Open Strategist: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

We all have regrets, and it’s not uncommon for people in everyday life to talk about regrets of the dying, or regrets of people quitting jobs they shouldn’t have; but what matters more is our perspective on regrets. If we see them as a confirmation of failures, then we’re bound to hold them to the chest for eternity and never move along, but if we see them as lessons learned we’ll move on and make the most of it.

What you should do with your regrets, I’ll leave it up to you to decide, but remember, if not you, others could have learned from them.

Choose well.

Top R&D Spending [chart]

Via: Economist

Wednesday Links

I.B.M. Reports Nanotube Chip Breakthrough http://bit.ly/Q6iyg0
Who Needs Facts Anyway? | Neurobonkers | Big Thinkhttp://bit.ly/RqPJGa
Oklahoma Prepares for Open Carry Gun Lawhttp://flpbd.it/f7fs0
The rescue of pregnant women and babies at NYU was heroic. http://flpbd.it/SnNWh
David Remnick on one girl's story of leaving NYU Langone Medical Center during #Sandy: http://flpbd.it/EyoDF
Philippine billionaire Lucio Tan's cigarette venture calls for gradual increase of sin taxes | http://flpbd.it/zOxF1
David Einhorn Reveals A New Short Position At A Big Investment Conference by @JuliaLaRoche http://flpbd.it/3A430
8 ways blog writing is unique http://bit.ly/SmjMTT
Top 10 Majors with the Most Jobless Graduates | The Savvy Intern by YouTern http://bit.ly/S2TVO7
Evolution of lactose tolerance: Why do humans keep drinking milk? - Slate Magazine http://bit.ly/PowKB1
Hallowe'en[infographic] http://bit.ly/RmlVe2
Binders Full of Women vs. Big Bird: Top Halloween Costume of 2012? | Living on GOOD http://bit.ly/Q4BZG9

Change Management[comic]

Via: RB

Apple vs. Samsung[chart]

Via: Reuters

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Dreams of Sushi[video]

Amazing movie on what it takes to achieve mastery...dedication and obsession included.

Tuesday Links

Stock market needs to open Wednesday, NYSE chief says http://flpbd.it/WhF6t
Q&A: Founder of 'Sh-tter,' the Tweets-to-Toilet Paper Company BW
The Flop That Saved Microsoft SLATE
Some advice from Jeff Bezos 37signals
Hurricane Sandy in Photos, Update #1 - 10 more photos, 40 so far, of this monster storm - http://flpbd.it/9uBcg #Sandy
Sovereign credit-default swaps: Messenger shot, message not | The Economist http://bit.ly/Q2Gml6
Monopoly Is Theft | The true history of the game| Long - reads | Harper's Magazine http://bit.ly/Q20R1e
It’s Easy Being King/CEO http://bit.ly/Q1X8kn
Bitcoin Merchants Plan Their Own Version of Black Friday - American Banker Article http://bit.ly/Q3YTxh

Here's a quick view of Sandy:

Monday, October 29, 2012

A quick note on Power Outages

For all those who live in a developed world currently, and are suffering from a power outage (I'm looking at you East Coast NY and Southern Ontario dealing with hurricane Sandy), take a look at the developing world for a minute and you'll realize that a power outage isn't really that big of a deal, its almost a norm there.

Let me quickly remind you of a few words from Gandhi for a moment - "Whenever you find yourself in troubles, think of the poorest man and ask yourself, how your actions would have impacted him.It is only then, will you realize that your troubles are not troubles at all".

I hope you are reconsidering your troubles now.

Monday Links

Monopoly Is Theft | The true history of the game| Long - reads | Harper's Magazine http://bit.ly/Q20R1e
It’s Easy Being King/CEO http://bit.ly/Q1X8kn
The Demographic Cliff | The Reformed Broker http://bit.ly/Rc37Om
The Outlook for ETFs http://bit.ly/Q1GAZy
On Japan's dying economy http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-declining-japan-loses-its-once-hopeful-champions/2012/10/27/f2d90b2e-1cea-11e2-9cd5-b55c38388962_story.html …
Tearful trader Kweku Adoboli tells trial: 'UBS was my family' http://flpbd.it/dJSk6
Wall Street Eyes Facebook's Ticker As Employee Shares Vest -by @MikeIsaac http://flpbd.it/AqwhX
Bill Bain, founder of Bain Capital, breaks his silence on criticism of his namesake firm | http://flpbd.it/Cmbk8
The cold call victim who fought backhttp://flpbd.it/1XCuQ
Documents Reveal Hitler's Epic Rant To Senior Nazis 8 Days Before He Died http://flpbd.it/WUP2o
Why analysts got fired for talking to journalists | Felix Salmonhttp://bit.ly/R7FbM3
Apple - Samsung/Apple UK judgment http://buff.ly/PU04PW
Facebook analysts say to hell with GAAP… http://bit.ly/R6R0Ck
"“Nobody can flagellate themselves as well as Goldman Sachs can,” Blankfein said." http://bit.ly/PUxsWQ

Gallatin: A Forgotten Financier(part 2)

This a continuation of last weeks post.

There are two major achievements that deserve mention. First, there is Gallatin’s singular success in his pursuit of debt reduction. Gallatin took advantage of prosperous and relatively peaceful times to reduce the public debt of the emerging United States. The second is Gallatin’s efforts is the way in which he reinforced the financial institutions set up by Alexander Hamilton and made skillful use of them.

But Gallatin was referred to as the “Savior” of Hamilton’s financial system.. How are we to explain Gallatin’s transformation from a prominent critic of the Hamiltonian system to its guardian and perhaps savior? One possible answer, of course, is that when Thomas Jefferson became President in 1801, he quickly realized that the economic consequences of dismantling Hamilton’s financial structure would be dramatic for his presidency, his party and the country.

What is perhaps most remarkable, however, is that Gallatin seems to have come to appreciate the genius of Hamilton’s system and advised Jefferson accordingly. In an attempt to firmly discredit Hamilton, Jefferson – shortly after becoming President – asked Gallatin to examine the archives and uncover the “blunders and frauds of Hamilton”. After searching “with a very good appetite”, Gallatin went back to Jefferson with the following remarkable assessment: “I have found the most perfect system ever formed. Any change that should be made in it would injure it. Hamilton made no blunders, committed no frauds. He did nothing wrong.”

But what lessons can we draw today from Gallatin’s economic policies?
The most important lesson of Gallatin’s achievements is that public debt reduction requires unwavering political commitment to fiscal discipline. Gallatin faced an unexpected fiscal problem in the form of a war with Great Britain. The developed world now faces a predictable and rapidly ticking fiscal time bomb in the form of aging populations; and the truth is one - 'you can't beat demographics'. In fact, what we have now are some of the lowest rates and negative real investment yields.

Instead of suggesting more tax cuts and increasing government spending, we should be reducing our budget deficit; but politicians will never favour such things as the common man doesn't understand them. So the government resorts to hidden ways of wealth deterioration i.e. by printing money. It creates the illusion that nothing is happening but actually wealth is being slowly eroded on a long term basis.

Christine Lagarde has critically pointed out that every major period of deficits prior to 1950 has coincided with a time of war. After the Second World War, deficits essentially returned to normal. But as you can see, after 1970 there was a significant change – all OECD countries started running sustained budget deficits, and have done so in times of relative peace.

Now perhaps its too late as current government has its hands tied up dealing with the mess predecessors made. Only time will tell whether Horses and Bayonets or Binders full of policy decisions will solve this problem.

Sources:
See previous post.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Friday Links

Why Is It Dark at Night? http://flpbd.it/IPh2X
Unusual and Fascinating Coins & Currency, Part 2 http://flpbd.it/39Jno
McDonald's steps up Canadian expansionhttp://flpbd.it/e4ECr
Lower oil and gas prices are going to become the new normal http://flpbd.it/OyG4i
Upgrade fatigue? Apple's update cycle is getting shorter http://flpbd.it/l0zTd
Pharmacists Confirm Pressure From Management To Refill Prescriptions Automatically - http://flpbd.it/hk986
Corporate Espionage, American-Style http://bit.ly/PSRbGj
For Whom Golden Parachutes Shine http://bit.ly/RCnJkn
The Next Panic - Peter Boone and Simon Johnson - The Atlantichttp://bit.ly/R2KCfn

This Land is mine[video]

This Land Is Mine from Nina Paley on Vimeo.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Believe in yourself(via Nobel Prize winner)

The fellow who won the Nobel Price for Biology was last in his class but I’d say, he’s done well now.

Via: TG

Thursday Links

The rich bail out of changing hedge fund industry | Reutershttp://bit.ly/QRNawO
12 Smart Alec Expressions http://bit.ly/R1uz1h
Rajat Gupta gets 2 years for insider tradinghttp://flpbd.it/te2hC
It's the secret life of Stormtroopers and their adorable mini-me's.http://su.pr/1UBvBF
On The Table With One of History’s Most Infamous Surgeonshttp://flpbd.it/T3wVy
EF Englishtown, an education company, has produced its second global survey of English-language skillshttp://flpbd.it/BAZcS
LEAKED: Marissa Mayer's Plans For Yahoo's Most Important Product - Business Insider http://bit.ly/R1BsQd
The End of Jazz - Benjamin Schwarz - The Atlantic http://bit.ly/PSzbMn

Skills shortage[comic]

Via: OFTE

Wednesday, October 24, 2012