February 25, 2018 –– Much has been written about the stock market correction in the time since the US market peaked on January 26 and abruptly fell 10 % (as of February 8, followed by a partial bounce-back). Some of what is said is useful, some is not. Three pronouncements concern advice to investors, the role of machines, and the connection to the real economy.
Is it time to sell?
Feb. 13, 2018 — Congratulations to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who retired in January 2018 after 12 years as President of Liberia, for winning the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. It is for this that the award, which pays $5 million, was originally established.
The Prize is a fascinating experiment. Some have criticized the fact that in a majority of years nobody has been found worthy. But I wrote a favorable evaluation in “The Ibrahim Prize for Excellence Among African Leaders,” published in 2014 in the African Policy Journal.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Richard Clarida is one of the candidates for Fed Vice Chair who is most actively under the consideration by the Administration. His obvious qualifications are an outstanding academic reputation (Columbia University and the NBER), experience in government (in the George W. Bush Treasury) and now ten years of experience in the financial markets (at PIMCO). But some might be interested in a talent that is less widely known: Rock music performer.
I first became aware of Rich when he was still a grad student, playing rhythm guitar and singing in a convincing Beatles tribute band that performed in Harvard Square. Over the years he has recorded an oeuvre of songs – some of them at the Beatles’ old Abbey Road studio. He released a CD under the name Time No Changes in 2016. He composes the songs, writes the lyrics and sings the vocals, backed by an assembled group of studio musicians. You can get the individual songs on Spotify, but I have just listened to the CD.