Another one of those articles

[brewer12345]

I may be diverting this discussion a bit but how many of you caught the interview of Michael Lewis today? My DD, who has booked him, opined many months ago that he is a great book salesman... But...

I think he is a publicity whore who is slightly smarter than Meredith Whitney (admittedly not a high bar).

 

[donheff]

I think he is a publicity whore who is slightly smarter than Meredith Whitney (admittedly not a high bar).

So, I would guess you are not squarely in the positive camp on Lewis. What about the accuracy of his assertions? The Big Short was a good read. I don't mind if it was written by a shallow author but was I mislead on the facts as well?

 

[MichaelB]

Come on, Brewer. Michael Lewis is a great story teller as well.

So, I would guess you are not squarely in the positive camp on Lewis. What about the accuracy of his assertions? The Big Short was a good read. I don't mind if it was written by a shallow author but was I mislead on the facts as well?

Like with any good story, it's not about the facts but the way they are presented.

 

[brewer12345]

So, I would guess you are not squarely in the positive camp on Lewis. What about the accuracy of his assertions? The Big Short was a good read. I don't mind if it was written by a shallow author but was I mislead on the facts as well?

Sensationalism and intentional misrepresentation in equal measures.

 

[Brat]

I do agree with Lewis that many investment banking operations are still too big to fail.

I wonder if the IMF would be as firm with developed countries as it has been with the under-developed?

 

[brewer12345]

I wonder if the IMF would be as firm with developed countries as it has been with the under-developed?

Its tricky. On the basis of fairness we would like all to be treated the same. Practically speaking, if Kreplachistan blows up it is a quickly forgotten headline and only wounds its neighbors. If one of the largest economies in the world blows up, it is Armageddon for all. Still want everyone treated equally?

 

[Brat]

No, but I was thinking about the workers in a developing countries who have been subject to IMF dictates. They think their lives are as important as .. those in Greece or Italy. Hey, in 1944 it would have been difficult to differentiate those economies. Consider Argentina and Brazil. By way of full disclosure I have a relative who works for that org in Asia. We are at that point in life when we cross at funerals so haven't had the opportunity to get his POV.

 

[brewer12345]

These aren't fun decisions for policymakers, I imagine, and they don't always know what the outcomes of what they do will be. So I imagine they do the best they can and err on the side of caution. The consideration of how many people will be affected is presumably on their minds, but so are lots of things.