Stock Market: Is The Brexit Hysteria A New Collective Psychosis?

(Drivebycuriosity) - The global stock markets are under pressure - again. If we believe Bloomberg & Co. stocks have been falling recently because of the Brexit talk. On June 23rd the English will decide if they want to leave the European Union. Many politicians & pundits are using scare tactics. They claim that the exit would do great harm to the UK, the rest of Europe and the global economy.

I think that the Brexit scare on the stock markets is just another case of collective psychosis. Since spring 2009 the global economy has been recovering and stock markets have been climbing in spite of frequent attacks of mass hysteria:  The  Dubai crisis (2009), Iceland crisis (2009),  US government shut down (2013), Greece (2015), China hard landing (2015), collapsing oil prices (2015) and more. All these issues had temporarily caused turbulences on the stock market, but they couldn´t stop the bull market and the S&P 500, the gauge for the US stock market, gained about 200% since spring 2009.

It is quite understandable that at least a part of the English population wants to leave the European Union.  Brussel wants to decide about everything. Take for instance Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2257/94 of 16 September 1994 which is laying down quality standards for bananas, also known informally as bendy banana law. It is a European Union regulation specifying classification standards for bananas ( wikipedia ). According to EU law, the Brits cannot work for more than 48 hours a week, averaged over 17 weeks ( marketwatch ). And there is much more:  60% of the laws come from the EU in Brussels rather than from Parliament in London ( marketwatch.).

Many English also are concerned about the deluge of refugees who use the open gates of the European Community, a wave of sexual attacks in Cologne by muslim immigrants ( independent )  and the terror in Paris & Brussels.

The Brexit fears are overblown. Switzerland and Norway aren`t member of the European Community - and both countries are doing well. People worldwide are buying Swiss products & services and don´t care whether the country is part of an union or not.  If you need more examples for small independent countries who are prospering, you might take a look on the history of Singapore & Hong Kong. It is highly unlikely that the rest of the world will curb trade with England and invest less there if the country is on her own. Companies are doing business with the island because they are making profits there. Why should they give up these profits?

 I reckon that the Brexit hysteria will soon be history like the many collective panic attacks before.

Books: The Paper Menagerie By Ken Liu

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Ken Liu is one of the most interesting authors in the current American literature scene ( wikipedia ). The short story anthology "The Paper Menagerie and other Stories" shows why ( amazon ). The collection mixes hard science fiction, based on science, with fantasy & history. Many stories deal with the (historical) relations between Asians and Westerners (Americans) (this is a spoiler free blog).

My favorite is "The Regular" - a futuristic cat-and-mouse play. A woman, who´s body is enhanced by new technologies, like a cyborg, uses her enhancements in order to catch a serial killer, a cooly & analytical thinking man who also employs new technologies to catch his victims and to escape the law enforcement. Crime noir meets hard science fiction - a masterpiece.


There is more hard Science Fiction:

"The Perfect Match" is about a man who`s whole life is being organized by an operating system like Apple`s Siri. The story is a critical view on the rising influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on our lives.

"The Waves" happens on a generation spaceship, where people are born & die on a many centuries lasting flight. A new technology gives them the chance to live forever. Should they?

"Mono No Aware" is alternate history. A Japanese man gets a place on a spaceship on a long travel where he has a dangerous and very responsible job.

 "A Brief History of The Trans-Pacific Tunnel" is another alternate history story, this time influenced by Kafka and some economics.

"The Book Making Habits of Select Species" doesn`t have a plot, it is instead a pseudo-scientific study about how different alien species store information. Lots of linguistic and information theory with plenty imagination. 



Some stories are pure Fantasy:

"State Change" is a romantic piece about a young woman who keeps her "soul" frozen in a refrigerator  - philosophical & psychological.

"Good Hunting" is a fairy tale about demons who can take human shape, set in China in the 20th century. The story mixes fantasy with contemporary Chinese history - entertaining & a humorous.


Other stories focus on history and relations between Asians and Westerners:

"The Literomancer" focusses on an American Girl who grows up in post-WWII Taiwan. The story deals with political & military American interference in Asia - with some fantasy elements.

"All The Flavors" is about the fates of Chinese immigrants (China Men) in the US in the 19th century.

"The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary" describes the Japanese occupation of China and their terror there in the first half of the 20th century.


 " The Paper Menagerie" has an entertaining mix of ideas and gives something to think about.

Photography: Queen Of Selfies - Cindy Sherman @ Metro Pictures , New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Cindy Sherman is the queen of selfies. The photographer is famous for her artful self-portraits she has been creating for decades. The gallery Metro Pictures in New York showed recently her newest collection (metro ).

 

The press release explains, that the displayed series, created this year, "focuses on the first era that presented complex independent women characterized by exaggerated makeup, modern clothing and seductive poses in 1920s Hollywood publicity photos".

The curators add: "Taking further advantage of new technical options, Sherman's photographs are printed directly onto metal using dye-sublimation printing technology that eliminates the necessity of traditional glass protection".

I show here my favorites from the exhibition, as usual a very subjective selection.

Enjoy!

Contemporary Art: Surprise & Provoke - Anish Kapoor @ Gladstone Gallery, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Anish Kapoor is one of the most interesting contemporary artists ( wikipedia ). It seems that sculptor & painter, who is born in India and has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s, likes to surprise & provoke.

 

Recently the Gladstone Gallery showed some of his recent work at 2 locations in New York ( gladstone ). The show was called "Today You Will Be In Paradise". Paradise or not, it was something which you do not see every day, at least in an art gallery.

 

The girl above is inspecting his monumental earth and resin sculpture on a marble pedestal.

 

Above & below you can see a series of reliefs and paintings composed of tumultuous layers of red and white silicone and paint. The objects almost look like real meat.
 

Enjoy!

Economy: The Pessimism Bubble

(Drivebycuriosity) - The Interest rates for bonds are falling again - world wide. Interest rates on German & UK bonds sunk to their lowest level. People (the market) are shunning risky assets like stocks. Instead they are flocking into bonds, which are considered as safe havens. This is a sign that the majority (the markets) is getting even more pessimistic.

We are experiencing a pessimism bubble. Since the recession 2008 the markets for stocks & bonds are ruled by pessimism. Positive developments are ignored, like climbing US wages & retail sales, weekly jobless claims close to record lows, zero inflation, commodities & loans are very cheap. Instead people are scared about almost everything: Brit Exit, recession risks, deflation, China hard landing, cheap commodities, you name it.

The media is worshiping alarmists like perma-bear George Soros. BusinessInsider, Marketwatch and other news platforms make a lot of money by spreading negative news and pessimistic predictions ("warnings") and continuous reminders to the 2008 recession. Scarring the masses is a profitable business model. The general pessimism also could be - at least partially - a result of the herding behavior. People are scarred because others (friends, experts, celebs) show pessimism.

The current obsession with risks is irrational & overblown. China is not collapsing (this weekend we learned that in May industrial production rose 6% and retail sales climbed 10%), the US economy is far away from a recession ( driveby ) and even if the Brit really exit the EU people will continue trading with the island and invest there.

Sooner ore later the pessimism bubble will have to pop, as every bubble. Hedge funds and  others,  who are sitting on cash and incomeless bonds, will have to come back to the stock market.

Books: The Grownup By Gillian Flynn

(Drivebycuriosity) - I like short stories. Often a writer has an interesting idea which carries a story about maybe 100 pages or less, but when she stretches the plot the story gets thinner and thinner and the text has too many fillers. Just a minority of authors is capable to keep the tension over hundreds of pages. Long books are often like watered down wine.

Amazon has a series of e-books, called "Kindle Single", which typically contain between 5,000 and 30,000 words - the perfect place for short stories & novellas (usually between 17,500 and 40,000 words).

Recently I read "The Grownup" by Gillian Flynn (just 62 pages amazon ). The story got my attention because I had enjoyed Flynn`s "Gone Girl" (book & movie driveby ). "The Grownup" is written in first person and told by a young woman, who earned her living by begging, soft-prostitution & pretending to be a psychic. Using her pretended paranormal skills she tries to exploit a new customer, a wealthy unhappy married woman with a troubled stepson. Don´t expect much action, it`s a psychological thriller full of lies & feints (this is a spoiler-free blog).

The story, which won 2015 the Edgar Award, for best mystery short story of the year, isn`t as quite as strong as the bestseller book. Many commentators on Amazon didn `t like it. Many complained that it was too short. But I enjoyed the "Grownup" anyway. I think a short story can be a sketch and doesn´t need to roll any idea totally out. It can leave the reader room for imagination.

"The Grownup" gave me something to think about. It´s  cool, spiced with sarcastic observations and is told with a sharp wit and a dry humor . But don´t expect a satisfying ending

"The Grownup" is a little treat for Gillian Flynn fans and connoisseur of twisted short stories.

Contemporary Art: The Beauty Of Raw Power - Richard Serra @ Gagosian, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - I am fascinated by Richard Serra, one of the most important contemporary artists (wikipedia). I indulge into his often massive works which display the sheer beauty of raw power.

Gagosian, one of the leading galleries of the world, has now a Serra exhibition @ 2 locations: 522 West 21st Street & 555 West 24th Street, both in New York´s classy Chelsea district (through July 29, 2016  gagosian. ).

At West 21st you can see the sculpture  "NJ-1" (2015, weatherproof steel, six plates, overall: 13’ 9” × 51’ 6” × 24’ 6” (4.2 × 15.7 × 7.5 m), plates: 2” (5 cm thick).

The monumental scultpture is like a labyrinth. When you walk inside you almost can get lost.


                        Every Which Way

At 24th Street you can spot more steel.

Above you can see "Every Which Way" (2015, Weatherproof steel, Sixteen slabs, overall: 11’ × 53’ 6” × 21’ (3.4 m × 16.3 m × 6.4 m).

I enjoy the delicate and surprisingly colorful patterns.

Enjoy!