Momentous Minsky. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, this newsletter praised an economist who never lived to see the ultimate vindication of his life’s work. His name was Hyman Minsky and as those of you who track the financial markets even casually know, we’re not alone in our fascination with his theories.
Dimon Vision. After spending almost four decades in the financial industry, I have many fond memories (along with some of the not-so-fond variety). Among my best are the times when I was privileged to work with Jamie Dimon in the 1990s. These were my—and Jamie’s—Smith Barney years and they were exhilarating.
The Great Inflation Debate, Take Two. In our February 17th Chartbook EVA, we entered into the always hotly contentious realm of attempting to determine the true level of inflation and, closely related to that, its trend. It goes without saying—but I will anyway—that there are few areas where the words “Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who say they have found it” are more applicable.
The Opinion Exchange. One of our primary goals with this newsletter is to provide our readers with a wide range of viewpoints. As noted previously, the risk with this is that we don’t convey a clear idea of our actual views. Yet, we’ve always felt that’s a chance worth taking, particularly since we try to subsequently clear up any ambiguities.
It is odd how a single event can cause some notable leopards to change their spots. In this case, the election of Donald Trump has caused reverberations throughout the financial world, and some apparent self-reflection by several of the world’s leading thinkers.