Thursday, February 28
Tuesday, February 19
Video: Are Large Banks Too Big for Trial?
As perhaps part of the growing evidence that Too Big to Fail is becoming a bipartisan issue (more on this here), the below video incredibly has already garnered 150,000 page views at the time of this post.
Paraphrasing the key exchange:
Warren's Q: "When was the last time regulators took a bank charged with wrongdoing to trial?"
Paraphrasing the key exchange:
Warren's Q: "When was the last time regulators took a bank charged with wrongdoing to trial?"
Regulator's A: "Uhh, we'll have to get back to you on that."
Saturday, December 15
Google + Kurzweil: "What an amazing, slightly terrifying combination"
I disagree with Jon Mitchell's take on the fantastic news that Ray Kurzweil has joined Google in a full-time role in Mountain View as Director of Engineering.
Pairing the iconoclastic futurist/inventor with arguably the most innovative technology company in the world is not scary but very exciting (although I catch Jon's drift).
Much as it did when it hired Vint Cerf, one of the internet's father figures, Google has once again boosted its nerd/geek street cred with the addition of Kurzweil to its roster of science and tech luminaries.
This is definitely a coup for Larry Page & Co. Not quite on the same level as when Princeton's fledgling Institute for Advanced Study landed Einstein. But after the Pope of Science made his way to New Jersey many of the leading physicists, mathematicians and scientists of the day followed. No doubt Kurzweil's arrival in Mountain View should have a similar effect in drawing today's pioneers in the areas where Ray has made significant contributions, such as speech recognition and artificial intelligence.
Ray begins his new gig on December 17. Congrats to Ray and Google, and we anxiously await the results of your collaboration!
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| Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil joins Google |
Much as it did when it hired Vint Cerf, one of the internet's father figures, Google has once again boosted its nerd/geek street cred with the addition of Kurzweil to its roster of science and tech luminaries.
This is definitely a coup for Larry Page & Co. Not quite on the same level as when Princeton's fledgling Institute for Advanced Study landed Einstein. But after the Pope of Science made his way to New Jersey many of the leading physicists, mathematicians and scientists of the day followed. No doubt Kurzweil's arrival in Mountain View should have a similar effect in drawing today's pioneers in the areas where Ray has made significant contributions, such as speech recognition and artificial intelligence.
Ray begins his new gig on December 17. Congrats to Ray and Google, and we anxiously await the results of your collaboration!
Monday, November 26
When the UK Previously Looked to a Canadian to Run the Bank of England
Just a quick historical note on the somewhat stunning news that Mark Carney, the current head of the Bank of Canada (and a Canadian citizen), has been asked and has accepted the job of running the Bank of England.
I say 'somewhat' because students of history may know that as Montagu Norman's 24 year reign at the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street was winding down the then head of the Bank of Canada, Graham Towers (also a Canadian citizen), was considered as a leading candidate to replace Norman.
Norman and Towers worked closely together during World War II to support the price of sterling during the Battle for Britain, and much of the UK's gold (as well as France's) was sent to Canada to protect it in the event of a Nazi amphibious invasion of Britain. However, for reasons possibly lost to posterity Towers was either never offered or accepted the job.
Analogies about how England's national football coach is often foreigner and how the Carney choice really isn't all that different are of course flooding the media airwaves right now. Perhaps the economic, patriotic, and security considerations that come with heading the national football club and central bank aren't really as far apart as one might think?
An issue which isn't under much doubt is that Mark Carney, like Graham Towers in his day, is simply a very good candidate for the job.
Looking ahead, the one thing that is certain is that Mr. Carney will have very big shoes to fill. Even with the financial crisis and the challenges faced by the City of London over the past several years, there can be little doubt that Sir Mervyn King has proven to be one of the finest central bankers of his age. Sir Mervyn recently gave an excellent lecture at the LSE on inflation targeting, which can be viewed here.
Another point is that the Carney choice further confirms London's status as the most welcoming of the major financial centers to foreigners and capital alike. Take that New York!
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| Graham Towers and Montagu Norman |
Norman and Towers worked closely together during World War II to support the price of sterling during the Battle for Britain, and much of the UK's gold (as well as France's) was sent to Canada to protect it in the event of a Nazi amphibious invasion of Britain. However, for reasons possibly lost to posterity Towers was either never offered or accepted the job.
Analogies about how England's national football coach is often foreigner and how the Carney choice really isn't all that different are of course flooding the media airwaves right now. Perhaps the economic, patriotic, and security considerations that come with heading the national football club and central bank aren't really as far apart as one might think?
An issue which isn't under much doubt is that Mark Carney, like Graham Towers in his day, is simply a very good candidate for the job.
Looking ahead, the one thing that is certain is that Mr. Carney will have very big shoes to fill. Even with the financial crisis and the challenges faced by the City of London over the past several years, there can be little doubt that Sir Mervyn King has proven to be one of the finest central bankers of his age. Sir Mervyn recently gave an excellent lecture at the LSE on inflation targeting, which can be viewed here.
Another point is that the Carney choice further confirms London's status as the most welcoming of the major financial centers to foreigners and capital alike. Take that New York!
Tuesday, November 20
Upsetting the Apple-cart: Google Just Torpedoed the iPhone's Profit Margins
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| Google's Nexus 4 |
Mind you, most of these reviews are on the whole rather positive about the Nexus 4's hardware and Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) software. But many of the reviewers couldn't see their way past the Nexus 4's lack of LTE 4G data speeds.
For example, here's the conclusion of a Nexus 4 review by The Verge's Josh Topolsky, arguably gadgetdom's #1 geek:
The Nexus 4 is absolutely wonderful, but it's also vexing. Frustrating. Annoying. It's easily the best Android phone on the market right now, and has some of the most powerful software that's ever been put on a mobile phone. It's an upgrade from last year's Galaxy Nexus in every way. It's terrific — save for one small thing.
In the US, a flagship phone without LTE is like a muscle car with no wheels. For other networks in other countries, and for the lucky T-Mobile customers out there that are getting great speeds on its HSPA+ network — great. No problem. Go get this phone. But for others — many others — it's hard to imagine buying this device when you know it's a generation behind in terms of network technology.
For a phone and an OS built for the cloud, I think it's unacceptable to not offer a version that takes advantage of our fastest mobile networks.That's a pretty damning indictment from the former Editor-in-Chief of Engadget, and not exactly the kind of endorsement one would be looking for if you're interested in making the case, as I will be in this article, that Google's latest offering represents a very real threat to Apple's iPhone business.
Continue reading the full article at SeekingAlpha here.
Monday, November 5
The Body Clock: Why You're So Tired All The Time
Full disclosure: as a night owl I am actively waging a campaign to 'debunk the social stigma around late risers'.
For more on this topic here's a good read.
h/t Counterparites
Wednesday, October 31
Sandy's Key Lesson Applies to More Than Bad Weather
The NY Times is out with a story today chronicling all the warnings about Gotham's vulnerability to storms and flooding.
Loss of life and economic devastation are made all the more tragic when we realize that these losses were at least in part preventable.
But as an anonymous source close the New York government officials put it:
As Nassim Taleb, et al have written about, there are deep psychological and evolutionary roots to our species' tendency to ignore seemingly low probability, catastrophic events until it is too late.
Perhaps as the human species was evolving and facing a daily battle for survival there was a prohibitive cost to planning too far into the future. Now, however, with the hunting/foraging days long gone for most of us, we're still stuck traveling through life with the same 'Cave Man software' of our forefathers.
With Mother Nature having reminded us what she's capable of there will likely be some changes to storm protection systems along the East Coast. But unfortunately I'm not terribly optimistic that we can extrapolate the lessons of Sandy to other systemic risks, such as asteroid collision, climate change, and number one focus of this blog, financial crises.
Sadly, the Cave Man is still in charge of this joint.
Loss of life and economic devastation are made all the more tragic when we realize that these losses were at least in part preventable.
But as an anonymous source close the New York government officials put it:
"until things happen, people aren’t willing to pay for it".Indeed.
As Nassim Taleb, et al have written about, there are deep psychological and evolutionary roots to our species' tendency to ignore seemingly low probability, catastrophic events until it is too late.
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| Explain this 'insurance' thing to me one more time? |
With Mother Nature having reminded us what she's capable of there will likely be some changes to storm protection systems along the East Coast. But unfortunately I'm not terribly optimistic that we can extrapolate the lessons of Sandy to other systemic risks, such as asteroid collision, climate change, and number one focus of this blog, financial crises.
Sadly, the Cave Man is still in charge of this joint.
Monday, October 29
A Good Evening to Stay Indoors and Watch a Movie
Dear East Coast, hang in there and hold on tonight! -TPC
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| Bob Balaban eyes the shifting weather in Moonrise Kingdom |
Tuesday, October 23
Video: Mervyn King on Twenty Years of Inflation Targeting
A very accessible, excellent talk from the Governor of the Bank of England on the past two decades of financial and central bank history, and the need to rethink the policy of inflation targeting.
Podcast with better audio quality here.
Speaker(s): Professor Sir Mervyn King
Chair: Professor Craig Calhoun
Recorded on 9 October 2012 in Old Theatre, Old Building.
Since 2008, we have experienced the worst financial crisis and recession since the 1930's. What challenges does this pose to the intellectual foundations of monetary policy? Do we need a new approach?
Mervyn King is the Governor of the Bank of England. Before joining the Bank he was Professor of Economics at the LSE, and a founder of the Financial Markets Group.
Monday, October 15
Video: Nobel Prize Winner Al Roth On 'Repugnant' Transactions
Congratulations, Al and Lloyd Shapley!
The below presentation by Al Roth, whose work on kidney exchanges you might recognize from Freakonomics, was made at Google in 2007. The presentation introduces you to Roth's work on repugnant transactions and market design.
Be warned that parts of Roth's presentation are a bit wonkish, but you can skip ahead to 28:12 mark if you're interested in his kidney work.
The below presentation by Al Roth, whose work on kidney exchanges you might recognize from Freakonomics, was made at Google in 2007. The presentation introduces you to Roth's work on repugnant transactions and market design.
Be warned that parts of Roth's presentation are a bit wonkish, but you can skip ahead to 28:12 mark if you're interested in his kidney work.
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