IT advisory ideas & more...
John Geanakoplos, professor of economics at Yale, believes the government's plan to stem the wave of foreclosures by reducing interest payments, does not address the foreclosure problem. Instead, he proposes that banks and bondholders write down principal far enough to give homeowners some (or more) equity in their homes, which will encourage them to start paying their mortgages again and avoid future defaults.
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Interestingly, executive education rankings by various publications produce results which seem all over the map. In fact, the results within each one of these publications may very wildly from year to year. My general news Bible happens to be the Financial Times (FT). FYI, in 2011 Harvard was #4, IMD #5, Columbia #17, Stanford #32, UCLA #36, and my alma mater MIT Sloan, #54! This seems...
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The U.S. economy. was supposed to improve by late Spring, it has not yet moved fast enough to improve employment. Housing $s continue to fall faster than in our Great Depression; where demand is concerned, there’s little, with Europe debt + Japan’s tragedy + China’s tightening, all reducing demand. The Fed stimulus has run its course and starved states continue to cut. Democrats...
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For kicks, allow me to begin by suggesting that you link to the following video, which addresses the intelligence of students at our 25th best university in the U.S., UCLA (the students are being questioned on campus about the Middle East): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_2SbkRybBk My first post which addressed the recent Amy Chua book controversy, claimed that what we learn from the book is...
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The twitter feed shows hundreds (or thousands, I didn’t count) of anti-Chua posts. Amy Chua simply follows the Chinese model of parental discipline but is evidently at the extreme end of the spectrum.The issue is not Chua, but the China culture and system itself; China is the country that challenges our nation’s future more than any other, and the differences in education...
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I recently viewed a fascinating Chinese documentary, “Please Vote for Me” (available on Netflix, click here to watch instantly). This documentary’s true story aroused my thinking about democracy, competitiveness, values and culture in modern China. Filmed in a real school and in the homes of several students, it takes place when several kids in a class of third graders (10...
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Controversy: China and U.S. Education Values China is the country that likely challenges our nation’s future more than any other, with education goals that are likely considered critical! Meanwhile, our U.S. may have failed to recognize the importance of improving our own educational status with regard to ‘The Future of America’! Within the education sphere are two...
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10/12/2010 [The "Investigative Project on Terrorism" is an organization dedicated to probe the past,present and possibly future effect upon the "West", of terrorism. It assumes that Islam is where most Western world terrorism is bred. FYI, the analysis below sounds factual, describing apparent extremists. Readers must judge for themselves. It's pretty much accepted by the West and of course...
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I received this from a friend, and especially believe Roosevelt’s last sentence about relearning and speaking English….. Theodore Roosevelt’s Ideas on Immigrants and Being an American in 1907: In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality...
read moreH.D.S. Greenway, in a Haaretz (Israel newspaper) article, claims without doubt that “sooner or later Iran will acquire the capability to build nuclear weapons”. But less than two weeks ago Defense Secretary Bates said the U.S. has no policy, even long range, for dealing with this, while Obama et al. say that Iran will not be allowed to succeed even after we’ve spent years of...
read moreThe founder of USA TODAY felt strongly enough about Obama’s intent to constrain our Space Program to point out that we’re now #2 to Russia, soon to be #3 to China, with others beginning to play as well. The catalyst for his cutting back severely was clearly budget issues, which I’m more than concerned about (as he must be while our expense magnitudes skyrocket). Note: Our war...
read moreAgain, I’m far from an economist, having taken just one economics course in my entire life. That does not mean that I cannot make judgments on others’ arguments. Especially when I’m dealing with a Nobel Prize winner in economics, Paul Krugman. My two prior posts, Inflation? and Is Japan Economy Precedent for U.S.? address inflation possibilities. We now have plenty of information to analyze...
read morePresident Obama is obtaining Kudo’s for his nuclear initiative with Russia. My instinct was to applaud, but sometimes it pays to keep thinking. Sure enough, some NYTimes letters-to-the-editors make one stop and think, especially when presumed Democrats (the majority of Time’s readers) turn skeptical. In the 4/8/10 Times, one letter (from A. Weitzner) pointed out that “to think that rogue...
read moreIs Japan’s Economy a Precedent for the Dangers Facing America? I am far from being a student of economics. But on my birthday 3/13, the Economist magazine outlined Japan’s economic plight without ever suggesting that other countries may follow it into the ditch. Japan has by now experienced fiscal deficits and debt downgrades for a long while. Its stock market is about 75% below its peak in...
read moreAuthor and Harvard’s Tisch Professor of History, Niall Ferguson, writes what I view as a brilliant analysis in the March/April 2010 “Foreign Affairs” magazine, which prides itself on publishing diverse views. Right or wrong, Ferguson’s thesis is that our current economic challenges are not long-term, rather more likely around the corner. Pointing out that large political...
read moreIn the investing arena, I’m hooked on “The High Tech Strategist”, a monthly newsletter by Fred Hickey (The High Tech Strategist PO Box 3133 Nashua NH 03061-3133), which presents his personal insights on our economy. Note: Hickey is one of the few experts who participate annually (spread across three issues) in Barron’s Roundtable. He’s also a big fan of Gold. Allow...
read moreIn 1991 the American Management Association (AMA) published a paper which I wrote, called “The Crisis in Education”. Of course, most of us are aware of this crisis today, but in my opinion, little if any progress has been made because the few improvements we have seen have been offset by deterioration elsewhere. Here is what I said then, more or less: Drastic overhaul of the US...
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35th Anniversary of Gartner Inc.'s Founding: Gartner Inc. (originally called Gartner Group) was born on April 1, 1979, together with a ... [read more]
Oh My Darling Clementine: My three year-old grand-daughter Clementine is very smart. While she's never taken any piano lessons ... [read more]
Social Networking May Be Bad for Your Health: What might have once been called 'intellectual networking' seems to have been displaced by today's ... [read more]
Genius Economist Suggests Solution to Housing Problem: John Geanakoplos is James Tobin professor of economics at Yale University and one of the founders of Ellington Capital Management, ... [read more]
Which Executive Education School Is Tops?: Interestingly, executive education rankings by various publications produce results which seem all over the map. In fact, the ... [read more]