Thanks to the many interesting articles and links shared by my friends on Twitter, I've come across an interesting post on Benjamin Franklin and his life lessons on virtue and morality. I wanted to share it with you today.
Here's an excerpt from, "Lessons in Manliness: Benjamin Franklin's Pursuit of the Virtuous Life":
"Benjamin Franklin is an American legend. He single handily invented the idea of the “self-made man.” Despite being born into a poor family and only receiving two years of formal schooling, Franklin became a successful printer, scientist, musician, and author. Oh, and in his spare time he helped found a country, and then serve as its diplomat.
The key to Franklin’s success was his drive to constantly improve himself and accomplish his ambitions. In 1726, at the age of 20, Ben Franklin set his loftiest goal: the attainment of moral perfection.
In order to accomplish his goal, Franklin developed and committed himself to a personal improvement program that consisted of living 13 virtues..."
Of course, no man is perfect, and (as the authors note) Ben Franklin was no exception to this rule, even with his continuous pursuit of the virtuous life.
Still, I wonder what we can learn from Franklin's quest. How would society and business function today if more of us decided to embark on a similar quest for self-improvement?
Related articles and posts:
1. Great Lessons from Great Men - Get Rich Slowly.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Debating the "Ring of Fire"
Barry Ritholtz had some pointed comments for Bill Gross today.
In his post on Gross' "Ring of Fire" chart, depicting deficit and dept/GDP percentages for a number of economically vulnerable countries, Ritholtz noted that the US' fiscal problems were in part due to the government enacting policies (explicit backstops for the GSEs, etc.) that were suggested by Gross and his cohorts.
As Barry put it: "Essentially, Gross is complaining that (amongst other factors) the government listened to him . . .".
There was some interesting debate in the comments section about whether or not the (government backstopped) trillions in mortgage debt on GSE balance sheets should figure into an equation on US govt. debts/liabilities.
I noticed that David Merkel weighed in on this question, and that he also has a post up at Aleph Blog discussing Gross' chart and unsustainable government debts. You might want to check that out, as David is well-versed in credit markets and able to shed some additional light on the subject.
You can find Bill Gross' latest (February 2010) investment outlook, "Ring of Fire", here.
In his post on Gross' "Ring of Fire" chart, depicting deficit and dept/GDP percentages for a number of economically vulnerable countries, Ritholtz noted that the US' fiscal problems were in part due to the government enacting policies (explicit backstops for the GSEs, etc.) that were suggested by Gross and his cohorts.
As Barry put it: "Essentially, Gross is complaining that (amongst other factors) the government listened to him . . .".
There was some interesting debate in the comments section about whether or not the (government backstopped) trillions in mortgage debt on GSE balance sheets should figure into an equation on US govt. debts/liabilities.
I noticed that David Merkel weighed in on this question, and that he also has a post up at Aleph Blog discussing Gross' chart and unsustainable government debts. You might want to check that out, as David is well-versed in credit markets and able to shed some additional light on the subject.
You can find Bill Gross' latest (February 2010) investment outlook, "Ring of Fire", here.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Jim Rogers on Bloomberg: stocks may fall
Jim Rogers joins Bloomberg TV for a lengthy discussion about the economy and the outlook for global stock markets and commodities.Also up for discussion: the vote on Bernanke's 2nd term as Fed Chairman, and why the world would be better off without central banks. Go get 'em, Jim.
Hat tip to the gang at Business Insider.
Related articles and posts:
1. Ben Bernanke: man of the year? - Finance Trends.
2. Jim Rogers on CNBC, Tech Ticker - Finance Trends.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Barron's Roundtable 2010: quick thoughts
Happened to glance through the first installment of Barron's 2010 Roundtable this past week at the library.
When I say "glance through", I should clarify; I glance through all the parts I don't care about (comments from Abby Cohen, et. al) and carefully read the sections where Marc Faber and Felix Zulauf (and if time allows, Meryl Witmer or Fred Hickey) are talking.
Sometimes I'll stop and read Bill Gross' comments, but I think that has more to do with the fact that you never know what he is going to say these days, and it's interesting to see how his remarks line up with some of his (and PIMCO's) previous sentiments and actions.
Anyway, if you saw the 2009 roundtable report card, you'll notice that everyone's picks for last year were well in the black overall. Compare that to 2008's roundtable results (largely disastrous) and you'll see that roundtable participant greatly benefited from the broad market rally we saw during 2009.
No, I don't chalk this up to skill on (most of) their parts. In fact, the phrase that went through my head on examining this year's report card was, "they got their asses saved (by this rally) after last year's calls". Well, 2008 was pretty brutal all around.
Marc Faber seems to be the performance standout of last year's roundtable. The breadth and number of his calls in 2009 far outpaced the rest, and strong equity markets certainly helped keep his long positions positive. Still, it's amazing to look down at that 2009 report card and see every one of those picks in positive territory. The others did pretty well, too.
Enough of that. Let's see what the group have to say in the latest installment of Barron's 2010 Roundtable, shall we?
Related articles and posts:
1. Barron's Roundtable 2009 notes - Finance Trends.
2. 2008 Barron's Roundtable review - Finance Trends.
When I say "glance through", I should clarify; I glance through all the parts I don't care about (comments from Abby Cohen, et. al) and carefully read the sections where Marc Faber and Felix Zulauf (and if time allows, Meryl Witmer or Fred Hickey) are talking.
Sometimes I'll stop and read Bill Gross' comments, but I think that has more to do with the fact that you never know what he is going to say these days, and it's interesting to see how his remarks line up with some of his (and PIMCO's) previous sentiments and actions.
Anyway, if you saw the 2009 roundtable report card, you'll notice that everyone's picks for last year were well in the black overall. Compare that to 2008's roundtable results (largely disastrous) and you'll see that roundtable participant greatly benefited from the broad market rally we saw during 2009.
No, I don't chalk this up to skill on (most of) their parts. In fact, the phrase that went through my head on examining this year's report card was, "they got their asses saved (by this rally) after last year's calls". Well, 2008 was pretty brutal all around.
Marc Faber seems to be the performance standout of last year's roundtable. The breadth and number of his calls in 2009 far outpaced the rest, and strong equity markets certainly helped keep his long positions positive. Still, it's amazing to look down at that 2009 report card and see every one of those picks in positive territory. The others did pretty well, too.
Enough of that. Let's see what the group have to say in the latest installment of Barron's 2010 Roundtable, shall we?
Related articles and posts:
1. Barron's Roundtable 2009 notes - Finance Trends.
2. 2008 Barron's Roundtable review - Finance Trends.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A new form of Glass-Steagall?
As noted on Twitter, FT Alphaville is abuzz today with news of Obama's plan to limit the "size and scope" of large US banks.
Here's an excerpt from the administration's press release:
"“While the financial system is far stronger today than it was a year one year ago, it is still operating under the exact same rules that led to its near collapse,” said President Barack Obama.
“My resolve to reform the system is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform; and when I see record profits at some of the very firms claiming that they cannot lend more to small business, cannot keep credit card rates low, and cannot refund taxpayers for the bailout. It is exactly this kind of irresponsibility that makes clear reform is necessary.”
The proposal would:
1. Limit the Scope - The President and his economic team will work with Congress to ensure that no bank or financial institution that contains a bank will own, invest in or sponsor a hedge fund or a private equity fund, or proprietary trading operations unrelated to serving customers for its own profit.
2. Limit the Size - The President also announced a new proposal to limit the consolidation of our financial sector. The President’s proposal will place broader limits on the excessive growth of the market share of liabilities at the largest financial firms, to supplement existing caps on the market share of deposits."
It goes on to say that the President will work very closely with others (the illustrious Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, to name a few) to benefit consumers, close loopholes, and end the "Too Big to Fail" mentality.
This is tragically hilarious when you consider that these same large banks attained their TBTF status with the help of government bailouts and their ensuing moral hazard risks. So once again, government wants to "solve" the very problems they helped create in the first place.
For more insight on this proposed "Glass-Steagall II" legislation, and the rise of "too big to fail" banks, see our related articles section below.
Related articles and posts:
1. Obama gets tough on Wall Street banks - FT.com
2. Banks are bigger problem now: Niall Ferguson - Finance Trends.
3. Obama moves to restrict big banks - WSJ.com
Here's an excerpt from the administration's press release:
"“While the financial system is far stronger today than it was a year one year ago, it is still operating under the exact same rules that led to its near collapse,” said President Barack Obama.
“My resolve to reform the system is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform; and when I see record profits at some of the very firms claiming that they cannot lend more to small business, cannot keep credit card rates low, and cannot refund taxpayers for the bailout. It is exactly this kind of irresponsibility that makes clear reform is necessary.”
The proposal would:
1. Limit the Scope - The President and his economic team will work with Congress to ensure that no bank or financial institution that contains a bank will own, invest in or sponsor a hedge fund or a private equity fund, or proprietary trading operations unrelated to serving customers for its own profit.
2. Limit the Size - The President also announced a new proposal to limit the consolidation of our financial sector. The President’s proposal will place broader limits on the excessive growth of the market share of liabilities at the largest financial firms, to supplement existing caps on the market share of deposits."
It goes on to say that the President will work very closely with others (the illustrious Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, to name a few) to benefit consumers, close loopholes, and end the "Too Big to Fail" mentality.
This is tragically hilarious when you consider that these same large banks attained their TBTF status with the help of government bailouts and their ensuing moral hazard risks. So once again, government wants to "solve" the very problems they helped create in the first place.
For more insight on this proposed "Glass-Steagall II" legislation, and the rise of "too big to fail" banks, see our related articles section below.
Related articles and posts:
1. Obama gets tough on Wall Street banks - FT.com
2. Banks are bigger problem now: Niall Ferguson - Finance Trends.
3. Obama moves to restrict big banks - WSJ.com
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Stephen Colbert on the financial crisis
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Stephen Colbert: The Word - Honor Bound (via Credit Writedowns).
Clever take on the financial crisis and the morality of walking away from your mortgage. Your thoughts?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Brown wins, Dems lose key Senate seat
More on the Massachusetts special election from the FT, "Democrats lose key Senate seat":
"Democrats were dealt a blow on Tuesday night when Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat controlled by the Kennedy family for 56 years in an electrifying special election.
Mr Brown’s victory in one of the US’s most liberal states will deprive President Barack Obama’s party of its 60-seat “super majority” in the Senate and make it much more difficult for Democrats to pass healthcare reform legislation.
Analysts said it would inflict a heavy psychological blow as Mr Obama marked his first anniversary in office, and highlighted the extent to which the gloss had come off his presidency. The loss in the party stronghold also raised concerns for Democrats seeking re-election in more moderate states later this year..."
I know some people were keeping a real close eye on this special election tonight. Maybe some of you have some insights on the implications of this win for Brown and the Republicans?
FT notes that Dem candidate Martha Coakley was expected to "coast" to victory just a few weeks ago. Looks like voters in Massachusetts decided otherwise tonight.
"Democrats were dealt a blow on Tuesday night when Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat controlled by the Kennedy family for 56 years in an electrifying special election.
Mr Brown’s victory in one of the US’s most liberal states will deprive President Barack Obama’s party of its 60-seat “super majority” in the Senate and make it much more difficult for Democrats to pass healthcare reform legislation.
Analysts said it would inflict a heavy psychological blow as Mr Obama marked his first anniversary in office, and highlighted the extent to which the gloss had come off his presidency. The loss in the party stronghold also raised concerns for Democrats seeking re-election in more moderate states later this year..."
I know some people were keeping a real close eye on this special election tonight. Maybe some of you have some insights on the implications of this win for Brown and the Republicans?
FT notes that Dem candidate Martha Coakley was expected to "coast" to victory just a few weeks ago. Looks like voters in Massachusetts decided otherwise tonight.
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