Letter from Lisbon
Portugal is one of a number of countries that I have wanted to visit for years but somehow haven’t got to yet (some others are Russia and Turkey). I made my first, short but very enjoyable visit to Lisbon last weekend … Continued
It’s not all in your genes
Courtesy of the Economist’s View blog, I came across this important piece of research. You can tell it’s important because it isn’t in a finance or management journal but in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research … Continued
Bank runs and multiple equilibria
When I was flying to Portugal on Friday for a short holiday (more of that in a later post) I faced the small but not zero probability that the banking system might have collapsed. Why? Because the previous day the … Continued
Chinese real estate really is in trouble
In case there hasn’t been enough bad news for you recently ($2bn loss at supposedly the world’s best managed bank, Greece heading for financial collapse, the UK back in recession, stubbornly weak employment data in the US) the evidence is … Continued
Greece leaving Europe
As everybody has by now noticed, Greece and the ECB/EU are playing a game of chicken. If the opinion polls are correct, the anti-austerity vote will rise in the second set of Greek elections in June. A failure to keep … Continued
The Chinese (banks) are coming
Last week, amid all the fuss about the French and Greek elections, the Federal Reserve Board approved the acquisition by the world’s largest bank by value, ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), of a majority stake in the Bank of East … Continued
Something that money can’t buy
I’m reading a new book by the American political philosopher Michael Sandel, called “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets”. It’s an interesting and characteristically thoughtful book on the way that market-based ideas and mechanisms have invaded areas … Continued
Spring in Cambridge
For those who came to graduation and think that it always rains in Cambridge, here are a couple of photos taken today.
MFin graduation 2012
Despite far too much rain, the graduation of last year’s MFin class was a great and memorable event. It was crowned by a reunion gig after dinner in the beautiful Queens College Old Hall, by the MFin band put together … Continued
How’s the new MFin class coming along?
Next year’s class is still work in progress as admissions don’t close till the end of May. Last year we closed at the end of June (*) so we don’t have a like for like comparison, and there was quite a … Continued
Eurovision: a unique European contribution to world culture
Europe is proud of its cultural heritage, whether it’s the Renaissance, beautiful icons in Ukrainian churches, Shakespeare, Bach or Truffaut. But perhaps Europe’s greatest contribution to world culture is the Eurovision Song Contest. If you’ve never seen this, you should … Continued
Rigour in the academic world
Recently one of my most distinguished colleagues said that the defining feature of academic research is rigour. He didn’t define it but I think his is a widely accepted view. I agree but “rigour” needs to be considered in context. … Continued
The public sector “stream” within the MFin
When we launched the MFin in 2008 I think most of us had in mind as typical students people who were looking for jobs in the private sector. It was partly the fact that it is a “premium fee” (i.e. … Continued
How not to expropriate investors
One of the most basic problems to solve before you can have a successful economy is, how do you reassure investors that they won’t be expropriated? This problem arises because of the combination of two features of most investments. First, … Continued
Why Obama’s candidate for the World Bank might be the right person after all
Like a lot of people, I was disappointed that the latest vacancy for the President of the World Bank would likely be filled by another American nominated by the US President. It has been custom and practice for the head … Continued