http://blog.aaronedelheit.com Explore the stock market, faith, Tikkun Olam and humor in no particular order Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:48:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This is a great writeup by a Michael Mauboussin who is a strategist for Legg Mason. I agree with his conclusions and the similarity between the flack Buffett received in 1999 is very similar to the flack he is getting today. Mauboussin on Strategy http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/12/01/mauboussin-on-strategy/ I am reading a wonderful new biography about William Wilberforce, the great British anti-slave trade campaigner. As part of the book, the author, William Hague, describes the slave trade, how slaves were kidnapped and transported in the most brutal conditions with no regard to health or humanity. One of the ... http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/12/01/separation/ Here is a bloomberg story quoting Jochen Hitzfeld, an analyst at UniCredit SpA in Munich. “Agricultural commodities will outperform the broad commodity indices in 2009,” Hitzfeld wrote in a research note this week. “If key crop-producing countries then impose export bans again and speculators drive up prices via physical stockpiling and ... http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/25/food-prices-to-raise-next-year/ In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I think everyone should consider that as much as the economy and the stock market may be hurting you, its hurting other people and institutions even more, especially charities and non-profits. Judging just from my ability to give money this year, non-profits are in for ... http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/25/charities-need-your-help/ Another great post on the Carpe Diem site highlighting that the Big 3 pay half a billion to people that don't work: Jobs Bank and Not Working http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/21/get-paid-for-not-working/ In April, Ford reported Mr. Mulally received $2 million in base salary, a $4 million bonus and more than $11 million of stock and options in 2007. His base salary was unchanged over 2006. Mr. Mulally has earned nearly $50 million in compensation since taking the helm of the auto ... http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/19/fords-ceo-pay-package-and-the-bailout/ This is an excellent blog post from Mark Perry's Carpe Diem blog on how Honda is actually expanding in this country: Honda expands http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/19/why-the-big-three-shouldnt-bailed-out/ This is a good article from the NewYorker highlighting the problems with agriculture that I'm worried about. Agriculture Efficiency article http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/17/new-yorker-article-on-agriculture/ After months of internal debate at Goldman, the seven top executives at the firm, including Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, asked the board's compensation committee to grant them no bonuses. The board approved the request on Sunday. The executives will only be eligible for their base salaries, $600,000 for each. A ... http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/17/who-owns-these-stocks/ There is a fascinating article in the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell on how outsiders and the underprivileged sometimes have an an advantage. He profiles Sidney Weinberg, the guy who transformed Goldman Sachs into a powerhouse, and how he came from a very poor upbringing. Its a really good read. Malcolm ... http://blog.aaronedelheit.com/2008/11/17/adversity-and-underprivilege/