Two blond lawyers wearing Mao suits walk into a bar. "Look at those hussies frolicking in their despicable sexy dresses," says the younger one. "Don't worry," replies the senior, "I'll text my Saudi and Omani pals to come over. They'll cover those floozies from head to toe in a blink of an eye." Continue reading

Two blond lawyers wearing pantsuits with deep pockets walk into a bar. "God, this joint is a mess!" complains the one with $60 million in her pocket. "Don't worry," replies the one with $20 million in hers, "My Dad was a janitor. I'll clean this place out in no time. First, we will raise everyone's wages to $22/hours; and when the establishment goes belly up, I'll represent them in bankruptcy hearings, blaming everything on the banks." Continue reading

"Money doesn't buy happiness. But happiness isn't everything." Jean Seberg 1938 - 1979 Continue reading

Let's face it, NYC cab rides are not what they used be. And it's not about credit card processing and the built-in monitors - those were inevitable. And it's not about the signature-yellow black-checkered SUV's and vans either (though, only God knows how many pairs of pantyhose I've ruined getting into them). The main difference are the drivers. Back in the day your taxi driver talked to you; whether you wanted him to or not. They were the ones who invited the conversation. I mean, hairdressers and cabbies were people's confidants. A cabby is even better than the hairdresser -... Continue reading

Quoted directly (as written) from the actual email sent today to the frustrated CFO by her CEO: "Marina, You are so right about the economy. More than a half of the candidates I talked with today are looking for a job because they were laid off as the result of their companies' downsizing or being swallowed during hostile mergers. One of the candidates worked for the same company for 20 years, and she is now looking for an entry-level job just to get stable employment with benefits. Amazing! Most people don't even know what's going on with the economy, because... Continue reading

Like many hiring execs, I still have an employer account with Monster.com, even though the time when they dominated the job-hunting market has passed. Nowadays, they are not even at the top of the industry leaders list. Still, we got used to them in the 17 years they've been around. And they do try their best to provide the paying clients with value-added bells and whistles beyond the standard ad posting: resume matching, database searching, description writing, HR Resource Center, and whatnot. One of these add-ons is the email service that blasts recruitment articles to all registered users. I usually... Continue reading

The same gracious people who introduced me to Diamond & Silk also approached me with a suggestion that I watch the so called "Trump episode" of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Knowing my time constraints and quality standards, they weren't very insistent. They said, "We think you may want to watch this one episode." But I didn't need much convincing anyway. After all, I liked John Oliver's Britishly offbeat, overly serious persona as a Senior British Correspondent on The Daily Show. I was excited when he got his own HBO program and even watched the premier on its first... Continue reading

Yes, I am a pessimist; especially when it comes to my expectations of people's abilities and attitudes. I am the one who talks about the majority's intellectual deterioration every chance I get. So, on rare occasions when I learn of people who don't fall in with the immense mass of inept dumb-asses, I am overwhelmed with excitement. There are not too many of them, but they do exist! According to Donald Trump, it was his wife Melania who spotted Diamond & Silk (aka Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson) on the Internet. It is truly a blessing when a busy person... Continue reading

There is definitely something terribly fragile about the state of our foreign affairs if I need to discuss our phony "allies" in two posts back-to-back. This time, it's not some unnamed "friend" - it's Saudi Arabia or, as many journalists call it, one of the "most awkward" of US allies. The reason I feel the need to talk about it is that the present tension between us and Saudi Arabia is a stark exhibit of how monetary stimuli affect the White House politics. But before I can address the current events, some cursory background is mandatory. At the very least... Continue reading

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I am not an ophthalmologist. So, I cannot explain why people can't see for themselves. Nor am I interested enough in so-called human factors to start analyzing what makes people so confused. But I am a career financial executive with multiple academic degrees and 30 years experience in international business relations. As such, I can shine some light onto the monetary lining of certain political matters. (And yes, it's always about money!) We are several months away from 2016 presidential face-off and the outcome of the Republican primary is still uncertain, but Hillary has already started her anti-Trump balls rolling.... Continue reading

© 2016 Original by YAC. All rights reserved. Continue reading

We used to complain about our country being divided into two colors, red and blue. Boy, I miss those clear-cut times when we had a few personal liberties to fight about! Now we are a fucking Pollock's painting! Social, monetary, ideological, intellectual, and cultural (some even say micro-cultural) differences create a broad variety of political blends and affiliations. At this point, we have pretty much slid off the two-party platform; we are now swimming (or drowning) in a multi-faction cesspool. It definitely looks to me like the 2016 primaries are far more divisive and tumultuous than the presidential election will... Continue reading

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Well, I stayed out of it for a long time. I snapped at the phony feminist sisterhood only 2 or 3 times and tried to ignore the offensive, nonsensical, anti-American garbage pouring out of the Jacobin of Vermont. But he did not go away, and considering the mental state of the Union, I shouldn't have hoped for that. Now we are definitely on dangerous ground. At this point, no one who understands the historical, economic, and social impact of Mr. Sanders's candidacy should remain silent, no matter how small their voice. Here is what History taught me about the seemingly... Continue reading

On Tuesday, January 26th, the entire NYC block of East 56th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues was closed to motor vehicle traffic due to a possible mainline gas leak (the pedestrians were allowed to walk into the danger zone without any restrictions or even a warning). Apparently someone called 911 around 9 am to report the suspicious smell, which not only filled the street but was also distinctly (as I was informed) felt inside the buildings. Yet, at 3 pm, when I happened to turn the North-East corner of Lexington and 56th, three emergency vehicles were still there and... Continue reading

By the end of last Friday, the Dow Industrial dropped 400 points and the market is now down cumulative 8% in 15 days of the new year! Oil teeters at $28 and it looks to me that it is inclined to slide down, not climb up. Just as expected by some, and say it with me, please, "It's only going to get worth!" But people (again) are like, "Oh, my God! My Apple stock! I should've sold at $139!" (FYI, it's at $97 as of Friday). And the media is all like, "Market crash robs $2.3 trillion from investors!" Seriously?... Continue reading

From an actual email exchange that took place this morning (quoted as was written): From a Customer to Operations Department of A_C Company: Hi John, Please deliver the second truckload from our current order on Monday 12/21. Please confirm. Customer From the Operations Department to the Customer, copying A_C Company's CEO as per protocol: Good morning Bob, Thanks for providing the delivery date! We will begin to secure trucking. Best regards, John From the CEO to the entire Operations Department, copying The Frustrated CFO and Managing Partners: Please find a trucker who will not spill the product, drive into the... Continue reading

From CNN Breaking News: "All US military combat positions are being opened up to women, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday. The decision allows women to fill about 220,000 jobs that are now limited to men - including infantry, armor, reconnaissance and some special operations units. 'This means that as long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will now be able to contribute to our mission in ways they could not before. They'll be able to drive tanks, give orders, lead infantry soldiers into combat,' Carter said at a news conference Thursday. 'There will be no exceptions,' he... Continue reading

I've been predicting that crude oil prices will eventually drop below $30 per barrel for nearly two years. When I first started talking about it oil futures were trading on NYMEX at $108. Everyone thought I was too radical in my predictions. Even those interested in my reasoning refused to believe that such a drastic adjustment was possible. Then, on Friday, September 11, 2015, many industry insiders have received a MarketWatch alert letting them know that Goldman Sachs underbid my forecast, warning that "oil prices could sink to $20 a barrel." I personally don't pay much attention to big-firm analysts... Continue reading

The truth is I have no idea why I receive Quora Digest emails. I don't recall subscribing to the feed. Of course, nowadays one can passively "accept" electronic deliveries of bullshit by failing to unclick some hidden option box. I am certain, however, that I'm not registered on Quora website. I wouldn't. Quora, as in plural of Quorum - in the same way as Data is plural of Datum. It is basically a blogging hub masked as a Q&A platform: one registered person posts a question and all other registered contributors are invited to answer. Strictly speaking, this unrestricted invitation... Continue reading

Rowan (Eli) Pope: How many times did I tell you?! You have to be what?! Olivia Pope: Twice as good as them to get a half of what they have. Scandal, Season 3, Episode 1 The Frustrated CFO's Comment: I'm not placing this excerpt into quotation marks. First of all, it's not an exact citation - on screen it gets all broken up, because the characters interrupt each other with anger, frustration, exasperation, and all other similar feelings; Eli is yelling, and Liv is sort of shudders and attempts to shy away - all those over-the-top dramatics and stuff. More... Continue reading

This morning, as soon as I entered Citibank's online trade-finance services, the following message jumped into my face: Notice on Greek payments Please be aware that Capital Controls have been introduced in Greece, as a result international transfers from Greek bank accounts to bank accounts outside Greece will not be processed until further notice. Domestic electronic payments are expected to be processed, but are dependent on the local market factors and beneficiaries' banks. Securities settlements are suspended. Apparently "Capital Controls," accepted by the Greek government as one of the German government's bailout conditions, means freezing pretty much everyone's bank accounts... Continue reading

In the TV business, summer traditionally has been considered an off-season. Primarily because the broadcast networks' prime series go on a 4-month hiatus after completing their 20+ episode seasons. Nowadays, of course, it's not all that relevant for TV viewers, because... Well, for multiple reasons, really, but to name a few: First of all, if you prefer edgier premium cable series, your TV viewing patterns are driven by 2-3 month seasons scheduled at different times throughout the year: Shameless airs January through March, Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley - April -June, Masters of Sex - July-September, Homeland - October-December,... Continue reading

On Saturday, August 22nd, internationally famous British street artist and social rebel Banksy declared his latest project Dismaland open to the public. I've noticed that many commentators rushed to label the large-scale art installation dystopian, but I tend to disagree. Dystopia is an imaginary place where everything is scary and bad. But Banksy's mini "park" in Weston-super-Mare (UK) is an artistic re-imagining of a fairy-tale theme park in the harsh light of our miserable reality. From what I've seen, instead of saying, "Imagine if everything was horrible," the site screams, "Take off your pink glasses and see the horrors around... Continue reading