No Bombshells in Warren Buffett’s 2020 Letter to Shareholders [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] Unless “steer clear of bonds” is a news flash, Warren Buffett’s just-released 2020...Read More
TV Ratings Bonanza While Jon Stewart mulls his post-Daily Show career options, here’s a brainstorm: Want to inject some excitement into 2016 national politics? Find a way to energize apathetic, notoriously low-turnout Millennials and actually get them to the polls? Run a candidate who speaks to them (and not a few Baby Boomers, Gen X’ers,...Read More
Wall Street Oxymoron: “Spin-Free Financial Journalism” “What happens when you turn over regulatory responsibilities to people who think there is really no need for regulation?” –Floyd Norris, “When Regulators are Blind to Rules“; The NYT (12/18/2014) I can count on one hand — with a finger or two left over — the financial journalists and...Read More
Post-Retirement Hobby: “Grandchildren” “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” –General Douglas MacArthur As far as I can tell, there are two reasons Realtors don’t seem to have retirement parties: One. They never retire. At least for some agents past a certain point, it’s a lifestyle as much as a livelihood. If you don’t...Read More
The $6.4 Trillion Question: Why Not?? I’m sure Eric Holder accomplished lots of other things during his six-year tenure as (now-outgoing) U.S. Attorney General. Unfortunately, holding Wall Street accountable for its egregious — and frequently criminal — conduct at the heart of The 2008 Financial Crash most certainly wasn’t one of them. The really hard...Read More
Second Time the Charm? The last time the public was this disgusted with Congress, term limits got a serious hearing. Then — as best I can recall — Bill Clinton got elected President, the economy picked up . . . and the issue just sort of faded away. Fast forward 20 years or so. Reading...Read More
