I’ve spent the last month as a Peace Corps volunteer deployed to support a mobile vaccination clinic in rural Maine. The mission is to reach underserved communities to make it as convenient as possible for everyone to get the shot. “About one third of U.S. ‘customers’ are unsure that they want the product and are“Operation Warp Speed – the Last Mile Problem”
Category: Blog
Our Non-Fungible World
In 1989, Bill Gates founded Corbis to purchase and license exclusive digital rights to great works of art. Most museums were reluctant to participate. In 1995, Corbis bought the Bettman Archive of 16 million photographs for an undisclosed sum. In 2018, Dapper Labs was formed to exploit their CryptoKitties product. The CryptoKittie game allows users“Our Non-Fungible World”
The Taxman Returns
The most recent $2 trillion tax and spend plan mooted for consideration is euphemistically titled, “The American Jobs Plan”, which is being discussed as an “infrastructure bill”, itself a euphemism for a cornucopia of benefits to be landed a variety of constituencies ranging from hard-edged union bosses to misty-eyed green new dealers. The true infrastructure“The Taxman Returns”
Spackle that IPO!
It is always a wonder when a besmirched and ridiculed financial product becomes mainstream. We remember how, with the artful guidance of Michael Milken, junk bonds, once known as “fallen angels” made the transition to new issue high yield securities. Pointing out that a triple-A rated bond had only one way to go, Milken convinced“Spackle that IPO!”
A Return of that Other Bubble?
I was working on Wall Street during the crash of October 19, 1987, when the Dow dropped 22% (or about 7,000 points in today’s market). That evening, traders gathered at Harry’s Bar to commiserate. One of the old timers pulled me aside and said, “You know why this happened? It is because everyone that lived“A Return of that Other Bubble?”
The Stimuli and the People
Given the intense political animus on display in Washington in recent weeks, it is hard to imagine any rational policy agenda emerging from the chaos. The optics of a new president being installed with thousands of federal troops standing by after a disputed election takes me back to my days working in various African countries.“The Stimuli and the People”
Staying Afloat When the Bankruptcy Tsunami Hits, Part 2 – By Neil Peretz
Given economic conditions and continuing public health concerns heading into 2021, it is looking more and more likely that a tsunami of bankruptcies are on the horizon. Don’t be caught off guard. There are things you can do in advance once you become a creditor to make sure you are well positioned to get the“Staying Afloat When the Bankruptcy Tsunami Hits, Part 2 – By Neil Peretz”
Staying Afloat When the Bankruptcy Tsunami Hits, Part 1 – By Neil Peretz
Dear Clients and Friends, We are going into the new year with economic uncertainty. Neil Peretz (a bankruptcy expert that I’ve worked with on multiple occasions) shares his insights on how to deal with customers that owe you money. We hope that everyone does well, but, some of you may have to deal with“Staying Afloat When the Bankruptcy Tsunami Hits, Part 1 – By Neil Peretz”
Ghost Town, Peak Valley, and the Apocalypse
Ghost Town? A few weeks ago, I took my car to the mechanic in Downtown San Francisco. It was a nice day, with nothing else to do and, contemplating the assorted possibilities of COVID exposure in an Uber or public transport, I decided to walk home – a distance of about 6 ½ miles. It“Ghost Town, Peak Valley, and the Apocalypse”
Who Shot the Sherriff?
I returned to the states in March, and as I walked through an airport that seemed to have suffered a neutron bomb strike, I knew life would be different for a while. I wondered what distractions would appeal to people locked in their apartments for weeks on end. One that did not occur to me“Who Shot the Sherriff?”