Has Conflict of Interest Created a Check-Mate in the Reporting of Economic Data? In February 2012 The Economist took an astonishing step, removing Argentina from their much respected financial indicators page. Their rationale being that, “…since 2007 Argentina’s government has published inflation figures that almost nobody believes. These show prices as having risen by between 5% and 11% a year. Independent economists, provincial statistical offices and surveys of inflation expectations have all put the rate…
In these exclusive interviews we speak to Prof. Jacques Attali (Former adviser to President François Mitterrand, first president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and ranked as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world) and Dr. Tilman Ehrbeck (CEO of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor – CGAP). We discuss the state of financial inclusion globally and look deeper into how microfinance, technology and other instruments are working to eradicate poverty and bring opportunity to billions worldwide.
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/02/23/the-euro-crisis-an-interview-with-larry-hatheway-ubs-chief-economist/ In September 2011, the IMF estimated that roughly half of the Euro Zone’s $9 trillion in outstanding government debt was now at ‘heightened credit risk‘. This is a crisis which billionaire investor George Soros has described as, “…a more dangerous situation now than in 2008,” (which is further contextualised when you realise that Bank…
In this exclusive interview, we speak to Professor Griffith Edwards, CBE (A world expert in alcohol and drug addiction) who founded the National Addiction Centre, served as Editor in Chief of the Addiction journal and is Professor Emeritus of Addiction Behaviour at Kings College London. We discuss the role of drugs in society, and examine the social, economic and political implications of drugs use for the future of our world.
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/01/26/do-hedge-funds-work/ “…If all the money that’s ever been invested in hedge funds had been put in treasury bills instead, the results would have been twice as good…” This is the astonishing finding of Simon Lack in his book “The Hedge Fund Mirage“. With almost $2 trillion in assets under management (AUM), the hedge fund industry…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association Originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2012/01/12/the-state-of-global-ultra-wealth/ The 2011 World Ultra Wealth Report (published by intelligence provider Wealth-X) describes how, “…the fortunes of the world’s ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals have surpassed $25 trillion“. This is an astonishing figure, made even more so when contextualised against the value of the entire world’s economic output (GDP) which, in 2010, was ‘just‘ $63…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2011/11/03/generating-alpha-in-alternative-markets/ Even against the backdrop of a global recession, the top 50 fastest growing companies in the USA averaged growth rates between 3,893% and 40,882% in the three years to the start of 2011. These are rates of return which more than compensate the investor for the risk of making high-growth-young-company-investments. For some investors, alternative…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2011/10/20/alpha-hunter-using-twitter-to-predict-the-markets/ Our understanding of financial markets in the last few decades has shifted. Professor Johan Bollen (Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing) states, “..I think behavioural economics has now become an accepted part of the thinking on markets- it’s generally accepted that people’s decision making is heavily influenced by emotional state and various other…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2011/10/03/alpha-hunters-craig-donohue-on-the-secrets-of-futures-options-exchanges/ The concept underpinning financial exchanges can be traced back through much of human history. In Aristotle’s Politics, “…there is the anecdote of Thales and his financial device…. he knew by his skill in the stars while it was yet winter that there would be a great harvest of olives in the coming year; so,…
Guest article written for AllAboutAlpha.com – the official publication of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association originally posted at: http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/2011/09/15/alpha-hunter-jim-oneill-gsams-man-of-brics/ With over US$714 billion under management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) ranks as one of the top 10 asset managers in the world. At the helm is Jim O’Neill, one of the world’s most respected economists and market commentators who coined the term BRICs (referring to Brazil, Russia, India and China) in his prominent…
