22 Jul 2016

Posted at 12:31h in The Friday Brief by
Imagination is "the greatest creative force in the universe," claimed Albert Einstein. The keys at my fingertips, the computer transforming the clicks into hundreds of 0's and 1's, the copper lines and fibers of light delivering them to the device in front of you with its thousands of tiny light emitting diodes that project the letters you are reading, all started in the imagination. In fact, as you look around, you might be hard pressed to find anything within your reach that doesn't have its origins in the imaginings of creative people.

16 Aug 2013

Posted at 13:30h in The Friday Brief by
About this time each summer it's fun to take a break from the humdrum of economics and investment practices to slow down and remember a simpler time. Travel with me to a place that no longer exists and perhaps never will again, except in the memories of a blessed few. The wonderful thing about growing up at Cape Lookout was

26 Apr 2013

Posted at 11:40h in The Friday Brief by
The objective of the sequester was to build an arbitrary cliff so fearsome that the Congress would never steer us over it. Well as we know, they did, with us in the back seat. What is fascinating though, at least during our descent from the cliff, is the unintended consequences of sequester; as invariably happens when government tries to be clever.

28 May 2010

Posted at 15:47h in The Friday Brief by
Events of the past few weeks have rattled the confidence of even the most stalwart of optimists and caused more than a few to question fundamental tenets of the economy. How can millions of gallons of oil flood the Gulf and not permanently ruin that ecosystem and the livelihoods of millions of people who depend upon it? How can markets be called efficient when an aberration can cause the loss of a trillion dollars in mere minutes? How can the Euro survive a potential default by Greece and survive?