Category Archives: Economics

American Consumer, RIP

Great article in the New York Post…

Posted in Business, Economics | Leave a comment

The History of Finance

The Economist Magazine has an interesting article on the “the brains of capitalism”. Finance’s development is more contemporary than most people realize, and this newfound braininess has driven a fair portion of the world’s prosperity for the last few decades, … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Economics | Leave a comment

The Age of Prosperity is Over…

Arther Laffer (inventor of the Laffer curve and arguably supply-side economics) et al have a particularly bearish perspective (which I share) on the world’s economic outlook: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122506830024970697.html A must read.

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

The Depression (yes, I said it) and Startups

To everybody trying to understand what’s driving the current economic malaise, I haven’t seen a better description than the below deck that Sequoia put together for its portfolio companies. Oh, and my $0.02 for you startuppers: what they said, x … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Economics, Entrepreneurialism, Internet | Leave a comment

Housing Misery – How much more, and how much longer?

From the Wall Street Journal today: The above table suggests that, in general, real estate values have fallen about 2/3 of the amount that they need to fall. (This assumes that values will fall to historical levels; this assumption is … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

Milken: Making Sense of the Mortgage Meltdown

Hat-tip to Paul Kedrosky for publicizing this great slide deck on making sense of the mortgage meltdown from the Milken Institute in Los Angeles. Press the easel button in the viewer to blow it to full screen, or download the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

Wisdom of the Day #1

An oldie but a goodie: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. – Adam Smith

Posted in Economics, Philosophy | Leave a comment

The Significance of Voluntary Transactions

One of the fundamental underpinnings of modern capitalism is the voluntariness of the transactions that make up the commerce in a capitalistic society. My patronage of a coffee shop, and the subsequent exchange of $4.00 for an eggnog latte, is … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment