I am going to be blunt, so far the recession has not affected me. On the contrary I could not be busier, and things are actually moving along quite nicely. Well, that was until yesterday. Yesterday I learned that the conference SD West, and SD Best Practices are no more. They have been cancelled...

I write trading systems for a living and as such I think I have a grasp on the Sharpe Ratio and such. The Economist via Quantitative Trading has an article on the issue of trading and calculating returns using the Sharpe Ratio. A high Sharpe Ratio is one where there is low volatility. > Clients who...

Wow, I have not blogged since Christmas. ZIPO…  nada, zilch… the problem was time. I HAD NO TIME!!!! I was very very busy with two projects: Reconcillation, and HippoTrader. From previous postings I talked about how I am working on a part-time basis with an investment bank. That is my...

Oh Rick, I have been on your side many many times, but on this Boston Tea Party you are simply wrong. In fact you are being very dangerous in your discussions because what you are doing is dividing the people and making a very bitter situation more bitter. You are letting your ideals get in your...

I am going to play the contrarian, getting rid of Smith-Barney is REALLY good for Citi. Many like on Fast Money say, "hey why on earth are you getting rid of the cash cow?" And with Citigroup getting a potential 10 billion, I am thinking WAY TO GO CITI! Why do I think what I do? Because obviously I...

In the US Christmas retail sales plummeted. > The holiday shopping season was one of the most dismal in years and even the after-Christmas period, when consumers normally rush to stores to use gift cards and seize on big sales, isn't expected to be enough to save retailers from a terrible year. No...

I wrote a blog entry on how my 2008 predictions fared, and what I think will happen in 2009. Well, wow, I did not expect one of them to happen that quick. My prediction was that in 2009 Japan was going down. It seems Japan is already going down. The headlines read "Japan November industrial output...

I am going to defend the German government. > German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck vilifies Britain’s financial stimulus plan in an interview with American magazine Newsweek, saying that making VAT cuts won't solve the problem, but rather will build a national debt that will take at least a...

The question that is being raised is if Rick Wagoner is the best choice to run GM? My answer, maybe not! Let me tell you why. In the 90's IBM was not doing well. In fact IBM was very much in the same situation that Microsoft is in now, if not worse. IBM was a stodgy company that had too many...

As a Canadian I am totally in awe on how dumb Canadians are acting with respect to the current political crisis. Not ignorant because that would imply you have the capability to learn from your errors. > Marjorie Shaw > I agree with the GG. For the first time in 72 years I have not been proud to...