Wise Chinese Sayings...in C(r)ookies of Fortune

WSJ reports that 'China's top bank regulator blamed the U.S.'s loose monetary policy for creating new global asset bubbles, saying low interest rates and a weak dollar are encouraging speculation in world markets.The U.S. Federal Reserve's promise to keep interest rates at extraordinarily low levels for an extended period "has already led to a massive U.S. dollar carry trade and massive speculation," said Liu Mingkang at the International Finance Forum in Beijing, which began shortly before U.S. President Barack Obama arrived for his first visit to China. Mr. Liu, who is chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said the weak dollar and low U.S. rates are creating "unavoidable risks for the recovery of the global economy, especially emerging economies," and that the situation is "seriously impacting global asset prices and encouraging speculation in stock and property markets."...'

Rather than putting the country on a strict diet, Benny and his friends have been serving us any and all food- greasy and grubby, that we can splurge on. Serious surgeries will be required, sooner or later.

Good Old Days..at CBS Channel 2

Last night, CBS local station in Chicago Channel 2 staged a stunt- bringing back Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson, the mainstay news anchors in the eighties, and some of the other characters from that time, for a 10:00 PM newscast. Though corny, it was nice to see two stars from the past get together and do their act once more. Walter has had his share of personal problems after losing a battle with the cigarette companies. Bill Kurtis lost his son recently. It was perhaps good for them too to do the newscast.

The Google Chrome OS...some side benefits

If the Google Chrome OS takes off, as Google hopes it will, there may be some interesting consequences. At its simplest, we need a device with a big/wide screen, a reasonable processor, and no hard drive or DVD drive. This might reduce the need for periodic upgrades or a new buying cycle every couple of years for a bigger processor or more storage. Might have positive environmental effects. Longer battery power because of lightweight processor might mean less power consumption in the long run.

Giving advice, under advisement

Students often ask me for advice, especially on career or academic choices. These are hard topics, and while one tries to give his best advice, the best can be rather poor.

On Tuesday a former student of mine came to talk to my class about life in College and life after College. Today a senior student remarked that she found that presentation to be very encouraging and reassuring. Interesting how value can be added in many ways...