2019

May 28, 2019 In five weeks I head over the pond to teach for the eleventh year a course titled “Money & Responsibility” to 25 students, mainly from the States. The one-week program is an all-encompassing series of lectures designed…

May 20, 2019 On the last day of April, Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated his position after a 30-year reign.  He has been succeeded by his son, the 59-year-old Emperor Naruhito.  In abdicating, Akihito is the first Japanese emperor to…

May 13, 2019 I have a big weekend coming up, my baby girl is getting married!  The last wedding in which I had any involvement was my own back in the summer of 1977. Forty-two years later and let’s just…

May 6, 2019 The global augmented and virtual reality market was valued at roughly $27 billion last year and is expected to reach a staggering $815 billion by 2025. Moreover, the industry is projected to be larger than the TV…

April 29, 2019 This past weekend Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated “Avengers: Endgame” hit theaters around the world breaking box office records for the largest opening weekend in history at $1.2 billion. Over 30 AMC theaters in the US will be…

April 22, 2019 I try to spend at least seven hours a week exercising, usually outdoors on a bicycle. That means I clock somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 miles per year via human power and with zero CO2 emissions. This…

April 2019 The world is full of mysteries and surprises. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in financial markets. An informal survey of banter around our office shows topics have changed very little in the last six months. Conversations…

April 15, 2019 The accordion was invented in the 1820s. Back then only 28 stocks were publicly traded in the United States.  The average daily trading volume was less than two hundred shares and the minimum trade size was $500,…

April 8, 2019 Just 90 days can make a world of difference.  At the turn of the year investors were feeling the hurt having just experienced a prolonged stock market selloff.  Equities had their weakest December since 1931 when the…

April 1, 2019 It is not certain when the traditions of “April Fools” began. Some historians date it back to 1582 when the Pope decreed the Gregorian calendar should replace the Julian calendar. This change meant that New Year’s Day was…