● The Behavioral Portfolio: Managing Portfolios and Investor Behavior in a Complex Economy
Phillip Toews
Summary via publisher (Harriman House)
The investment advisory industry is beset by two largely unacknowledged problems. First, the history and risks of both stock and bond portfolios far exceed what most investors and advisory practices can endure. Second, the approach that most advisors take to communicate about portfolios does virtually nothing to prevent investors from known biases and bad decision making. In The Behavioral Portfolio, Felipe Toews guides advisors build all season’s portfolios designed to both invest optimistically and address the real-world contingencies of investing in a high debt world. He begins by re-defining foundational portfolio objectives such such as gains with the market, low risk of extreme losses, and protection against high inflation. He then walks us through the process of quantifying and building these portfolios, illustrating that in so doing, advisors can improve probabilities of success.

● AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence
Gary Rivlin
Interview with author via NPR
For decades, scientists have dreamed of computers so sophisticated they could think like humans — and worried what might happen if those machines began to act independently. In 2023, President Biden issued an executive order imposing some regulatory safeguards on AI development, but President Trump has repealed that order, saying Biden’s approach imposed unnecessary government control on innovation.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Gary Rivlin says regulation is a key component to controlling how AI is used: “I personally think AI could be an amazing thing around health, medicine, scientific discoveries, education, a wide array of things — as long as we’re deliberate about it,” he says. “And that’s my worry … that we’re not being deliberate.”

● Dollar Dominance: Why It Rules the Global Economy and How to Challenge It
Photis Lysandrou
Summary via publisher (Bristol U. Press)
In a world shaken by crises, why does the dollar continue to dominate? In this book, Photis Lysandrou explores the interaction between global instability and the enduring strength of the dollar. Drawing on examples from the 2008 Great Financial Crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the author reveals how uncertainty and instability in global trade, production and politics drives investors towards the safety of the dollar, reinforcing its dominance over other currencies.

● Unruly: Fighting Back when Politics, AI, and Law Upend the Rules of Business
Sean West
Review via Artificial Lawyer
To buy toothpaste in New York City, you must ask a store employee to unlock a glass case. As someone who has spent a career focused on building confidence in the rule of law—first as Chief Justice of Michigan’s Supreme Court and now as CEO of the American Arbitration Association—this experience is more disconcerting than Sean West, the author of Unruly, might have intended when sharing the same observation. Shared rules and norms—guardrails that guide behavior through mutual understanding—are being replaced by physical and technological barriers.
West’s Unruly arrives as a warning about this transition. The separate risks posed by politics, technology, and law—the “Unruly Triangle”—are compounded by their intersection. Risk leverages risk and is causing traditional guardrails to fail. AI, for all its benefits, adds to the complexity. Deepfakes and misinformation undermine our shared understanding of truth—the “liar’s dividend.” When video evidence can be dismissed as fake and fake videos can appear authentic, the foundation of the justice system wobbles.

Please note that the links to books above are affiliate links with Amazon.com and James Picerno (a.k.a. The Capital Spectator) earns money if you buy one of the titles listed. Also note that you will not pay extra for a book even though it generates revenue for The Capital Spectator. By purchasing books through this site, you provide support for The Capital Spectator’s free content. Thank you!

● The Behavioral Portfolio: Managing Portfolios and Investor Behavior in a Complex Economy
Phillip Toews
Summary via publisher (Harriman House)
The investment advisory industry is beset by two largely unacknowledged problems. First, the history and risks of both stock and bond portfolios far exceed what most investors and advisory practices can endure. Second, the approach that most advisors take to communicate about portfolios does virtually nothing to prevent investors from known biases and bad decision making. In The Behavioral Portfolio, Felipe Toews guides advisors build all season’s portfolios designed to both invest optimistically and address the real-world contingencies of investing in a high debt world. He begins by re-defining foundational portfolio objectives such such as gains with the market, low risk of extreme losses, and protection against high inflation. He then walks us through the process of quantifying and building these portfolios, illustrating that in so doing, advisors can improve probabilities of success.

● AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence
Gary Rivlin
Interview with author via NPR
For decades, scientists have dreamed of computers so sophisticated they could think like humans — and worried what might happen if those machines began to act independently. In 2023, President Biden issued an executive order imposing some regulatory safeguards on AI development, but President Trump has repealed that order, saying Biden’s approach imposed unnecessary government control on innovation.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Gary Rivlin says regulation is a key component to controlling how AI is used: “I personally think AI could be an amazing thing around health, medicine, scientific discoveries, education, a wide array of things — as long as we’re deliberate about it,” he says. “And that’s my worry … that we’re not being deliberate.”

● Dollar Dominance: Why It Rules the Global Economy and How to Challenge It
Photis Lysandrou
Summary via publisher (Bristol U. Press)
In a world shaken by crises, why does the dollar continue to dominate? In this book, Photis Lysandrou explores the interaction between global instability and the enduring strength of the dollar. Drawing on examples from the 2008 Great Financial Crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the author reveals how uncertainty and instability in global trade, production and politics drives investors towards the safety of the dollar, reinforcing its dominance over other currencies.

● Unruly: Fighting Back when Politics, AI, and Law Upend the Rules of Business
Sean West
Review via Artificial Lawyer
To buy toothpaste in New York City, you must ask a store employee to unlock a glass case. As someone who has spent a career focused on building confidence in the rule of law—first as Chief Justice of Michigan’s Supreme Court and now as CEO of the American Arbitration Association—this experience is more disconcerting than Sean West, the author of Unruly, might have intended when sharing the same observation. Shared rules and norms—guardrails that guide behavior through mutual understanding—are being replaced by physical and technological barriers.
West’s Unruly arrives as a warning about this transition. The separate risks posed by politics, technology, and law—the “Unruly Triangle”—are compounded by their intersection. Risk leverages risk and is causing traditional guardrails to fail. AI, for all its benefits, adds to the complexity. Deepfakes and misinformation undermine our shared understanding of truth—the “liar’s dividend.” When video evidence can be dismissed as fake and fake videos can appear authentic, the foundation of the justice system wobbles.

Please note that the links to books above are affiliate links with Amazon.com and James Picerno (a.k.a. The Capital Spectator) earns money if you buy one of the titles listed. Also note that you will not pay extra for a book even though it generates revenue for The Capital Spectator. By purchasing books through this site, you provide support for The Capital Spectator’s free content. Thank you!

● The Behavioral Portfolio: Managing Portfolios and Investor Behavior in a Complex Economy
Phillip Toews
Summary via publisher (Harriman House)
The investment advisory industry is beset by two largely unacknowledged problems. First, the history and risks of both stock and bond portfolios far exceed what most investors and advisory practices can endure. Second, the approach that most advisors take to communicate about portfolios does virtually nothing to prevent investors from known biases and bad decision making. In The Behavioral Portfolio, Felipe Toews guides advisors build all season’s portfolios designed to both invest optimistically and address the real-world contingencies of investing in a high debt world. He begins by re-defining foundational portfolio objectives such such as gains with the market, low risk of extreme losses, and protection against high inflation. He then walks us through the process of quantifying and building these portfolios, illustrating that in so doing, advisors can improve probabilities of success.

● AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence
Gary Rivlin
Interview with author via NPR
For decades, scientists have dreamed of computers so sophisticated they could think like humans — and worried what might happen if those machines began to act independently. In 2023, President Biden issued an executive order imposing some regulatory safeguards on AI development, but President Trump has repealed that order, saying Biden’s approach imposed unnecessary government control on innovation.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Gary Rivlin says regulation is a key component to controlling how AI is used: “I personally think AI could be an amazing thing around health, medicine, scientific discoveries, education, a wide array of things — as long as we’re deliberate about it,” he says. “And that’s my worry … that we’re not being deliberate.”

● Dollar Dominance: Why It Rules the Global Economy and How to Challenge It
Photis Lysandrou
Summary via publisher (Bristol U. Press)
In a world shaken by crises, why does the dollar continue to dominate? In this book, Photis Lysandrou explores the interaction between global instability and the enduring strength of the dollar. Drawing on examples from the 2008 Great Financial Crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the author reveals how uncertainty and instability in global trade, production and politics drives investors towards the safety of the dollar, reinforcing its dominance over other currencies.

● Unruly: Fighting Back when Politics, AI, and Law Upend the Rules of Business
Sean West
Review via Artificial Lawyer
To buy toothpaste in New York City, you must ask a store employee to unlock a glass case. As someone who has spent a career focused on building confidence in the rule of law—first as Chief Justice of Michigan’s Supreme Court and now as CEO of the American Arbitration Association—this experience is more disconcerting than Sean West, the author of Unruly, might have intended when sharing the same observation. Shared rules and norms—guardrails that guide behavior through mutual understanding—are being replaced by physical and technological barriers.
West’s Unruly arrives as a warning about this transition. The separate risks posed by politics, technology, and law—the “Unruly Triangle”—are compounded by their intersection. Risk leverages risk and is causing traditional guardrails to fail. AI, for all its benefits, adds to the complexity. Deepfakes and misinformation undermine our shared understanding of truth—the “liar’s dividend.” When video evidence can be dismissed as fake and fake videos can appear authentic, the foundation of the justice system wobbles.

Please note that the links to books above are affiliate links with Amazon.com and James Picerno (a.k.a. The Capital Spectator) earns money if you buy one of the titles listed. Also note that you will not pay extra for a book even though it generates revenue for The Capital Spectator. By purchasing books through this site, you provide support for The Capital Spectator’s free content. Thank you!