Archive for May, 2009

CHECKING CORPORATE FUNDAMENTALS

Friday, May 8th, 2009

We can revisit the traditional series of steps of the investment processes that extend from the John and Mary Smiths, to the bankers and fund managers, i.e. every reasonable investor. The diagram of investment project parties involved is used as a building block for demonstrating how the stakeholders interact in ...

INSTINCT VERSUS ABILITY

Monday, May 4th, 2009

The finance industry’s basic instinct focuses on hiring the best performing stars, and that may include closing eyes to certain work or character defects. One error is that the “star” bank trader or fund manager is really a shooting-star, one that burns up and disappears from sight. Empirical results show ...

The Move Towards Paper-based (Fiat) Money

Friday, May 1st, 2009

What do gunpowder and pasta have in common? According to the Chinese both of these were invented in China long before they appeared in the West. It is generally accepted that the earliest use of paper money was in China more than 1000 years ago towards the end of the ...