Sharpen your pencils boys. Knives too. The pie is shrinking. Gotta steal market share. Make some money here, save a little there. And if all else fails, well, screw your competitors – that’s good fun. Anyhow, Obama’s downsizing the Pentagon. Pulled the boys outta Iraq too. You see, he’s found a cheaper way to herd those bearded cats: who needs a Battalion when you can send one scooter-riding assassin to deliver plast

Plato stood upon the shoulders of Socrates. And spun his ideas. Into the Dialogues. No one truly knows where one man’s brilliance began and the other’s ended. But both endure. Mankind’s worthiest works do. Anyhow, my pulse quickened. As I read Plato. ’Cause I’d discovered the lyrics to a famous Jay-Z rap. Now, you might not expect to find Socrates’ words in Brooklyn ghetto poetry. But you see, Man has so few new idea

Hope all goes well. What a break. I needed it. Sailed on an old-world schooner. In rolling seas. Stared up at stars. The moon too. You know, they looked the same back when Columbus explored the Caribbean. Plotting, planning. Driven by ambition. Lust for adventure, wealth. Thirst for knowledge. And chased by the haunting truth that, adrift in the infinite, our voyage is so short. But onwards we sail. Into uncharted te

Hope all goes well. Teddy (6) just couldn’t decide, “A real live Red‐Tail Hawk, or a real magic wand that can turn real trees into real coconuts.” Olivia (8) announced all she wants from Santa is, “To end all wars forever.” Jackson (10), without the slightest hesitation, replied in a demeaning bark, “Well then there’d be too many people.” Which naturally started a war. Charlie (2) cried without quite knowing why. I r

Hope all goes well. Teddy (6) just couldn’t decide, “A real live Red‐Tail Hawk, or a real magic wand that can turn real trees into real coconuts.” Olivia (8) announced all she wants from Santa is, “To end all wars forever.” Jackson (10), without the slightest hesitation, replied in a demeaning bark, “Well then there’d be too many people.” Which naturally started a war. Charlie (2) cried without quite knowing why. I r

The commander maneuvered. Imprisoned the opposition. Rigged elections. Tightened the grip. Stamped his boot on a human face. But a few brave souls said no. Sparked an uprising. It’s the oldest story ever told. This time in Russia. So it’ll play out in fascinating, mysterious ways. Take the rise of Mikhail Prokhorov as opposition candidate. He’s worth $18bln, 3rd wealthiest oligarch, owns New Jersey’s Nets. So why ris

Hope all goes well. Spent my last trip of ’11. Considering ’12. In NYC. Focused on Europe. Debating. Weighting. Probabilities, possibilities. You know, everyone expects ’12 to be just as hard as ’11. Maybe harder. Perhaps. No doubt ’12 will be fascinating, filled with questions, enigmas, conflicts, opportunities too. Betcha my grandkids study ’12 in college. But I’m ahead of myself. Right now, we got big questions to

“My grandparents were given the name on Ellis Island,” he explained over lunch. At Lavo – NY’s hottest spot. Filled with people from all over the world. Building. Hustling. Making something from nothing. And conversation wandered. His plans. Our plans. Opportunities. Risks. Markets. Trades. 2012. I explained investors have yet to fully appreciate what a true safe haven is: A place where you’re prepared to permanently

The human eye needs 20 minutes to fully adjust to darkness. So that’s how long we spent at the trailhead, cause it’d be hours till dawn and we were climbing without headlamps. The fascinating thing about the dark is that everything’s basically the same, but yet, it feels so very different. Mountain lions hunt, coyotes prowl, footing feels unstable, and the boogeyman lurks. We brought 2 big dogs, Man

Lots of ways to make a buck bro. Some noble. Others less so. And while I admire the former more than the latter, green is green. Plus it’s hard to take anything too seriously. ’Cause creative destruction ensures no business endures. And new ones arise. Which keeps us running hard. Fast. To stay one step ahead in our race against failure. One of my boys had an idea. Built a team. On a shoestring. Raised some money. To