When Statues Come to Dinner Parties: Don Giovanni’s Reflections on Japan and China
In the final act of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, the statue of Commendatore – whom Don Giovanni had killed – appears at the dinner. After all, Don Giovanni in his hubristic attitude and spirit had ordered his servant (Leporello) to invite the statue of...Jean Bodin, Valuations, and the Invisible Foundations of the Market
As the old saying goes, good days tend to reward cheap assets, especially when things start on a wave of mysticism and end up as politics. Furthermore, when we look at the fundamentals of equities in the US, a signal of overvaluation jumps out that may be calling for...The Debt, the Fed, and that Sycophant Iago
Self-deception and evil are the two main characteristics of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello. Like Otello (in Verdi’s opera) who defended Cyprus against the Ottomans (a pre-incarnation to Lawrence of Arabia) Othello nowadays – allegorically speaking –...Market Paradoxes, Risks, and the Ming Dynasty: Technophilic Trends Meet Unpredictability and the Fear of Shocks
Last Friday, the S&P 500 reached an all-time high. However, the equal-weighted index of the S&P 500 is still below the old record (as shown in the graph to the right below). Moreover, the Russell 2000 is still in a bear market (more than 20% below its all-time...Looking Forward to 2024: Optimistically Cautious While Assessing Possible Choking Points of Disruption
The actual data for 2023 turned out to be better than the projections. If those trends continue in 2024, then optimism should underline the New Year. Despite fighting a pandemic since 2020, significant supply chain turmoil, inflationary pressures, high interest rates,...Sign Up for Our Publications
