The potential growth rate of an economy depends on a number of factors. It depends on land, manpower, capital and knowhow. Growth in land can be achieved by more efficient use of the available stock. Singapore has a very defined constraint on land. Growth in capital is achieved by investment. Growth in manpower can be

Two step economy: Its quite clear anecdotally at least that the bifurcation of the world economy into rich and poor has accelerated in recent years. Wealth creation has accelerated among the rich while the rest of the population has failed to catch up. This has occurred both between countries as well as within countries. Globalisation

You play Solitaire. The card game. Its not important what game is being played. This is just an example and Solitaire is convenient. It has an element of skill and luck. The luck bit is how the pack has been shuffled and the initial set of cards dealt. Let’s say that you have a strategy

Yesterday we looked at how hedge funds resembled banks. In fact they look pretty much like the result of the dismemberment of banks. Now lets look in a bit closer, at the capital structure of a hedge fund. To a corporate treasurer, a hedge fund would look like a very strange animal. The hedge fund

Are hedge funds banks? Some people seem to think so. In particular a research report, excerpts of which are available at http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2007/02/07/2365/the-great-unwind-is-coming-warn-dresdner-pair/ , draw comparisons between Citadel and Deutsche Bank’s investment banking division. The similarities are remarkable. For a long time there has been a preference for hedge funds set up by proprietary traders as