Category Archives: Curiousities

Imaging Imperial Washington

From Marshall Auerback. One thing that amused me about this rendition is that Obama is most visible as a statue, a mere bit of decoration, albeit the one meant to set the tone (he also appears as a less consequential figure behind MIchelle): Reader Keenan pointed to the source, which includes quotes for all of […]

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Brilliant Marketing Meets Dark Humor

Maybe because I was always better at the quant-y courses in B-school than touchy-feelie ones (not that B-school has the most demanding academic standards, mind you), I’ve always been a bit leery of marketing, as opposed to selling. Selling I understand, the hocus-pocus with marketing has often seemed a bit dubious to me. Yes, there […]

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Best Antidotes of 2009 (Part 1)

Reader Robert Oak asked for a recap of particularly good Antidotes. Since there are many good year-end retrospectives and forecasts, I figured this was one area less heavily covered that readers might enjoy. This is a completely arbitrary, personal selection. It is deliberately skewed towards the first half of the year, and I favored oddball […]

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Has Obama been a success despite suspicions of crony capitalism?

By Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns. I hope this is a good subject to discuss in light of the recent Obama Administration machinations regarding Fannie and Freddie, Big Pharma, and Healthcare. Before the Christmas break, I wrote a post to tie together my thoughts on why I have found the Obama economic program so unsatisfying […]

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Plus ca change…

Catiline, who died during his unsuccessful coup against the Roman Republic, was depicted even by his detractors as a man of considerable talent, charisma, and energy, as well as one of unrestrained impulses and vices (he was tried for deflowering a vestal virgin, for instance). Reader Andrew thought Sallust’s description of Catiline’s character was a […]

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Belated “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” (Financial Services Edition)

Hoisted from comments, courtesy Cullpepper. This gets As for concept and cleverness, even if the versification falls a bit short. Enjoy! ‘Twas the Night before Christmas And all through the bourse-houses All the traders were clicking, Glued fast to their mouses, Their bids were all tracked By the market with care In the hopes St. […]

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Matt Taibbi: Obama’s Big Sellout

By Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns Matt Taibbi is one of the few commentators in the mainstream media who is not worried about ‘access’ and has, therefore, been free to write much more critically about the economic crisis and reform efforts on Wall Street. His first piece was a polemic against Goldman Sachs, which triggered […]

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“Administration Considering Additional Subsidies and Tax Breaks”

By Augustus Melmotte, who lives and works in Hedgistan. The administration is examining strategies for encouraging the ownership of fluffy kittens. “I think we can all agree,” the president said, “that in troubled times stroking a fluffy kitten can really help a struggling family to stay on course.” The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has calculated […]

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I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning

For the record, I actually do NOT like it when markets fall apart, even when I anticipate it and am correctly positioned for it (2007 and 2008). It’s very upsetting to watch. Every savvy investor I know has been expecting a mild to meaningful correction. So independent of its seriousness, the Dubai World frisson could […]

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