Over the fifteen years I’ve been writing on Slope, I have received thousands of emails from all over the world. Yesterday, I received an email from a young man which almost made tears stream down my cheeks. The letter crackles with vital questions from a younger generation. The writer gave me his kind permission to share this, and I’d like to respond beneath. This is the email verbatim, with the only change being some boldfacing I’ve added.
Today is the last day of the quarter. For me, who manages a small hedge fund, that is terribly exciting, because I don’t have to wring my hands with worry about guarding my Q1 results. I’ve got an amazing quarter under my belt, and, frankly, I don’t have to worry about messing it up. I feel far, far more enthusiastic about getting aggressive by day’s end than I did even yesterday.
And what a quarter it has been. Surely in the long history of United States financial markets, if this isn’t the most amazing quarter in that entire span, surely it ranks in the top four. What I’ve had the privilege of enjoying just this month includes:
And we’re only one-forth of the way into the year!
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Many of you know the name David Stockman. He was Ronald Reagan’s famous budget director for the “Reagan Revolution” , a Congressman, a money manager, and author of what I consider the greatest business book ever written, The Great Deformation. He is, incidentally, a paying member of the Slope of Hope, and I have had the pleasure of corresponding with him.
As my over-the-top review of his book suggests, I consider Mr. Stockman a stunningly superb writer. Besides his excellent books, he also writes a five-times-a-week missive called Contra Corner, of which I am a dues-paying member. He wrote me about a week ago and suggested Slopers might find it appealing, as I do, so he suggested (unprompted by me) promoting Contra Corner here on Slope. I readily agreed.
Here is his “pitch” below. I am, let’s just say, a thrifty soul, and Contra Corner is the ONLY thing I subscribe to. I’d urge you to consider signing up, since he offers a vantage point I don’t think you can get anywhere else. So here’s David……………
(more…)Preface to all three parts: I’ve written dozens of books, but the only history book I’ve ever written was Panic Prosperity and Progress. This weekend, I’m sharing one of the chapters from the book in three parts, since it offers interesting lessons about what can happen when governments decide to experiment with finance and economics. You can read Part One here and Part Two here.
Unlike many modern legislative bodies, the French Parliament did not accept the financial machinations happening around them lightly. Parliament had, by and large, protested the introduction of paper money, and even as apparent prosperity pulsated through Paris, the Parliament viewed it with great skepticism.
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