| The shape of things |
[May. 31st, 2009|12:26 pm] |
Watching Gibson yesterday he said at some point that humans were motivated to find the shape of things, and likened it to a character in one of novels trying to find the shape of cyberspace. I understand what he meant by that, because I was motivated, at least in part, to research finance/economics because I was interested in the shape of the system itself.
However, it wasn't until I read Tim O'Reilly's write-up of Google's Wave demo that it really chimed with me. The first thing that came to mind was a documentary I saw about modern Jazz and the affect that Ornette Coleman's album The Shape of Jazz to Come had on the Jazz world. Or indeed, the Amen Break which spawned an entire subculture. It's about the affect something can have on living and growing system, like a phase change.
I expect in the months coming up to launch, you will see a lot of FUD and delaying tactics by people with vested interests to protect. So you better see what all the fuss is about, and then read Tim's Post if you want to have an idea of what comes next.
You can read Tim's post right here. Get to it! |
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| A simple explanation for US QE |
[Mar. 19th, 2009|01:01 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | wow | ] |
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This is fucking fantastic, in a post entitled, I suppose I could hot wire this thing... Accrued Interest not only nailed the call about yesterdays start of QE in the USA, but also provides the most cogent analysis as to why I've seen anywhere:
"I expect the Federal Reserve to announce a program to buy long-term U.S. Treasuries. If not at today's meeting, then soon. Interestingly, most commentators I read don't expect the Fed to move in this direction, but to me it seems too easy not to do it.
The Fed's big fear is deflation. We know the Fed has had the printing presses in high gear for several months now, yet still consumer prices barely move. Today we got CPI, a meager 0.2% over the last year. The cash the Fed is producing isn't turning into consumption. As I've said many times, if consumers don't spend more money, at least nominally, there can't be inflation.
Inflation nuts like to complain about the rapid growth of monetary aggregates. M2 for example has risen 9.8% in the last year, or $736 billion dollars. But note that this has almost all translated into excess reserves at banks, which have gone from about $1 billion a year ago, to $622 billion today. In practical terms, money available for consumption is falling."
The rest of it is great too, go read. Inflation nuts will of course argue against this using some other bullshit, and where that fails they'll switch to batshit insanity, but for my money it's right on the mark. Kudos to you Sir/Madam. (HT Alphaville for the link) |
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| When 1% is a big deal... |
[Mar. 18th, 2009|08:39 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | life, wow | ] |
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Imagine this:
10y bond 2.45% -0.53 (-17.79%)
Looks like the Fed has opted for QE too.
I also found this quite amusing, HT survivingthecrash
Step forward, ICBM Bernanke your 15 minutes begins now. |
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| Burying the hatchet |
[Mar. 15th, 2009|12:02 am] |
In this case right between the shoulder blades...
In any meeting between the world's of financial news, and comedy, you would expect one to do pratfalls, and one to exude a certain gravitas, as befits the respective audiences. As you watch the following three segments of an interview, (one, two, three) remember that the comedian is on the right.
I was particularly impressed with the following statement from Jim Cramer, "I'm a guy trying to do an entertainment show about business" Though unlike every episode of the daily show, Cramer's "Mad Money" does not contain a disclaimer that his sources are not fact checked and his opinions are not fully thought through.
This thing is getting so much air play that if you type "Daily show" into google at present the Cramer interview is mentioned on the first page, even the FT are getting in on the act with a full report on the proceedings:
The clash between the two TV hosts overtook Apple’s new iPod and Barack Obama as one of the most talked-about subjects on Twitter on Thursday night, as debate about the media’s role in the crisis spilled over from Wall Street to the web.
“I had a dinner last night with some significant people in the business world. They all wanted to get home for 11 pm [when the Daily Show airs],” said Harris Diamond, chief executive of the constituency management group at Interpublic.
The expectation hanging over the interview was built up, in part, by CNBC’s sister channels, NBC and MSNBC, which invited Mr Cramer on during the week to dismiss Mr Stewart as “a comedian” and pound dough with Martha Stewart at the mention of his name.
The clash, coming after CNBC has enjoyed some of the highest ratings in its history, began when Rick Santelli, a CNBC presenter who gained prominence with a diatribe against the Obama administration’s mortgage plans, pulled out of a planned appearance on the Daily Show.
On Thursday night “it changed from comedy to news”, Mr Diamond said.
Finance was not a joke, Mr Stewart said."
Actually what he said was "It's not a fucking game." Amusingly enough the FT page above contains a CNBC statement, It's corporate bullshit, but the important takeaway here IMO is that CNBC felt it had to release a statement after one of it's commentators was publicly mauled on TV by a comedian. I suspect that Cramer offered himself up after it became clear that Stewart was not going to back down, because as the serious news organisation that CNBC claims to be, it cannot allow itself to be ridiculed indefinitely without responding, lest it suffer reputational damage:
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada.
[...]
The web site cnbc.com extends the CNBC mission to be first and accurate with the news, including presenting actionable information. It is the preeminent financial news source on the web
I've been saying publicly for ages that if you're watching CNBC you need to understand what you're being told. My hope here is that Stewart doesn't give up, and even if he does, that he has done enough reputational damage amongst the right demographic to seriously wound, or at least taint by association CNBC US and it's cheerleaders.
The strange thing is that it took a "comedian" (albeit one with a lethal research team) to cut to the chase, because CNBC definitely had it coming. |
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| This sceptered isle |
[Aug. 11th, 2008|05:36 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | wow | ] |
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I don't channel surf much as a rule, but by chance I caught this, on Sunday, and frankly, it's fucking amazing. Easily worth the price of the license on it's own. You've got to love the BBC, nobody makes TV like they do. |
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| Lego Hackers! |
[May. 19th, 2008|06:19 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | wow | ] |
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| | work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | amazed | ] |
I use the term reverentially, because this guy is getting 1600RPM's out of a V8 engine, Powered by compressed air. It really works, and is built to drive a car via a real transmission. The pictures are amazing. Truly an alpha geek. I salute you sir!
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