On the wealth, and poverty, of nations
“There’s a great deal of ruin in a nation.” Adam Smith, in correspondence discussing the Battle of Saratoga, which marked a turning point…
Speaking truth to power
“Ron Steigler: Mr. Gardner, uh, my editors and I have been wondering if you would consider writing a book for us, something about…
An odd, non-linear game
“Sir, John Authers, in Loser’s Game (The Big Read, December 22), could have delved deeply into the flaws in the asset management business as…
May Day
“Japan was the dress rehearsal; the rest of the world will be the main event.” Investor in Japanese stocks, known to this correspondent, circa…
I.T. bites
“Mark Zuckerberg is now living out every young person’s worst nightmare: trying to explain how tech stuff works to the nation’s elderly.” Tweet by…
On rational optimism
“We got stick for questions like, ‘Who came second in the last war?’” he recalled. “But the contestants weren’t always the brightest tickets —…
Prudential regulation ?
“Investment firms providing the service of portfolio management shall inform the client where the overall value of the portfolio, as evaluated at the beginning…
Margin of error
“Son, we live in a world where markets have been distorted by vast amounts of QE, and that QE has to be fought by…
A monster in plain sight
“Interesting. Sex works even better than chocolate to modify behaviour. I wonder if anyone else has stumbled onto that.” Sheldon Cooper (Jim…
Artificial intelligence
“Sir, I think that I have at long last identified why the National Health Service is experiencing high levels of patient pressure, especially…