We hope you had a pleasant summer and are enjoying the start of autumn. The third quarter was very eventful, both for us as a firm and for the markets in general. In the financial markets, the events of 2008 continued to reverberate and color all economic activity. After a precipitous drop-off in trade and …
Todd Woody writes in the New York Times on the obstacles solar energy plants in the Southwest face in securing necessary water rights. Certain solar technologies, particularly solar thermal can require large amounts of water to produce and cool steam. Coal, natural gas and nuclear plants require much larger amounts of water per unit of …
We believe free and fair trade are not only integral to economic growth, but also essential for a sustained global recovery. Barriers to trade reduce efficiency, inhibit growth, and hurt consumers. We are sympathetic to the argument that countries with weak legal protection for individuals can exploit resources and workers in an irresponsible fashion, but …
The Conference Board’s Task Force on Executive Compensation issued a report earlier today on their findings. They recommend claw-back provisions, tough restrictions on perks and disclosures on fees paid to compensation consultants. The Financial Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal have articles on the report.
In our view, as long as a society enjoys relatively free markets and the rule of law, long-term economic growth rates are largely determined by two factors: demographic trends and the pace of technological advancement. In terms of demographics, birth rates high enough to keep a country’s population relatively young, replenish the work force and …
Up until the late 19th century, the academic discipline now known as Economics was called Political Economy. I’ve always liked that term because it implicitly acknowledges that all economic activity occurs within a political and legal framework. Economics, in contrast, sounds technical and removed from the messy world of politics. Of course, politics and economics …
Though we remain optimistic about the prospects for US growth over the longer-term, and continue to believe in the diversity and resiliency of the US economy, it is difficult to see much optimism in the short to medium term. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been delving into unemployment statistics at the state and local …
The CFA Institute published a report last month outlining broad recommendations for regulatory reform in the US Securities markets. It covers numerous topics that have bubbled into the public discourse, including systemic risk, accounting standards, derivatives regulation, compensation standards, unregulated entities and budget certainty for regulators. We feel the paper is a must read for …
We read Bill Gross’ monthly letters for his thoughtful take on the big economic and financial questions of the day, mixed in with a dose of humor. The NYT recently published a profile of Gross, whose reputation has been burnished during this crisis. The June 2009 and July 2009 letters are a must read for …
We note, with sadness, the passing of Peter Bernstein, who taught us so much about the nature of risk and capitalism. Our world is a little smaller now that he is gone.
In Hans Christian Andersen’s tale The Emperor’s New Clothes, a pair of confidence tricksters sell the king a suit made of fabric so special, it was invisible… The more things change, the more they stay the same. For years, the priesthood of academic economics had the entire world convinced that the markets conformed to the …