“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Vladimir Lenin I have found the past weeks to be unsettling. My personal reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and all the concomitant saber rattling, has included bouts of anxiety, sadness, anger, and confusion. My investment into reading various stoic letters …
The exponential information age is like a verbally incontinent person: he talks more and more as fewer and fewer people listen. Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The Bed of Procrustes As a young businessman consulting clients, I recall feeling a tension between two forms of advice from elder consultants. The first form was to always prepare for …
Becca and I joined some friends last week to see David Byrne’s American Utopia. While I was familiar with David Byrne, I was pleasantly shocked by how wonderful the show was. I previously thought that his voice was special, but mostly just idiosyncratic; In fact, his voice is remarkable. I expected his message to be …
I wanted to review photos from this year. I spent a little time this evening (1/1/22) reviewing photos on my computer. What a year! The beginning of 2021 was very much like the end of 2020. Of course, vaccinations hadn’t yet started flowing… The early part of the year included continued investment into learning computer …
Over the holiday, I spent time reflecting on my time in the insurance brokerage industry. One interesting area that drew some of my attention was the sale of Zenefits to TriNet Group Inc. I was personally invested into the impacts of Zenefits on our legacy employee benefits brokerage as Zenefits experienced its meteoric rise; The …
This morning, December 13, 2021, the @WSJ posted this article: Parthenon Capital to Buy Kroll Bond Rating Agency in $900 Million Deal. Given my recent blogpost on the debt ratings industry, I thought it would be interesting to delve a bit into this announcement. @WSJ has a good series of articles reviewing the history of …
OUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT We must expect posterity to view with some asperity the marvels and the wonders we’re passing on to it; but it should change its attitude to one of heartfelt gratitude when thinking of the blunders we didn’t quite commit. –Piet Hein Thanksgiving is a good day to reflect on items for which …
It is a Sunday morning in State College, PA. I spent time this morning thinking about reading and research I have done over the past weeks about the business of credit ratings. I will share some thoughts. Background The US market for credit rating agencies, also known in SEC parlance as NRSRO, includes nine competing …
One person, on doing well by others, immediately accounts the expected favor in return. Another is not so quick, but still considers the person a debtor and knows the favor. A third kind of person acts as if not conscious of the deed, rather like a vine producing a cluster of grapes without making further …
I have been thinking about my experiences in the insurance business. As I have written about in this blog, I really enjoy the insurance business. I find it helpful to periodically review the financials of industry firms. Some examples of reviews that led to me posting on this blog: my review of GoodRx, my review …