I shrugged and said what the heck

Ayn Rand’s Literature of Capitalism - New York Times -- I confess that I haven't read any Ayn Rand straight through. I tried years ago, and it didn't speak to me, so whichever work it was never got finished. Reading this reprise by the NYT, I think her writing might be a propos to the times we're in now, so I'll be picking up a copy of Atlas Shrugged soon. One of our very good friends down in Worthington tells us it was a seminal influence on his life and his career, and we think he's done a good job of balancing spirituality and money.

Greenspan speaks of FUD and his new book

The Maestro Speaks - Portfolio.com -- Last year, just around now, Gloria and I had the pleasure of hearing Alan Greenspan, now dubbed "The Maestro," speak at our annual conference in Atlanta. He was gracious, urbane, entertaining, and had a huge hole in the sole of his shoe, best we could figure. We inferred that he was tight with a dollar, and felt good about his stewardship.

At the link is a recent account of another talk of his, speaking to markets, patterns, and FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). It's more sensational and alarmist than what we heard last year, and--and I'm not attempting to detract from his message--he's also coming out with a book next week.

Next week, the former Fed chairman will publish his first book since he handed the reins to Ben Bernanke in 2006. Called The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, it will chronicle his 19-year tenure as the nation's top economic policymaker.

The 100 Smartest Companies of 2007

The 100 Smartest Companies of 2007 -- there's an interesting methodology used in the valuations here, and it's along the lines of what we've been trying to get our heads around with this new "knowledge economy" of the Third Wave. Basically, it goes Market Value/Market Capitalization minus Financial Value/Shareholder Equity equals Knowledge Value, and this Knowledge Value, divided by the number of Employees, equals the Knowledge Value per Employee. I'm not saying that it's right or wrong, accurate or inaccurate, realistic or whacked--what's interesting is that we're starting to talk about it.

The only name I notice here that has local ties is that of Developers Diversified Realty, at number 73/100.

You have a click-through on the eWeek article that requires registration with eWeek before you get the link to the Baseline rankings. If you have trouble, let me know and we'll see if we can do a work-around.

freakonomics road show visits Youngstown

YSU News Releases--Just a reminder that author and economist, economist and author Steven Levitt appears tonight in Youngstown. They seem to be getting excited about it--

First, the obligatory Staubaugh listing:
http://www.stambaughonline.com/content/view/70/

Then Janko mentions the appearance along with lots of background and pictures:
http://shoutyoungstown.blogspot.com/2007/03/tofflers-take.html

And then, two days ago, the Vindy has Levitt angering "liberals and conservatives alike." I guess they're trying to create some common ground, in a backhanded way, and raise the level of excitement based on controversy.
http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/321498358234966.php

Personally, I would like to be going over there today to cover this as a Meet.The.Bloggers engagement, but we couldn't make the connections. This is a good series, and the participants need to have their content posted in the perpetuity that MTB brings to the community dialogue. This isn't just about Youngstown, and it's not just about our region; this is a huge discussion, and can become huger quicker if we share. The knowledge economy starts now and grows exponentially, once we begin to share openly and freely.

YSU, through the income from an endowment established by Paul J. and Marguerite K. Thomas, established the Colloquium on Free Enterprise in 1981. The Colloquium is a series of lectures or workshops by recognized leaders in business, economics and finance for both the public and academic community.