http://www.colonyinc.com Thoughts from the Chairman of Colony Capital - Thomas J. Barrack, Jr. en-us Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#110711 A common misconception amongst growing constituencies is that the paradigm has shifted and the world is imploding...[more] Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:39:15 EST http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#novfirst Many of you have asked me to share my personal point of view and impressions from my travels, especially through the Middle East...[more] Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:29:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#septwentyeight We all love the thrill of the roaring Ferrari engine of our emotions far more than the dull purr of the Prius of our reason...[more] Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:44:24 EDT http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2011/09/19/roubini-greece-should-default-leave-the-euro-and-reinstate-the-drachma/ Another great article on the state of Greece � A Greek default looks increasingly likely...[more] Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:38:07 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#septhirteen The debate over a double dip is the wrong issue...we are in one...[more] Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:49:12 EDT http://seekingalpha.com/article/292971-chaos-makes-a-swift-comeback Interesting article in Seeking Alpha - Europe getting ready for Lehman Part Deux - Could be next great investable opportunity as banks clear...[more] Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:33:22 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#sepeight The President needs only to resort to his Hawaiian roots and chant the mantra of ancient paddlers of voyaging canoes, "Imua"...[more] Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:06:32 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#junefirst The most important aspect of real estate investing is knowing where you are in the cycle....[more] Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:04:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#reading This is a must read piece by George Friedman directly on topic....[more] Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:40:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#lessons As we prepare for our Spring Investors Conference, I am harvesting my own thoughts of "Lessons Learned"....[more] Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:40:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#spicecontinues Just as the Spice Road was the first real conduit of globalization, as it connected vast lands into a trade network that spread goods, beliefs, and technologies....[more] Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:40:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#spice I have received a deluge of requests to provide my insights on recent events in the Middle East....[more] Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:58:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#newyear I find the following poem by Nadine Stair (at age 85) summarizes a worthy New Year's resolution for us all!!....[more] Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:12:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog.htm#thanksgiving As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words....[more] Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:27:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_aug10.htm#renew On this Labor Day, at the end of a summer of market doldrums and economic chaos, let us all band together to recapture the spirit that made America great....[more] Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_aug10.htm#081710 Today is the ten-year anniversary of Laird Hamilton's mammoth and infamous forty-foot, tow-in wave at ferocious Teahupoo in Tahiti...[more] Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:00:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_aug10.htm#081110 Our current objective is to not lament over the agony of business practices of the past, nor to despair over business cycles of the present - it is rather to anticipate and capitalize on the business of the future...[more] Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:01:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_aug10.htm#080910 Wars have been waged, countries have been torched, and millions have died over differing points of view. In the aftermath both victor and loser usually agree that a better result would have been to come to a mutually tolerable agreement before things got out of hand... in other words adapt...[more] Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:26:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_jul10.htm#072210 How can sports prepare you for success in life?...[more] Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:30:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_jul10.htm#072110 It seems last week I caused a bit of a stir in an article on my thoughts about the current state of the US real estate market. I indicated that as a global financial investor I am feeling as though I enter the octagon every day, training with the top Ultimate Fighters in the world. Tap outs and submissions do not come quickly or without learning the art of "taking a punch." This is applicable to every aspect of life...[more] Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:30:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_jun10.htm#062510 My recent visit to our offices and companies in the Eurozone has yielded few profound analytics. However, in the midst of reveling in the last bastion of social interaction and irreplaceable art of living, a few instincts surfaced that seemed to be shared by many of my European counterparts. The Europeans have experienced centuries of crises and ever-changing political regimes. As a result their crisis management technique is enviable. They attain lower highs and suffer higher lows. Harnessing the emotions of the French, Italian, German and Swiss businessmen has helped to shape my global point of view. Below are some consensus thoughts:...[more] Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:15:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_jun10.htm#061110 On the eve of a momentary victory lap for Dads when we should be focused on the lessons and enduring memories garnered from either receiving or passing the baton of fatherly wisdom, we instead find ourselves distracted by the ominous clouds of volatility in the world and what it means to our prospects of wealth creation or perhaps even survival...[more] Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:01:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_may10.htm#052010 The European reordering and the natural impact on global growth projections will cause a retrenchment and reconsideration of "risk premiums" everywhere, including the USA. All currencies will feel the "resetting" pressure and real assets will gain prominence as a capital preservation bookmark...[more] Thu, 20 May 2010 21:25:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_may10.htm#050610 This is simply a baby "unforeseen intervening event" which we have been foreseeing!!!!...[more] Thu, 06 May 2010 19:25:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_apr10.htm#041810 The sun was sitting high and hot over the Baja peninsula, as the cracked odometer on our beat up Jeep left us musing as to how many miles we had been dusting our way through the roadless, desolate Mexican desert. There were no souvenirs of man's presence as far as the eye could see. The air was still and heavy and the silence was only interrupted by the chanting of locust nestled within their sagebrush fortresses. My sons and I had been driving through the Badlands for four hours and could only now see the enticing blue of the Pacific Ocean far in the horizon. ...[more] Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:57:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_apr10.htm#041510 High octane investing is </a><br /><br /> a series of near misses -- </a><br /><br /> that is salvaged by luck -- </a><br /><br /> which is bred by preparation </a><br /><br /> and experience -- ...[more] Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:50:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_mar10.htm#030910 When I was seven, every Wednesday after school, I would rush to finish baseball practice, run to the bus in my mud-soaked uniform, glove in hand, to make sure I got home by 5:30pm, where I would plant myself with a TV tray in front of the black and white RCA, tuning out my mother's admonitions not to sit on the furniture in my dirty pants. Then at 6:00pm, as I mindlessly wolfed down my dinner, I became absorbed into the world of my hero. This was really the beginning of the inspiration for what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. He was tall, strong, handsome, and courageous. He always knew right from wrong, stood up in the face of evil, and lived his life by an unwavering code of honor. He was a master of trading and politics yet was always on the side of the underdog...[more] Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:23:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_mar10.htm#030810 Investing is all about trust and confidence and the absence of fear in your decisions. Today it is quite perplexing to have trust in the litany of ever-changing statistics, volatility and fluctuating data. Every morning we have partners meetings in which we question ourselves - "Are we too pessimistic or is the market too optimistic? Are asset prices ridiculously high or ridiculously low? Are debt spreads going to continue to narrow or expand?" Most mornings are a four-cappuccino discussion that results in a lot of foam and little espresso...[more] Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:53:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_feb10.htm#022610 We have all been peregrinatiously seeking a scintilla of insight on the current crisis from the greatest minds in the world. Global statesmen, Nobel laureates, captains of industry, Wall Street wizards, financial pundits, and economic astrologists. The most brilliant minds have all weighed in with a myriad of GPS coordinates attempting to map a way through the global economic crosscurrents. However, the most salient and timeless answer echoes from the soft and timid voice of Chance the Gardener, Peter Sellers' character in the famous movie "Being There."...[more] Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:03:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_feb10.htm#021110 When we speak of luxury hotels and other upscale hospitality assets, prospective owners daydream of heel-clicking maitre d's in silk-lapelled tuxedos, cork-sniffing sommeliers decanting Chateau Lafite, bowing waiters gliding across the floor in crisp white linen jackets, beds adorned with 1,200 thread-count Frette sheets, Bernardaud dishware, antique Henin & Cie cutlery, and Alberto Pinto furnishings upholstered in Chyangra cashmere. Unfortunately, that is simply an illusion. Owners instead have to wake up to the realities of housekeeping, crisis management and daily CPR for their CFOs...[more] Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:08:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_feb10.htm#020610 In 1892, my Grandpa, Joe Barak, was 8 years old and living in a village called Zahle in the Lebanese region of what was then part of the Ottoman Empire. He was the youngest of seven boys and his Maronite Christian family and all Lebanese were being crushed by the domination of a repressive Ottoman Empire. Sultan Abdulhamid II had massacred all separatists and killed hundreds of thousands of Christians across Syria and Lebanon who had not submitted to his feudal system. As a consequence, the Ottomans were harvesting the fertile valleys of the Beqaa as fuel for their global armies and foreign conquests. The frustrated men of Zahle drank Arak (an ouzo-like drink made of aniseed) and ate mezze along the edge of the Berdawni River. They would complain about the economy, life, and politics, and amused themselves with throwing competitions using a 200-pound cooking stone called a "jurn el kibbe." The women were the only ones who were allowed to work, as local village men were not allowed to have tools or implements. In the spring of 1892, the women of the village were given food by the Jesuits in return for tending to the Cinsaut vines at Chateau Ksara Vineyard. Ksara wine was distributed to Turkish armies throughout the realm so the Sultan allowed the Jesuits to continue their production, as long as they used exclusively female laborers...[more] Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:50:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_jan10.htm#011710 Both distressed investors and investors in distress are anxious and discontent because they are languishing in the doldrums of "status quo." The unanticipated tranquility of zero interest rates and the new mantra of "pretend and extend" by holders of debt instruments have sent both groups into a holding pattern that has become a bit surprising. ...[more] Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:58:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_dec09.htm#123109 Fortunately, we are at the end of this year and the beginning of the next! The laments of the past will be overshadowed by the hopes of the future and we are all scurrying for momentous resolutions. It is clear that we cannot choose the vessel we sail on or the weather we sail in, but we at one time believed we had the power to manage the helm and set the sails. Today, we need a GPS to find the boat!...[more] Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:37:15 EDT http://www.colonyinc.com/chairmanscornerblog_dec09.htm#122109 I have surprised most of you by maintaining my silence and not waxing poetic on the parade of inconsistencies in our markets over the past few months. During the fundraising of our public REIT, I was bound and gagged to keep my mouth shut and my pen dry. Now I am unleashed and re-engaged in the financial version of "The World of Warcraft."...[more] Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:37:15 EDT