Photography: Impressions from Denver

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Recently my wife and I visited Denver, a sleepy town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. We liked the city and enjoyed her climate thanks to the very low humidity.

 

Being an ambitious amateur photographer I took a lot pictures there and display my favorites here.

 

Like many American cities in the west, Denver is a sprawl and is spread over a huge area. But the city`s center is a cool & modern area with a lot of high rises.

 

I really like the cool architecture.

 

Many buildings are craftfully designed.

 

others entertain with fancy colors.

 

But I also spotted a brutalist building

 

Denver seems to be the capital of craft beer. The city has a cluster of little but ambitious breweries. Above a look into the 10 Barrels Brewery Pub.

I really enjoyed Denver´s street art.

and there is more to see





 

 

a model shooting somewhere

 

Stay tuned





 

Contemporary Art: Night & Day @ Thierry Goldberg Gallery New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - New York`s fast gentrifying Lower East Side became a magnet for the bridge-and-tunnel crowd and an infamous party & nightlife center. But the neighborhood is also a mecca of art with dozens of respectable art galleries. Thierry Goldberg on Norfolk Street belongs to the most interesting galleries on LES.

This week I saw there again an interesting group exhibition with fresh paintings - called "Night & Day" (thierrygoldberg). Above you can see 2 paintings by Nash Glynn, they are called "Night & Day" (2019, acrylic on canvas, 8 x38 x 7 in). Real or fantasy? Anyway, an interesting take on diversity, beauty & human sexuality.

Above another image by Nash Glynn. The artist (b. 1992, Miami, Fl) lives and works in New York City (nashglynn ).

Above images by Nadia Waheed, called "Paradox", "Bathers" & "Aerobeacon" (all 2019, acrylic on canvas). The artist (b. 1992, Al Khoobar, Saudi Arabia) lives and works in Austin. What would her family back home say to this exhibition? (nadiawaheed).

Above images by Sasha Gordon: "American Girl", "untitled" & "Drive Through" (all 2019, oil on canvas). She (b. 1998, Bronx, Ny) lives and works in Providence, RI. (sasha-gordon).

Finally works by Marco Lorenzetti: "Company for the sea #2", "Company for the sea #1" & "Bad Child" (all 2019, oil paint, graphite and aerosol paint on canvas). The artist (b. 1992, Chicago, Il) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. (marcolorenzetti).

To be continued

Economics: Are Super-Low Interest Rates Really So Bad?

(Drivebycuriosity) - There is a lot ado about the record-low interest rates. The pundits complain that extremely low interest rates are bad for the economy & the stock market. Are they?

I assume that low interest rates support the economy. Investors have to pay less for their loans, which encourages them to take more loans and to use the money to invest more. If you expect that a certain investment creates an annual return of say 5%, then it does make no sense to take a loan when the interest rate is 5% or higher. But if the interest rate is below 5% then you can hope to make a profit by taking loans and investing the money. The lower the interest rate the higher is the expected profit (return of the investment minus the cost of the loan).

Lower interest rates have more advantages. They are making building & buying houses more reasonable and consumer credits get more attractive. Low interest rates reduce the risks of going bankrupt because the debtors need to pay less. Low interest rates also benefit the taxpayers because the government needs to spend less for her debts.

Low interest rates are also good for the stock market. Bonds & stocks are competing with each other. Do you want to invest in stocks or in bonds? The answer depends on the relative risks and returns. If the return of low-risk bonds, the interest rate, is as high as the return of risky stocks, the expected gains & dividends, it does make no sense to buy stocks. If the return of bonds is much lower than the return of stocks, then investing into stocks gets more attractive. In this case the higher stock returns compensate for the higher risks.

Some claim that low interest rates punish savers. Really? It makes more sense to save money by owning stocks than owning bonds. Stocks are investments in companies, so the stock market participates in economic growth, bonds don`t.  Since 1928 the US stock market (S&P 500) created an average annual return of about 10% p.a! (dividends reinvested nyu.edu/ investopedia).

The pundits also claim that the current inverse yield curve -   long term interest interest rates are below short term rates - are predicting a coming recession. i doubt that. Nobody can read the future, no crowd, no market. The inverse yield curve mirrors just the current pessimism. Bond investors are a shy & risk avers crowd, otherwise they would invest in riskier assets like stocks. The current inversion shows that the bond buyers got more a bit more risk avers. 

Today´s hyper-low interest rates are a response to the damaging trade war but they also are a remedy.

Photography: Los Angeles - Queen Of The Californian Desert

(Drivebycuriosity) - I am back from a visit in Los Angeles. Growing up in Germany, a green and densely populated country, I was impressed by L.A.`s spacious landscape and how the subtropical desert climate shaped the face of the metropolis.

Being an ambitious amateur photographer I took a lot pictures to capture the sharp contrasts of light & shade.

I was fascinated by the southern sky and the flood of sun light.

The ample sun light enhances the colors and the contrasts.

I am also fascinated by the streets & avenues which seem to reach the horizon

I found wonderful motifs there. I really love this combination.

Even though Los Angeles is a sprawl spread over a huge area there are oases with cool skyscrapers.

 

And there are colorful buildings as well.

Some people are waiting for the bus

and there were some really funny people

Los Angeles is blessed with long beaches which attract myriads of sun worshipers. 

 

We enjoyed visiting the art district and the pubs there.

Yes, L.A.`s street art is sexy

L.A. looks good in the night as well



Stay tuned