In 1954, Harry Markowitz was a graduate student in economics at the University of Chicago and had just finished defending his thesis. Most of the committee accepted his work. But Milton Friedman, an economist with a national reputation, and easily the most influential member of the economics [...]
Inflation fears—and solutions
In the investment world, inflation is the topic of the day. There are at least four reasons for this: Congress - Since March of last year, the federal government has dropped more than a trillion dollars of cash into the economy via stimulus checks and the Paycheck Protection Program. While many [...]
What’s (really) driving the market
Last week the Capitol was invaded by an angry mob. And this week, the president was impeached. Meanwhile, if you had been looking only at the stock market, you wouldn’t have had any idea. Not only is the market higher today than it was the day before this all started, but the VIX—the market’s “fear [...]
Lottery Tickets
Tesla founder Elon Musk is, to me, the ultimate investment Rorschach test. To his supporters, Musk is a genius without equal. As one Wall Street analyst put it, “If Thomas Edison and Henry Ford made a baby, that baby would be called Elon Musk.” But to his detractors, Musk is an erratic individual, [...]
Bitcoin mania
If you happened to turn on the financial news this week, you undoubtedly heard about bitcoin, which has been on a wild ride: On Monday, it was trading at $11,000, having gained 1,000% since January. On Wednesday, it rose to $15,000. On Thursday it topped $19,000. Then, this morning it reversed, [...]
