charged.
In a twist on the traditional business model of consulting, clients will not be charged.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
CONVERSABLE ECONOMIST: Compression of Morbidity
CONVERSABLE ECONOMIST: Compression of Morbidity:
"We already have the magic pill that produces compression of morbidity. It's called exercise."
"We already have the magic pill that produces compression of morbidity. It's called exercise."
Friday, December 13, 2013
Fixing the Shiller CAPE: Accounting, Dividends, and the Permanently High Plateau | Philosophical Economics
Long explanation of the issues with Shiller CAPE. If you do not know what Shiller CAPE is, do not bother reading.
Fixing the Shiller CAPE: Accounting, Dividends, and the Permanently High Plateau | Philosophical Economics
Fixing the Shiller CAPE: Accounting, Dividends, and the Permanently High Plateau | Philosophical Economics
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Ryan Lizza: Why Won’t Obama Rein in the N.S.A.? : The New Yorker
Long but important piece on our national security state.
Ryan Lizza: Why Won’t Obama Rein in the N.S.A.? : The New Yorker
Ryan Lizza: Why Won’t Obama Rein in the N.S.A.? : The New Yorker
After Setbacks, Online Courses Are Rethought - NYTimes.com
Four percent completion rate. Mine is zero.
After Setbacks, Online Courses Are Rethought - NYTimes.com
After Setbacks, Online Courses Are Rethought - NYTimes.com
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Washington Center for Equitable Growth | Hoisted from Other People’s Archives from Last January: Jared Bernstein and Kathy Ruffing on Disability Insurance Roll Growth: Makers, Takers, and Fakers Weblogging
More than 90% of DI dollars go to elderly, disabled or working. Growth has been due to aging, and growth of workforce.
Washington Center for Equitable Growth | Hoisted from Other People’s Archives from Last January: Jared Bernstein and Kathy Ruffing on Disability Insurance Roll Growth: Makers, Takers, and Fakers Weblogging
Washington Center for Equitable Growth | Hoisted from Other People’s Archives from Last January: Jared Bernstein and Kathy Ruffing on Disability Insurance Roll Growth: Makers, Takers, and Fakers Weblogging
NSA chief Keith Alexander blames diplomats for surveillance requests | World news | theguardian.com
General Alexander spoke yesterday at the Fourth Kenneth Moskow Memorial Lecture on Homeland Security at the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC.
NSA chief Keith Alexander blames diplomats for surveillance requests | World news | theguardian.com
NSA chief Keith Alexander blames diplomats for surveillance requests | World news | theguardian.com
Monday, December 09, 2013
Washington Center for Equitable Growth | Does America’s Future Contain Elite Public Universities?
Washington Center for Equitable Growth | Does America’s Future Contain Elite Public Universities?:
The fever of the MOOC has broken. As we got to have suspected all along, the students who will benefit enormously from MOOCs and Kahn Academy and so forth are the students with a cognitive skills, energy, and persistence to have been able to learn from the open University on TV, or programmed instruction, or simply picking up a book. For those who do not have the requisite skill, energy and persistence, the coming of the MOOC and of education over the Internet will do little: If they are to learn effectively, they need to be embedded in the social matrix of a university–classes and deadlines and attendance and tests and papers and peers around them all doing the same. And those who do not need this sociological matrix are a small minority, even at Berkeley.
The fever of the MOOC has broken. As we got to have suspected all along, the students who will benefit enormously from MOOCs and Kahn Academy and so forth are the students with a cognitive skills, energy, and persistence to have been able to learn from the open University on TV, or programmed instruction, or simply picking up a book. For those who do not have the requisite skill, energy and persistence, the coming of the MOOC and of education over the Internet will do little: If they are to learn effectively, they need to be embedded in the social matrix of a university–classes and deadlines and attendance and tests and papers and peers around them all doing the same. And those who do not need this sociological matrix are a small minority, even at Berkeley.
Sunday, December 08, 2013
Beating the Market, as a Reachable Goal - NYTimes.com
Russell 3000 Index beats this guy on 3, 5 and 10 year record. Why Can't We have a better PressCorps?
Beating the Market, as a Reachable Goal - NYTimes.com
Beating the Market, as a Reachable Goal - NYTimes.com
Saturday, December 07, 2013
On Buffett's Alpha
Focus on cheap, quality stocks and use leverage.
http://www.econ.yale.edu/~af227/pdf/Buffett's%20Alpha%20-%20Frazzini,%20Kabiller%20and%20Pedersen.pdf
http://www.econ.yale.edu/~af227/pdf/Buffett's%20Alpha%20-%20Frazzini,%20Kabiller%20and%20Pedersen.pdf
Friday, December 06, 2013
Quote For The Day � The Dish
Quote For The Day � The Dish:
“While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control.
A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. Debt and the accumulation of interest also make it difficult for countries to realize the potential of their own economies and keep citizens from enjoying their real purchasing power. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule,” – Pope Francis.
“While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control.
A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. Debt and the accumulation of interest also make it difficult for countries to realize the potential of their own economies and keep citizens from enjoying their real purchasing power. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule,” – Pope Francis.
Wonkbook: Washington has given up on growth
Wonkbook: Washington has given up on growth:
“When a man has done what he considers his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for eternity." -- Nelson Mandela.
“When a man has done what he considers his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for eternity." -- Nelson Mandela.
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Steve Sailer: iSteve: Graph of 2012 PISA scores for 65 countries/economies
With US broken down by race and some geography
Steve Sailer: iSteve: Graph of 2012 PISA scores for 65 countries/economies
Steve Sailer: iSteve: Graph of 2012 PISA scores for 65 countries/economies
Planet Money Makes A T-Shirt
Watch the entire film. It is worth it to show what goes behind global manufacturing.
Planet Money Makes A T-Shirt
Planet Money Makes A T-Shirt
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Monday, December 02, 2013
condescending, callous, and, worst of all, intellectually lazy.
condescending, callous, and, worst of all, intellectually lazy.
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Academic job market advice | Chris BlattmanChris Blattman
Good advice for all job markets, not just academic. Check out the links too.
Academic job market advice | Chris BlattmanChris Blattman
Academic job market advice | Chris BlattmanChris Blattman
Friday, November 29, 2013
Lunch with the FT: Ha-Joon Chang - FT.com
Lunch with the FT: Ha-Joon Chang - FT.com:
“How has this wonderful subject we call economics become so narrow-minded? I find that really sad.”
“How has this wonderful subject we call economics become so narrow-minded? I find that really sad.”
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts
The comments are as insightful as the article itself.
Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts
Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Harvard Campaign for Arts and Sciences Launch Address | Stories | Harvard Alumni
The Michael Smith speech at the 13 minute mark has a short film about flipping the classroom.
Harvard Campaign for Arts and Sciences Launch Address | Stories | Harvard Alumni
Harvard Campaign for Arts and Sciences Launch Address | Stories | Harvard Alumni
Sunday, November 24, 2013
They're Watching You at Work - Don Peck - The Atlantic
How companies are approaching hiring decisions.
They're Watching You at Work - Don Peck - The Atlantic
They're Watching You at Work - Don Peck - The Atlantic
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
U.S. Meatpackers Fight New Country-of-Origin Labels - WSJ.com
One of the few articles were I agree with the vast majority of the commentators. I guess that when safety regulations are close to home, even the right wing wants government to regulate. Corporates think that they can hide behind the slogan of "costly regulations".
U.S. Meatpackers Fight New Country-of-Origin Labels - WSJ.com
U.S. Meatpackers Fight New Country-of-Origin Labels - WSJ.com
Walmart Employee Food Drive - Business Insider
Walmart heirs are six of the ten richest Americans. They have more assets than the bottom half.
Walmart Employee Food Drive - Business Insider
Walmart Employee Food Drive - Business Insider
Monday, November 18, 2013
Japan Pitches Americans on Its Maglev Train - NYTimes.com
US should have bought the first one in 1964.
Japan Pitches Americans on Its Maglev Train - NYTimes.com
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble To Invest In | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
The onion predicts Snapchat.
Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble To Invest In | The Onion - America's Finest News Source: "Perhaps the new bubble could have something to do with watching movies on cell phones,
Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble To Invest In | The Onion - America's Finest News Source: "Perhaps the new bubble could have something to do with watching movies on cell phones,
This Is Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality...: Liveblogging World War II: November 17, 1943
True for most things:
"We need more aircraft, better engines--and fewer Headquarters."
This Is Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality...: Liveblogging World War II: November 17, 1943:
"We need more aircraft, better engines--and fewer Headquarters."
This Is Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality...: Liveblogging World War II: November 17, 1943:
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
Larry Summers just confirmed that he is still a heavyweight on economic policy - Quartz
The entire speech is worth listening to:
Larry Summers just confirmed that he is still a heavyweight on economic policy - Quartz:
Quote about Japan is stunning. Shows that predictions are hard, especially about the future.
"The extent of Japan’s stagnation is breathtaking: In 2013, the Japanese economy is only half the size economists in the 1990’s predicted it would be by now."
Larry Summers just confirmed that he is still a heavyweight on economic policy - Quartz:
Quote about Japan is stunning. Shows that predictions are hard, especially about the future.
"The extent of Japan’s stagnation is breathtaking: In 2013, the Japanese economy is only half the size economists in the 1990’s predicted it would be by now."
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Bronte Capital: The FDA, statistics and fundamentalism
You do not need double blind tests if you understand the physics; ie parachutes.
Bronte Capital: The FDA, statistics and fundamentalism
Bronte Capital: The FDA, statistics and fundamentalism
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Kass: 10 Laws of Stock Market Bubbles - TheStreet
Kass: 10 Laws of Stock Market Bubbles - TheStreet:
Debt is cheap.
Debt is plentiful.
There is the egregious use of debt.
A new marginal (and sizeable) buyer of an asset class appears.
After a sustained advance in an asset class's price, the prior four factors lead to new-era thinking that cycles have been eradicated/eliminated and that a long boom in value lies ahead.
The distance of valuations from earnings is directly proportional to the degree of bubbliness.
The newer the valuation methodology in vogue the greater the degree of bubbliness.
Bad valuation methodologies drive out good valuation methodologies.
When everyone thinks central bankers, money managers, corporate managers, politicians or any other group are the smartest guys in the room, you are in a bubble.
Rapid growth of a new financial product that is not understood. (e.g., derivatives, what Warren Buffett termed "financial weapons of mass destruction").
Debt is cheap.
Debt is plentiful.
There is the egregious use of debt.
A new marginal (and sizeable) buyer of an asset class appears.
After a sustained advance in an asset class's price, the prior four factors lead to new-era thinking that cycles have been eradicated/eliminated and that a long boom in value lies ahead.
The distance of valuations from earnings is directly proportional to the degree of bubbliness.
The newer the valuation methodology in vogue the greater the degree of bubbliness.
Bad valuation methodologies drive out good valuation methodologies.
When everyone thinks central bankers, money managers, corporate managers, politicians or any other group are the smartest guys in the room, you are in a bubble.
Rapid growth of a new financial product that is not understood. (e.g., derivatives, what Warren Buffett termed "financial weapons of mass destruction").
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Saturday, November 09, 2013
Friday, November 08, 2013
Wednesday, November 06, 2013
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
Monday, November 04, 2013
NYTimes: Innovation Imperative: Change Everything
From The New York Times:
Innovation Imperative: Change Everything
Online education is beginning to show itself as a disruptive innovation, introducing more convenient and affordable services that can transform sectors.
http://nyti.ms/HjkluW
Innovation Imperative: Change Everything
Online education is beginning to show itself as a disruptive innovation, introducing more convenient and affordable services that can transform sectors.
http://nyti.ms/HjkluW
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Here’s how GOP Obamacare hypocrisy backfires - Salon.com
Title is wrong. This is how Obamacare backfires. If it succeeds, it could mean the end of Medicare and Social Security.
Here’s how GOP Obamacare hypocrisy backfires - Salon.com
Here’s how GOP Obamacare hypocrisy backfires - Salon.com
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Quartz: There’s one key difference between kids who excel at math and those who don’t
http://qz.com/139453
"I'm just not a math person." We hear it all the time. And we've had enough. Because we believe that the idea of "math people" is the most self-destructive idea in America today. The truth is, you probably are a math person, and by thinking otherwise, you are possibly hamstringing your own career. Worse, you […]
Mark O'Friel
C: 914-907-7144
O: 617-903-0251
F : 419-710-3449
"I'm just not a math person." We hear it all the time. And we've had enough. Because we believe that the idea of "math people" is the most self-destructive idea in America today. The truth is, you probably are a math person, and by thinking otherwise, you are possibly hamstringing your own career. Worse, you […]
Mark O'Friel
C: 914-907-7144
O: 617-903-0251
F : 419-710-3449
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Alan Greenspan | Why I Didn’t See The Financial Crisis Coming | Foreign Affairs
Alan Greenspan discovers behavioral finance.
Alan Greenspan | Why I Didn’t See The Financial Crisis Coming | Foreign Affairs
Alan Greenspan | Why I Didn’t See The Financial Crisis Coming | Foreign Affairs
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
As Drug Costs Rise, Bending the Law Is One Remedy - NYTimes.com
Law was written by Big Pharma. What other industries allow companies to create import barriers?
As Drug Costs Rise, Bending the Law Is One Remedy - NYTimes.com
As Drug Costs Rise, Bending the Law Is One Remedy - NYTimes.com
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Robert Shiller won a Nobel by acknowledging economic absurdity - The Washington Post
Robert Shiller won a Nobel by acknowledging economic absurdity - The Washington Post:
"When I look around, I see a great deal of foolishness, and I can’t believe it’s not important economically"
"When I look around, I see a great deal of foolishness, and I can’t believe it’s not important economically"
Saturday, October 19, 2013
U.S. Army Hones Antiterror Strategy for Africa, in Kansas - NYTimes.com
Why can they not just stay home and rest? Why must they seek new missions?
"the United States military out of Iraq and pulling out of Afghanistan, the Army is looking for new missions around the world."
U.S. Army Hones Antiterror Strategy for Africa, in Kansas - NYTimes.com:
"the United States military out of Iraq and pulling out of Afghanistan, the Army is looking for new missions around the world."
U.S. Army Hones Antiterror Strategy for Africa, in Kansas - NYTimes.com:
Friday, October 18, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Michael Gerson: Conservatism meets Occupy Wall Street - The Washington Post
Shorter Micheal Gerson: Republicans have lost their minds.
Michael Gerson: Conservatism meets Occupy Wall Street - The Washington Post
Michael Gerson: Conservatism meets Occupy Wall Street - The Washington Post
Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Revisiting “Moneyball” with Paul DePodesta - Issue 4: The Unlikely - Nautilus
DePodesta was one of those who first brought statistical analysis to baseball. As Kuhn describes in the history of scientific revolutions, this was a change in the paradigm. Everyone had been doing scouting the same way before. After DePodesta, sports scouting methods have radically changed. It is interesting, fun and profitable to be part of an industry at that fluxuation point.
Revisiting “Moneyball” with Paul DePodesta - Issue 4: The Unlikely - Nautilus
Revisiting “Moneyball” with Paul DePodesta - Issue 4: The Unlikely - Nautilus
Friday, October 11, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Five policies for effective teaching
Getting beneath the Veil of Effective Schools: Evidence from New York City:
" five policies suggested by qualitative research—frequent teacher feedback, the use of data to guide instruction, high-dosage tutoring, increased instructional time, and high expectations— explains approximately 45 percent of the variation in school effectiveness."
" five policies suggested by qualitative research—frequent teacher feedback, the use of data to guide instruction, high-dosage tutoring, increased instructional time, and high expectations— explains approximately 45 percent of the variation in school effectiveness."
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
New Corporate Tax Shelter: A Merger Abroad - NYTimes.com
How corporations freeload off US taxpayers, part 103.
New Corporate Tax Shelter: A Merger Abroad - NYTimes.com
New Corporate Tax Shelter: A Merger Abroad - NYTimes.com
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
In Conversation With Antonin Scalia -- New York Magazine
Supreme Court justice gets most of his news from talk radio. Scary
In Conversation With Antonin Scalia -- New York Magazine
Monday, October 07, 2013
Sunday, October 06, 2013
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Friday, October 04, 2013
Time to Ditch the Yale Endowment Model� - Bloomberg
My lesson: the Yale model only works if you are Yale.
Time to Ditch the Yale Endowment Model� - Bloomberg
Time to Ditch the Yale Endowment Model� - Bloomberg
Leave Boehner Alone!
Personalities and relationships sometimes matter more than policies.
If you want to get stuff done, maintain good relationships.
Leave Boehner Alone!
If you want to get stuff done, maintain good relationships.
Leave Boehner Alone!
Thursday, October 03, 2013
If You Want Innovation, You Have to Invest in People - Mehran Mehregany - Harvard Business Review
And if you want to be an innovator, invest in yourself.
If You Want Innovation, You Have to Invest in People - Mehran Mehregany - Harvard Business Review
If You Want Innovation, You Have to Invest in People - Mehran Mehregany - Harvard Business Review
Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law - NYTimes.com
Republican government leaves behind the poor and unlucky. Never has it been as clear as now.
Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law - NYTimes.com
Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law - NYTimes.com
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Unintentional Gerrymandering: Political Geography and Electoral Bias in Legislatures | owenzidar
Gerrymandering is inevitable and not some right wing conspiracy.
Unintentional Gerrymandering: Political Geography and Electoral Bias in Legislatures | owenzidar
Unintentional Gerrymandering: Political Geography and Electoral Bias in Legislatures | owenzidar
Monday, September 30, 2013
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Firms Drop, Rather Than Upgrade, Cheapest Health Plans - WSJ.com
"Fraying ties between employment and healthcare" is a feature, not a bug.
Firms Drop, Rather Than Upgrade, Cheapest Health Plans - WSJ.com
Firms Drop, Rather Than Upgrade, Cheapest Health Plans - WSJ.com
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Speedy Trains Transform China - NYTimes.com
Here in the US we refuse to believe in high speed trains.
Speedy Trains Transform China - NYTimes.com
Speedy Trains Transform China - NYTimes.com
Monday, September 23, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
43 Thoughts About Investing and the Economy
43 Thoughts About Investing and the Economy
“The business model of the majority of financial services companies relies on exploiting the fears, emotions, and lack of intelligence of customers. The worst part is that the majority of customers will never realize this.”
“The business model of the majority of financial services companies relies on exploiting the fears, emotions, and lack of intelligence of customers. The worst part is that the majority of customers will never realize this.”
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
History of the financial Crisis
Good presentation by the Treasury
http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Documents/FinancialCrisis5Yr_vFINAL.pdf
http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Documents/FinancialCrisis5Yr_vFINAL.pdf
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Life on Wall Street Grows Less Risky - WSJ.com
Life on Wall Street Grows Less Risky - WSJ.com:
Michael Reed, who worked at the PDT desk for 16 years before leaving in 2010, laments the decline of the firm's trading culture. "Personally, I find it sad," he says. "They used to be a peer of Goldman Sachs. Now, they're just another retail brokerage."
Michael Reed, who worked at the PDT desk for 16 years before leaving in 2010, laments the decline of the firm's trading culture. "Personally, I find it sad," he says. "They used to be a peer of Goldman Sachs. Now, they're just another retail brokerage."
Monday, September 09, 2013
The Summers Dossier [feedly]
Shared via feedly // published on The American Prospect // visit site
The Summers Dossier
To: President Obama
From: Your Political Team
Re: Larry Summers Vetting Report
Dear Mr. President,
Welcome home. You have several immense challenges in the coming days and weeks, including of course marshaling support for the Syria attack, dealing with the next artificial budget crisis contrived by the Republicans, and continuing to move forward with implementation of the Affordable Care Act against fierce partisan opposition.
This memo on Larry Summers's confirmation as Federal Reserve Chairman is written with all that in mind.
The staff investigation of Summers in anticipation of a potentially bruising confirmation hearing is now complete, and you face a tricky decision. On the one hand, there is no single smoking gun that disqualifies him outright. With a lot of political heavy lifting, we might get Summers confirmed. On the other hand, it would eat up a lot of political capital and credibility at a time when we are seeking to rebuild both, not to incur political debts needlessly.
Here are Summers's main substantive and political problems in getting confirmed.
There is a great deal of criticism that he is temperamentally unsuited to be Fed chairman. This is in one sense "soft" criticism, but politically it is real and widely shared. Even his supporters concede that he can be a bull in a china shop.
His Wall Street activities since leaving government will raise more than eyebrows. They will raise questions of flat-out conflicts of interest and bad judgment.
Since leaving government, Summers took a lot of money from Citigroup. As one of the key architects of the bail out, he was responsible for the decision to prop up Citi with hundreds of billions of dollars of public money and Federal Reserve cheap capital rather than breaking Citi up. As Fed Chair, he will be a principal regulator of too-big-to-fail banks including Citi.
At the very least, this looks terrible. He saves Citi management and shareholders, then he gets a nice pile of money from them for not much work, and now he is regulating them again. This revolving door at the Fed is so unusual that it doesn't even have applicable conflict of rules for chairmen. It's not possible for the chair to recuse himself because every major regulatory decision—capital standards, derivatives, Volcker Rule—affects Citi. If he is precluded from participating, he might as well not take the job.
There is also Summers's odd choice to join the board of directors of Lending Club, a lightly regulated quasi-bank, of the sort that the Fed will need to decide whether to regulate more tightly. Summers critics will ask what he was thinking. With several of the same players, he also joined the board of Square, an internet-based payments system.
Further, there is a lot of dirty laundry left over from Summers's tenure at Harvard both as university president before he served the administration and also since he returned as a senior professor. Much of this has been aired, but it has never been systematically subjected to a senate inquiry.
Summers's questioning the intellectual capacity of women contributed to his downfall, but in many ways it was the least of his problems. Far more serious were his penchant for overruling the Harvard endowment's professional money managers with impulsive investment decisions that cost Harvard billions, and his involvement in the Andrei Shleifer affair.
The most authoritative article on Shleifer and Summers appeared in the magazine Institutional Investor. Shleifer in the mid-1990s, while running the technical assistance program on Russian privatization underwritten by USAID and administered through Harvard Institute for International Development, enriched himself through investments based on privileged information. Eventually, after a criminal investigation, Harvard and Schleifer, during Summers's tenure as president, settled the criminal complaint by paying heavy fines.
Summers, a close friend of Shleifer, nominally recused himself, but acted to protect his friend and even kept Shleifer on as a full professor. Harvard ended up paying over $26 million in fines plus $10 to $15 million in legal fees to defend the actions of a corrupt professor of whose activities senior officials at the university, except for Summers, were unaware. It was the Shleifer affair, as much as anything else, that cost Summers the confidence of his faculty and his job. The details have never been the subject of a congressional inquiry, and could be extremely embarrassing with Summers testifying under oath.
Summers is also vulnerable for his activities since 2010. Harvard has a strict rule requiring that fulltime faculty spend at least 80 percent of their professional time on Harvard business. With all of his extracurricular Wall Street affairs, there is no realistic way that Summers could have met this rule. Either Harvard bent its own rules, or the companies on whose boards Summers served were violating their legal duties by using Summers as a marquee name or paying him in the expectation of future IOUs, but not as a true fiduciary. This will also be awkward for him (and us) to explain.
In that respect, Summers is also likely to be charged with hypocrisy on the subject of senior faculty freelancing. In 2001, as Harvard president, he railed against then Harvard professor Cornell West for West's pop culture activities, specifically for making a hip-hop CD. Summers called West to his office in October 2001 to complain, arguing that this was the sort of extra-curricular activity that brought embarrassment to the university. Summers critics might argue that hip-hop was pretty tame compared to working part time for Citi and Lending Club. Summers eventually drove West out, an act that did not endear him to the African American community.
There are also the well known policy questions of Summers having promoted the deregulation that led to the financial collapse, having bullied Brooksley Born, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the late 1990s, for wanting government to explore ways to limit derivatives abuses, and his rather soft views of regulation in the context of the Dodd-Frank Act rules.
Politically, our efforts to create a sense of inevitability for Summers over the past several weeks seemed to be working. But then, contrary to the White House story about an easy confirmation, three leading Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, advised us that under no circumstances will they vote for Summers, and that was leaked to the press. See this piece from last Friday's Wall Street Journal.
The New York Times also weighed in with a blistering anti-Summers editorial.
Even if we hold all other Democrats on the Committee, that makes us reliant on the Republicans to get Summers out of committee. As you know, we have redoubled our efforts to get our Wall Street friends to lobby Republicans to support Summers.
Other things being equal, Republicans should be favorable to Summers because of his soft views on regulation and his concerns about inflation. But other things are not equal. Most Republicans do not like him personally. They will be torn between giving Wall Street a vote for a friendly Fed chairman and embarrassing the White House. If they smell blood in the water, we probably cannot count on their support.
It's not at all whether we would prevent a runaway hearing. We have Committee Chairman Tim Johnson's commitment to try to keep the lid on. Johnson has the back office operations of big banks in his home state of South Dakota thanks to their lax consumer laws and is one of the most Wall Street-friendly Democrats in Congress.
However, Johnson is not going to short circuit a hearing if he has several committee members pressing for a full investigation. That would make him look bad for trying to railroad the nomination through.
We don't yet know who will ask to testify. But the list could include several high powered and prestigious people, such as other senators, former regulators, and senior Harvard officials, both present and former—people who could not be dismissed lightly. The hearing might drag on for days. We withdrew Tom Daschle as our Health and Human Services nominee for a lot less. It would not paint a pretty picture.
To reiterate, despite numerous conversations, we can't know which way the Republicans will play this. In principle, there is no "linkage" between the Fed nomination and other pending battles. But in practice, you don't have very many IOUs to call in with the Republicans and you need to consider if it makes the most sense to spend your limited bipartisan political capital on Summers.
One of our strongest cases for Summers is that he will reassure financial markets. But a confirmation hearing that turned out to be a donnybrook would do just the opposite. By contrast, we have unearthed nothing on the other leading candidate, Janet Yellen. A confirmation hearing for Yellen would be decorous, and the main opposition would be from monetary conservatives.
This raises one final question. The economy is still a lot softer than your economic team forecast. The Fed has been making noises about pulling back on monetary stimulus in the next month or two, a policy that would slow down the recovery. Summers has been more favorably inclined towards a pullback, while Yellen has stressed the need for continued stimulus to create jobs. Though she is not as personally well known to you and our economic team as Summers is, Yellen might actually pursue economic policies more in the administration's political interest.
Mark O'Friel
C: 914-907-7144
O: 617-903-0251
F : 419-710-3449
Sunday, September 08, 2013
Friday, September 06, 2013
The .Plan: A Quasi-Blog: The growing cheating epidemic at Harvard
Cheating more, or more honest about cheating?
The .Plan: A Quasi-Blog: The growing cheating epidemic at Harvard
The .Plan: A Quasi-Blog: The growing cheating epidemic at Harvard
Thursday, September 05, 2013
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
Monday, September 02, 2013
A New Kind of Union - NYTimes.com
The pendulum has swung too far. Unions are too weak and management is too strong.
A New Kind of Union - NYTimes.com
A New Kind of Union - NYTimes.com
Sunday, September 01, 2013
Analysis - Caterpillar Plan Illustrates Risk of Variable Pay Plans - NYTimes.com
Analysis - Caterpillar Plan Illustrates Risk of Variable Pay Plans - NYTimes.com:
CEO's exempt themselves from employee's incentive based employment plan:
"But unlike many rank-and-file employees, Oberhelman also participates in a medium-term incentive plan, which pays out cash each year based on three-year performance measures, providing a cushion from annual fluctuations.
As a result, Oberhelman's total cash incentive pay rose 2 percent last year, and his overall compensation jumped 32 percent, according to SEC filings."
CEO's exempt themselves from employee's incentive based employment plan:
"But unlike many rank-and-file employees, Oberhelman also participates in a medium-term incentive plan, which pays out cash each year based on three-year performance measures, providing a cushion from annual fluctuations.
As a result, Oberhelman's total cash incentive pay rose 2 percent last year, and his overall compensation jumped 32 percent, according to SEC filings."