Institutions

By MaxSigma | May 15, 2026 | Power & Institutions In financial markets, timing and information is everything. And the President of the United States sits at the center of all of it. A regulatory approval, a military delay, a tariff decision, a sanctions waiver, a ceasefire negotiation, or an export authorization can move billions of dollars in minutes once announced publicly. More importantly, the largest profits are often made not by understanding what is happening after the announcement, but by knowing that something is about to happen before the public is even aware an event exists. The recent financial

By MaxSigma | February 17, 2026 | Power & Institutions In a recent post, I looked at how differently modern presidents approach conflict. For most presidents, the law is something the state uses. Agencies investigate. Regulators act. The Department of Justice files suit. Conflict moves through institutions—slowly, and somewhat impersonally—buffered by process and precedent. The president may set priorities, but the machinery does the work. That model has been remarkably consistent across administrations. In a recent post, I looked at how differently modern presidents seem to approach conflict. This is a continuation of that thought. Donald Trump disrupted that pattern. Rather

By MaxSigma | February 12, 2026 | Power & Institutions Sometimes the difference isn’t in what’s said, but in what’s done—and how often. I’ve been looking at how modern U.S. presidents engage with the legal system, not as defendants, but as plaintiffs. Who files lawsuits, how often, and through what mechanisms? The charts below are a simple attempt to visualize that. The first shows the relative volume of personal litigation. Even on a logarithmic scale, one presidency sits far outside the historical pattern. The second compares personal litigation with state litigation—cases brought through the Department of Justice and federal agencies. It highlights

By MaxSigma | Mar 6, 2023 | Leadership & Decision-Making, Power & Institutions A question that hit closer to home than intended. I received an email recently with the subject line: “Who is running the world?”It contained a list of prominent companies and political offices led by people of Indian origin, followed by the implied conclusion that “Indians” are now somehow in control of global power. The sender wasn’t a stranger. He’s an old family friend—someone I’ve known for over 50 years. A veteran who served in the U.S. Army in Germany. My next-door neighbor during my high school years. That history