June 2011

Hollywood Comes to the World of Science

Wed, 06/29/2011 - 10:59

 In my latest Bloomberg piece, I discuss the emerging model for scientific research and development, which is starting to look like Hollywood. Want to know how much it's costing the Air Force to detect snipers? How about the innovative way the pharma business is trying to get a solution to the meth lab problem? Read the column and find out.

Playing Poker

Mon, 06/20/2011 - 09:25

The NetJets poker tournament took place this past weekend. There will probably be some media coverage of it, and Buffett has interesting choices to make in what he says that might indicate how he's going to deal with David Sokol and NetJets going forward.

Career Advice

Tue, 06/14/2011 - 11:41

An amusing aside, and possibly some useful advice to some of you.

I had lunch yesterday with a partner in a professional services firm who will remain nameless. He loves his job and has built a tremendous career. He also noted that his industry is highly competitive and thus, even the most successful people are undercompensated relative to those in some other fields. Recently, he said, he had given some advice to his children. He told them that if they want to do well financially, they should go into the insurance industry.

Merger of Weaklings

Mon, 06/13/2011 - 00:11

Sunday night's announced "merger of equals" between Allied World and Transatlantic Re is a new baseline of sorts for the insurance industry. For the first time that I recall, a well-regarded U.S.-listed company (AWH or AWAC) plans to issue stock at a significant discount to its own book value for an acquisition.  AWAC rationalizes that the deal is accretive to its tangible book value and ROE. How could it not be, since AWAC is buying assets that are cheaper relative to tangible book than AWAC's own.

Munger Meeting

Sun, 06/12/2011 - 21:44

 Munger Meeting is back on, Friday July 1st. With luck, Charlie will be in a mood to let it fly. 

Most of the people who attend Charlie's meeting are from California, so for them the timing won't be an inconvenience. For the rest of us, there could be better timing than a holiday weekend and on short notice to boot. However, I'm glad they're doing it at all.

Bread and Circuses

Thu, 06/02/2011 - 09:25

We're living in a bread-and-circuses economy. My latest Bloomberg column discusses the reasons why.