Alea

Stumbling and Mumbling

Limits of evidence

Twice in the space of a few days the government has over-ruled the recommendations of its expert advisors- on prisoners’ pay and on the classification of cannabis. Which raises the question: what role should empirical evidence have in policy-making? Here’s...

Le blog d'éconoclaste

Pas de retour

De mon côté, je vais rester loin d'ici encore un moment (même si je ne bouge pas...). Je repasserai fin mai début juin pour vous parler du livre de Dan Ariely, traduit en français. Il faudrait aussi que j'évoque le Tim Harford. D'ailleurs, les deux auteurs s'affrontent sur ce site. J'ai lu...

Paul Krugman

A tale of three cities

In case you’re wondering, I didn’t write about public transit for tomorrow. But I did some homework on the thought that I might, and might as well put it here. So here’s Exhibit A for the proposition that even in a nation with low overall population density, where the antelope roam and the skies are ...

FT Alphaville

The Weekender

This week on FT Alphaville, - It was a Black Monday for Yahoo! after Microsoft walked away from its bid... - which prompted calls for a YLF - a Yahoo Lending Facility - and Alan Greenspan said the US was in an "awfully pale" recession- On Tuesday, we witnessed the second coming of the famous ...

Abnormal Returns

Friday links: absent edition

Abnormal Returns is going to be taking a short break from blogging. During an earlier break we wrote this post highlighting some additional linkfests worth your time. In the meantime, feel free to drop us a line with any questions and/or comments. Will be back to our regular posting schedule as soon as possible. ...

The Aleph Blog

Seven-Plus Years of Trading for the Broad Market Portfolio

If you ask me what is more fundamental to me — am I an economist or and an investor? I will tell you that I am an investor. At present for my work I am putting together a pitch book for my company detailing my value investing for potential clients. In the process of doing ...

Portfolio.com: Market Movers

Blogonomics: FT Alphaville

FT Alphaville is hiring, and I took the opportunity to ask its fearless leader, Paul Murphy, a few questions about the FT's flagship blog operation and the way that bloggers are treated at the pink 'un. Here are his answers: How big is the Alphaville team? Currently four, of which three are in London (myself, ...

A Dash of Insight

Developing and Evaluating Trading Systems

Improved technology, more power. We would expect this to be good. In fact, more power can enable us to do exactly the wrong thing. This happens all of the time with the world's most powerful computer, the human mind. A year ago we reviewed analysts who thought the market looked like a replay of the ...

Going Private

Financial Journalism for the Mathematically Challanged

Interfluidity

Stock of Treasury securities at the Fed

The graph below plots the US Federal Reserve's stock of "uncommitted Treasury securities", defined as Treasury securities held outright less securities lent to dealers. The graph starts in December 2007, just...

naked capitalism

Why So Little Interest in Danish "Flexicurity"? (Income Inequality/Labor Inefficienty Edition)

Why is it that some ideas capture the popular imagination and others die on the vine? A lot has to do with timing, getting noticed by opinion leaders, having a pithy turn of phrase. Yet I've seen articles and books that (at least to me) make fundamentally important observations and go nowhere, and others which ...