Productive Day, or Non-Productive Day

Here's a way you can be totally unproductive today: if you live in New York City, let's try to estimate which subway lines bring the most Halloween costumes into Manhattan. Right now, the D Line is losing, big time. I didn't see one costume the entire ride.

A friend in the office marked one: a man in a corporate suit, with a cardboard box shaped like a robot head on his head. Stunning. 5 Train wins!

Now, here's a way you can be very productive this morning. The director of the journalism school at my alma mater, University of Hong Kong, chatted with me last night and alerted me to the fact that George Soros is giving a series of lectures on his thinking about economics.

She said he is refashioning the way he thinks about even his own economics. George Soros lectures sponsored by the FT can be found at the link.

From the link:

George Soros explores the conflict between capitalism and open society, market values and social values. Focusing on the principal-agent problem, he will use contemporary economic and political examples to challenge market fundamentalism while presenting ideas for protecting the public good more effectively

He also gave a lecture that should be up on that site now at the University of Hong Kong about China. I have not seen it. But I want to. Have to get to it later in the day.

George Soros on the future of China.

Michelle Obama: "Teachers Important to Strength of Economy"

This morning, I realized that Michelle Obama wrote a column yesterday about the role that teachers play in improving the economy. From a business perspective, there's not much in here that's new. We all know that better education in the form of training students to contribute to global needs is important.

I think this article is important because it shows that the Obamas, as a family, seem to be heading this push to fund education as much as they can. So, here's basically the "nut graf," as they say in the news business. The rest is kind of purple prose. Here you go:

We need universities to double down on their efforts to prepare teachers and to improve and expand effective alternative routes to certify teachers. We need to encourage more experienced professionals to consider teaching as the next chapter in their careers. And we need to treat teachers like the professionals they are by providing good salaries and high-quality professional development opportunities. We need parents to do their part as well to match that leadership in the classroom with leadership at home. We need to set limits and turn off the TV. We need to put away those video games and make sure that homework gets done. We need to reinforce the example that's being set and the lessons being taught at school and make sure that learning continues at home.

And we need government to support significant efforts to recruit and retain teachers and to reward high-performing teachers. Along those lines, President Obama is already investing more than $3 billion to turn around struggling schools. And he has proposed a nationwide Teacher Recruitment Program to attract more people to the profession, especially in high-need schools. I look forward to being involved with this program and encouraging people across America to put their leadership skills to work in our nation's schools.

Michelle Obama writes about the importance of teachers in economics

Will G7 Meeting Guarantee All Interbank Lending?

Rumors are swirling. During a financial panic that has wiped more than 1/3 off the market value of several international exchanges, the G7 is preparing to meet in the US to solve the pandemic.

Marc Chandler, analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman, said despite the grim outlook, the G7 still has some options to help calm the storm.

"We are hesitant to spread rumors, but there is increasing speculation that the G7 meeting could take another major step and that is to guarantee all interbank lending," he said.

"This talk is having a demonstrable impact on the interest rate markets. It is difficult to evaluate the likelihood, but it is important to note that officials generally recognize that current measures are not yet sufficient to turn the corner of the crisis."

G7 Gathering to Solve the Market Collapse