Not A Mystery
Finance
Hey Manolo, Now These Are Some Really Green Shoes
There’s fine print, and there’s even finer print. The very finest print, is used by our banker friends on Wall Street. The recent Facebook IPO generated a lot of money for the company and their original investors. Then there were fees for the bankers that took Facebook public. A syndicate of investment banks, lead by Morgan … Continue reading
JP Morgan FUBAR’d
As tempting as it is, I’m not going to pile on JP Morgan for their $4 Billion write-off. Really. I have to give Jamie Dimon credit (sic) for his candid review of the situation: The bank’s strategy was flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed and poorly monitored, Mr. Dimon said … He called the mistake … Continue reading
Volcker Rule Gives Investment Banks A “Woodie”
The US Congress is getting close to passing new financial regulation, attempting to rein in our friends on Wall Street. Pending legislation would limit Investment Banks’ ability to trade for their own accounts, and effectively bar them from trading derivatives. The bankers are pushing back. Surprised? The big banks argue that the Volcker proposal is … Continue reading
Lobbyists Do It In The Dark, Bankers Post It In The Cellar
In a nutshell, the way financial institutions (Big Bank) make their money is by knowing more than the other guy (that would be you). They will famously say that their priority is to serve their customers, and that capitalism depends upon them for the efficient allocation of capital. Also, that they are all in favor … Continue reading
Guess What, ATT Is The New Material Girl
Last week we noted ATT’s whining about a $1 billion [non-cash] charge they were being forced to take because of Obamacare. In fact the new law just eliminated a 7-year old scam allowing them to ‘double-dip’ by taking a tax deduction on healthcare premiums that were actually being paid (for them) by the government. A … Continue reading
Respect For The US Senate, Now An Oxymoron
As we approach April 15th., otherwise known as Tax Day, it’s time once again to mention the staggering corruption of the US Senate, the world’s ‘greatest deliberative body’. For well over three years (!) there has been an attempt to get rid of a loophole in the tax code granting hedge fund managers a lower … Continue reading
Children Should Be Taxed And Not Heard
As far as I’m concerned, all babies look like Winston Churchill. I’ve never thought of babies as contributing members of society. But now that’s changed. Parents aren’t just raising adorable kids. They are also producing little human capital units that are likely to grow up, get jobs, pay taxes and raise little human capital units … Continue reading
Investors Seek A Perfect “Co-Owner” Before The Music Stops
The world needs a new Country and Western song updated for today’s investor, along the lines of Mickey Gilley’s “Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time“ Our song might go platinum, all because there’s a new wrinkle (sic) on the menu of get-rich quick schemes. Billions of dollars in corporate bonds sold to retail … Continue reading
Thank Goodness, Perfect Is Not Always The Enemy Of The Good
You probably thought this was going to be a post about our dysfunctional political system. You can relax, it’s not. Voltaire’s quote has got a lot of mileage lately, mostly by proponents of Health Care Reform. The original quote in French is “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.”, from Voltaire’s Dictionnaire Philosophique (1764) Literally translated … Continue reading
Brits Ready The Ultimate Re-Cycle Scheme
Since the Great Recession started in 2008 the Brits have been at the leading edge of economic engineering. For a while it looked like Gordon Brown was going to get a Nobel Prize in economics, but he peaked too soon. No matter, there’s a second chance for Gordon and it looks promising. In that popular phrase … Continue reading
A Huge (Pulitzer Prize Winning) History Read
“Freedom From Fear“ earned its author David Kennedy a Pulitzer Prize for History in 2000. You can think of Freedom from Fear as the academic’s version of The Greatest Generation: like Tom Brokaw, Stanford history professor David M. Kennedy focuses on the years of the Great Depression and the Second World War and how the … Continue reading
Just Another Mystery
- Weaving A Different Kind of Necklace
- Jumping into Spring
- The Art of Using Natures Bounty to Dye Cloth
- A Shibori Stitched and Felted Wrap
- Faux Fur, Vogue and Verve
- The Perfect Dance, Part 2
- The Perfect Dance
- The Vest That Mysteriously Turned Into A Purse
- Vintage Kimono Baby Booties
- Zipper, Keys, and a Linen Belt Buckle
Sterling Jewelry & Gifts
Not A Mystery 