Monthly Archives: July 2007

The Denver Bancrofts Play the Ultimatum Game

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

There’s a famous experiment in experimental economics called the Ultimatum
Game:
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Posted in economics, Media, stocks | Comments Off

Annals of Excess, Bar Tab Edition

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

How did the London revellers stay alive?
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Posted in consumption | Comments Off

In Defense of Securitization

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

Tim Reason says
that Jonathan Weil is right
and I’m wrong
when it comes to securitization:
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Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off

When Counterfeits Increase Brand Value

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

Lauren Goldstein Crowe reminisces
today about the early days of Kate Spade:
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Posted in intellectual property | Comments Off

On the Importance of Grad Students

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

Is it possible for experimental economists to do first-rate work without grad students?
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Animal Metaphors Gone Wild

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

What happens when a roaring bull runs into a constipated owl?
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Why Sports Gambling Should Be Legalized

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

It’s always good to see Justin Wolfers get national exposure,
and he has a
great piece on the op-ed page of the NYT today, about the NBA betting scandal.
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Posted in economics | Comments Off

To Get Good Research, Phone the Analyst, Don’t Read his Reports

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

Yet
another reason to treat published sell-side analysis with a monster pinch
of salt.
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The LBO Bubble Bursts: Not Necessarily a Bad Thing

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

Steve Schwarzman might
not be a happy bunny today, but I don’t think Warren Buffett
is losing any sleep.
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Posted in bonds and loans, stocks | 1 Comment

MLM Schemes: A Very Bad Idea

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Felix

Many MLM schemes can be extremely profitable, for their owners.
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Posted in personal finance | 4 Comments

Vernon Smith to Work on Californian Public Policy

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

I can see why Smith and his team would jump
at the chance to leave their ivory tower and actually build something big in
the real world.
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Posted in economics | Comments Off

Eyes on the Dow

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

The Dow is still well above 13,000, and in fact has never traded this high in its history except for a brief period earlier this month.
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The Futility of Talking Growth

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

Matt Cooper wants the Democratic presidential candidates to
"talk
growth".
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Posted in Politics | Comments Off

Adding Up Blackstone’s EOP Divestitures

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

I’m a little confused by Jennifer Forsyth’s WSJ
article today explaining how Blackstone’s Jonathan Gray
has sold a large chunk of Sam Zell’s EOP property portfolio
for $27 billion.
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Posted in private equity | Comments Off

The Clothes of Thomas Barrack

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

A fondness for tasseled loafers.
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Posted in fashion | Comments Off

Overcoming Bias in Crowdsourcing

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

Aaron Naparstek reports
that "WNYC’s Brian Lehrer wants to know how many
SUV’s there are on your block."
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Posted in cities, economics | Comments Off

Why Options Backdating is Wrong

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

Mark Stein has an excellent
overview today of exactly what is wrong with options backdating (and I’m
not just saying that ‘cos he’s my editor at Portfolio).
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Posted in pay | Comments Off

Apple’s iPhone Revenues

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Felix

Apple seems to have transcended the stock market
to become some kind of pop-cultural phenomenon – not as a technology company,
but as a stock.
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Posted in technology | Comments Off

Apple’s Opening Weekend

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Felix

We know that Hollywood films live and die on their opening-weekend sales. But
iPhones?
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Posted in technology | Comments Off

The Reputation of Damien Hirst

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Felix

Bess Levin today finds
a most
peculiar editorial in the International Herald Tribune, on one of my favorite
subjects, the intersection of art and money.
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Posted in art | Comments Off

Banks Stuck With Unwanted Chrysler Debt

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Felix

Suddenly, underwriting billions of dollars
in junk-rated debt looks less like a profit center and much more like a very
bad idea.
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Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off

Dodgy Counterfeit Statistics, Software Edition

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Felix

$500 million: that’s a lot of money. How much software is that?
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Posted in intellectual property, statistics | Comments Off

Mortgage Mess: It’s Not the Fault of Accounting Rules

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Felix

There are many reasons why the mortgage market is looking ugly right now. But accounting rules in general, and FAS 140 in particular, are not among them.
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Posted in housing | Comments Off

When Public Companies are Still Private Fiefs

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Felix

When a private company is dominated by one all-powerful founder, the chances of it making a successful transition to becoming a publicly listed company are slim.
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Posted in stocks | Comments Off

Why Hedge Fund Managers Don’t Blame Themselves For Losses

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Felix

I don’t need to pick on Bear Stearns here: in fact I’m struggling to come
up with a single hedge-fund collapse which didn’t blame some kind of
"unprecedented" event.
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Posted in hedge funds | Comments Off

Monthly Archives: July 2007

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