Oddly Relevant Feb-24-2013

Nomura’s 5 reasons to be pessimistic about China: (1) Government’s concern over financial risks, (2) energy/utilities reform seemingly in the pipeline with tariff hikes on railway, (3) property price rebound may force government to tighten credit supply, (4) local gov. lowered growth targets for 2013, (5) severe air pollution may act as wake-up call. Source: http://pragcap.com/nomura-5-reasons-to-be-pessimistic-about-china

FT breaks about bank loan ETF: >$8bn into US funds specializing in loans this year taking the total AUM to $82 bn; ETF is $2bn of that. [Source: Is it late or ealy to the party?]…Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/3/b56eae58-7ad5-11e2-915b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2LmsE5VKa

Economics of the film industry are changing, obviously: b/e 2007 and 2011, pre-tax profits of five studios controlled by large conglomerates fell by around 40% and accounts for ~10% of parent companies’ profits. Bad reviews spread quickly thanks to social networks and rating sites. And TV series (good ones) are on the rise. [Note: Let me check: Netflix 8 bucks per month, Movies: 12 bucks for 2 hours]…Source: http://www.economist.com/news/business/21572218-tale-two-tinseltowns-split-screens

Odds of dying in a given year: Heart disease 467/1; assualt by firearm 24974/1, exposure to forces of nature, 260818/1, storm 2271454/1, dog bite 11273142/1, firework 50729141/1, asteroid impact 74817414/1. [Note: Injuries and Accidents, intentional self harm, and firearms discharge probably have significant overlap.]…Source: http://www.mebanefaber.com/2013/02/15/black-swans/

When brain damage unlocks genius within: Tony Cicoria, an orthopedic surgeon in upstate New York who was struck by lightning while talking to his mother from a telephone booth. Cicoria then became obsessed with classical piano and taught himself how to play and compose music. After being hit in the head with a baseball at age 10, Orlando Serrell could name the day of the week for any given date. A bad fall at age three left Alonzo Clemons with permanent cognitive impairment, Amato learned, and a talent for sculpting intricate replicas of animals.[Note: Savantism, only 60 in the world they say?]…Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/when-brain-damage-unlocks-genius-within?single-page-view=true