 |
|
TSF's Alternative Finance Links
This is an
eclectic assortment of topics in investments, economics, finance
and risk management,
and are not necessarily germane to structured finance. These sites
are chiefly pro-bono efforts that provide excellent resources in
their respective area/s and are mentioned because of their high
quality, unique focus and/or non-commercial agenda.
Bank of Japan (in English)
Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Berkshire Hathaway: Warren Buffett's Letters to Shareholders
(1977- most recent)
Few beyond BRKA shareholders have read this incredible gold mine
of expert information on how to value corporations (and more).
The fact that this gift hides in plain site disproves the theory
of efficient markets.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Bureau of Labor Statistics
CIA - The World Factbook
CNN Money
DefaultRisk
Greg Gupton, Senior Director of Research at Fitch Ratings, designed
and maintains this first-rate pro-bono web site on his own
time. This is the web's most comprehensive credit risk modeling
and measurement resource for corporate debt.
Department of Justice
Federal Reserve Bank
FT Alphaville
Current global news affecting hedge funds and the capital markets. "Seeking
Alpha" with an international focus.
GloriaMundi
Barry Schachter scrupulously vets all content to focus exclusively
on risk management issues.
HedgeWorld
(Reuters)
This is the most comprehensive coverage of news affecting the
hedge fund industry and the international capital markets.
Registration is required for online topical news. Subscription
for the premium coverage.
Huffington Post
HuffPo's paid
business reporters have scooped "mainstream" media
on several important stories. The
business page of the Huffington Post aggregates
and displays top stories in such a way that one gets a good
overview of
news one may have missed elsewhere. It's
a mix, since some of its volunteer posters aren't up to
that standard, but all posters must I.D. themselves. World
leaders and celebrities write commentaries unavailable elsewhere.
Disclosure: In November 2009, HuffPo invited
me to repost some of my commentaries and/or blog (unpaid),
which I often do. To
be clear, I am not a journalist, I'm a consultant, who occasionally
posts well-researched information or commentaries. My
posts are also available in the "News" section
of this site. Anyone is free to repost these--entirely or
in part--with attribution. As a courtesy to HuffPo,
please include a link if that is where I originally posted
(as opposed to reposted) the material.
Implode-o-Meter
Aaron Krowne, entrepreneur, finance blog contributor, and head
of Planet Math, started this site in late 2006 - a surprisingly
good chronicle of recent events in the troubled US mortgage
lending market.
International Trade Commission
Jesse's Cafe Americain
"Arthur Cutten" returns from the grave to
share his thoughts on precious metals trading, the global economy,
and global politics.
Dr. Sam Savage
Dr. Sam Savage, son of the esteemed statistical theorist Professor
Leonard Savage, is the most underrated mathematical mind for
practical problem solving of our time. He advertises his software
as "informational design," but you can easily adapt
it to solve "complex" financial problems including "fat
tails," skew, extreme events or "black swans," and
other distribution abnormalities that we have dealt with for
decades.
Savage's elegant
software
makes
ingenious
use of Microsoft's Excel: Monte Carlo on your desktop. Note that
open systems like the market may require different models and
higher math, but this is a flexible tool, and a tremendous bargain.
Whichever model you use for whatever application, keep in mind
the following. No model can replace experience, knowledge, imagination,
and judgment. That part is up to you.
Securities and Exchange Commission - EDGAR Database
Unvetted, often unintentionally hilarious public filings are
posted on the SEC's site. Mystery Writers of America (MWA)
gives out an annual award called an "Edgar" to
top fiction writers, but it has nothing to do with the SEC's
EDGAR filings. MWA follows
standards and vets its submissions.
Securities Class Action - Stanford's site
Seeking Alpha
The internet site for up-to-the minute financial news watched
by hedge funds and other professional investors. When you want
to monitor mob thinking, this is the site to visit.
US Census Bureau
U.S. National Debt Clock
The bipartisan betrayal.
Wikipedia
There is no link, since this is a public service announcement.
If you do a word search on Google, Wikipedia will usually be
the first thing that pops up. Yet from behavioral finance to
structured finance, your financial IQ will almost certainly
drop for having read it. |
|