Roberto Plaja

An interesting paper on the origins of the recent economic trauma.

I’m not a fan, but Krugman here hits the nail on the head.

When policies kill an asset class – and more – in the process

If holding safe assets – whether money-market balances or high-grade bonds – is starting to feel like brain surgery without anesthesia, well that’s because it is. Blame it on the Fed and global central banks. In the US, cash rates are 0% and for some time now the entire Treasury inflation-linked curve is yielding below that as well. To be clear: all US TIPS are priced to make you lose money, after inflation.

In this paper, different ‘asset class,’ different players (maybe), same results, with an added twist: fee alignment is purely theoretical.

Private equity has been bashed recently in a number of articles. Who makes the real money: the investor or the managers? Read the answer in this paper. (Spoiler: no surprises.)

‘Trump thought I was a secretary’: Fiona Hill on the president, Putin and populism

How Mitch McConnell Became Trump’s Enabler-in-Chief

A marriage made in hell; Trump and McConnell in this article from The New Yorker, April 12, 2020.

I am neither a historian nor a political analyst, thus this brief comment is not about history or politics. It’s about investing and the meaning of ‘entrusting’ your money to anyone. For the record, I also have nothing against Argentina, Russia or anyone else in this world; I pick issues that I find useful in guiding my investment decisions.

Is inflation dead?

Reading through various sources – academic or otherwise – you would be forgiven if you thought so. After all there is even a new monetary theory that appears to be heavily relying on that fact for it to make sense.

We live in a world of misinformation. Every time I try to forget that, I am faced with some new tweet or declaration by Trump whose only leadership quality appears to be the domination of this art form.