Back Online

After nearly six months of inactivity on this blog and three months without internet access at home, I am happy to announce (to nobody at this point, I would expect) that Brigham's Almanack will finally be back up and running this week.

Sophomore slump? Or comeback of the year?

Is Obama Toeing the Bush Line on Terrorism?

Clive Crook of the Financial Times points out many of the ways in which Barack Obama's national security policy has disappointed and infuriated those both to his left and to his right. Recognizing the seemingly obvious--that there must be a tradeoff between security and liberty and that one cannot completely trump the other--we must accept both that the Bush administration was not completely evil and that civil liberties must be protected. The answer is, like the golden mean, somewhere in between.

Wordle: The Effect of Stress and Relaxation on Financial Decision Making

My senior thesis in graphic form:



(Thanks to Wordle.com)

SOBEaR

If the recession is driving you to drink, you may need one of these...

SOBEaR v02 :: the responsible robot bartender from j saavedra on Vimeo.

Negative Interest Rates?

London School of Economics professor and former central banker William Buiter expands upon Greg Mankiw's "proposal" that central banks should no longer consider zero the floor for nominal interest rates. It's an intriguing suggestion, though as Mankiw notes, much easier for professors to theorize about than for central bankers to implement.

The Perils of Optimism?

Joe Nocera had a great column in yesterday's New York Times examining the conflicting economic forecasts coming out of Wall Street and Washington.

Future Financial Centers

Thankfully, the nightmare that was senior thesis has finally come to an end. Strangely enough, it was a rather enjoyable experience, benefiting from the fact that my question not only was but still is genuinely interesting. Look forward to hearing the results in an upcoming post; I'm too sick of everything thesis-related to talk more about it now.

In the meantime, here's an article from Bloomberg that a friend sent to me regarding London's future as a financial center. Maybe I won't be staying in the City as long as I'm planning to after all...