Uses of the Past: Bond Price and Yield

[myturn@xxxxxxxx (John Gelles)]

	            THE USES OF THE PAST:
	  BOND PRICE AND BLOOMBERG

	Roughly speaking, when Bloomberg was let go
	in the downsizing of his Wall Street bond trading
	firm he made use of the bond price and yield
	graphical information system he had built for
	them and his severance pay in the millions.

	He built a better one and offered it to not only
	all traders but all people involved professionally
	with bond issues and sales.  The Bloomberg
	terminal and network was born. The network
	is now a major player in worldwide media,
	valued itself in the billions.

	Looking at bonds, then stocks, then all financial
	data that PKT might try to insert in generalized
	models of  the economic universe, Bloomberg
	asked, "for what purpose?".

	Not seeing a path from general or no purpose
	to economic use, he nevertheless knew there
	was a game afoot by many (who are not
	economists), to model the data graphically
	to help them issue, buy and sell paper, to raise
	or make more money.

	By focusing on purpose, Bloomberg has
	created an empire. If he lives long enough, his
	empire will contest with the few others in media
	for wealth and power in the global political
	economy.  He show signs of being a "good guy"
	in that contest.  He, and the likes of  Turner,
	Murdoch, Gates, et al, are not unaware of
	history -- and they may become instruments
	of  it.

	By ignoring purpose, a 	student of the way things
	work will, if he is a lucky genius, learn something.

	     John Gelles

               John Gelles    http://www.myturn.org
                 mirrored at  http://www.rain.org/~jjgelles/
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