Apparently, it has been almost 9 months since
Our Man updated you with articles of interest that he’s been reading. Thankfully, this isn’t a reflection of a drop
in the quality of his reading material but instead solely represents at how
poor he’s been posting it to this blog – apparently, putting the information
together in a word document and expecting it to post itself, doesn’t work so
well. Thus, there is much catching up to
do…so expect a plethora of “Things from my Google Reader” posts this
summer. This one will follow the typical
format, with the most financial-orientated links at the bottom!
As you know, Our Man is a Brit and there’s
nothing Brits like more than a cup of char (in fact, I’m having one now…as I
write this). I also have to say that
American tea-making standards are pretty low (Mrs. OM is a fan of putting the
milk in first, perish the thought!). So,
in this stressful world (and especially for my American friends) let George
Orwell’s 1946 article school you on this important matter. (George Orwell, Evening Standard)
I’m sure you’ve all seen the slogan on t-shirts and posters, but have
you ever wondered where it came from?
This short film tells you the story behind the poster; from
its origins at the start of the second World War, to how it was rediscovered in
an English bookshop in 2000 and introduced into the public consciousness.
Given that top class athletes and singers have coaches,
so why don’t you have one for whatever you do?
Irrespective of your training for your job, can you perform at your best
on your own? Clearly, some occupations
lend themselves to this concept better than others but it’s a fascinating
concept and well worth you reading about one surgeon’s experiences and
research. (Atul Gawande, New Yorker)
All things China
As y’all know, Our Man has been somewhat skeptical on China for a
long-time. While this was originally a
contrarian view, the debate over China has progressed from whether China will
(ever) slow-down to whether there will be a soft or hard landing and what’s a
reasonable rate of growth to expect from China going forwards. Here are some interesting articles that
illustrate the change in tone over China, from the last few months:
- Professor Michael Pettis
and the Economist’s Free Exchange blog
have a two-legged wager on whether China will overtake the US within a decade
and what Chinese GDP growth will be. (Michael Pettis’ blog & The Economist)
- Jonathan Weil finds that Chinese big banks look more like paper
tigers, in large part to the remnants of the last time the government had to
bail them out (something Our Man has discussed before).
(Jonathan Weil, Bloomberg)
- Arthur Kroeber wonders if it will be social discontent and income inequality
that will lead to China having issues (Arthur Kroeber, Foreign Policy)
- John Hempton is the most skeptical of all, suggesting China’s a “kleptocracy
of a scale
never seen before in human history” and tries to explain how it’s financed, and
what might make it fail. (John Hempton,
Bronte Capital)
Financial Regulation – Some Andy Haldane love!
Financial regulators have done little good over recent decades, in large
part because they’ve failed to understand Finance. One of the few exceptions is Andy Haldane, the
FSA’s Executive Director for Financial Stability, who Justin Fox (at HarvardBusiness Review) dubbed “the regulator who explained the world”.
Personally, I was more impressed by the way the way he applied work from
other fields and considered their impacts on finance. Some of my favourite Haldane articles/speeches:
- “Patience & Finance”, where he looks at the role of patience in
decision-making and the impact of patience, or rather succumbing to impatience
has had, on finance. (Oxford China
Business Forum, in Beijing)
- “The Short Long”, on whether the world (and stock market in particular)
is becoming more short-sighted and myopic.
- “The Doom Loop”, where he talks about equity and the banking system. (Andy Haldane, London Review of Books)
No comments:
Post a Comment