Mario mounted the mantel. Perched precipitously. And stared into the mirror. “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go?” he asked his curious reflection. “That depends a good deal on where you want to go,” replied Cheshire cat, from within the Looking-Glass. “I don’t much care, so long as I get somewhere,” said Draghi, rather surprised. And Cheshire grinned slyly, luring the world’s first major central banke

Hope all goes well… “Here with the kiddies for the paddle-out, crying,” texted Mara. I paused, in Times Square, opened the photos. Thousands headed into the Pacific, with their surfboards. At sunset. Carrying flowers. To honor the slain UC Santa Barbara kids. The surfers formed a vast circle. Tossed flowers into the middle. And sang in sad celebration of the young lives. Lost. Overall: “The focus should be on minimum

“The focus should be on minimum government but maximum governance,” announced Narenda Modi, a fierce Hindu Nationalist, born the low-caste son of a tea stall owner. India’s 15th Prime Minister presides over the 1st parliamentary majority in 25yrs, paving the way for red-tape reform. Of course, India is the great hope for a planet starved of growth. For the next decade, 1mm Indians will join the workforce each and eve

“The Fed is desperate to raise rates,” said the macro CIO, having another great year. It’s become his habit. “I don’t think any of those guys really understand what creates inflation; they dogmatically cling to the idea that the Philips Cure drives price changes,” he continued, amazed, appalled. “Any freshman year statistics student knows there’s no statistical relationship between unemployment and inflation.” Of cou

“We are alert to any dangers and problems,” announced David Cameron, having created the dangers and problems. You see, he invented the “Help-to-Buy” program, aka “Blow Me.” Allowing UK homebuyers 5% down payments, while he guarantees the balance. Naturally, consumers and banks, sensing a one way bet, blew a bodacious bubble. Which was the point. And as UK business investment hit 2008 highs (+8.7% yoy), Carney warned

“People say I have a terrible accent, that I sound like some guy from Brooklyn,” he said, with a terrible Brooklyn accent. “I don’t deny it, I don’t dare try and change it, I use it as a strength,” he continued, laughing, defiantly. “And I don’t believe in media training, I just ignore the fact I’m on TV, I just am who I am, I talk to people like I’m talking to you now,” he said gruffly, getting on a roll. “So when e

Hope all goes well… “There were robots absolutely everywhere,” said the scientist, developing innovative materials to cut the costs of harnessing solar. “Their productive efficiency was staggering,” he continued. “What takes us hours to do with prototypes for one wafer, they do with sixty wafers in 3 seconds.” The Chinese continue to dominate global production, transforming manufacturing hubs into economic ecosystems

“France is starting to undermine trust in itself as a reliable supplier,” tweeted Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin. And enterprising American entrepreneurs raced to trademark his name for the world’s greatest blockbuster; a combined hair loss, depression and dysfunction drug. “Probably our colleague is not aware of the number of jobs created in France thanks to our partnership,” continued the Russian plutocrat,

“We are at an inflection point in Modern Chinese history,” said David Petraeus, former CIA chief and four-star General. “A number of dynamics are different, President Xi knows this and is trying to work through them,” he continued. Then listed China’s challenges: labor cost advantages are being lost, economic returns from moving rural people to cities has diminished, Debt/GDP is probably the highest on earth but hard

Hope all goes well… “Can you believe we’re partying with this congressman?” whispered the Vice Chairman of Wall Street’s greatest bank, playing blackjack, atop a $1.9trln pile of client chips. At that big Vegas conference. “That’s my favorite quote of the night,” I told Gary, laughing. You see, I just love guys who never forget where they’ve come from, and we’re both public school idiots from NY. “What’s your 2nd fav