Comments on: Maneker on Salmon

By: EastEuropeanWay

EastEuropeanWay — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:54:26 +0000

In a very competitive market, he manages to be clear, well informed and very interesting. This is FS’s role – a well informed commentator helping the layman keep up with what’s new in his field. I guess this is why he’s so appreciated, not because people think he’s Bernanke or Mankiw.

By: EastEuropeanWay

EastEuropeanWay — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:45:37 +0000

I liked Maneker’s article – it tried to tackle the reason why FS is so popular. My feeling was that he’s puzzled why someone without very strong academic credentials would be read on topics as important. And he’s definitely right – FS is no academic and doesn’t deal with financial issues with the same detail that Ben Bernanke would do if he were to publish articles on the last two years.

But Maneker has got the wrong reference point. He should compare FS with the other financial journalists – and here’s where he shines.

By: Grey Economics

Grey Economics — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:30:15 +0000

Actually, when I read Felix, I try and switch between accents from all the characters on the Goon Show.

By: quantacide

quantacide — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:31:08 +0000

Grey Economics, do you read Felix in a cockney accent like I do, also?

By: Grey Economics

Grey Economics — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:21:36 +0000

And (seriously now) Felix is a pleasure to read- he revels in the details (re: Gaussian copula function) but makes it understandable to morons like me. Cheers!

By: Grey Economics

Grey Economics — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:09:57 +0000

I read Felix because he’s got the best accent of ANY blogger EVER.

By: quantacide

quantacide — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:33:59 +0000

I read Felix b/c he’s got depth and a smattering of personal interests to accentuate (like Ritholtz w/ his supercar posts). But you still have to read DB and ZH for the sensationalism.

By: Brown Ram

Brown Ram — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:08:01 +0000

I read him because he writes well. Unlike other financial bloggers (who, perhaps unsurprisingly) clearly lean libertarian and Republican, Salmon doesn’t color his columns with too much of his ideology (or maybe I just agree with him more).

Most importantly, he clearly researches what he writes about, thus making him more reliable.

By: otto

otto — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:36:44 +0000

I just read him for the cycling tips

By: bdbd

bdbd — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:28:39 +0000

Perhaps “ironic” refers to the general characterization of blogs (across all topics) and even the internet as somehow shallow and of the moment, rather than deep and of the ages.

By: Uncle Billy, Cunctator

Uncle Billy, Cunctator — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:25:51 +0000

I withdraw the second question.

http://www.ideaglobal.com/corporate/advi sory.html

Looks like most of the people who run and advise IDEA are very closely associated with LSE.

By: Uncle Billy, Mental Gidget

Uncle Billy, Mental Gidget — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:52:34 +0000

Does Larry Summers post as PhysicsGurl over at the Baseline Scenario?

The think tank — IDEA — does it still exist? If not, do you remember who funded it?

By: Neil D

Neil D — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:36:08 +0000

I just read FS for the wine commentary. :)

I’m not looking for investment advice. The disaster of the last few years has convinced me that this stuff matters and I don’t understand how it works. It really shouldn’t be that complicated, but apparently it is.

That’s what FS and others like Calculated Risk and Baseline Scenario do for me. I don’t know if FS reads the comments, but if he does – keep up the good work!