Romanian policymakers: watch, read and learn

My somewhat negative view on the global economy and of course Romanian one is mirrored in the view of some very famous economists.  I attach here two of those views.

Ben’s secret “weapons” revealed

Talking about Ben’s speech at Jackson Hole I drew your attention to the lack of details regarding the policy tools left at his disposal to further help the US economy. As expected those tools were somewhat detailed in the minutes for the FOMC meeting of August 9th.

Ben has “secret” tools to help the economy

The market reaction after Ben’s speech would have you believe that he must have announced something important. A read of the document will contradict that conclusion. The main point of the speech is that markets should know that the FED is not out of tools to help the economy further. In fact the whole argument boils down to this paragraph:

Not directly related to economics

As we wait for the Bernanke speech today here is a link to a great view on staying focused on what’s important to you and never apologize/explain yourself to others for your passions. It is a good read especially for Friday.

And please do remember that “the three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates and a monthly salary”. (Nassim Taleb – The Bed of Procustes).

Steve Jobs resigns

Here are some links about the news:

PragCap, FT, Abnormal Returns

 

My story with Apple started in 1991 when I moved from recently liberated Romania to school at Grinnell College. I left MSDOS for Macintosh. I learned how to type on Macs, I learned how to research or how to surf the net. I use their products today and most of the time I am very happy with them. Although it will be hard without Steve Job approving every product I believe that Apple has more good things for the future.

Real credit growth still negative

Although I disagree with his comments most of the time, when it comes to how media can manipulate the “masses” I have to agree with president Basescu.

Oligopoly, the game for banks in Romania?

I have said this before so it is not new:  there is no or very little competition amongst the banks in Romania. There are 42 banks but it does not feel like it.