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Reinventing the Financial System

By Marc Rubinstein | June 15, 2021 | 4 Comments

If you’re like me, you’ve been put off from digging deeper into DeFi by the terrible signal-to-noise ratio of anything crypto-related on the interwebs. That’s why I found this DeFi primer (using Maker DAO as a specific example) by ET contributor and banking analyst Marc Rubinstein to be so fantastic.

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Why Am I Reading This Now? 12.16.24

Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrativ‌e campaign.



Why Am I Reading This Now? 12.09.24

Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrativ‌e campaign.



Why Am I Reading This Now? 12.02.24

Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrativ‌e campaign.



Why Am I Reading This Now? 11.25.24

Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrativ‌e campaign.



Why Am I Reading This Now? 11.18.24

Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrativ‌e campaign.



ZG-item-cap-black

Why Am I Reading This Now? 12.16.24

Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrativ‌e campaign.



Why Am I Reading This Now? 12.09.24

Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrativ‌e campaign.



Recent Notes

The Zeitgeist – 4.2.2019

By Ben Hunt | April 2, 2019

Maya Angelou not only knew what made the caged bird sing, but also what makes Fiat News tick.

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them FEEL.

The Zeitgeist – 4.1.2019

By Rusty Guinn | April 1, 2019

Today’s Zeitgeist is all about trust in the trustless (ugh), hope springing eternal in Value Added, benchmarking the unbenchmarkable, Fiat News through bad Googling, and why we can’t shake fat fingers.

How to Live Safely in a Wall Street Universe

By Ben Hunt | March 31, 2019

It’s the most valuable lesson I’ve got for any smart, young Coyote embarking on a career in the Mob or in Wall Street: never ask for a cut on an existential trade idea.

Our Thing isn’t about the money. IT’S. ABOUT. THE. MONEY.

Except when it’s not.

The Weekend Zeitgeist – 3.30.2019

By Rusty Guinn | March 30, 2019

The weekend Zeitgeist, in which we are reminded that we need Silicon Valley to tell us what art is, that we need Zucker and Murdoch to tell us what news is, and opposing politicians to tell us what we should be mad about.

The Ants and the Grasshopper

By Demonetized | March 28, 2019

ET contributor Demonetized takes a fresh look at the fable of the Ants and the Grasshopper. Or rather, it’s an Epsilon Theory look, with Clear Eyes and a Full Heart. Metastability, too.

The Zeitgeist – 3.28.2019

By Ben Hunt | March 28, 2019

Wells Fargo and Mastercard CEOs say blockchain has yet to live up to the hype, Bolsonaro has a post-election let-down in Brazil, you can increase profit margins by squeezing your suppliers, and other tales from Captain Obvious in today’s Zeitgeist.

The Zeitgeist – 3.27.2019

By Ben Hunt | March 27, 2019

As a recovering short seller, I have the same reaction to the activist news on Bed Bath and Beyond as I do to video of Lawrence Taylor breaking Joe Theisman’s leg … I just can’t watch. Gotta turn away.

Come to think of it, this is kinda my reaction to all financial and political news these days.

The Front

By Rusty Guinn | March 26, 2019

We take a break from Fiat News to talk about the much simpler, much more straightforward ways that we are told how to think.

They’re not new, but in the Widening Gyre of our current political Zeitgeist, they are becoming the main attraction.

The Zeitgeist – 3.26.2019

By Ben Hunt | March 26, 2019

Yield curve alert! We have a BLARING SIREN that is FLASHING … … ummm, amber. I mean, AMBER! And $600 billion in healthcare insurance market cap will be WIPED OUT if Dems have their way!

They’re coming to get you, Barbara!

The Epsilon Strategy

By Ben Hunt | March 25, 2019

We can be better investors. Not by playing the cards we’re dealt any harder. But by playing the other players at the table a lot smarter.

It’s a new technology applied to an old investment strategy. It’s a new way to think about money flows and investor behaviors.

The Zeitgeist Weekend Edition – 3.24.2019

By Rusty Guinn | March 24, 2019

The weekend Zeitgeist, in which the Gray Lady’s news coverage gets even grayer, everybody loves Beto, Rusty discovers a new Hall of Fame about which he has opinions, and abstracted thinking in cheese research.

Free-Range Kids / Free-Range Capitalism

By Rusty Guinn | March 23, 2019

Helicopter parenting produces kids whose ability to evaluate and take risks has been crippled. If we’re not careful, helicopter parenting from policy-makers will do the same to us as investors.

The Zeitgeist – 3.22.2019

By Rusty Guinn | March 22, 2019

In which we are told that China is not the AI-powered dystopia we we were looking for, we encounter the “seen to” Fiat News tell in the wild, and we take a longer look at something over the better part of…an evening?

All the Fiat News that’s fit to scrutinize.

The Zeitgeist – 3.21.2019

By Ben Hunt | March 21, 2019

“It’s a trap!” This and other evergreen memes of Fiat News, yours for the plucking in today’s Zeitgeist.

It’s not impossible for market volatility to spike massively through some deflationary shock to the financial system like a global recession or a China-driven credit crisis or an Italy-driven euro crisis. What’s impossible is TO GET PAID for taking out an insurance policy against volatility spikes from these deflationary shocks.

Admiring the Problem

By Rusty Guinn | March 20, 2019

One of the missionary’s most powerful tools is admiring the unsolvable problem – finding new ways of describing what’s wrong without an honest effort to actually fix it.

With apologies, add this to the list of things that you will now see everywhere.

The Zeitgeist – 3.20.2019

By Ben Hunt | March 20, 2019

Jay Powell channels Arthur Burns, a Fed model for congressional budget debates, and a smorgasbord of Boeing bagholder quotes. All in a day’s work for the Zeitgeist!

Office Hours – 3.19.2019

By Rusty Guinn | March 19, 2019

In this Office Hours, Ben and Rusty dig into the transition of capital markets into political utilities – this time with a special focus on private markets.

The Zeitgeist – 3.19.2019

By Rusty Guinn | March 19, 2019

Today’s Zeitgeist is about tweet nudges, massive law partner payouts, a big reason for massive law partner payouts, your closet, the people who want to sell you…rope, and more.

Good Luck!

By Rusty Guinn | March 18, 2019

Ben has already talked about the biggest and most important thing we can do in the face of the admissions bribery scandal.

But many remain convinced that this scandal is an inflection point, a change in the Zeitgeist. It isn’t. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be watching for our opportunity to weaken the influence of the Church of Credential.

The Zeitgeist – 3.18.2019

By Ben Hunt | March 18, 2019

The Lyft IPO prospectus is out today, so we’re sure to hear plenty of dueling banjos in financial media over the next few weeks and months. It was a fun vacation for Burt Reynolds and the boys at the start of that movie.

Also, more on ESG and other myths in today’s Zeitgeist.