Quotes of the day

Perhaps when you acknowledge the importance of your own history, you are then more likely to transcend it.--William Easterly

For single male investment bankers, there will be a good male-female ratio for them.--Tami Kessleman

With the bases loaded and no outs Ichiro isn’t trying to hit a home run. He isn’t even trying necessarily to get a hit. Ichiro gets himself in a 1-2 hole and plays into the weakness of a big strong American power pitcher. Schilling is thinking high heat. Ichiro eats it up and sends the ball into deep left field. The at-bat results in an out, but more importantly, it results in a run scored. 1-0 Japanese All-Stars over Americans. Investing is no different. It is a game of repetition where hundreds of small actions result in one larger result. But most importantly, it is a game of risk management. It is not the home run hitter who wins in the long-run. Rather, it is that strategist who devises the best long-term plan who ultimately wins. While hitting home runs is sexy it is rarely a recipe for success in the investment world. Aim high, but play small. Over time, good risk management and patience wins. Power is no substitute for precision and patience.--The Pragmatic Capitalist

Mr. Dimon earned that distinction by playing as much defense as offense during the housing boom, which insulated JPMorgan more than most when the boom went bust. Then, when the bust became a full-blown financial crisis, Mr. Dimon went hunting for bargains, significantly expanding his position in investment and retail banking while others were shrinking. Now, those efforts are paying off. Even with a slowdown in trading, analysts are forecasting a profit of 70 cents a share when JPMorgan reports its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, about the same as a year ago. At age 54, Mr. Dimon has only begun trying to build the kind of global banking empire he initially set out to create with Mr. Weill at Citigroup. While JPMorgan’s share price fared better than most of the banking sector through the turbulence of the last few years, at around $40.35, it remains roughly where it was when Mr. Dimon took over as chief executive in December 2005. And analysts point out that while JPMorgan’s overall operation is in better shape than most, the bank does not enjoy a top position in any single business.--Eric Dash