The Financial Times

While everyone waits to see what happens on Tuesday (Is it a foregone conclusion?), take some time to read the newspaper. I read the Financial Times every day, among other papers. The FT is usually an interesting read as it gives US investors a different take on things. There are two items this week that deserve a look. The first is an article by Arturo Cifuentes, who is the managing director of the fixed income house R.W. Pressprich. It deals with the rating agencies and cuts right to the heart of the problem, namely that the raters define their own standards for the ratings. Here is the link. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/60e7a056-60c8-11dc-8ec0-0000779fd2ac.html

The other is a weekly series, on Thursdays, about a fictional character called Martin Lukes. Lukes is "the Chief Great Leader" of a UK subsidiary of a multi-national. The story is told exclusively through his emails and blog entries. He is the king of buzzwords and business fads. It is worth trying to read it on a weekly basis. Here is the link http://www.ft.com/cms/s/69568754-614d-11dc-bf25-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F69568754-614d-11dc-bf25-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fbusinesslife