tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post4536942391453635338..comments2024-03-27T03:00:27.024-04:00Comments on Facts & other stubborn things: Two Keynes linksEvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259004160963531720noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-50338644557379417032012-07-25T13:04:24.631-04:002012-07-25T13:04:24.631-04:00Graham wrote: "An investment operation is one...Graham wrote: "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative." <br /><br />Who's "thorough analysis" though?<br /><br />In most cases an investor believes he has "safety of principal and a satisfactory return" otherwise he wouldn't invest. Start-up companies are only a partial exception, the investor who puts money in 50 start-up companies knows many will fail, but believes that those who succeed will ensure a good return to counteract the failures.<br /><br />Economics has to have clear definitions. Now, how would you separate "speculative" investments from others?Currenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08645195276844244481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-60809824189481524372012-07-25T11:49:42.363-04:002012-07-25T11:49:42.363-04:00Out of curiosity, why do you ask? It's not tha...Out of curiosity, why do you ask? It's not that the question is a bad one, speculation itself can be difficult to define, but Graham does provide a good explanation for it, at least according to Wikipedia.Blue Aurorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02044362251868221897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-45073697371349886362012-07-24T13:16:18.564-04:002012-07-24T13:16:18.564-04:00Question for you BA.... What, according to you, i...Question for you BA.... What, according to you, is "speculative activity"?Currenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08645195276844244481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-59230581494071188822012-07-24T10:33:15.391-04:002012-07-24T10:33:15.391-04:00Regarding the BBC article by John Gray...I saw tha...Regarding the BBC article by John Gray...I saw that earlier today. I agree with Gray that Keynes himself was a much more flexible and adaptable character when he was alive, so his solution to the global financial crisis would probably have been much different if Keynes were to come back and see what has transpired.<br /><br />Regarding Marx and Keynes - according to Dr. Michael Emmett Brady, like Adam Smith, all three have one thing in common: an opposition to unbridled speculative activity. Dr. Brady agrees with Keynes by saying that Marx's central error was to follow in Ricardo's footsteps. <br /><br />Note that neither Brady nor I agree with Marx's conclusions or policy implications. I, like Brady, am just pointing out a historical attitude toward speculative activity. I wonder if some historian of economic thought has written a book on this or something...Blue Aurorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02044362251868221897noreply@blogger.com