This post features video recordings of a lecture series by George Soros at the Central European University in Budapest, discussing capitalism versus an open society.

Part 1: Soros explores the “agency problem” and its impact on both markets and politics. The principal-agent problem, in which those who are to represent others tend to place their interests ahead of those they are supposed to represent, poses a risk to ethical considerations, and in Soros’s view undermines values necessary for the operation of an open society.

Click here or on the image below to view the video clip.

Part 2: He analyzes the agency problem inherent in the American political system. He believes the main culprit is a decline in public mortality which he says is fostered by the rise of market fundamentalism.

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Chrystia Freeland, US managing editor of the Financial Times, interviewed George Soros, the legendary fund manager, about the state of the world economy, relations between the US and China, his investment performance and regulating bankers’ compensation. A link to the transcript of the interview follows at the end of the post.

Part 1: The world economy and currencies

Click here or on the image below to view the video.

Part 2: The 2008 crisis

Click here or on the image below to view the video.

Part 3: Financial reform

Click here or on the image below to view the video.

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This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• George Soros (Financial Times): Do not ignore the need for financial reform, October 25, 2009. It is not the right time to enact permanent reforms. The financial system is far from equilibrium. The short-term needs are the opposite of what is needed in the long term.

• Paul Sandison: The two main threats to democracy and modern capitalism, October 20, 2009. In the present burgeoning economic crisis, already well over a hundred million people across the globe have been thrown into poverty, despair, sickness and are struggling to avoid a premature death. Billions of people abroad are vowing never to allow the United States and the United Kingdom to do this to them again. The remaining question is whether the

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The Economist’s Buttonwood Gathering, a conference bringing together global regulators and bankers to discuss and debate new ideas and develop a new set of guidelines moving forward, has just taken place in New York. Michael Panzer, writer of the Financial Armageddon blog and author of “Financial Armageddon: Protect Your Future from Economic Collapse”, was in attendance and has kindly shared some of the more interesting quotes on his blog, as reported below.

Secretary Tim Geithner, United States Department of the Treasury:

“Generally, we did not do enough.” (Referring to the failure to address growing concerns over excessive risk-taking in the period leading up to the financial crisis.) [Editor's note: understatement of the year?]

Stephen Roach, Chairman, Morgan Stanley Asia:

Those who are looking for a “V”-shaped recovery are in for “a rude awakening.”

“The imbalances going into the crisis were large to begin with.

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Alternative technology and specifically energy have been a big debate over the past few years. I've spend a fair amount of time researching and looking for potential investments. I've looked specifically at wind power, geothermal energy, and natural gas for transportation. There are many other sources out there and solar is still probably the most popular. I like solar energy, but just not as an investment right now. There are too many solar companies out there right now and prices are still too high for consumers to significantly invest in this technology. As a whole, green energy is still almost entirely dependant upon being subsidized by Washington. That is gradually changing, but it will take a long time before green opportunities are just what are there for the consumer as a logical choice. br /br /I see today that billionaire investor George Soros ...

Billionaire investor George Soros said yesterday (Monday) that the U.S. recovery would be a slow one because of all the “basically bankrupt” financial companies impeding it.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Congress agreed Friday that the financial system – not the American taxpayer – should bear the costs of bank bailouts. Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), wants the banks to ante up $45 billion – three years’ worth of deposit-insurance premiums – to bail out the fund that insures bank deposits.

When it comes to bank stocks, we all know that there were a number of Money Morning readers shrewd enough to buy Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) shares when the foundering giant’s stock price was below $1 a share.

If you’re one of those investors, good for you: With Citi’s shares now trading at nearly $4.70 a share,

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Many successful investors and speculators, like Warren Buffett and George Soros, are said to be contrarians. But what does this really mean? And is it true? Let’s have a look at the concept of contrarianism to find out whether it can give us some guidance during these exciting times … Contrarians are investors with deep knowledge and strong self-efficacy. They possess a rare nature: They’re willing and capable of forming an independent opinion and sticking to it. Even if a huge majority of analysts, journalists, colleagues, and friends hold an opposite point of view. As the legendary Wall Street analyst Henry Kaufman wrote in his memoirs: ” … most predictions fall within a rather narrow range that does not deviate from consensus views in the financial community. In large measure, this ...

Risk aversion has re-entered the investment equation with risky assets such as equities and commodities bearing the brunt of the selling orders, while gold bullion, government bonds, the US dollar and the yen are attracting safe-haven money.

The global stock market pullback seems to be gathering momentum with three markets on my radar screen now trading below their 50-day moving averages, indicating a reversal of the secondary trend. These markets are China, Hong Kong and Chile, with most others uncomfortably close to this intermediate support level (see table below). I am of the opinion that more markets will fall below the 50-day lines and that we will at least see some degree of reversion to the key 200-day moving averages (often used to distinguish between primary bull and bear markets). The table provides the key levels, as well as the declines since the recent highs.

Click here

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Recently I had the opportunity to meet with one of the most excitable options traders and educators in Las Vegas…his name is Mark Longo and he’s the founder and main options guy at TheOptionsInsider.com. I was able to spend about 45 minutes just chatting with him about what’s going on in the options world, what’s new with his site, and everything he said about options made perfect sense. Almost as if he actually knew what he was talking about! Come to find out later in the conversation he knew what he was talking about, and he’s an authority on options…egg on my face! TheOptionsInsider.com is a great FREE resource for all things options and with Mark at the helm you won’t be led astray. Please enjoy the article (as I read it twice), comment below, and visit TheOptionsInsider.com today!

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We are seeing a familiar refrain in

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When it comes to healthcare reform, people believe some very strange things. Or so says Cliff Asness, founder of AQR Capital Management. Today, the seven biggest “myths” are exposed…

My little brother and his fiancée dropped into Reno/Tahoe for the weekend. They were wending their way west to go apartment hunting in San Francisco, visiting friends and family along the way.

On Saturday we took a two-hour catamaran cruise up at the lake. It was as perfect a day as I’d ever seen it. The water was so clear and blue, you could see 30 feet down through the netting of the boat. The sky was just as blue – not a cloud to be seen – and the day was just hot enough to be perfected by a crisp Tahoe breeze.

At one point in the cruise we sailed past the “Ellison project”

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