Give a listen to Harry Connick, Jr. playing some fun jazz in the video here and see if you can spot something really tricky and interesting he does about 40 seconds in. Unfortunately, you have to go to YouTube to watch the video as embedding it is not allowed.
I’ll wait. Go ahead. Okay.
I’m guessing that most readers without a lot of musical experience will have missed the import of what happens even with the clue about exactly when it’s coming. So I’ll explain. Continue reading
An ESPN cameraman (or woman) caught some Phillies fans taunting Dan Uggla of the Braves Monday Night but then being rudely interrupted by Uggla’s hitting a game-winning grand slam in the ninth inning. Deadspin took it a bit further by creating the video below using music (Take This Lying Down by The Lucksmiths) and extreme slow motion. It’s fantastic. Enjoy.
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates (which manages about $150 billion in assets), has released this 30 minute video explaining his vision of “How the Economic Machine Works.” It is well worth watching, particularly for his description of the potential for a “beautiful deleveraging.” Dalio concludes with three helpful rules of thumb for individuals and policy-makers: (1) Don’t have debt rise faster than income (because your debt burdens will eventually crush you); (2) Don’t have income rise faster than productivity (because you’ll eventually become uncompetitive): and (3) Do all that you can to raise your productivity (because, in the long run, that’s what matters most).
It’s a bit late, but this is the best Memorial Day message I could offer.
If, as I believe, the small-cap premium is at least partly due to the inherent efficiencies of smaller companies, larger companies have inherent inefficiencies and these inefficiencies will be reflected by the markets. All of which brings me, via circuitous route, to a discussion of Apple. Continue reading
Courtesy of the BBC, this is the newest version of Hans Rosling’s famous presentation on economic growth and life expectancy. It provides a wonderful visual reminder of why longevity risk is so crucial to financial planning (and is becoming even more so). You may read more about it here.
Above the Market 