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
Some new book recommendations (2): Thinking, fast and slow
Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, fast and slow Whenever I’m asked in future to recommend a book on behavioural finance, I shall enthusiastically suggest this one. Although it’s not limited to behavioural finance or even its wider relation behavioural economics, the … Continued
Some new book recommendations (1): Why Nations Fail
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson: “Why Nations Fail“ There have been many fascinating books in the last couple of decades on the big question of why some countries are rich and others poor, and the persistence of inequality over decades, … Continued
Why do people become lawyers?
It never occurred to me to study law at university. I mean it literally never entered my head, I was only even vaguely aware of the possibility. When I arrived at Sidney Sussex College, I discovered all these people working … Continued
Cambridge faces up to drought
The east of England, including Cambridge, is officially in a drought. This comes as incredible news to those many people who imagine the UK as trapped in a perpetual rainstorm. For the record, here are mean annual rainfall amounts (mm) … Continued
The best investment banker I knew
One consequence of getting older is that friends and former colleagues appear more frequently in the news. Last week it was the planning minister, Greg Clark, who I met when we were PhD students at LSE, launching a revamp of Britain’s … Continued
The geopolitics of natural gas
At a time when oil prices are around their all time highs it may seem odd to be thinking of how lower hydrocarbon prices will affect the world. But there is a growing sense in the US that longer term … Continued
Financial repression, west and east
The FT has an article by their Beijing correspondent, Simon Rabinovitch, saying that Chinese customers are getting angry about the big banks’ ever growing profits, which are in part at the expense of depositors who receive a negative real interest rate. … Continued