Hope all goes well… Where’d we be without communists? Or online newspapers? Particularly ones controlled by xenophobic saber-rattling politicians. And how boring would life be without war criminals? Or video games? Especially free ones. So Beijing’s People’s Daily developed a free online video game; “Kill the Devils.” Target any one of Japan’s 14 Class-A WWII war criminals, who scurry around the screen. While million

“Hello, my name is Xi,” started Jinping. And the room replied in harmony, “Hello Xi.” He went first, because having the largest population, Xi naturally has the biggest problems. “And my greatest challenge is pollution in Beijing,” admitted China’s President, coughing, cornered. For the only thing more dangerous than too much Mandarin pollution, is not enough; heaven forbid Chinese smokestacks slow, the smog clears.

“I knew that day, without a shadow of a doubt, I knew,” explained my new buddy. Before that break-through, before becoming a household name with $100mm+ in annual sales, he and his brother spent five years living in a van. Broke. Slinging t-shirts. “We didn’t care about clothing, still don’t, for us the t-shirt was a way of sharing a message.” And in search of something inspired, they turned to Shakespeare, Homer, Ch

“I’m always scared about the way people’s opinions are determined by their ethno-linguistic backgrounds, where they went to school, their generation,” explained the European investor, choosing his words carefully, enunciating them precisely. “I pick up newspapers in four languages and read four different interpretations of the same event,” he continued. “Just because you can now fly anywhere quickly, and move capital

Hope all goes well… “Nothing’s cheap, nothing’s distressed, real estate is way too expensive throughout Asia ex-Japan,” said the CIO of one of America’s great family offices. He would know; been investing there for yrs. “They don’t want us making money over there anyway,” he continued, speaking of China’s elite. “So I pay the brightest Asian mgrs 2/20 to fight for returns and get to see those mkts through their eyes.

“WhatsApp,” hissed Vladimir into his iPhone. And Yanukovych made yet another horrible decision, feigning ignorance, answering lightheartedly, “Not much muchacho, whassup with you?” Putin went silent, in utter disgust, torturing his stooge. And unable to stomach the pregnant pause any longer, Yanukovych broke the silence, “Vladimir, did I lose you comrade, can you hear me?” The former KGB agent answered slowly, growli

Hope all goes well… “My daddy’s home, my daddy’s home, my daddy’s home,” whispered Osama bin Charlie to himself, wiggling between us, beneath the covers – a pre-dawn incursion. So I whispered back that I love him, and never worry, daddy’s always come home. “I love you so much my heart bursts,” replied the cuddly little terrorist, lost in an uncharacteristic tender moment, snuggling in closer. So I asked where he’d le

“I’m stoked,” mumbled Janet, drifting into a daydream… “Still can’t believe it happened,” she shrieked, paparazzi shutters whirring as she winked. “We did it America!” You see, the silver fox won Ski Slopestyle Gold. “It’s the kind of thing you don’t even dare dream about,” continued the Chairwoman. Of course, every new Fed Chair is cursed with a gnarly crisis. Volcker caught a totally wack edge with Ayatollah’s Revo

“I was labeled a Marxist after my speech in Hong Kong,” said the CIO from Tokyo, rather puzzled by the attack. You see, we’d been discussing the oldest conflict in all of economics; the fight between labor and capital for society’s economic spoils. How that conflict is resolved, determines the political construct of nations. “Following the Great Depression and WWII, Keynesians strived to put everyone to work.” So wit

Week-in-Review: Mon: Chinese holiday thru Thurs, Aussie Jan bldg aprovals -2.9% (+22% yoy), Indonesia CPI lower (core 4.5%), PMI’s (Japan 56.6 vs 55.2, Korea 50.9 vs 50.8 prev, Indonesia 51.0 vs 50.9, India 51.4 vs 50.7, Russia 48.0 vs 48.8, Turkey 52.7 vs 53.5, EU 54.0 vs 52.7, Germany 56.5 vs 54.3, France 49.3 vs 47.0, Italy 53.1 vs 53.3, Spain 52.2 vs 50.8, UK 56.7 vs 57.2, Sweden 56.4 vs 52.2, Norway 52.8 vs 51.4