Balance sheets...
Ben Graham's introductory text on "the Interpretation of Financial Statements" (1937) has been a very interesting read so far. It is interesting to see how accountants even back in those days (Wall Street back in the 30s) were able to come up with totally legal strategies in creating a mirage of their corporations' performance.
One example would be their treatment of a corporation's "intangible assets." (Ch.8) Good-will, patents, and leaseholds and trademarks are considered "intangibles," meaning they are those assets of the corporation that cannot be touched, or weighed, or measured. Even back in those days, it is common for accountants to "write down" the good-will their corporations had, to, say, a nominal value like USD 1, even when the market price of their shares indicated that the public valued the good-will at over, say, 300 million dollars. This usually happens after a corporation's business has improved, and when the corporate executives decide to make corresponding deduction in their surplus, etc. (which are on the liabilities, not the assets, side of the balance sheet...) just to be "more conservative" in their accounting policy.
So yes even back in the 30s companies had already learned to do very legal, yet very deceiving stuff on their statements.
The funny thing is how Graham keeps on using railroad companies, electric power companies, etc. in his book. I suppose this reflects a different eras than our own...
readings
I have been indulging myself these days by spending most of my time in the Library. I have finished reading Erich Fromm's 'To Have or To Be' (1974), as well as part I of Danish Existentialist Soren Kierkegaard's 'Training in Christianity' (1850), written under the pseudonym "Anti-Climarcus."
I have also tried to read as much Chinese writings as possible. I have finished reading a collection of Professor Chun-I T'ang's essays, written back in the 30s, when he was still a young man. Other than that, I have also read Part III of Yangming Wang's 'Dialogues.' (compiled by his disciples after the Neo-Confucian philosopher, statesman and soldier's death in 1529.)
In the meantime I have also come across Professor George Lamsa's single-handed translation of the Bible. The version Lamsa based his translation on is the Aramaic version, which is the earliest version of many Biblical books (such as the Synoptic Gospels.) Lamsa, being a Syriac-speaking Iraqi, spoke the dialect Jesus of Nazareth used to speak ever since he was a boy. This intimate knowledge of traditional Aramaic culture and language, coupled with advanced theological training in England, certainly helped Lamsa in finishing his taxing job.
In the meantime, I have decided to start reading Benjamin Graham's "Interpretation of Financial Statements" as well, to prepare myself for studies in corporate finance in law school.
Letters
I am thinking of posting some of the letters I wrote to a good friend of mine via email. It's mostly about my personal views on conscience, on national and cultural identities, on the nature of God and moral precepts, as well as on the good life.
Books
Currently I have begun reading a new book, Erich Fromm's "To Have or To Be." (1976) It was a book Fromm wrote during his twilight years in Switzerland. From reading Fromm and Tang, I understood what Confucius meant when he said, "The Way manifests itself in parallel treks and these seemingly independent manifestations do not really contradict one another." It was under the same Spirit that Fromm the Marxian humanist, Tang the Confucian humanist and Meister Eckhart the Christian friar wrote. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who acted through Moses also chose Cyrus the Persian King as his vessel.
Back in Philadelphia
You won't believe how humid and hot it is here in Philly. I couldn't believe my senses either when I first got here.
The apartment I am renting is a pretty nice place though, with some very nice neighbors and a very helpful and kind landlady.
I will be hanging out with various friends who're staying on campus over the summer or who live around the Greater Philadelphia area, and I should be able to post some thoughts after talking to them.
In the meantime, I have finished reading Professor Chun-I Tang's "The Experiencing of Life" (1939), a collection of prose written in Chinese on his understanding of practical ethics. It is a very inspiring experience. A neo-Confucian philosopher and educator, Professor Tang (1909-1978) could be regarded as the conscience of non-Marxian Chinese intellectuals in the 20th century. Born into a land-owning family in rural Sichuan during the final years if the Empire, Tang witnessed the unforseable social change the Chinese people experienced in the age of destruction and revolution as well as the myriad of challenges the Confucian value system has to overcome if it were to survive in our post-industrial age.
