A few years back, a fellow named Wylie Tollette faced some uncomfortable questions as he sat before the public oversight committee of the California Public Employees Retirement System (“CalPERS”). As the pension fund's Chief Operating Investment Officer, Tollette was responsible for updating the [...]
Looking back, looking forward
Earlier this week the president took to Twitter with his financial outlook for 2018: “All signs are that business is looking really good for next year...Stock Market is poised for another year of SUCCESS!” While a tenth straight year of stock market gains would be unprecedented, I don't think any [...]
From Las Vegas to Washington
Sometimes a joke is clearly just a joke, like this bumper sticker, which I saw recently: To be sure, every joke has a kernel of truth. But, most people who play the lottery do know, rationally, that Powerball isn't a reliable route to retirement. Sometimes, though, it's not as easy to make [...]
What the mystery shoppers found
Some years ago my cousin Jim was hired by a local restaurant owner to serve as a “mystery shopper” in his own restaurant. Each week Jim would go to this restaurant, sit down for a meal and then report back to the owner on his experience. Not surprisingly, this restaurant, whose owner takes quality [...]
Irving Fisher
The name Irving Fisher is not widely known, but maybe it should be. In his day, Fisher was a renowned economist. He graduated first in his class from Yale, received the first PhD in Economics ever issued by Yale and then went on to join the school's faculty. Despite all that, however, [...]
