This is the Modern World

What the world’s richest man can tell us about Omaha – and, no, I’m not talking about Warren Buffett

Aside from the occasional plague and peasant uprising, Europe during the early 1500’s was an exciting and prosperous place to be. New worlds were being discovered, art and technology flourished in the Renaissance, nations emerged from fiefdoms, and religion was undergoing a massive reformation. In spite of growing wealth in the 1500’s, peasants could still prove to be an unruly bunch. The…

Factory 12: A Proposal for 12th & Cass

Alchemy Development is one of two developers to submit proposals to the City of Omaha to redevelop a lot at 12th & Cass Streets in Downtown Omaha. The location is prominent for its proximity to the TD Ameritrade Stadium, Centurylink Center, and the burgeoning entertainment district on the north side of downtown. The project features 78 apartments and Alchemy Development is teaming up with the Old…

The well manicured facial hair gives it away. Andrew Carnegie wanted to be where the action was. At the young age of 35, and already fantastically wealthy, Carnegie moved to New York City from Pittsburgh in 1869. Interestingly, like a lot of today’s young post-collegiates, Carnegie lived with his mother (albeit in a suite of rooms in a luxury hotel). Young Carnegie disdained Instgram, but adored…

In spite of the financial crisis of 2008, regulators continue to be ill-equipped to tackle corporate malfeasance. I read David Einhorn’s Fooling Some of the People All of the Time (for a second time) over the past week. Einhorn is the founder of Greenlight Capital and has been known to discover short selling opportunities among many companies with dubious financial reporting. In a courageous…

Pension Fund Fantasy: Omaha’s 8% Return Projection

Omaha is not unique among municipalities across the country – deals cut with workers many years ago have left pension funds well short of money needed for retirement benefits. The shortage has cost Omaha it’s top municipal bond rating and has driven Chicago – the nation’s most egregious offender – to the brink of bankruptcy. It’s time for the City of Omaha to level with unions and citizens and…

http:// http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-05-21/wework-real-estate-empire-or-shared-office-space-for-a-new-era-

Adam Neumann, WeWork’s Israeli-born co-founder, has called the company a “physical social network,” and it makes every effort to lubricate connections. “We gave 90,000 glasses of beer last month,” he said in a recent onstage interview at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2015, “which is a…

For many years, observers of China’s growth have been suspicious of the accuracy of GDP reports. Instead, they have looked to Chinese power production as a proxy for growth.

In this regard, China shows no sign of a slowdown according to the 2014 report of world electricity production compiled by Enerdata.

In 2011, China surpassed the US to become the world’s largest producer of electricity at…

You want to follow the herd. It’s natural. Do you remember the 1999 internet bubble? I got so frustrated hearing about my neighbors investing in Level 3 Communications, I thought I was the dumbest person on the block. I bought some Level 3. I made a little money, but I was too chicken to ride it out. I’m glad I didn’t.

Yes, some people escaped that bubble with fortunes intact, but most were swept…

Buffett, A Krafty Fellow

Warren Buffett has teamed up with his Brazilian friends again. 3G and Berkshire Hathaway have announced a merger deal with Kraft and Heinz, a company which they took private in 2013.

I am not a financial analyst, although I have run a fair number of spreadsheets for real estate deals. Alas, I am woefully unprepared to analyze the complexities of a $42 billion merger. I will just give it my best…

One of my great frustrations with the World Herald is its lack of context when frequently reporting stories about Omaha that are nothing more than thinly veiled boosterism.

Today, we learned that Omaha’s metro population will hit 1,000,000 by 2023 under reasonable demographic projections. The City surpassed 900,000 this year. With growth around 1% per year – a trend which has continued for many…

The apartment market will continue to have decent demand but there are headwinds in the form of higher property taxes and increasing construction costs.

I was asked to answer some questions about the market for Ed Fleming, a leading broker at Colliers who is a  thoughtful and diligent guy. He makes deals happen.

Omaha: What buildings would you tear down?

Over the weekend, the Financial Times ran a piece that gathered correspondents throughout the world and asked them to name a building they would like to see torn down. Usually the answer came in the form of buildings that were designed hopelessly out of context with their surroundings. The answers ranged from the brutalist Soviet embassy in Havana which spoils the surrounding Spanish colonial…

When it comes to persuasion, Coaldini has literally written the book. He has backed up his writing with years of research.

Here are his six universal rules of persuasion:

1. Reciprocity. People feel obligated to return favors performed for them.

2. Authority. People look to experts to show them the way.

3. Scarcity. The less available the resource, the more people want it.

4. Liking. The…

My Sacrifice to the City's Sewer Problems

Our lawn sprinklers are getting a free ride.

Omaha has undertaken a massive sewer separation project mandated by the federal government. It will cost more than $1 billion. The means of paying for this project is fundamentally flawed: The new sewer system is paid for by increasing sewer rates by more than 50%.

There is a huge problem with this formula: When you increase the price of something,…

“People chronically misappraise the limits of their own knowledge; that’s one of the most basic parts of human nature. Knowing the edge of your circle of competence is one of the most difficult things for a human being to do. Knowing what you don’t know is much more useful in life and business than being brilliant”

“It’s waiting that helps you as an investor, and a lot of people just can’t stand…