The Best of the Aleph Blog, Part 14
This period of the Aleph Blog covers May through July of 2010. The one big series that I started in that era was “The Education of a Corporate Bond Manager” series. The idea was to describe how a neophyte was thrust into an unusual position and thrived, after some difficulties. The Education of a Corporate...
Sorted Weekly Tweets
I am considering making this an end-of-the-week feature as a news recap. Comments? Financials BofA’s Clash With Fannie Intensifies as Insurers Reject More Loan Claims http://t.co/fKgxwcVO Originators need to bear UW error results $$ Mar 03, 2012 Life as Libor Traders Knew It Seen as Abusive http://t.co/H5o5cH3G An inside look at the problems...
Notes on the 2011 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report, Part 2
Picking up where the last post left off: 13) So Buffett told us he has a successor lined up, but won’t tell us who, but will tell us that the successor doesn’t know that he is the successor. Really does not seem like much of an improvement over the past, except that the CIO function...
Recent Sorted Tweets
Finance Business Breaking Ranks: Former Broker Turns Bomb Thrower http://t.co/q1vpz9dh @reformedbroker interview previews his book: http://t.co/Yigg2sEE $$ Feb 24, 2012 Why CLO managers continue to struggle http://t.co/a13j8jVG Low issuance, warehousing is tough, need more subordination, fewer senior buyers Feb 24, 2012 My Favorite Quote from Baupost’s 2011 Annual Letter http://t.co/VOvbqab3 DIstressed bond mgrs get...
Sorted Recent Tweets
Trying a new format here, I think readers will like it better. Most things are better after additional effort. Think of this as a news links by subject post. Economics If you look in the back, it seems that there were 58 respondents. From page 13: Methodology & Panel Selection Invi… http://t.co/p8sVZl9g Feb 06, 2012...
[SFTW] No more Shelling out for pensions
So even Royal Dutch Shell has decided that the oil business is hard enough, without running a life assurance scheme for employees on the side. There is now not a single company...
Defining Benefits Down
I have long thought that Defined Benefit plans are the best retirement plans for workers. They are also the worst for employers. Why? Employees are incapable of making intelligent investment decisions in aggregate, much as they like the feeling of “control.” Far better to have professionals choose investments where they don’t give in (as much)...
Defining Benefits Down
I have long thought that Defined Benefit plans are the best retirement plans for workers. They are also the worst for employers. Why? Employees are incapable of making intelligent investment decisions in aggregate, much as they like the feeling of “control.” Far better to have professionals choose investments where they don’t give in (as much)...
Piling on the government gurantees
Government guarantees for financial institutions are a financial crisis thing, right?Wrong.As the above chart from a new OECD paper (by Sebastian Schich and Byoung Hwan Kim) shows,...
On Longevity Derivatives
I am a firm believer in “you can’t get something for nothing.” So it is when a new derivative is proposed. Either there are natural counterparties to take up the exposure (reducing their risk), or speculators must be encouraged to take the risk (more likely). So, with longevity derivatives, the risk is people living too...
The United States of pension shortfalls
From Pew’s report on public sector pensions, out Tuesday.These calculations assume an eight per cent return on investment, the median achieved from 1990 to 2009. However,...
Book Review: Financial Jiu-Jitsu
The genre of personal finance books is crowded. I have read my share of good and bad books in this area, and the book that I am reviewing this evening falls in the good column. It covers all of the main areas of personal finance adequately, and makes analogies from the world of martial arts. ...
