While we scrutinize the order flow and charts of various complex financial products, the Awl has a poignant reminder that n%...
The video embedded below is making the rounds these days, to nearly universal reactions of vicarious embarrassment among people with souls. This is one of those cultural signifiers that splits its audience neatly in two: if you don’t find anything objectionable or cringe-inducing about this, chances are an explanation why everyone else does may not be of any help. Still, I tried to address exactly this subject last year in an editorial for Expiring Monthly. The column in question is…
A few months ago, an illness forced me to fast for the better part of a week, and I felt genuine, work-halting pain due to hunger. It’s embarrassing, really, how accustomed I am to having whatever food I want in whatever quantity easily accessible at any time.
If you’re reading this, odds are very high that you have plenty to eat and some disposable income. And if you’re in the United States, odds are decent that you have too much…
Bankers, on hearing the news that they might not be guaranteed millions just for showing up at their desks, reacted thus:
Over the Counter claims that “working in high finance is not a job for the faint-hearted” (real quote). Besides the obvious risks of paper cuts and ergonomic discomfort, there is the ever-present possibility of not being lionized for simply following the formulas handed down by one’s B-school professors.
Man up, bankers. Shipbreaking in Bangladesh is not a…
Our New Year’s resolution is to exert as little control as possible over our trading.
Why? Because humans are terrible at decision-making, at changing, at acting in any way other than we have in the past. On a collective level, we can’t seem to stop foisting unnecessary wars and economic crises on ourselves; as individuals, we only rarely pursue our real long term best interests. Human behavior is like a stock whose long term moving average never changes direction: sure,…
Here are some articles of interest we found this weekend. Subscribers, make sure you’re logged in and check out our weekend portfolio update. Also, warning: information and ruminations dealing with ethics, justice, and good governance ahead, so stop reading if you are allergic to any of those things.
Michael Greenberger is the most cogent defender of the view that the recent parabolic move in oil prices is due largely to structural factors enabling manipulative speculation. In this…
Forgive us a short rant this evening. This country is sick. When the three main engines of growth – consumer spending, real estate, and financial services – are broken, it’s just not possible to make any economic progress. And for just a moment, let’s think about how pathetic those key sectors really are.
Cogent analysis of our per capita consumption requires some historical knowledge, since no contemporary people compares with our particular level of decadence. At least the Romans had…
You won’t be able to avoid this story tonight: the 3G iPhone is here, and it’s everything everyone was hoping for. It’s faster, supports Exchange, has GPS, and is half the price of the first version. The other big announcement at today’s WWDC keynote was the rebranding of Apple’s .Mac service, now called Mobile Me. Billed as “Exchange for the rest of us,” the new service will enable you to sync your mail, calendar, contacts, photos, and files…
The Dow shed one hundred points in the last hour and a half of trading. The Dow and S&P held onto some gains, but the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq 100 actually closed the morning gap and ended the day in the red. The late day selling seemed to be led down by large cap tech, as GOOG AAPL RIMM BIDU all moved lower.
Volume was a bit higher – back toward average levels at least, though most of that…
Strong bullish action today, especially on the Nasdaq and in the financials. Energy, gold, and volatility all getting plowed. Over the next few weeks, the big question seems to be whether the market will roll over right here, will push against overhead resistance awhile longer before turning back down, or will just defy economic gravity.
Otherwise, no other commentary or trades today. Working people are people, too. This is labor day everywhere around the world except in the…
Monday, August 8, 2011
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