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Jon Roman: Posted on Tuesday, August 09, 2011 7:36 PM
I was surprised by the timing S&P's downgrade of the U.S. credit, but more surprised, actually shocked, at the cries of outrage from people whose objectivity and logic I had previously respected. Okay, I understand that, given the fragility of the markets last week, the timing was awful and it virtually guaranteed a meltdown in Asia Sunday night spreading to Europe and the U.S. on Monday. Friday traditionally has been the that both corporations and government agencies put out bad news. |
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Jon Roman: Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2011 10:22 PM
Much has been said about the deficiencies of risk management leading up to the financial crisis. Too little has been said about the difficulty of the task of the risk manager during the period leading up to a crisis. Suppose you were a capable risk manager who foresaw the housing bubble early. It's not hard to imagine. Fannie Mae's 2002 Annual Report began with the Chairman and CEO answering several important questions- the first of which was asking whether there was a "housing bubble". |
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Jon Roman: Posted on Saturday, April 02, 2011 12:18 PM
Did you ever notice that the same NAICS Industry Code prefix (56) covers Executive Search Services and Pest Control, Credit Bureaus and Hazardous Waste Disposal? Yes, the grouping of these categories preceded the 2008 financial market meltdown. The ( I assume unintended) humor from a juxtaposition of a bureaucratic exercise with knowledge of recent financial history illustrates the importance of perspective in viewing just about anything reasonably complex. I'm in the business of providing perspective (and occasionally humor, whether intended or not) regarding risk management. |
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