The latest annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company run by Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, has a short section on gold which has made waves round the investment world. It’s the best statement of the investment … Continued
Here’s a statement about the US consumer: “… certain dominant trends emerge: the increase in national income and in the purchasing power of a large section of the population; an increase in the availability of consumer credit; a sharp increment … Continued
Amid the gloom on the Eurozone, sluggish growth in the US and worries over a real estate collapse in China, some students ask me if there’s any future for the financial system? Understandably their main concern is jobs. I can … Continued
It is widely believed, especially by Americans, that US capital markets are superior to those in Europe and elsewhere. But whatever the general truth of this may be, in one area the US client gets a far worse deal than … Continued
I just read another attack on the use of “naked” CDS (credit default swaps). This use of the word is potentially misleading – maybe deliberately so, in order to tarnish CDS by association with naked shorting of ordinary securities. Naked … Continued
I once came across a definitional difference between financial speculation and gambling. This might seem rather trivial, or only of interest to some moral philosophers. But it was of great significance when the Chicago Board of Trade was trying to … Continued
Today’s FT has a special supplement on equity capital markets, the part of an investment bank that helps companies to raise equity capital. One article mentions the well known fact that IPO fees remain very much unchanged for year after … Continued