As I write, the EU are debating whether they should delay their decision on the second Greek bailout. One issue is that should they delay, then the EUR 14.4B redemption due on March 20 2012 will have to be paid in full rather than be subject to the haircut associated with the Bond Swap. Does […]

When Josef Stalin died in a dachka outside Moscow, there was no announcement for 36 hours. Stalin’s management team, the Politburo, were frozen with no idea how to continue alone now that their leader had departed. Stalin was so commanding that the Politburo members had had little experience taking initiatives or making decisions. Apple, the […]

Asian cultures value relationships very highly and so it is very difficult to say ‘no’ to a friend. For this reason, negative sentiments are generally communicated indirectly so as not to embarrass those seeking assistance. This way, the original request can be politely withdrawn. The Japanese are experts at this. The word ‘chigiomasu’ means ‘different’ […]

In an earlier post (Dec 13, 2011) I argued that Greece was in no position to bargain with the banks voluntarily forgiving them debt. If they did, the banks would likely walk away. Well, the Greek Government is trying to bargain and guess what? The banks are walking away… What’s going on? First, there is […]

‘Autarky’ is the Greek word describing an economy that is self sufficient. There is no trade, no sharing of technology or knowledge, no access to foreign capital for development. Autarky is used in economic theory as the ‘worst case’ scenario from which gigantic economic advances can be made by opening the borders to trade. Famous […]