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...
View ArticleDark 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...
View ArticlePenance & 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 &...
View ArticleA 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...
View ArticleDesigns & 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...
View ArticleFerdinand 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...
View Article‘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...
View ArticleThe 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...
View Article‘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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