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Embrace the Constrictor: HSBC’s Year of the Snake Ad Campaign

  The year of the snake on the Chinese calendar has inspired HSBC to a slick advertising campaign with an arresting image: a brush-painted black snake. The constrictor’s  long body…Read MoreEmbrace the...

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Dark Pools & Efficient Markets: Transparency, Anyone?

             “It’s just not an efficient market if a fair amount of orders never see the light of day,” [Kevin Cronin, the top trader at the mutual fund provider…Read MoreDark Pools & Efficient...

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Penance & Student Loans

            Night before last, I slowly made headway through the humidity after stuffing my hold at Annapurna.  As I passed St. John the Evangelist in North Cambridge, my eyes…Read MorePenance &...

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A Colbert Report: The Chinese Revive a 17th – 18th Century Economic Philosophy?

            What are the Chinese up to in Africa when they buy up natural resources and agricultural capacity?  Why are they doing in the Bahamas, a ‘brass plate’ tax…Read MoreA Colbert Report: The...

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Designs & Miracles: Two Great Comedies

            Two comedies made a decade apart will amuse and challenge you: ‘Design for Living’ (1933) and ‘The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek’ (1944).             ‘Design for Living’ takes the…Read...

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Ferdinand Ward: A Swindle of the Century & The Sins of the Father

            Suppose your great grandfather ran a scheme like Bernie Madoff’s which brought low, among many, a former president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant and the Marine…Read MoreFerdinand...

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‘Flash Boys’: Reading Non-Fiction in 2014

             As I read Flash Boys (Norton, 2014), I find myself asking, ‘Can I trust Michael Lewis?  Is he a reliable reporter?’  Uncomfortable questions, those, when posed of someone…Read More‘Flash...

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The Massive PIMCO Bonus Pool: Thinking About Investment Fees

MEGO Alert:  My Eyes Glaze Over having heard about executives’ comp in financial services ever since the Reagan-Bush leveraged-buy-out boom, as probably do yours.  So be warned: numbers below. But…Read...

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‘Forgive Us Our Debts’: Christian Language in the Finance Lexicon

One word can have such distinct meanings that I never connect them.  Consider the words ‘conversion’ and ‘redemption’, important in the vocabularies of Christians and the bond market. And then…Read...

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