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nytimes.com - 2/21/2009
Endowment Director Is on Harvard
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Jane Mendillo took the Harvard job as markets began to collapse.

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Technically Speaking, Market Analysis and Theory:  No Wonder They Keep Calling

Marginal Revolution:  Why is Asia doing so badly?

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No Wonder They Keep Calling
Technically Speaking, Market Analysis and Theory — I wondered why Harvard keeps calling. Maybe they need advice. Sometimes genius is in fact genius; but as they say, "never confuse brains with a bull market." My results for the year? They stink. I am down 2 percent overall, although miraculously, my retirement accounts are slightly positive...and almost 90 percent cash. The smartest person I know on Wall Street recently confided that he is 100 percent cash. Conor has opined that cash seemed like the best hedge, and yet I know that with a combination of gold, silver, cash, and a one week foray into the market, he was up over ten percent for the year. So although I ...

Why is Asia doing so badly?
Marginal Revolution — Here is more bad economic news from Asia.  Yet those countries don't have banking crises as many other nations do.  So what exactly is up? The usual story is that these nations are "heavily dependent upon exports."  But if I may wear my Don Boudreaux hat for a moment (or more), is not the state of Kentucky also heavily dependent upon exports?  Is not the Cowen household heavily dependent upon exports?  Why is being dependent on exports so especially bad for parts of Asia? One answer is that Asian exports, which travel great distances, are often consumer durables and such purchases are especially easy ...

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