Next bubble: Web 2.0 startups

Is Twitters valuation a sign of a bubble? Is there a bubble in web2.0 startups? A sampling of the 25 smartest angel investors(aka smart money!) Ron Conway makes some very interesting points on what to expect and some of the side-effects of google's rich which we are going to unfortunately see in the next round of createive destruction...not many will be left with their pants on...thats for sure!

Why you MUST never short based on valuation

A lesson from the master investor's trade book Whitney Tilson(St Joe and Netflix) - read more here : Whitney Tilson shareholder letter

As one poster Ananthan Thangavel(response to netflix short sellers) on gurufocus put it, 

"Quite simply, valuation shorts should NEVER be entered." 

Illegal immigration: indians from mexico into the US, hilarious!

As with all wave of immigrants in the past, this is unsurprising. But, the devices used is quite shocking and unsettling. This is a first in the book of any indian immigrant - claiming asylum in the name of religious persecution. Indians, in the past, used fake marriages, degrees, experience to enter the land of opportunities. This is a departure from the normal...for the worse.

Link to the story

India Elections : The Rich and Richer

Disclosed, the wealth of the aspiring MP(ministers of parliament) in India.

Wonder, what the low watermark and high watermark are for these upcoming elections. Atleast, from this article from the “masala time of india”, it is 122crores(~24.5million) to 600 crores(120million). I also wonder how this compares to US senators and congressman.

Soniaji may be at the bottom of the heap…if this article is any indicator.

~~~

BSP candidate Deepak Bhardwaj declares assets worth Rs 600cr

16 Apr 2009, 1529 hrs IST, TNN

NEW DELH: Deepak Bhardwaj of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday filed his nominations papers from the West Delhi constituency, declaring assets worth a whopping Rs 600 crore.

Bhardwaj is the richest candidate, so far, for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections surpassing the previous richest candidate who had declared assets worth Rs 514 crore.

Interestingly, the candidate who belongs to Mayawati's party came on a tractor that he uses on his farmland, to the Rampura election office in West Delhi to file his nomination.

The 58-year-old tycoon owns businesses in real estate, hotels and education. He runs a school in Dwarka and plans to open two more schools- one in Dwarka and the other in Dhansa, both in West Delhi.

Also Read

A resident of Lajwanti Garden in West Delhi, Bhardwaj also owns a township project called Deepganga in Hardwar and a hotel called Niteshpunj Hotel Complex on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.

Earlier this week, the previous richest LS candidate, a Mumbai-based businessman, filed his nomination as an Independent from Surendranagar. Khimji Patadia, 53, has declared assets worth Rs 514 crore, mainly in jewellery and real estate.

Besides Patadia, Bhardwaj beats candidates like the Congress’s L Rajagopal from Vijaywada (Rs 299 crore), the BSP’s Karan Singh Tanwar from South Delhi (Rs 150 crore) and the SP’s Abu Azmi from Mumbai NW (Rs 122 crore).

 

Courtesy: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/BSP-candidate-Deepak-Bhardwaj-declares-assets-worth-Rs-600cr/articleshow/4409845.cms

 

Serious Reading

Must reads:

 

How the economy was Lost

http://www.vdare.com/roberts/090223_economy.htm

 

The Real Great Depression(WRONG 1929 RIGHT 1873)

http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=477k3d8mh2wmtpc4b6h07p4hy9z83x18

 

Exclusive Derivatives for dummies

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/02/18/exclusive-derivatives-for-dummies-by-the-other-katherine-harris/

 

 

Other articles of interest:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/evidence-mounts-recessions-worst-past/story.aspx?guid=%7B71467556%2D3683%2D4018%2D906C%2D7FFC8A3F9E8C%7D&dist=TNMostRead

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,498765,00.html

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/exclusive-why-should-i-pay-somebody-else%e2%80%99s-mortgage-by-the-other-katherine-harris/

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/mort-f20.shtml

 

Sequoia Capital's : Doom and Gloom

Sequoia Capital's doom and gloom presentation on techcrunch.com

A little about Sequoia Capital

Useful proverbs for the great recession of 2009!

In times such as these, 2 useful proverbs!

 

1.  Japanese saying, Even Monkey’s fall out of trees

2.  The markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.

Honda CEO sent packing. While GM/Chrysler/Ford CEOs...

>>>

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/honda-hmc-another-car-firm-ceo-waves-goodbye/

Smoke and mirrors corporate America, the dubious double standards and how the CEO's are the shareholders appointees and why I am a blathering idiot.

Check this paragraph from the article above,

It appears that the Japanese are ready to hold management accountable for poor results, even those not entirely under their control. Their boards may want to send the message that CEO job security is based on results, regardless of the origin of those results.

This may never happen, i repeat, never happen in the US auto industry or corporate America...which can be explained away as "this is how things are, will continue to be".

On first read, the actions by the Honda board seem excessive and also ill-thought. But, again, CEO's only job is to ensure "results" and be answerable to the board and the shareholders.

Good job Honda board. Good job Honda!

Valuing Toxic assets - A logical approach and Root Cause analysis(good one)

Interestingly, one of the most logical rational solutions is proposed by Mr Jeffrey Sachs.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/a-proposal-on-how-to-clea_b_166303.html

Max Fraad on HuffingtonPost does an excellent job trying to trace and help point what has landed us in this mess....good reading

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-fraad-wolff/late-and-short_b_165556.html#postComment

Warren Buffett: Please stand up!

Wonder why it was not well known that Warren Buffett may have actually called Moody's management and given them a good earful?

http://www.observer.com/mobile/article/82469

Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

You can’t predict who will change the world:

 

And in defense of America ;) – there is no such thing as declining power of America in the age of globalization.

 

An interesting point about risk-taking, and unbounded enthusiasm in constantly tinkering and trail-error’ing American way of life, this para explains why outsourcing is better for America. The anti-sourcing lobby doesn’t want to hear any of this which is also true…there are people in the USA who simply want a job, a pay-check and above all predictability – this, in the backdrop of publicly traded companies, hedge funds, mutual funds, 401k funds and *THE SAME AMERICAN WHO WANTS PREDICTABILITY AND WISHES HIS 401k/PERSONAL STOCK ACCOUNT TO RISE WITH HIS RISING PAY* does not seem possible. Quite rightly so!

 

Globalization allowed the U.S. to specialize in the creative aspect of things, the risk-taking production of concepts and ideas--that is, the scalable part of production, in which more income can be generated from the same fixed assets through innovation. By exporting jobs, the U.S. has outsourced the less scalable and more linear components of production, assigning them to the citizens of more mathematical and culturally rigid states, who are happy to be paid by the hour to work on other people's ideas.

Airlines Auto industry - trade unions and of moles/warts and cancers

labor unions are so socialist...its like a mole on the face of capitalism...regardless of who runs or what policies are introduced...its a wart not going away easily...it will take the ship down.

lobbyists for the rich and trade/labor unions for the poor, we are stuck between.
WE is the significant tax-paying, law abiding citizenry...

On a show couple of days ago, there was this talk abt compartmentalizing the fares...checkin luggage/snacks/pillow/blankets...this is all bandaid...

Recent history has shown any public corporation bending to labor union whims has never been successful..

as in the case of airline or the auto industry, this has been the same case. End result, higher costs are being pushed to the end consumers like US. WHY WHY WHY?

Where is capitalism? Where is competition? Why dont I have better bidders for my hard earned $?

On a ligher note: Mr Housing Bubble

This article appeard on Barrons which begins with the following paragraph,

A FEW YEARS AGO, AN ACQUAINTANCE SENT Wellesley College economist Karl "Chip" Case a T-shirt depicting a cartoon of a smiley-face house surrounded by soap bubbles, called "Mr. Housing Bubble." But it was the words captured in a comic-book cloud on the shirt that gave this otherwise goofy image its bite: "If I pop, you're screwed!"

The T-shirt looked like this perhaps :

Click to follow to the actual article: If I pop, you are screwed

Wake Up America - Real Estate is SHELTER!

Tim Iacono@SeekingAlpha makes a good point

The real value in real estate is in its function as shelter - a place to live, a place to raise a family - a point nicely made by Steve Kersch in this column at MarketWatch today.

Click to follow link:  Real Estate is SHELTER, stop believing it is an ASSET!!!

He quotes Steve Kerch from MarketWatch, who writes

But let's forget about prices, for the moment (and doesn't that feel good!) and concentrate on fundamental value. Because that is something that no home-price statistic captures.

At its core, a house is a shelter. Unless the roof caves in, there is always some economic value in that.

But most people when they dream about a house or start looking for a house or actually buy one think about value in a whole different way: they think about the fireplace they can gather around with their families, the kitchen where they can show off their culinary skills, the bathroom that they won't have to share, the schools they will be able to send their kids to, the neighbors they will be able to entertain in the backyard, the parks they can bike and hike and the community events they will be able to attend.

Yes, you have to make a price decision. And that can come back to haunt you if you're forced to sell in a market like this. But that doesn't mean you value any of those other things any less.

Click to follow Steve Kerch@marketwatch, "At its core, a house is a shelter...

Once again, the subprime wolves are on the prowl

Scary, I am sure this will continue to happen unabated while the taxpayers are taken for a ride. Read more at this link below.

http://www.kxxv.com/Global/Story.asp?S=9392488

Other stuff I’ve been reading lately:

Wholesale Rates and the Evolution of a Crisis by Jack M. Guttentag

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/mortgage/123342?count=30&start=6#dtk-cmtscnt

What's Wrong With Berkshire Hathaway?

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/company-comment/2008/11/21/whats-wrong-with-berkshire-hathaway.aspx

Moody's says alt-A mortgage delinquencies rise

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/11/18/ap5707587.html

New Year U.S. Housing Market Forecast: No Gain, More Pain

http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/11/20/housing-outlook-2009/

Barack Obama's acceptance speech

Amen!

Courtesy:
Full text of the victory speech delivered by Barack Obama in Chicago>

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

 

I salute John McCain

Sir, John McCain IS truly a great son of America – I salute!

 

This truly is a water-shed moment in American politics (quoting Gloria Borger on CNN) regardless of whether one is Democrat or Republican.

 

McCain was tough during the campaign…I couldn’t help but swallow hard to hear his humbling words, “the failure is mine but not yours”. Maybe, he will take consolation that he was one of the lead actors in the creation of a new chapter in American history and he went down fighting Obama who we will see a lot in the years to come.

 

This is a full text of the speech – I was moved by the tone and the call for every American to join and help the next President.

 

The pain and disappointment was evident, hopefully, this will be a better John compared to the post-2000. We wish to see you around John to continue to be the maverick you have been all through your career.

 

Full text of McCain’s speech(courtesy: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/johnmccain/3383618/John-McCain-concedes-Full-text-of-speech.html)

John McCain concedes: Full text of speech

Full text of John McCain's speech conceding defeat in Arizona:

 Last Updated: 7:13AM GMT 05 Nov 2008

; http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1488655367/bctid1900364930 http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1139053637

Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.

To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now...

Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans...

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

We fought -- we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.

I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother...

... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.

I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.

All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also -- I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen...

... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength...

... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children...

... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.

We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

Please. Please.

I would not -- I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama -- whether they supported me or Senator Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender.

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

 

Paul Krugman : The Real Plumbers of Ohio

Obama Vs McCain

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/opinion/20krugman.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

 

 

How to excel in your new job(VP's and above ONLY)

 

Management Bull shit:

 

This makes for good reading and especially effective if you are laid-off after 6-7years of back-breaking work in a high-tech company and you are escorted to the door on an odd day of the week(Tuesday) with 0 severance. Guess, you can call m disgruntled!

 

Credit: John Brandt was the author of this article –

 

This is very effective in this ultra-competitive dog eat cat world…What should a new manager hired for a top spot do in the company where everything is alien to him…some life saving tips, this!

 

“Dump everything on a sub-ordinate(Smith) who actually knows what he/she is doing.”

 

Another old fashioned option now available ONLY at the VP level or above. Breathe a sigh of relief as that pile of unsanswered memos and half baked proposals that’s on Smith’s desk leaving yours clean and shiny as the hood of the new Benz(Porsche or Cadillac) you will be driving this afternoon while Smith digs out.

 

Pros: If Smith is any good, you’ll look like a genius. If not, fire him. Why should you be blamed for all the incompetents your predecessors hired.

 

Cons: If Smith is as good as you hope, a rival may hire him away or worse yet, unmask you for the empty suit you really are

 

Upshot: It sure beats doing it yourself. Mitigate risk by giving Smith a bad review(he or she can now be painted as disgruntled) and making sure that his cubicle can always be found with a trail of bread-crumbs. Atta boy!

 

Snippets from "When Markets Collide by Mohammed El Eriyan, CEO of PIMCO"

Parting thoughts to the individual investor:

 

1.  Investors are advised to keep following topics front and center on their radar screens…they speak directly to the abilitiy of the markets to minimize very wide technical fluctuation occasioned by the current asymmetry between

a.  The role of endogenous liquidity(refer book to what does endogenous liquidity according to the author means…or even better google it)

b.  Official monetary actions

c.  As well as the reliable openness of economies to developments elsewhere in the world.

2.  Do not forget initial conditions – like Harvard Management companies first entry into TIMBER as early as the 1980s(1988-89???), Apparently, HMC made a killing back then and soon, like bees, everyone followed into timber…returns for first movers are the most(investing or forseeing opportunities where nobody is looking).

3.  Major contributor to inequalities around the world has been technological progress which increases the premium on skills and antiquates relatively low skill inputs(need to update here?) thereby benefiting those who are already better off and displacing those that are already worse off.

4.  Prisoner Dilemma – (need to update this)

5.  3 Circuit Breakers

a.  Government or FED jumping in(making access to easy cash)

b.  SWF with money entering the markets

c.  Emerging Economies economic growth.

6.  PASCALS WAGER: If people believed that the probabilitiy of an earthquake in California was hight, they would NOT live in California. Yet, because the probability is non-zero and the consequences are severe, it makes sense to consider earthquake insurance, especially, if the market is providing it cheaply.

7.  Peter Dolan(from HMC?) 4 pronged principle in the life of a money manager

a.  Strive for excellence(arete)

b.  Hubris

c.  Recklesness(ate)

d.  Nemesis(retributive justice)

8.  The urgent/importance matrix – any ceo must need to pay attention to these(more in the book)

a.  1^st Quadrant: IMPORTANT AND URGENT

b.  2^nd Quadrant: Important NOT Urgent

c.  3^rd Quadrant: NOT Important NOT Urgent

d.  4^th Quadrant: Urgent NOT Important