While most would dismiss the view that the US today is governed as a theocracy, it is not an entirely cynical viewpoint . I do not refer to the resurgence of evangelical Christianity; I suggest that the US believes in and is governed by its unshakeable faith in Capital. To borrow the language of the bible, it is all about Mammon. One proof that free-market capitalism is practiced and preached is the offerings given to share buybacks last year by corporate America: it was an obscene one trillion dollars. When you consider that most of those shares are below their average price for last year, you could say the capital was at least grossly misallocated. Unfortunately, the incentives are perfect for them: buybacks offer high

One of the themes I drum on is the gift that comes with a broad range of experiences, learning, or interests. If you’re lucky enough to have any of these and you are paying attention to current events and trends, you see how today more than ever we have a dynamic existence; all aspects of society connect and affect each other: it is like a mobile where you see the strings connecting the hanging pieces, but the relationships are not always linear. Yesterday I saw an article about how social moods are disrupting the election prospects with Trump and Sanders emerging as non-traditional players, the uncertainty around which is disrupting the stock market. Politics and economics are two sides of the same coin, of course.

Titles are a fascination for me. I have a good vocabulary, but I did not know what a revenant was. I took enough French to know it means “coming back,” or “one who comes back.” When you learn that French frontiersman are part of the plot, the French usage of that time for “ghost” or “spirit returned from the dead” makes sense. Alejandro Inarritu’s latest film, The Revenant, was almost an epic. It was almost a saga. I saw the most realistic bear mauling scene imaginable. Frontier survival and lore may never have been made so candid and graphic (it’s winter, your horse just died and you lost your coat: what do you do?). Per usual with this director, the action is interrupted with visits

I am beginning to see Michael Lewis, author of the book that formed the basis for the film, as one of the most important authors of the 21st century. I have only read a few of his books, but I already know him the way I know other very good writers: when I read his books, I despair at the excesses and folly he makes accessible and visible (not everything he covers is simple or overt), and I take hope and inspiration while his protagonists (real people) act as proof that conscience and virtue are still at large in the world. The full title of his book is The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. It has as a backdrop the events leading up to

People who know I used to be an investment advisor do not ask me whether they should buy or sell. Most people want to know why the market is doing what it is doing. And they are right to ask that; if the cause is seen as temporary, they would probably hold. If the cause appears to be more fundamental or “secular,” they consider reducing exposure to falling stocks. Okay, so why is the market falling? The single biggest reason stocks are falling right now, is because China’s economy is stalling out. Some context first: China has been the fastest growing major economy in the world for years. Their contribution to global growth has eclipsed even the US for years now because even though their

Quentin Tarantino’s latest, The Hateful Eight, baffles me. I don’t understand how the same person who created compelling dialogue, inventive plots, and delightful characters in several other of his works, could have made this very expensive B movie. But then, as I consider this statement I realize that all his movies are simply B movies that graduate as part of some clever reconstruction. To his credit, he made some memorable films with his “mosaic” style. He assembled, arranged, and remanufactured the most potent, quirkiest, and fun (for him certainly) outtakes from B movies–often diverse genres of them at that–such that the resulting composition held together. But since Inglourious Basterds, which featured several exceptional acting segments, he has been mixing his plots with revisionist racial and

Brooklyn is exactly the kind of UK film that makes me swoon. The combination of drama, scenery, acting, and music always seems tempered against sensation–unlike so many US films. In UK films, as with Brooklyn, there’s usually the scope of history and some perspective to dwell upon, and the pace and tone are restrained and somber enough to remind you that past communication was done mostly through letters, and dockside goodbyes implied years (at least) of separation. In the early 1950s, a young Irish woman leaves for New York and lands in an Irish enclave in Brooklyn. The clothes, cars and conventions of the day are a thrill to see, but the real thrill is to watch a reserved girl become a more worldly and

David O. Russell doesn’t make bad movies. And lately he gets Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (and Robert De Niro) to act in them. His most recent movie, Joy, is set in the early ‘90s and is based on real events. Many popular films this year were set in the past, some in the 1950s and ‘60s. My sense of this phenomenon is that through these films, we peer longingly behind us for evidence of a more authentic, more human reality. I mention movies set in the past because Joy takes three very contemporary themes and examines them in the form of a pioneering example twenty years ago: a single mother who thought and acted like a star entrepreneur. The three themes embedded in that

[Important: This post is for education and entertainment only. Investment decisions should be made on the basis of suitability and risk tolerance and with the help of a professional] Anyone who makes predictions about the stock market without admitting that they could be very wrong is either a liar or a fool. And anyone who listens to predictions about the stock market is hoping to get an easy solution to a very difficult problem; there is no such thing. I know a man who invested a year’s earnings (six figures) based on a conversation at Starbucks. My best guess is that he’s still down over 75% eight years later. Investing takes work and self-study (I don’t mean studying by yourself; I mean knowing yourself). Having

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the latest in a series of seven Star Wars films. If you mention your interest in it, enough of the people you talk to who are not afraid to hurt your feelings will dismiss it as popular culture and unsophisticated pablum. I do not come from that group and while I can be snobby enough about other tastes, I waited in line for this one. Star Wars is not simply popular culture and part of a passing fad; it is a narrative ark that safeguards important modern myths and prepares several generations for a new era of humanity. The saga began nearly four decades ago: in social terms, a long time ago and a place that seems far, far