Capitalogix

Here Are Some Interesting Links to Read This Weekend

An Undeniable Truth:  If You Do It -- It Will Be Done!

 

via Laura McCann-Ramsey
 

Not the only way ... but it works.

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• For the 3rd Time, Facebook is Poised to Build a Phone. (Newser)
• Major Movements in Philosophy as Minimalist Geometric Graphics. (Brainpickings)
• Bloomberg Plans a Ban on Large Sugared Drinks. (NYTimes)
• Wide Screen. All baby boomers should get tested for hepatitis C, CDC says (TheDaily)
• Chart Detailing How Many iTunes Downloads, Spotify Streams, and So Forth It Takes For a Musician To Make Minimum Wage. (VillageVoice)

 

Trading Links:

• Too Many Seed Investment Choices. A good sign for economy ... (Feld)
• Amazon.com Has Altered the VC Business as We Know It. (Geekwire)
• Why Investors Should Take a Long, Hard Look at Southeast Asia. (SGEntrepreneurs)
• A Rich Backlash. An influx of the super-wealthy begins to annoy Singaporeans. (Daily)
• Eurozone Equities Panic Sale Warning. Private investors have been warned not to panic-sell their shareholdings in the deepening crisis in Europe. (FT)

Alone Together - Instant Gratification & Shortening Attention Spans

Instant Gratification & Shortening Attention Spans.

I was showing my son a web video -- and in less than a minute he was texting someone. 

Let me make that more clear ... it was Less-Than-A-Minute! ... while he was standing with me ... and he did it without hesitation, apology, or sense that shifting his attention to the phone was in any way a bad thing.

I know "get over it".  He was probably texting before we spoke, anyway; right?

You're probably seeing similar behavior more often too.
  

 

It is scary to realize how easy it is to focus on a phone, iPad or e-mail rather than a person.

Upon reflection, we spend a lot of time alone together.

There is a difference between physical presence and being present.

 

 

Focus can be pretty fragile if it isn't a conscious choice.

To demonstrate this, here is a seemingly easy challenge ... simply listen to a favorite song.

The challenge is how you can truly do that without losing focus and having other thoughts intrude (for example, without thinking about your to-do list or other songs that you like, or who you're going to meet with later in the day, etc.)?  For me, the answer was not that long.

Sometimes it feels like modern life causes attention deficit disorder.

Attention Deficit Can Be Dangerous If You Aren't Aware of It.

Yet, losing focus while trading, in business, or even during a simple conversation - can have serious consequences.

When you are not aware of your focus, I bet it wanders.  Mine does; I get distracted easily. 

It didn't take long for me to realize that this happened to me while talking to my wife, while listening to a telephone call, even when ordering food at a restaurant. How can I lose focus on the waitress while I was ordering? Apparently, quite easily.

How about you?  When you're listening to someone talk to you, are you really listening to them - or are you checking e-mail, texting, browsing a website, watching TV, playing a game, or thinking about what you're going to say? 

Be honest with yourself; how often are you fully present?  For me, the answer was not nearly enough.

 

Related articles

• Harvard Business: The Discipline of Listening (blogs.hbr.org)
• The Need for Speed - How Impatient Are We Becoming? (capitalogix.typepad.com)
• The Twitter Generation: Teaching Deferred Gratification to College Students (hollymccracken.wordpress.com)
• What Captures Your Attention Controls Your Life (blogs.hbr.org)

Debt Levels Relative to GDP of PIIGS and Some Other Major Countries

Debt to GDP of PIIGS plus Major Countries

For some perspective on the European sovereign debt crisis, this chart illustrates the forecasted 2012 debt to GDP ratio for each of the PIIGS (red bars) plus a handful of today's major economies (blue bars).

 

 
While the PIIGS are currently enduring relatively high debt loads, it is noteworthy how some of the relatively safe nations/bond markets (e.g. United State and Germany) are not far behind.

These relatively high debt loads are of concern as they could lead to higher taxes sometime in the future and can risk fiscal crises if bond holders sense an increasing risk of default.

The current crisis in Europe provides a clear example of the bond market's reaction (i.e. higher bond yields) to increased default fears.

This leads to a very interesting case study that is Japan. With a debt to GDP ratio of over 200%, the Japanese 10-year bond yield is a relatively low 0.83%. Why? At the moment, the bond market feels that the Japanese have the ability to repay their debts -- in part due to Japan's perceived ability to raise taxes. To that end, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiko Noda just won opposition support for the doubling of the nation's sales tax to 10% by 2015.

So it's not just the amount of debt but also convincing your banker that you are good for it.

Related articles

• Forget the PIIGS, the EU as a Whole is Insolvent (zerohedge.com)
• In the Parallel Universe, Credit Risk Is Interest Rate Risk (minyanville.com)

Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

Great graphic shows whether you should check your e-mail.

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• Top 50 Entrepreneurial Blogs. Pretty good list - (Business2community)
• The Top 10 Regrets In Life By Those About To Die (Infographic). (Addicted2success)
• A Cut Above. Chart Showing Who Has the Most Plastic Surgery? (Economist)
• Keep Out. NASA Asks Future Moon Visitors to Respect Its Stuff. (Wired)
• New Airline Fees: Carry-Ons, Pillows, Water, Once Included, Now New Revenue. (ABCNews)

 

Trading Links:

• An Audacious Promise: The Moral Case for Capitalism. (Manhattan-Institute)
• Indonesia Chases China as Middle-Class Consumption Soars. (Bloomberg)
• How to Place More Effective Stops. (BCLund)
• It's Official: Google Is Now a Hardware Company. (BW)
• This Is the First Time In History that All Central Banks Have Printed Money at the Same Time … And They’re Failing Miserably. (ZeroHedge)

Here Are Some Interesting Links to Read This Weekend

Ah, the joys of over-thinking.

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• The To-Don’t List: Things You Will NOT Do. (TheNextWeb)
• A Carefully Selected List of Recommended Tools on Data Visualization. (DV)
• Misfortune Teller: Stats Prof Says He Can Predict Crime Before It Occurs. (TheAtlantic)
• The History of the Paper Clip. Invented in 1899 & hasn’t been improved since. (Slate)
• Why We Lie. (Wall Street Journal)

 

Trading Links:

• CEO Pay. Average Corporate CEO Paid $9.6M last year (TheDaily)
• Pandora Internet Radio: More Listeners, More Money. (BGR)
• The Tyranny of Numeracy. Interesting blog post. (PsyFiTec)
• Asia’s Message to Europe. Bite the Bullet and Implement Reforms (CNBC)
• Rush for havens as euro fears rise. German two-year bond yields fell to zero, meaning investors were willing to lend to Berlin for no return. (FT)

Emerging Economies Are Growing Cities at Impressive Rates

Emerging-Market Cities.

According to the Economist, currently, 52% of the world’s population currently live in urban areas.  By 2025, this should increase to 58%. Nearly all this growth will take place in emerging-market economies, particularly Asia, as migrants from the countryside move in search of jobs.

Today, these emerging-market city-dwellers account for more than 60% of the world’s GDP growth.

In the past 15 years Delhi’s population has grown by 10m; it will add another 6m (a Miami's worth) in the next 15. 

Over the next two decades urban areas in emerging economies will account for about two-thirds of worldwide infrastructure spending. Most will go on building homes. China and India together will add 16 trillion square meters of housing over this period, to accommodate half a billion extra people.

 

On a related note, here is an interesting video about India's growth.

Amazing Facts about India.

 So is India on her way to becoming a Super Power or has she already arrived? What is your take?

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• The Future of Facebook Is in India (businessweek.com)
• India- A Re-emerging Economy (buzzeratbiz.com)
• The Emerging Markets Slowdown Trifecta (247wallst.com)
• India could be cut to junk, S&P warns (cbc.ca)

Links for Your Weekend Reading

As we get older, life makes more sense.

 

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• The Simplicity Thesis. Delivering Low Complexity & Maximum Value. (FastCompany)
• Why People Remember Negative Events More Than Positive Ones. (NYTimes)
• Google Explains How It Searches the Internet In Under Half a Second. (Engadget)
• How Little Can We Do and Still Benefit? The 20-Minute Workout Video. (Well)
• The "Sitting Is Killing You" Infographic Shows Just How Bad Prolonged Sitting Is. (Lifehacker)

 

Trading Links:

• Does the Facebook IPO Flop Signal Bad News for Global Economy? (Time)
• David Einhorn: The Fed's Jelly Donut Policy. (HuffingtonPost)
• Nikkei Just Had Its Longest Weekly Losing Run in 20 Years. (CNBC)
• Anatole Kaletsky on A New Capitalism. (FiveBooks)
• The Six Billion Dollar Bet. PBS video about the disastrous gamble that brought down MF Global (PBS)

Tough Week for World Markets Ends A Worse Month

Tough Week for World Markets.

 

Taking a global view, many markets around the world went down last week.  Notably, Spain's IBEX was down 5%, Germany's DAX was down 4%, and the NASDAQ was down over 3%.

 

 

The Month Was Worse!

 

Taking a macro view, last month was tough all over the globe.  Notably, Russia's RTSI was down 21%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 12.55%, and the NASDAQ tumbled over 9%.

 

Are we due for a bounce?

Related articles

• The European Elephant in the Room (minyanville.com)
• World stock markets plunge as global crisis deepens (guardian.co.uk)
• The close: World equity markets stagger (theglobeandmail.com)

Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

Interesting Thought: The new illiterate will be those who cannot learn, unlearn, and re-learn ....

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Cultivating Genius. (Wired)
• Thinking vs. Knowing: When Facts Get in the Way. (PS)
• How Old Are You, Really? New Test Determines Biological Age. (TheDaily)
• Can London Afford the $14.5B Summer Olympic Games’ Price Tag? (VanityFair)
• Data Harvesting at Google Not a Mistake or a Rogue Act, F.C.C. Report Reveals. (NYTimes)

 

Trading Links:

• Is High Frequency Trading Progress of Piracy? What do you think? (IMG)
• Whose Recovery? The Recession is Over … for the Wealthy. (Economonitor)
• At CME, an Uproar Over Trading Hours. Effects of Round-the-Clock Trading. (WSJ)
• The Kauffman Report on Venture Capital. Interesting. (FD)
• Nothing Ventured. U.S. entrepreneurship drops as many abandon self-employment for salaried jobs (TheDaily)

Some Interesting Links for Your Weekend Reading

Let the Buyer Beware ...  What you see at first is not always what you'll see if you look more closely.

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Nokia Claims Apple Rigged Siri to Name iPhone Best Phone. (News)
• Everyone Has Been Hacked. Now What? via Threat Level column in Wired (Wired)
• Why Anonymous ‘Might Well Be the Most Powerful Organization on Earth’. (NP)
• Video of the Dalai Lama. "I shout and say harsh words." (Telegraph)
• The Frequent Fliers Who Flew Too Much. The cost & consequences of unlimited first class air travel (Latimes)

 

Trading Links:

• The Commencement Address That Won't Be Given. (RobertReich)
• Economic Alert: If You’re Not Worried Yet…You Should Be. (Alt-Market)
• Japan Shrinking. It now has routinely more deaths than births per year. (WQuarterly)
• Hedge Fund Stars Have a Sixth Sense --They See Dead Countries. (Forbes)
• The Once and Future Dollar. The benefits and drawbacks to the dollar as reserve currency. (The-American-Interest)