Heard On The Street

Different types of commodities will react differently as the global economy improves, based on their own specific supply-and-demand conditions. This makes timing a turnaround complicated.

Random Thoughts

One of the economists who has heavily influenced the way I think is Hyman Minsky, who always said, 'Stability begets instability.' The very idea is that the more stable things appear, the more dangerous the ultimate outcome will be because people start to assume everything will be all right and end up doing stupid things.

- James Montier
www.sgcib.com
www.societegenerale.fr

Carve Your Own Road

Carve Your Own Road: Do What You Love and Live the Life You Envision by Jennifer Remling + Joe Remling is an inspiring book with advice on how to make a smooth transition from the career world to self-employment. A must read.

Useful link:

www.carveyourownroad.com

Affordable Art Fair 2009

Affordable Art Fair 2009
www.aafnyc.com

The fair aims to lure new art buyers and longtime patrons, but as always you will have to wait until the last day to know.

Poems On Space

The Poetry of the Heavens
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124182418636102361.html

The telescope is a cathedral-like space. Under the stars you can feel dizzy. It's unbelievably beautiful, a combination of form and formlessness, chaos and regularity. Often the chaos is much more interesting.
- Paul Murdin

Useful links:
www.ast.cam.ac.uk
www.gulbenkian.org.uk

How true! Poetry fills the gap.

Random Thoughts

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt
www.theodoreroosevelt.org

Spot on.

Sustainability + Traceability

Historic Futures = tracks commodities (cotton, gold, etc) through the long and previously opaque supply chains, using Internet-based systems and RFID tags so that consumers understand the history of everything they buy. Brilliant idea, really!

Useful links:
www.historicfutures.com
www.stringtogether.com
www.loveearthinfo.com

The Quartermaster Collection

The Quartermaster Collection, containing many of Australia's most valuable and highest quality gold coins will be auctioned on June 4, 2009, at the Sydney Mint Auditorium, 10 Macquarie St. Sydney, and NSW, Australia. Every coin in the collection includes a record of provenance, which is an important element for many collectors of Antiquities.

Useful link:
www.monetarium.com.au