Michael Rectenwald on the Davos confab

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos is perhaps the world’s most unpopular conference, and the WEF’s founder and chairman, Klaus Schwab, one of the world’s most despised figures. Often compared to “Dr. Evil,” the character Mike Meyers played in the Austin Powers series, and routinely likened to a James Bond supervillain on the internet, Schwab is seen as a messianic megalomaniac leading a nefarious cabal of world leaders and corporate heads into a future dominated by a globalist elite. 

A Twitter poll by TruthBoost asks, “Does the World Economic Forum make the world a better place?” As of this writing, 98.4 percent of respondents said no.

What is it about this confab and its leaders that makes the WEF and its meetings so despised? After all, the WEF is “committed to improving the state of the world,” or so says its slogan. As it turns out, most people don’t like having a group of unelected, self-appointed dictators issuing top-down decrees and recommending policies that restrict their freedom and infringe their rights.

~ Michael Rectenwald, "Davos Man Is at It Again: The 2022 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum," Mises.org, May 31, 2022

Nouriel Roubini on the odds of recession

That's why my point of view is that there’s a 60% probability by 2024 we will end up with a hard landing. 

~ Nouriel Roubini, "Roubini Sees a ‘Hard Landing’ for the Economy," WealthManagement.com, June 1, 2022

(Roubini said there has never been a time when both inflation rose higher than 5% while the unemployment rate was below 5% that the country didn’t experience a hard landing when the Fed raised interest rates to try to reduce inflation.)

Janet Yellen admits she didn't see inflation coming

I was wrong about the path inflation would take.  There have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that at the time I didn’t fully understand.

~ Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, "Yellen Says ‘I Was Wrong’ Last Year on the Path of US Inflation," Bloomberg, May 31, 2022

Leonardo da Vinci on art and science

To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science.  Learn how to see.  Realize that everything connects to everything else.

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Robert Herjavec on how Covid accelerated digital transformation

Covid was the greatest accelerator of business cycles in history.  Everything that's happening now - cloud, e-commerce, digital infrastructure - we all knew that was going to happen, we didn't know it was going to happen in two years.

~ Robert Herjavec, interview with Stuart Varney, Fox Business News, 4:00 mark, May 23, 2022

Ryan Holiday on reading

The purpose of reading is not just raw knowledge.  It's that it is part of the human experience.  It helps you find meaning, understand yourself, and make your life better.

~ Ryan Holiday, podcast host of The Daily Stoic

Warren Buffett on the value of time

The rich invest in time, the poor invest in money.

~ Warren Buffett