Ozymandias
“The ignorant mind, with its infinite afflictions, passions, and evils, is rooted in the three poisons. Greed, anger, and delusion.” - Bodhidharma
Looking at the fading number of Fed rate cuts narrative on the back of a stronger than expected US PPI leading to interrogations relating to “inflation” being “sticky” (we think it is), and being mesmerized by the dizzying levels reached by some Tech stocks, when it comes to selecting out title analogy we reminded ourselves of “Ozymandias”, yet another “double entendre”. “Ozymandias” has various meanings which will not surprise you dear readers, given our fondness for “analogies”. “Ozymandias” is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) and was first published on the 11th of January 1818. On a side note Percy Bysshe Shelley was married to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the famous author of the Gothic novel “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” (1818). The “Ozymandias” poem explores the worldly fate of history and the ravages of time: even the greatest men and the empires they forge are impermanent, their legacies fated to decay into oblivion: "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!", exemplifies the arrogance and hubris of a leader who believed his dominion would endure indefinitely. Maybe you probably think that our veiled reference refers to a specific “hegemon” or “Empire” as we move towards more “multipolarity”, you decide. As well, “Ozymandias” was a Greek name for the pharaoh Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC). But they are two themes in the “Ozymandias” poems: the inevitable decline of rulers and their pretention to greatness. The power of “Ozymandias” turned out to be ephemeral: Sic transit Gloria mundi (all glory is fleeting) one might opine. This poem is quoted by the AI character David in the movie “Alien: Covenant” predicting the decline and demise of the human empire.
In this conversation we would like to continue to discuss the issue of “fiscal dominance” and the implication for 60/40 allocation in the current context. As well we want to look at some “value” plays over the long-term given all the craze going on in the “growth space” with, in some instances, dizzying valuations.
Synopsis:
Fiscal dominance and its implications
Value plays and views
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