Black Swans on the Economic Pond
When I reflect on major economic events in the first quarter of this year, I visualize a whole flock of black swans descending around me. One might ask, why black swans? I have become [...]
Hyman Minsky, Noted Economist’s Observations are Playing Out 25 Years Later
Twenty-five years ago, maverick economist Hyman Minsky (1919-1996) noted that financiers periodically set the entire economy ablaze. Minsky warned that Wall Street encourages businesses and individuals to take on too much risk, generating ruinous boom-and-bust [...]
To Bear Sterns’ Shareholders, J. P. Morgan CEO is No Goldilocks
In the fairy tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," Goldilocks seemed happy enough to have a few bites of porridge from Mama, Daddy, and Baby Bear's bowls. But when Jamie Dimon, the CEO of [...]
Beyond Basketball
I Believe In You Those four words can mean the difference between a fear of failure and the courage to try. 3/3/2008 By Mike Krzyzewski (Duke Basketball Coach) and his daughter Jamie Spatola I absolutely loved [...]
Conversation with Hillary Clinton “This so-called conversation is a total fabrication”
Introduction: I want to say at the outset that I have never personally met Senator Clinton. On the other hand, I was briefly a friend of Bill (FOB), some forty years ago. That is, we [...]
Hillary, Barack, Experience – Editorial Nicholas D. Kristoff New York Times Sunday January 20, 2008
Let me say, I know that my views about Hillary Clinton are distorted, despite my best attempts to listen to what the woman says, read what others write about her, and remember her actions. Moreover, [...]
Auction-Rate Securities
“If it is too good to be true, then it not true” If you are counting on the Wall Street Firm that sold you the bonds, to now make a bid near par for [...]
Tongue in Cheek or Foot in Mouth Discussion of Opinion Poll Gaff in Democratic Primary in New Hampshire
After in total listening for some two hours of newscaster’s analysis of Ms. Clinton’s surprising upset victory in New Hampshire, I turned off my television, fearing that my remaining grey cells would vanish if exposed [...]
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner
By Tim Weiner Legacy of Ashes provides a most compelling readable compilation of the many failures and very few successes of the CIA during its 60-year history. The author, a Pulitzer Prize Winner and writer [...]
Wall Street Journal Review 2007
On January 2, 2007 the Wall Street Journal provided a wonderful review of the year’s events. I thought I would highlight some of these events and mention some of the year’s major themes. The year [...]
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
"The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens... clearly racist." "To the survivors, to the wives [...]
Anti-Semitism in the Navy
The following entries are posted for those who may have a passing interest in some military history. I was doing some informal research on the late Admiral H.G. Rickover, who oversaw the USN nuclear power [...]
Heart of Darkness (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
“He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath--"The horror! The horror!” --Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness Introduction: In 1899 [...]
Crisis Phone call at 3:00
A significant amount of media attention has been generated by the Clinton advertisement on her ability to respond to a crisis phone call at 3:00. Let me make several points: 1) The advertisement was successful [...]
Churchill and the Jews
By Sir Martin Gilbert (Official Biographer for Winston Churchill) Introduction: Martin Gilbert wrote Churchill and the Jews for several reasons: First of all, Gilbert wanted to highlight Churchill’s moral courage. His fondness for Jews was [...]
Algerian War of Independence
The only possible negotiation is war (1954-1962) French minister of Interior, Francois Mitterand “ The only possible negotiation is war” The Algerian War of Independence effectively ended colonial rule throughout the world. After [...]
Divided America: The Ferocious Power Struggle in American Politics
Introduction Two Brothers, Earl Black, professor of political science at Rice University, and Merle Black, professor of politics and government at Emory University provided an understanding or the regional divisions within the United States and [...]
The Gods Must be Crazy
In reading about recent events, I share the bewilderment of the central character of The Gods Must be Crazy. In this 1980 movie comedy, the central character, N!xau, embarks on an odyssey filled with [...]
The Minsky Moment: Economist Predicted that Periodically, Bankers, Traders, and other Financiers set the entire economy ablaze.
“Economies Evolve, and so, too, must economic policy” -Hyman Minsky “Sometimes you have to shoot stray horses and their negligent keepers.” For the sake of G_D, we surely should not pay errant gate keepers [...]
A Demon of our own Design
A Demon of our own Design: Markets, Hedge Funds and the Perils of Financial Innovation By Richard Bookstaber “You do not deliberately obliterate hundreds of billions of dollars of investor money. The financial markets that [...]
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (1960-2008)
Randy Pausch’s (Carnegie Mellon Professor) last lecture that was televised on public broadcasting served as the inspiration for this essay. I have used Randy’s words in order to keep his message more meaningful. One commentator [...]
Citigroup: $80 Billion Dollar Off Balance Sheet Dilemma: The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall
“People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for a merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or is some contrivance to raise prices” —Adam Smith 1776 [...]
Cerberus Acquisition of Chrysler Finance
The proposed acquisition of Chrysler by a private- equity firm, Cerberus, reflects a growing trend throughout the world. That is, between twenty and twenty-five percent of all mergers and acquisitions over the past year [...]
Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863 – Lincoln in His Own Words
I have just completed listening to a course Abraham Lincoln, In His Own Words, which was taught by Professor David Zarefsky. I was so inspired by this course that I thought I would try to [...]
The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam
By David Halberstam Although David Halberstam’s final book, The Coldest Winter, desperately needed editing, I am glad that I plodded through his narrative of the Korean War. Over the years, I enjoyed immensely Halberstam’s ability [...]
Teapot Dome Revisited
Over the past year, I have been fascinated by articles in the New York Times regarding the failure of the Interior Department to collect billions of dollars annually from oil and gas companies that drill [...]
Looking at America: The Dismal Record of the CIA and other American Operatives
The leading editorial of the New York Times, Looking at America (December 31, 2007) highlights how people in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of [...]
Blue Blood & Money: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley by Patricia Beard
Morgan Stanley’s Pristine Heritage “At all times, the idea of doing only first class business, and that in a first class way, has been before our minds.” J. P. Morgan Junior read into the [...]
Housing Crisis Updated
Reuben Goldberg (July 4, 1883 - December 7, 1970) was an American cartoonist who received a 1948 Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning. He is best known for his series of popular cartoons depicting [...]
Failure by Stalin To Anticipate Barbarossa
“You must understand that Germany will never on its own move to attack Russia… If you provoke the Germans on the border, if you move forces without our permission, then bear in mind that heads [...]
Market Highlights Week Ended 11-24-07
What Motivated Me to Write this Market Letter? After Wednesday’s tumultuous market, highlighted by the twenty-five percent decline in the stocks of FNMA and Freddie Mac, I thought I would compose a market letter. [...]
Italy, the Achilles Heel of the Axis
“This whipped jackal, Mussolini, who to save his own skin made all Italy a vassal State of Hitler’s Empire, comes frisking up at the side of the German tiger with yelping not only of appetite…but [...]
An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy Updated
In today’s New York Times, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. a professor at Harvard pointed out that the problem of elevating most blacks out of poverty requires urgent attention. Moreover, part of our failure to [...]
The Atomic Bomb: The Role of Espionage in the Soviet Atomic Bomb Project
In the New York Times article “A Spy’s Path: Iowa to A-Bomb to Kremlin Honor” the newspaper highlighted that Soviet President Vladimir Putin had posthumously given the highest Russian award to a Soviet agent, George [...]
Three-Power Pact Between Germany, Italy, and Japan, Signed September 27, 1940 – The Odd Triples
"Let China sleep. For when China wakes, it will shake the world." --Napoleon Bonaparte If Japan would have heeded his warnings, she would have avoided a pulverizing debacle during World War II. Ironically, in defeat, [...]
Pat Robertson’s Surprise Backing for Rudolph Giuliani
Today’s New York Times commented that the political alliance of Pat Robertson and Rudolph Giuliani could compete for the strangest bedfellows of 2008. While I agree with Joseph Biden that Giuliani does not possess [...]