Capitalogix

Some Reading Links to Start Your Week

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

Lighter Links:

• 90% of Companies Think Their Executives Deserve Above-Median Pay. (ThinkProgress)
• Airlines Plan to Reduce Flying Next Year Due to the Sluggish Economy. (Mercurynews)
• Foreclosures Rise Sharply as Banks Move More Aggressively. (MSNBC)
• Who's Afraid of Fast-Speed Traders? Apparently Lots of People. (Fortune)
• SEC Proposes Prohibitions And Restrictions On Proprietary Trading. (Hedgeweek)

Trading Links:

• The World’s Leading Nations for Innovation and Technology. (TheAtlantic)
• 280 Books Entrepreneurs Should Read. (Under30CEO)
• Trust the Evidence, Not Your Instincts. (NYTimes)
• Vitamin E Pills May Boost Risk of Prostate Cancer. (Newser)
• That Elusive Knowledge Algorithm. Some thoughts on defining knowledge. (GeekLaw)

A Must See Peek At the Future of Technology and Productivity

While eating dinner a few nights ago, I heard a 3-year-old scream "iPad, iPad, iPad" until her parents handed one over.  Was it just a child's tantrum ... or does it mark another step in our journey to the post-pc age?

To imagine the future of technology, sometimes it helps to look back.  Here's a clever way to appreciate how much technology has changed the things we love to do.

 

 

And we are now moving beyond even that.  

I just spent a week in Asia, and didn't bring a laptop ...  relying, instead, on just an iPad and an iPhone 4S.

In 2009, Microsoft released a Productivity Future Vision. Watch how future technology will help people make better use of their time, focus their attention, and strengthen relationships while getting things done at work, home, and on the go.

 

 

 

They just released a updated view into their Productivity Future Vision. It is worth watching.

 

 

 

And here is a behind scenes look at how Microsoft Envisioning Labs conceived and made the Future Vision videos.

 

 

 

Amazing!

Related articles

• Why Microsoft's Vision of the Future Will Really Happen (pcworld.com)
• Microsoft's Says Future Technology Works Today (techie-buzz.com)

Here Are Some Interesting Links for Your Weekend Reading

I've been spending time with more vegetarians lately.  I'd be one too if meat grew on trees.

Meanwhile, it is getting to be Halloween ...

 

On a more serious note, here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Apple's Siri Is as Revolutionary as the Mac. (Harvard Business Review)
• Hacked! The Perils Of Cloud Computing & How to Avoid Them. (TheAtlantic)
• Japan Offering 10,000 Free Round-Trip Tickets to Boost Tourism. (Consumerist)
• A Different Type of Stimulus Package: Oxytocin as a His & Her Sex Drug. (TheDaily)
• 72 Years of Marriage Ends in Holding Hands. That's how I'd want to go! (Newser)

Trading Links:

• Has There Been Enough “Blood in the Street” To Get Bullish on Financials? (CNBC)
• Traders Warn of Stock-Market Cracks and Lack of Liquidity. (WSJ)
• Quant Trading: How Mathematicians Rule the Markets. (BBC) 
• Here Are Four Charts that Explain What the Protesters Are Angry About. (BizInsider)
• A “Jack Welch” Portfolio Algorithm. Interesting concept. (ETFProphet)

How Many Tech Companies Can You Think Of That Have Lasted a Hundred Years?

Think how smart Google got so quickly.

Alternatively, think how much a company could learn if it figured-out how to survive (and thrive) for over a hundred years.

Here is a graphic that highlights several Corporate Centenarians.

source

 

Shiny and new has a place; but so does experience and perspective. 

IBM, Xerox, Eastman Kodak, Nintendo, NCR, Western Union, Ericsson, Siemens and AT&T

Related articles

• Kodak In Talks for $900 Million In Rescue Financing (blogs.wsj.com)
• Lessons in Longevity, From I.B.M. (conocimientoestrategico.wordpress.com)
• IBM v Carnegie Corporation: The centenarians square up (economist.com)

Here Are Some Interesting Links for Your Weekend Reading

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

 

 

Lighter Links:

• Siri’s Snark Becomes the Internet’s Next Big Thing. (Techland)
• MBA Applications Down at 21 of the Top 30 Schools. (BusinessWeek) 
• Run of the Century. 100-year-old man now the world’s oldest marathoner (TheDaily)
• Real 'Sybil' Admits Multiple Personalities Were Fake. (NPR)
• Quantum Minds. The fuzziness & weird logic of how particles behave applies to how humans think. (NewScientist)

Trading Links:

• Is Goldman’s Loss a Bad Omen for Wall St. or a Way to Deflect Scrutiny? (NYTimes)
• GOP is Fed Up: Mulling Replacement for Bernanke. (TheDaily)
• New Bankruptcy Ripples May Emerge as Corporate Failures Pick Up. (Reuters)
• Cloud Economics: The Business Case for Cloud Computing. (WallSt&Tech)
• Hackers Takes Down NYSE.com for a Minute - Trading Unaffected. (4029TV)

 

Sign of the Times: Toddler Confused That a Magazine Doesn't Work Like an iPad

Do 1-year-olds think a magazine is a broken iPad?

Here is a 1-year-old who apparantly believes all media are touch-screen-enabled. She does not seem to understand that a magazine was not designed to respond to pinching or prodding.

It is entertaining to watch; here is the video.

 

 

 

My kids can't understand how I did school-work without a computer or the Internet. Their kids may not believe that people used to do their reading on paper.

 

The Sky Is Not Falling - VC Deal Activity Report

An analysis of VC deal activity at the internet angel and seed stages shows there has not been any sign of an investment slowdown.  Not even close actually.  

In fact, September 2011 angel & seed VC activity was up 172% since January 2010 and at the highest levels in the last seven quarters.  You can see the actual trend based on real data here.

Also, last week, CB Insight's  Q3's quarterly VC report came out which also showed that the sky clearly is not falling.  Here are some of the headlines:

• $7.9B invested in 790 deals in Q3 2011 
• NY overtook Massachusetts on deals AND dollars for 1st time. It's just one quarter, so we'll see how Q4 turns out
• Healthcare VC keeps dropping - somebody call 911
• Green Tech shows some life
• Seed VC still growing - VCs continue to like the optionality that seed investments provide.

Of course, there is a lot more so go get the report here. It's free to download and 61 pages chock full of VC data goodness.

Related articles

• What We Are Seeing (avc.com)
• Takin' VC Money: Rap Song Is An Anthem For Startups (mashable.com)
• VC Keeps up Hot Pace, 2011 Could Mark 10-Year Peak, CB Insights Says (xconomy.com)

What To Do If the S&P 500 Index Starts to Out-Perform Asian Markets

There is a slight, but potentially growing, disconnect between the S&P 500 Index and the Asian stock markets (specifically the Hang Seng).

On Friday the Hang Seng lost 1%. Moreover, looking at the recent price performance action … on a 20 day basis, the Hang Seng acting very different than other world markets.

 

Signal Financial Group just updated their seasonal chart series for the Hang Seng Index.  It indicates that we could be at a turning point, with little upside expected based on historical patterns.

 

 

A Little Risk/Reward Exercise in Portfolio Diversification.

If the S&P continues to the upside … the Hang Seng may not follow.  Thus, over the next few weeks, some traders may look at a potential Long S&P and Short Hang Seng play.

Just as an example, here is a quick look at a portfolio study covering 6 weeks, comparing the performance of a portfolio based solely on the S&P 500 Index versus a portfolio that is long the S&P (using 90% of capital) and short the Hang Seng (with 10% of capital).  

 

Portfolio Allocation:

Equity Portfolio:		100% Long S&P 500 Index
Mixed Portfolio:		90% Long S&P 500 Index and 10% Short Hang Seng

 

The chart below provides a basic analysis, identifying the differences between the two portfolios. The chart is divided into three sections: return comparison, risk comparison and portfolio change. The first section shows the percent return figures for the portfolios over a recent six week period. The second section focuses on risk, which is defined as standard deviation of return, over the same six week time period. The final section shows the net percentage change to the portfolio's performance based on the small 10% allocation to Hang Seng.

 

The diversification helps the risk/reward ratio in the study.  That looks like something to watch for in the coming weeks.  Hope it helps.

 

Related articles

• Watch the Hang Seng (ritholtz.com)
• Hang Seng Soars On Chinese Bank Investments (businessinsider.com)
• Asia update: It's getting grimmer (ftalphaville.ft.com)

Some Interesting Links for Your Weekend Reading

Occupying Wall Street or Defending Wall Street? ... Agitation is percolating and spreading.

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

Lighter Links:

• Have You Tested Your Strategy Lately? Ten Timeless Tests. (MckinseyQuarterly)
• Latest Game Theory - Mix Work & Play to Motivate Employees. (WSJ)
• What iOS 5 Brings to the iPad. (Reviews)
• Computer Virus Hits U.S. Drone Fleet. (Wired)
• Would You Drink Google Beer?  (Neatorama)

Trading Links:

• Bernanke Downbeat about U.S. Economy. (FT)
• Marc Andreessen Says There’s No Bubble Because “Stuff Just Works”. (VentureBeat)
• Investors May Regret Not Warming Up to Microsoft. (Fortune)
• Good at Chess? A Hedge Fund May Want to Hire You. (NYTimes Dealbook)
• Key Reversal Day? Did the market hit a major bottom on the very day that it also satisfied the official definition of a bear market? (MW)

How Does Your Income Compare with John Paulson's?

Contrast your annual salary with a hedge fund legend (and someone who most probably earns a bit more than you).  The interactive infographic "You vs. John Paulson" employs a wide array of comparisons, clocks, and sliders to keep you interested in

 

 

It was fun to put the numbers in context. For example, if you make $500K per year, according to the infographic, it takes Paulson less than an hour to make that.  Or, put in a different way, Paulson can spend $300,000 the way I buy a cup of coffee. 

Try it here.

 

Related articles

• John Paulson Has A Message For The Protesters (businessinsider.com)