Topical Essays
e write occasional essays on topics of current interest. These are distinct from the thematic essays that appear in our newsletter.
Lessons from Madoff
March 2009
Bernard Madoff has yet to share with the public the benefit of everything that he learned in his years of running what was likely the world's greatest Ponzi scheme ever. Perhaps he'll reveal all now that he had pleaded guilty, though that is by no means a legal requirement and he seems unlikely to do so. Nonetheless, we are already able to draw a number of lessons from this one disastrous episode in the endless history of financial scandals.
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A Note on the Current Financial Crisis
October 2008, revised March 2009
Although I forbear from making short-term forecasts, I have a comment on the current state of the stock market and my view on what to do in the present circumstances. My recommendation is that, to the extent that you ought to have stock in your portfolio — and I'll return to this premise later — you should remain invested in the market, come what may.
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