randformblog on math, physics, art, and design |
A reader called Hein Kleist wrote:
I find it a little dangerous that you suggest to let problematic banks go bankrupt! Don’t you know that the collapse of Lehman Brothers almost destroyed the world financial system? There could be a chain reaktion of an unknown size!
The media over here didnt like the fact that the Oscar Academy Awards organizers tried to hide the glamour before the show. Well I dont know how much glamour there is in LA, but on randform there is today!
We usually try to avoid promotions on this blog, however there are exceptions! Annette Dasch – a former school mate from Tim (they actually went together to China with their school orchester) is a new great talented soprano singer, some call her Berlin’s Anna Netrebko. Berliners may also know her from Annettes DaschSalon. She was recently here in munich for promoting her new CD. She even performed some songs together with pianist Martin Stadtfeld, who was also promoting. Here some images from the event in a munich store, which was quite funny.
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A reader was asking in a preceding post:
Thank you for interesting explanation. So you say that high-rank officials who does not like to be critized should better take the pills you mentioned, since they probably have this sickness you describe?
The below marks on a house in Munichs Schellingstrasse are I think remnants of shootings from the time of WWII. There is a glassplate with the words “wounds of reminiscence” (in german), signed by Passow and Weizäcker, however no explanation so I am not sure.
In Berlin there are also quite some marks like this, unfortunately they are usually covered after rehabilitation and thus the scars of war are getting more and more obliterated. E.g. if I remember correctly the Magnushaus of the german physical society on the street “Am Kupfergraben” was just a few years ago covered with similar shooting marks, the museum right across the street also had some, but they are renovating there too so I dont know wether they are still visible.
shop widow in Munich’s Amalienstrasse
Today the german “stabilization law” mentioned in the last randform post, which was hastingly put together within a couple of days and which concerns an amount of money which is in the order of the costs of the german unity, is going to be passed.
With it
Since -with this law, it is on one hand in principle possible to adjust the time validity of remuneration obligations via Rechtsverordnung (which means in particular without the need of parlamentary involvement), however on the other hand as indicated on the webpage (same as in last post) there seems to be no intention to do this on a broad scheme. In particular I hereby repeat (like for those with an attention deficit syndrome..:)) the current legislation means that
(for more see last post)
This implies that probably no real changes in the banking system will take place and I am asking myself how this could possibly raise the trust of savers.
Due to the given financial crisis governments worldwide are busy to bundle up “care packages”. Oversimplifying a bit one can describe the current scenario as follows:
Banks lost trust among themselves, therefore they tend to cease lending out money, therefore capital flow is in danger, therefore economy is in danger. Hence governments put guarantees, buy up problematic assets etc., which in the turn buffer the risk for the banks, so that the banks will again have more confidence into themselves.
This would be funny if it wouldn’t be funny at all.
In particular the german government will issue a “stabilization law”, which is intended to be pushed through by the end of the week and which I find hard to accept. Why?
Lets first put together the main points of this law:
(english handout):
-the german government provides a fund with a volume of 500 billion Euros (operated by the ministry of finance and administered by Deutsche Bank) , with which “measurements” such as recapitalization (which means more or less bying parts of banks/sharevalues/etc.)(80 billion Euro) and putting guarantees (400 billion Euro + 20 billion security reserve) can be taken.
In exchange for this public donation one can read today on the webpage of the ministry of finance that:
Der Bundesregierung ist wichtig, dass Manager harte Auflagen in Kauf nehmen müssen, wenn sie unter diesen Absicherungsschirm wollen. Neben der angemessen Vergütung für die Hilfen wird es für jedes Unternehmen, das Unterstützung braucht:
* eine Höchstgrenze für Vorstandsbezüge von 500.000 Euro geben müssen
* einen Verzicht auf Bonuszahlungen geben müssen
* einen Verzicht auf Dividendenausschüttungen geben müssen.
(translation without guarantee)
It is important for the german government that managers have to accept firm obligations, if they want to be eligible for safeguarding measurements. Besides an adequate compensation for the help it will be necessary to demand for each corporation, which is in need that
*there exists an upper limit of 500000 Euro for remuneration of members of the management
*a disclaimer for bonuses
*a disclaimer for dividends
In their draft for the new law these obligations are not mentioned explicitly, but it is written (§ 10) that the obligations which have to be complied with (zu erfüllenden Anforderungen) can be later on specified in socalled Rechtsverordnungen.
The above described help package of the german government is valid until Dec. 31. 2009.
Among others (i have not really time for going into detail) it is the term “zu erfüllende Anforderungen” (demands which have to be complied with). Given that I understood correctly –
Given this is true, I find that quite unacceptable.
Or in other words:
It is fairly obvious that a big part of the current disaster is due to –yes one should call what it is — “profitable and riskless gambling with the ressources of others”. In other words most of the current remuneration systems reward those who are successfully pushing the limits without (almost) any personal consequences. In particular it does not reward those, who may step back e.g. for moral and other reasons.
In this statement by Hector Sants from FSA (UK Financial Services Authority) Criteria for good and bad renumeration policies are outlined.
They are a bit too weak for my taste, but well they give at least some indication on what is darned necessary.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities which suffered under a US nuclear attack are in the vicinity of Fukuoka (where the writers of this blog are currently located), so there are quite some people around here for whom these attacks are not just a scary story but bitter reality.
The bombs were a production of the Manhattan Project which was initiated by the fear that Nazi Germany could develop bombs of its own (which turned out wasn’t the case) and there were plans to throw nuclear bombs on Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Berlin. Luckily Berlin capitulated early enough! If this wouldnt have been the case you probably wouldnt read this blog, as both of my parents were in Berlin in wartimes (with a few exceptions: my father and his mother (a single mom) were evacuated to Bavaria for a short time and my mother and her mother went on a trip to get the mother of my grandmother (whose husband died already in the first world war) out of Poland)
Among the targets of the US bombs were the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works and it is a strange coincidence that right this company is currently developing Japans new fast breeder at Monju (partially in collaboration with russia). At this point one should repeat that fast breeders bear a high proliferation risk.
The old fast breeder in Monju was closed in 1995 following a serious sodium leak (which was luckily not radioactive like this leak) and fire. It is expected to reopen in 2008.
An anonymous reader was asking in a comment what the magazine “Siegessaeule” is. Since I wrote a bit more in the answer I decided to make it into a blog post.
Just an update update about Pianist Nasseri’s last concert. Part of it -namely the Waltzes by Johannes Brahms– are now on youtube.
Since the recording is authorized by the artist, it wont probably be taken off like the video in this post (see the current discussion)
->Brahms 16 Waltzes, Op. 39. (Waltzes 1-5)
->Brahms 16 Waltzes, Op. 39. (Waltzes 6-11)