Monthly Archives: May 2009

The rise of futures trading, part who knows what

The financial crisis has made it appear as though futures markets have been humming along famously and unproblematically until the past few years, when credit default swaps and esoteric derivatives made the otherwise functional system toxic. And this may be. But let’s not pretend that futures markets were always just hedging mechanisms with an added …

May 29, 2009 – 11:24 am | By Peter | Posted in Financial Crisis, Markets | Tagged | Comments (4)

Socially acceptable markets

Cedric Cowing, in his wonder book Populists, Plungers, and Progressives, writes about the distinctions between futures and options in the 19th century and the tenuous myth of deliverability: Probably the greatest difficulty the exchange forces faced was the task of differentiating between a simple option and a futures contract. Options permitting fulfillment by settlement of …

May 28, 2009 – 9:29 pm | By Peter | Posted in Markets | Tagged | Comments (2)

thinking, thinking, thinking

A work of art seems to be a hardier breed; it can be sold in the market and still emerge a work of art. but if it is true that in the essential commerce of art a gift is carried by the work from the artist to his audience, if I am right to say …

May 27, 2009 – 10:14 am | By Peter | Posted in Art | Tagged | Comments (3)

Now that the semester is over, I can admit it

update: had to take this down for sanity reasons… Sadly, I’m squarely in the uncanny valley.

May 19, 2009 – 9:39 am | By Peter | Posted in Ramble | Comments (3)

Asshole corporate doublespeak

from their website: AMERICAN EXPRESS ANNOUNCES REENGINEERING PLAN TO GENERATE $800 MILLION COST BENEFIT from the New York Times: American Express to Cut 4,000 Jobs, Saving $175 Million

May 18, 2009 – 10:06 pm | By Peter | Posted in Markets, Organizations | Comments (0)