Twenty One Blue Jaguars

Thursday, May 1, 2014

The Oracle of Omaha, Lately Looking a Bit Ordinary

Index investing -- the way to go.

(Thanks, Tom)

The difference between cats and dogs

Pretty funny. Still love cats.

High-performing boards: What’s on their agenda?

Directors report that they have a greater impact as they move beyond the basics.

Read more in the McKinsey Quarterly.

Planet Money - Episode 521: The Town That Loves Death

Check out the Planet Money Podcast (download for your next trip!). Important reminder for why we should fill out advanced directives no matter what age we are. Grim thought, but good to be prepared.

Thanks, Akash.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics

It's time to look at ourselves — and our collective moral outrage — in the mirror, says former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Read more in TIME. (Thanks, Peter)

Advice for a Happy Life by Charles Murray

Consider marrying young. Be wary of grand passions. Watch 'Groundhog Day' (again). Advice on how to live to the fullest.

Read more in the WSJ. (Thanks, Vini)

Fact Check: Does Private Equity Kill Jobs?

In 2013, private equity firms owned or backed more than 17,000 US companies employing about 7.5 million people. Little research has been conducted to understand private equity’s effects on workers.
A new book written by two economists, called "Private Equity at Work," attempts to answer the question how the private equity business model affect its employees.
According to the book, private equity owners reduced more jobs than other companies, but the net effect is minimal. One paper cited, led by university of Chicago economist Steven Davis and reviewing 3,200 firms acquired between 1980 and 2005, found that buyouts lead to more job creation and destruction than companies that were not bought by private equity investors.
Another study found that 39% of CEOs were replaced in the first hundred days of a buyout, and 69% were replaced at some point during PE ownership.
The book also noted that private-equity owners are no more hostile to labor unions than executives of public companies. "While some PE firms market themselves as union-friendly, others are hostile, and still others are agnostic," the authors write.