Quote for the Week, September 29-October 5, 2013

I don't know whether we will make history tomorrow, but we will certainly change geography.

--British General Sir Herbert Plumer, June 6, 1917, the night before setting off one million pounds of explosives under enemy trenches on the Western Front

Debt Cycles for Dummies

Bridgewater's Ray Dalio gives us a short, simple lesson on how the economy works.  If thirty minutes is not short enough for you, zip ahead to the 7:00 mark, where begins a four-minute explanation of debt cycles and the difference between good and bad credit.

Dalio makes the case toward the end that deleveraging can be "beautiful."  Color me skeptical.

Tuesday Tune-up

John Denver, "Annie's Song"

Quote for the Week, September 22-28, 2013

A volatile market of gyrating currencies and grasping governments shrinks the horizons of the economy and reduces it to high frequency trading and arbitrage in a hypertrophy of finance.
--George Gilder

Tuesday Tune-up

Gordon Lightfoot, "If You Could Read My Mind"

Quote for the Week, September 15-21, 2013

It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional.

--Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

Tuesday Tune-up

Roy Orbison, "Only the Lonely"

Quote for the Week, September 8-14, 2013

War is never a solution; it is an aggravation.
--Benjamin Disraeli

Tuesday Tune-up

Traveling Wilburys, "Handle With Care"

Quote for the Week, September 1-7, 2013

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.
--Oscar Wilde