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Archive for January, 2010

New Motto

Andy Spero | January 31, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

Innovative Management Solutions ~ Creative Web Design

We have changed our site’s and the firm’s motto to better reflect our broad business mix. We have dropped the narrower “Thought before Calculation” for the more general “Innovative Management Solutions.” Innovation isn’t always thoughtful, but in our case it is.

Plus, we have added “Creative Web Design” to recognize a large part of our practice. Through sheer serendipity, we design and develop the kind of web sites that “everybody wants.” Our sites are good-looking, organized, easily-self-managed, and search-engine optimized. What’s not to… Read the rest

How Were the Last Nine Months of 2009 like 1932?

Andy Spero | January 26, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

We mentioned the answer to our question in Sunday’s post, Bernanke: No, but it is worth repeating as a stand-alone post.

Many supporters of Ben Bernanke (and other politicians) cite last year’s increase in the stock market as evidence that the he or they “saved the economy” and/or “prevented a depression.”

For those readers who don’t have the percentages memorized, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased about 20% in 2009. From its nadir early last March, it increased about 61% by year-end. (Yeah, January and February ’09 were particularly… Read the rest

Good (Late) News from the SEC

Andy Spero | January 25, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

We Missed It a Few Months Ago

On the front page of the The ‘Money & Investing’ section of today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, there is an article entitled, At SEC a Scholar Who Saw It Coming.

The article is about Henry Hu, who manages the newly-formed Risk, Strategy and Financial Innovation division at the SEC.

Though he sounds like a good guy, we don’t know much about Mr. Hu, but that’s not why we’re writing. It also mentions that in November, Mr. Wu hired Richard Bookstaber… Read the rest

Go ‘Green’ with Shared Servers

Andy Spero | January 25, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

There is a short article about sustainability in ‘The Journal Report’ section of today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal. We think that is worth mentioning, especially to small business owners and managers of small, not-for-profit agencies and organizations.

The article is entitled, How Green Should My Tech Be? It Depends on the Tech. The author, Robert Plant, lists and prioritizes four categories of technology projects from ‘no-brainers’ to ‘distractions.’

We are writing to mention a ‘no-brainer’ that he doesn’t. Small and medium-sized businesses should consider outsourcing their server… Read the rest

What ‘Miranda’ Rights?

Andy Spero | January 25, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

For the past few weeks, it seems that every day we hear at least one news presenter or commentator complain that would-be bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, stopped talking after he was “read his Miranda rights.”

We find that very irritating because as a foreign national and enemy combatant, he has no such rights; so, they could not be “read to him.”

The fact that an FBI agent read or explained the Miranda warning to him does not confer those rights upon him.

The largest error was not or is not… Read the rest

Bernanke: No.

Andy Spero | January 24, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

FWIW: we say no to a second term.

This weekend there are many reports and commentaries regarding the U.S. Senate vote to confirm Ben Bernanke to a second term as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. For example, see the article Backers Rally to Bernanke in The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Bernanke neither deserves a second term nor can we, as a nation and economy, afford it.

Don’t Blame Him for any Bubbles

Many commentators, analysts, and economists blame Mr. Bernanke’s (and his predecessor, Alan Greenspan’s) easy money policies for… Read the rest

The “Oppressed”

Andy Spero | January 24, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

Poor, poor, pitiful me!

This morning’s Gospel included Luke 4:18.

That’s where Jesus returns to Nazareth, goes to the synagogue, and reads aloud from the scroll of Isaiah.

What interested us was (our paraphrase of) one of the lines from Isaiah: “He has sent me… to let the oppressed go free.”

We wondered: of the subset of the folks who were listening,  how many of our (relatively fortunate and middle-class) fellow parishioners thought, “Yes, Lord, that’s me. I’m oppressed. Please help. Please set me free. Please stop the oppression by my spouse-children-parents-classmates-bosses-teachers-neighbors-creditors-clients-patients-etc.”… Read the rest

Bravo Conan!

Andy Spero | January 23, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

He Went out with Grace.

Ironically, the last quarter of Conan O’Brien’s last episode on The Tonight Show may have been his best fifteen minutes in television.

It started with Neil Young playing and singing “Long May You Run,” which is one of our favorite songs and reminds us of our long-dead Basenji bitch, Vidalia, and her chrome heart shining in the sun. That song had to be about a dog.

It ended with Will Farrell, dressed as a southern rocker, singing Free Bird, while Conan and many of his musicians… Read the rest

The Volcker Rule: Obama’s Right…

Andy Spero | January 22, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

…To Propose a Ban on Prop Trading at Insured Institutions

We applaud President Obama’s proposal to eliminate proprietary trading at insured institutions. In fact, long-time readers will recall that we first recommended a ban on this site on October 1, 2008–near the height of the financial panic.

Our reasons are simple.

One can argue about the need for federal deposit insurance, but if such insurance exists, we see no reason that tax payers should subsidize risk-taking at insured institutions. If one wishes to benefit as a ward of the state,… Read the rest

“A Brilliant Campaign!”

Andy Spero | January 20, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) |

What if It Were Luck?

Update: This article, White House Toughens Tone, from Monday’s (January 25th) edition of The Wall Street Journal supports our hypothesis. Yeah, blame Bush from your budget deficits. That will get you far.

We don’t mean Scott Brown’s amazing victory. We mean President Obama’s, and we write it quite sarcastically.

For awhile, it seems that all we heard and read was that team and candidate Obama were brilliant and disciplined and ran excellent campaigns against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and then John McCain in… Read the rest

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