L.E. Kesselman

Pinned

Activism for profit

Activist hedge funds have been playing an increasingly central role in corporate governance. Financial markets rarely capture the long-term effects of short-term pillaging. As a result, activist investors can pursue transactions that increase prices at the expense of long-term performance, such as cutting project investments or reserve funds. Background Pressure to…

Corporate Governance

10 min read

Corporate Governance

10 min read

Feb 2

…ime, in other words, is downward mobility. Downward mobility explains a lot — and predicts it, too. Men, lashing out, in rage, not getting the jobs, money, sexual partners, relationships they feel entitled to, because that’s what they’ve been told all their lives they deserve, will magically come their way? To the point of massacres? Downward mobility. Or how about the fact that our societies are increasingly indebted: that’s anoth…

How Downward Mobility Is Wrecking Our Economies — And Societies

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umair haque

Umair, this isn't only a problem affecting men.

Umair, this isn't only a problem affecting men. Lots of women (AND men) go to school, get good grades, are talented, bright, hard-working, help at home and in their community, do everything they're supposed to do. Yet the few good jobs go to children of people with connections and power…

1 min read

Dec 10, 2022

With the Vision Fund, Masayoshi Son created a club with the Emir of Abu Dhabi, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Apple, and others like Qualcomm. A “family” of powerful and wealthy. They want the world to follow them. This bet has been disastrous, first WeWork, and more bad news for the Saudi Crown Prince. They have lost a colossal amount of money. Vision Fund 2 is up and running, but only thanks to the $38 billion from SoftBank Group. The $18 billion losses of the first fund has cooled enthusiasm.

Masa, Mark, and Elon, the Crypto “Influencers”

Georges Ugeux

I read your posts at Columbia Law School Blue Sky blog, about the cultish nature of many…

I read your posts at Columbia Law School Blue Sky blog, about the cultish nature of many cryptocurrency and other business visionaries. You mentioned Masayoshi Son in your November 2022 post, and here, back in 2021. You were correct then, and now. Son has had YET ANOTHER terrible year in 2022! It seems that he now personally owes SoftBank about $4.7 billion after more Vision Fund losses. I am skeptical of these tech idols and their outsize roles among both retail AND investment professionals. This Harvard Business School Review article — an interview of Masayoshi Son in 1992 — does nothing to convince me that he knew what he was doing then, any better than he does now! https://hbr.org/1992/01/japanese-style-entrepreneurship-an-interview-with-softbanks-ceo-masayoshi-son Perhaps Elon will be different. That still remains to be seen!

Masayoshi Son

1 min read

Masayoshi Son

1 min read

Aug 25, 2022

Russia: What do you think will be the scenario if Russia keeps challenging NATO/US and the next…

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Laeeth Isharc

Laeeth, you do not have perfect foresight, but you were close enough, as you wrote this in May 2017.

Laeeth, you do not have perfect foresight, but you were close enough, as you wrote this in May 2017. You weren’t concerned about the nexus of geopolitical instability being Indochine, Japan/Taiwan/China, nor the Middle East. You were worried about Russia, and thus much closer to the reality of 2022. I…

2 min read

Jul 12, 2021

ut rather it aided and abetted… then called the “digital divide”. That premise was entirely false. The crux of this essay is thus: not only did open source not stem or stall the redistribution of wealth and power upwards, but rather it aided and abetted the redistribution of wealth and power upwards. To be an open source proponent at this time without acknowledging this very real and most unfortunate consequence is to be a cog in a much larger machine; a stooge; a very useful idiot.

Why Open Source Failed

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John Mark

So true, so sad, and still rarely understood or acknowledged

1 min read

Jun 21, 2021

Can Critical Race Theory Reframe American History Successfully?

Nick Licata

Two thoughts, Nick.

Two thoughts, Nick. First, you AND Senator Crabtree acknowledge that Critical Race Theory is difficult to define. You said it is in flux, "as a theory, it is constantly changing. It’s been around for forty years. As any social, political, or legal theory ages, there will be multiple interpretations. …

2 min read

Apr 10, 2021

… the most scientifically applicable scientific subject in the world (my very, very biased opinion). What I said earlier about play is even more applicable to probability, a field that really started with gamblers, used by traders and adventurers, and perfected by finance and insurance mathematicians. Probability applies to all empirical fields: gambling, finance, medicine, engineering, social science, risk, linguistics, genetics, car accidents. Let’s play with it by adding to his feed some probability riddles.

Maestro Bogomolny

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Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Yes! Probability is wild luck, chance, and adventure.

1 min read

Apr 7, 2021

Because it makes the odd argument that the market success of closed software makes it superior to…

Teodor Zhechev

Thank you Teodor, for responding at length and with decorum to my inquiry.

Thank you Teodor, for responding at length and with decorum to my inquiry. I concur with you, that "calling Biden 'the most interesting politician' " is peak cringe. I do not know what nation's laws govern you. …

2 min read