There will soon be a changing of the guard at the U.S. Federal Reserve as Ben Bernanke hands the reins (together with the paper, ink and printing press) over to Janet Yellen. Regarded as a ‘dove’ rather than a ‘hawk’ (i.e. she is more concerned with unemployment than inflation) it is highly unlikely there will…
It’s interesting how the appointment of a new broom can lead individuals to, well, change their minds. I suppose psychologists would say it is somehow related to the ingrained desire to seek shelter with the crowd. From the dawn of human existence on the plains of the Serengeti, mankind’s survival instinct decreed that the odds…
Value can be a frustratingly transient concept. It is documented that at the height of tulip mania in 17th century Holland, an Amsterdam town house was exchanged for a solitary bulb. Similarly, my daughter’s bedroom is often a tip and yet if she shared it with Tracey Emin, it would become art. As for those…
As a child, my favourite fairytale was Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. Upon reflection, I suspect this was because it chimed with reality where nonsense can persist indefinitely if individuals are afraid to look potentially foolish by challenging accepted orthodoxy. I was reminded of Andersen’s tale by the sight of numerous art experts…
We live in strange times. Never, in the furthest reaches of my imagination did I ever expect to see the words ‘Pussy Riot’ on the front pages of both the Daily Telegraph and Financial Times and yet, it came to pass. We also live in an age where people are assumed to be increasingly gullible.…
There was an old Soviet joke. The telephone rings at Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s house and is answered by his daughter. She explains that her father is currently orbiting the earth but is due back at 7.00 pm. Her mother is also out but as she has gone shopping for groceries, it’s impossible to say when…
The advert for Barclays’ tracker rate mortgages urges borrowers to ‘take one small step’. Although hardly on a par with Neil Armstrong’s efforts, Bob Diamond did exactly that in the wake of the bank’s £290m fine for attempting to rig LIBOR. It is, without doubt, a sorry tale. A potent cocktail of power, laced with…
Warren Buffett observed that investors should look for companies that are so bulletproof, an idiot could run them because one day, that is probably what will happen. If he is correct, we conclude that if capitalism is likely to let the odd wally hop into the driving seat, then it’s a cast iron certainty that…
Sometimes it’s difficult to put exact numbers to things you know are vital. Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor, tells us “valuing a business is part art, part science”. He means that the art part of the equation is a bit woolly because it relates to matters such as quality of management or brand value, which…
Last December, the ratings agency, Standard & Poors (S & P), placed the debt of all 17 Eurozone nations on ‘negative watch’. This may sound sophisticated but in a nutshell, it is saying that the debt of these countries is not as solid as many (including S & P) thought originally. Even Germany was caught…