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Showing posts from March, 2010

System Dynamics in Financial Regulation

Another nail to the coffin There is much hustle in Brussels as the EU market commissioner proposes steps to curb swap trading. The German chancellor presses for tighter EU regulations on hedge funds. In the UK, we are told, regulators seek tools to “burst dangerous asset bubbles before they are built”. Four banks, including JPMorgan Chase my employer, face trial over sale of derivative to Milan municipality, allegations that echo the role investment banks had in fueling Greek debt. It’s interesting that in the Greek and Italian stories the banks are cast as villains and public sector as a defenseless simpleton. But what is really amazing is that all these stories are reported in just one Financial Times edition. Things are moving at a dizzying pace. Financial policy is going through an overhaul. Aiming at the wrong target Meanwhile in the US, where the villains are the same but the simpletons are the homeowners, there is talk of a new regulatory body, the Consumer Financial Prote...

The Hunt for a Thesis

The thesis is one, of several reasons, that made me choose the System Design and Management program and not an MBA program. I have been looking forward to it with much anticipation. Now that I have started the thesis seminar, I quickly found out what’s the hardest thing about starting a thesis. It’s not finding a subject. Ideas come easily, every week I think of a new idea that gets me hipped. It’s not finding an advisor. There are plenty of experienced professors willing to advice. Unless the research subject is theoretical or not case-specific, which is not my desired direction, the hardest thing is connecting to a company that is willing to share data for research. Sponsored students are lucky (not just because of money) they have an established relationship with a supportive company. No worries, with patience and persistence even hard things reach a successful conclusion.