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An increasingly violent edge in Egypt
Over the weekend I provided a purely intuitive assessment of what was going on in Egypt. I also said that the situation is in flux because the various participants all have free-will and get to choose how to respond. So here is an update on my evolving intuitive assessment. Right now in Egypt there is a violent edge developing. To me it feels as if this is primarily driven by a building frustration in all Egyptians that, despite their herculean efforts, they have been unable to accomplish their primary goal: unseating Egyptian...
read morePrivate sectors jobs in January
This morning payroll giant Automatic Data Processing announced its monthly payroll survey results. The numbers are encouraging vis-a-vis the unemployment rate in the United States. In January the private sector added 187,000 jobs. This compares to an expected result of 143,000 by an consensus of economists. However, December’s gigantic jobs add number was revised significantly downward to an increase of “only” 247,000 relative to the earlier reported increase of 297,000. Analysis: This news is very positive...
read moreOutrageous Wall Street executive pay 2010-style
Yesterday evening the Wall Street Journal reported that total compensation and benefits at Wall Street firms totaled a record $135 billion in 2010. Mind you, this is just for the publicly traded firms, there are many other Wall Street firms that are not publicly traded. Let’s put this outrageous figure into perspective shall we? Last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, total gross domestic product (GDP) for the entire United States (see page 3) was $14,870.4 billion. That’s a very fancy way of...
read moreAnother crisis in Jordan?
One of the questions on the minds of those of us concerned about the revolution-evolution in Egypt is what the effect will be on other Middle Eastern nations. After all, Egypt’s crisis began after a popular uprising in Tunisia. So you may have heard the news out of the country of Jordan today that King Abdullah II has fired the entire government of Prime Minister Samir Rifai. It’s likely then that you are also concerned that the Middle East is about to have a colossal meltdown. In turn that will send oil prices sky high...
read moreReliable source of Middle East news
Hello everyone! For years and years my favorite source, and the best source for news about the Middle East is Al Bawaba. While I have recommended this organization for news about this important region before on the blog it seems particularly timely right now given the unfolding revolution (or perhaps just a plain vanilla evolution) in Egypt. I have relied upon Al Bawaba for business news in particular. I further endorse the site for its even-handed, level-headed reporting. Sometimes, in my opinion, Al Jazeera it too populist...
read moreBank of America’s Incentive Compensation Plan is a Model for Other Financial Firms
News trickled out Monday evening about the new pay package for Brian Moynihan, Bank of America’s CEO. I won’t quote all of the details of the plan, but what I consider to be most noteworthy and admirable is the board of directors tying Moynihan’s pay to the Bank’s four-year performance. This is truly extraordinary! Furthermore, none of Bank of America’s executives received a cash bonus and Moynihan’s salary of $950,000 was kept flat for the upcoming year. I sincerely hope that this is a...
read moreHome Prices Still Falling
Several weeks ago I wrote a post about the inevitable continued decline in home prices in a post dated 18 January, 2011. This morning the Wall Street Journal is reporting the results of its latest quarterly survey of regional home prices that confirms what I wrote recently. Specifically, in all 28 metropolitan areas that the survey tracks prices declined as compared with prices one year ago. Not only that, but also the price declines accelerated in 25 of the 28 markets. This is not good. Could it get worse? In order for real...
read moreImplications of Egyptian revolution
Yesterday I described what I felt intuitively was going to happen in Egypt. But even if the scenario does not unfold as I described it there will still be enormous change in Egypt. What are the implications of this change for the rest of the world? Egypt sits at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in North Africa. This strategic position means that what goes on in Egypt affects the rest of the world. Most importantly Egypt controls the Suez Canal through which much commerce, including oil, transits. Because of the size of...
read moreAn Intuitive Assessment of Egypt
The unfolding revolution in Egypt is a perfect situation for using intuition to assess a situation. There are so many facts to assess, yet none of them tell you in advance what is going to actually happen. Tuning into the cosmic radio station (as I refer to it in my book, The Intuitive Investor) here is what I find happening in Egypt: Order is finally present. While there are still outbreaks of protest on the periphery, the overwhelming majority of Egyptians are now sitting on the sidelines wanting the situation resolved. It...
read moreSpeaking the truth in order to lie
You may know that there is an annual political, economic and business confab of elites that takes place each year in Davos, Switzerland. The World Economic Forum is a place for powerful people to coordinate actions on a global scale. And to shape public perception of issues. At this year’s conference, Gary Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs has called on more regulation of the hedge fund industry. Something I am in total agreement with. In response to these comments the president and chief executive of the hedge fund trade...
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