----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Pollak" <mpollak at panix.com>
On Mon, 31 May 2004, Dwayne Monroe wrote:
> It seems these "al-Qaida linked militants" have found a choice target,
> very close to home and only have to continue their violent work to make
> the world nervously sweat. If this is al-Qaida, as seems very likely
> (ObL's home turf after all), I must admit it's a bit of a masterstroke
Yep. And for those of us interesting in economics, it plays right to the markets' weakness in times of crisis, namely the ease with which it can be stampeded. Even if all investors are aware there is no supply effect, it is rational for them to presume that each of them will presume that everyone will bid up the price because of widespread fear. It is rational to presume irrationality and to act on it.
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< http://www.ict.org.il/ > Osama bin Ladin is one of 53 children of Saudi construction magnate Muhammad Awad bin Ladin. His mother was reportedly a Palestinian, and the least favored of his father's ten wives. The elder bin Ladin moved to Saudi Arabia from Yemen and amassed a fortune. Most of this money came from a number of successful construction and contracting companies. Today, the bin Ladin family fortune is estimated at $5 billion, of which Osama has access to an estimated $300 million. He tends to see himself as the model businessman, a graduate of Riyadh University's management and economics department. The only difference is, his product is war. [snip] http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/pen-l/2001m09.3/msg00238.htm