All Epsilon Theory Content

All Epsilon Theory Content

 

Everything we have published at Epsilon Theory since 2013, an archive of more than 1,000 evergreen notes.

Speak Now

By Rusty Guinn | February 1, 2019 | 8 Comments

We no longer have real discussions about critical civic issues in part because we’ve stopped calling things by their proper name. Our lack of nuance causes those conversations to degrade into predictable, exhausting patterns. Let’s figure this out before it’s too late.

The Zeitgeist | 1.31.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 31, 2019 | 0 Comments

A big day for the Green New Deal, tax policy old and new, a solution for morale problems at Palantir and a solution for god only knows at Davos.

Uttin’ On the Itz!

By Ben Hunt | January 30, 2019 | 7 Comments

Watching Jay Powell’s press conference today, it hit me – THIS HAS ALL HAPPENED BEFORE.

Back in September, 2013 to be precise, when Ben Bernanke told us that QE was not going to roll off as expected, that “data dependent” meant “market dependent”, and the Fed was a prisoner of the White House and Wall Street.

You are here. Again.

The Zeitgeist | 1.30.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 30, 2019 | 0 Comments

Today’s Zeitgeist has a bit of private markets, Boeing and Apple, conspiracies and tax avoidance.

Kobayashi Maru

By Demonetized | January 29, 2019 | 4 Comments

When facing a no-win scenario, sometimes the only rational choice is for our advisers and managers to change the conditions of the test. That doesn’t mean we have to buy what they’re selling.

The Zeitgeist | 1.29.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 29, 2019 | 0 Comments

Food and retailing are top of mind (and…bullish?), trade continues to dominate content and commentary, and a hero rides in to protect the Lu Ann Platter.

The Road to Tannu Tuva, Pt. 2

By Rusty Guinn | January 29, 2019 | 0 Comments

The next stops in our discovery of the process of discovery? A town of 1,282 people and the mind of a German physicist named Arnold Sommerfeld.

You and Me (But Mostly Me)

By Rusty Guinn | January 28, 2019 | 5 Comments

Like it or not, the 2020 election season has begun. But I’ve got good news for you: someone has The Answer for the political center, and he’d very much like to discuss it with you.

The Zeitgeist | 1.28.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 28, 2019 | 0 Comments

Oil falls, gas bounces, banks are buoyed. It’s apparently a weird gravity metaphor grab-bag on a Monday Zeitgeist.

Pricing Power (Pt. 1)

By Ben Hunt | January 26, 2019 | 7 Comments

When an inflation regime shifts, the only question that really matters for your investments and your business model is this: do you have pricing power?

Pt. 1 of a three-fer Brief series … why the worst place to be in any services industry is on the product side.

The Zeitgeist | 1.25.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 25, 2019 | 0 Comments

Billionaire penthouses, vertical integration in cannabis, non-musical music power, and a shifting tone in tech.

Mailbag!

By Ben Hunt | January 24, 2019 | 8 Comments

Time to resurrect an old Epsilon Theory feature and make it a regular thing. Because the ET pack has a voice that’s worth hearing.

The Zeitgeist | 1.24.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 24, 2019 | 0 Comments

An American mutual fund gatekeeper does PR for China, DNC gunning for Wall Street, multiple missionaries live from the pulpit in Davos.

The Zeitgeist | 1.23.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 23, 2019 | 1 Comment

Talking ourselves into a recession, trusting our employers, and a fine example of government shutdown Fiat News.

The Zeitgeist | 1.22.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 22, 2019 | 0 Comments

Welcome back, folks. Today, it’s all about cloud and blockchain, but no cannabis. Also: tech earnings, Trump can’t make a deal, and corporate debt.

In the Trenches: As Good As It Gets

By Peter Cecchini | January 21, 2019 | 3 Comments

A generation of investors has Paul Volcker to thank for almost 40-years of slowly falling rates. He handed countless baby-boomers a free 100 points of investing IQ, for which most never thanked him. It was as good as it gets.

Schrödinger’s Staredown

By Rusty Guinn | January 20, 2019 | 17 Comments

The gyre widens again, and if we are not careful, it will force us into positions that require us to deny the basic humanity of our fellow citizens. Reject it.

What Gang Aft Agley

By Rusty Guinn | January 19, 2019 | 1 Comment

We asset owners and allocators (rightfully) obsess about alignment, but too often that obsession becomes an outward one, motivated by our rights and entitlements instead of our ultimate best interest.

The Zeitgeist | 1.18.2019

By Rusty Guinn | January 18, 2019 | 0 Comments

Today it’s Morgan Stanley, the price of rice, Morgan Stanley, the art of AI and a bit more Morgan Stanley.

Modern Monetary Theory or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the National Debt

By Ben Hunt | January 17, 2019 | 20 Comments

Modern Monetary Theory is neither modern nor a theory. It’s a post hoc rationalization of politically expedient policy that makes us feel better about all the bad stuff we’ve done with money and debt in service to Team Elite.

And all the bad stuff we’re going to do in the future.