Archive for December, 2007
Sunday, December 30th, 2007
The answer is no. But a thing that many financial specialists associate with financial engineering is dead. I call it financial numerology. What I am talking about is the use of analytical methods to reach conclusions that do not spring directly from good old assumptions of investor rationality; or at ...
Posted in Computers Run Amok, Markets Matter | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
The Subprime Mortgage Crisis brings back childhood memories: Me stuck in the back seat of a car wending its way endlessly to a Christmastime destination. My father’s steely “Nooo,” to my perfectly reasonable question, “Are we there yet?” I suppose from his point of view it was a question he ...
Posted in The Banking Crisis, Markets Matter | No Comments »
Saturday, December 15th, 2007
What do Crocodile Dundee and the Federal Reserve have in common? The famous line from the movie summarizes the similarity. They are both capable of creating more havoc than is even a New Yorker would think possible. Dundee’s weapon of choice was the knife. The Federal Reserve is into moral ...
Posted in The Banking Crisis, When Regulation Goes Wrong | No Comments »
Thursday, December 6th, 2007
Warren Buffett may be the most skilled buyer the world has ever known; Rodney Adler is a world class seller. I was amused this morning to see their paths cross for the second time on the business pages of “The Australian,” my chosen source of Australian and global business news ...
Posted in Games Bankers Play | No Comments »