August 23, 2018

Ben Hunt @ Second Foundation Partners

Mailbag: One Ring to Rule Them All

How to apportion the market effects of Fed jawboning and Fed asset purchases/sales?

Keep on reading: Mailbag: One Ring to Rule Them All

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

From Thugs to Douche Bros: the Evolution of the Surveillance State

I went to the KGB Museum in Vilnius, where the Russians managed their surveillance ops during the Cold War occupation of Lithuania. The Russians were thugs. First brutish and then banal, but thugs all along. We’re building our own surveillance state ...

Oct 02, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

A Game of You

We’ve reached a new height (depth, really) of what I call “mirror engagement” on social media. If you don’t see yourself in the Missionary you follow, you get mad. How dare you not reflect my views! Keep on reading: A Game of You RSS Import: Original ...

Sep 30, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Schrödinger’s Senate Hearing

Most people confuse Schrödinger’s Cat with the Observer Effect. It’s a lot weirder and more important than that. Keep on reading: Schrödinger’s Senate Hearing RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 28, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Notes from the Diamond #1: Always Something New to Learn

This is Part 1 of a multi-part series entitled Notes from the Diamond . The series seeks to enhance readers’ deployment of both human and financial capital by exploring parallels between money management and professional baseball — endeavors whose ...

Sep 26, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Deadly. Holy. Rough. Immediate.

It’s hard to be larger than life in a smaller than life world. It’s hard to be authentic in your art without being artificial. Good theatre does just that. We’re hoping to do the same in Epsilon Theory. It’s not easy, but the important things in life ...

Sep 26, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Missionary Body Language

An effective Missionary uses body language to help create Common Knowledge, and Donald Trump is a VERY effective Missionary. Cue the white persian cat. Keep on reading: Missionary Body Language RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 26, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

The Chinese Panoptistate

I didn’t invent the term “Panoptistate” to describe what China is doing with its social data monitoring effort, but I did write an Epsilon Theory note about it. Keep on reading: The Chinese Panoptistate RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 25, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Guest Post: The Two Worlds of Data Infrastructure

Is there an alternative to the totalitarian data infrastructure China has constructed? Is there an alternative to the fragmented, semi-private-ish version of the Chinese system that we have constructed in the West? YES. Keep on reading: Guest Post: ...

Sep 25, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Mailbag: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

A fellow Slummerville old-timer writes in with a Savenor’s update. Dream job posted. But who can afford a dream? It’s the gentrification not just of neighborhoods, but of commerce and skilled labor. Keep on reading: Mailbag: Mastering the Art of ...

Sep 24, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

It’s a Floor Wax AND a Dessert Topping

The NY Atty Gen’l says Coinbase has “proprietary trading”. Coinbase says they do not have “a proprietary trading desk”. Who’s telling the truth? My view: it’s not a prop desk. No, it’s worse than a prop desk. Keep on reading: It’s a Floor Wax AND a ...

Sep 22, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

The Curse of Category

In investing and in life, we are always quick to judge the book by its cover. We’re even quicker to judge a book by what shelf it’s on. Keep on reading: The Curse of Category RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 21, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

That time I followed Julia Child through a grocery store. Keep on reading: Mastering the Art of French Cooking RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 19, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

But Our Interests Are Aligned!

The modern use of stock-based compensation is a confidence game , in the true sense of the word, that would be very familiar to The Music Man. Keep on reading: But Our Interests Are Aligned! RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 18, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Notes From the Road: Roadkill

Keep on reading: Notes From the Road: Roadkill RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 17, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

You Provide the Pictures and I’ll Provide the War

Billionaires don’t buy media properties as vanity projects. They buy them because they understand the political and economic power of Fiat News. Keep on reading: You Provide the Pictures and I’ll Provide the War RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 17, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

True Freedoms / Hollow Freedoms

Our liberty is not granted to us by the State or the Oligarchs. It is not theirs to give. It cannot be taken away. But we can give it away. From “Pecking Order” (November, 2017) … Keep on reading: True Freedoms / Hollow Freedoms RSS Import: Original ...

Sep 16, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Lehman and the Meta-Game of Trading

Everyone has their Lehman war stories. Here’s one of mine that was particularly formative for Epsilon Theory. Keep on reading: Lehman and the Meta-Game of Trading RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 15, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Hunt’s Law: An Experiment

Hunt’s Law ( fake news drives real news out of circulation) applies everywhere today, even to Hunt. Keep on reading: Hunt’s Law: An Experiment RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 14, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Hunt’s Law

Gresham’s Law: bad money drives good money out of circulation. Hunt’s Law: fake news drives real news out of circulation. Keep on reading: Hunt’s Law RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 13, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Repo 105

Every time Dick Fuld’s publicists succeed in getting a “redemption story” published in the WSJ or NYT, I’m going to write an ET piece about Repo 105. Keep on reading: Repo 105 RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 12, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Whitestone Bridge

Everyone has their 9/11 story. Here’s mine. In 1937, in the midst of a Great Depression, we started building a mighty bridge, not for a war effort, but for a popular movement based on wonder and progress. We did that. We built it quickly and well. We ...

Sep 11, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Controlling Your Cartoon: Nike and the Art of the Meme

The key to political and commercial success in a widening gyre? Controlling your own cartoon. Keep on reading: Controlling Your Cartoon: Nike and the Art of the Meme RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 10, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

Mailbag: Mind the Gap!

How much richer are we than we “should” be in the Great Financial Asset bubble? Keep on reading: Mailbag: Mind the Gap! RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 09, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

19th Century White Papers

Two short stories from the 19th century that teach us more about investing than any white paper. Keep on reading: 19th Century White Papers RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 09, 2018

Ben Hunt, Second Foundation Partners

They Don’t Think It Be Like It Is, But It Do

In baseball and in investing and in life, we often miss the obvious truths that are staring us in the face. Keep on reading: They Don’t Think It Be Like It Is, But It Do RSS Import: Original Source

Sep 07, 2018