I was at a conference for VCs today, at which the closing speaker was Harvard Professor Kenneth Rogoff. He previously served as head economist at the IMF, among many other luminous positions. Rogoff also was a professional chess player. Pretty neat. He spoke about the worldwide economic stagnation and looked at potential root causes. Is
Category: Economics
Stocks Are Collapsing, and I Am Pumped
The stock market is correcting, and I’m actually upbeat about it. Market volatility creates buying opportunities. Stocks are dropping and bond prices are rallying, as nervous investors rush to U.S. Treasuries. All this will lead me to sell high and buy low in our retirement accounts. I’ll watch the markets, and once they hit a
How to Make Money: Concentrating Risk
Eric and I have been emailing this morning about a blog post on seed rounds (here) and how they’re getting larger. As the number of Series A check-writers has remained flat at best (and, down in some sectors) it’s forcing seed-stage companies to prove more momentum before they can raise a new round. So, they’re getting
The U.S. Oil Boom
Energy is in everything we buy. I’m drinking coffee this morning. Farmers used energy to grow the beans. A processor used energy to dry, roast and grind the beans. A shipping company used energy to pick/pack/ship. And, I drove my car to the grocery store to buy the coffee, and just used a coffee maker
Jobs Data and Rover.com
There’s an impressive and pretty complicated NY Times graphic (here) that tracks job gains/losses by industry sector. If you’re at all interested in economic trends as an entrepreneur or investor, it’s worth looking at. (BTW, it’s best viewed on a desktop screen.) Some of the losing sectors predictably include photo shops, housing and newsprint/magazines, but I
Putin Will Rule Over Ukraine
(11.15 am update: Sadly, the NY Times just flashed this headline: “Kremlin Prepares for Military Intervention”. So, it has begun.). I’ve been reading with great interest about the turmoil in Ukraine. In college, I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in the Soviet Union as part of an exchange program. So, I try to keep