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markets
by leon on January 31, 2008
The Fed's one-two punch, cutting rates by half a percentage point, will not do the trick. The aim of the Fed is make it easier for business with better credit and cheaper money.But shortly after,...
Read more of The market talks to the Fed
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litigation
by leon on January 31, 2008
Not the best of weeks for Donald Trump.First, there are reports that like senior members of his organization have agreed to meet before a Scottish inquiry surrounding the circumstances of a proposed ...
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corporate crime
by leon on January 30, 2008
The dogs might be barking for Jean-Pierre Mustier, Société Générale's head of corporate and investment banking, reports the Financial Times, and the Houston Chronicle reports that the bank's ...
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corporate crime
by leon on January 30, 2008
Late last year, I looked at the link between the foreclosures, the housing market and fraud and the the corrupt system that spawned mortgage fraud where appraisers, brokers and accountants recruited ...
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Information About
, strategy
by leon on January 30, 2008
Fascinating study from Harvard Business School's Boris Groysberg showing that women star stock analysts are more likely than men to maintain their star power when they switch companies.The study ...
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strategy
by leon on January 30, 2008
Much has been said about the war for talent and skills shortages. But it seems some industries and regions will have trouble attracting talent.Russia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and South Asia, and ...
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markets
by leon on January 29, 2008
Some commentators, like JP Morgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon, say the US subprime crisis is on the way to sorting itself out and that the market can take care of itself. But that hasn't st...
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Ethics
by leon on January 29, 2008
What's the future of corporate social responsibility? That's the unanswered question with the prospect of a bad US recession looming, threatening to take the world with it. Will companies con...
Read more of CSR, creative capitalism and the recession
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Ethics
by leon on January 27, 2008
Weep not for Indonesia's former president Suharto who died today at the age of 86. Suharto's iron-fisted rule bought economic growth but also ushered in nepotism and corruption. And Suharto&#...
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corporate crime
by leon on January 27, 2008
French investigators might now be looking into how rogue trader Jerome Kerviel ran up billions of dollars in losses at Société Générale but there are broader questions to answer at Société Générale a...
Read more of Société Générale mystery and fallout
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strategy
by leon on January 25, 2008
Governments and businesses are now looking at various incentives and penalties for employees to lose weight. but all of these are problematic and simplistic. There is no quick fix to this complex pro...
Read more of Overworked, overweight
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risk
by leon on January 25, 2008
Where do security leaks and IT disasters come from? Look no further than the IT department.According to a recent study by London-based security company Orthus, IT departments are responsible for 30 p...
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corporate governance
by leon on January 25, 2008
In the past, I have done entries here and here looking at why Sarbanes-Oxley wouldn't work for non-profits and examining their governance challenges.But there are signs that non-profits are takin...
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boards of directors
by leon on January 24, 2008
Compared to the CEO, most company directors aren't paid that excessively. The fees are comfortable, but generally it's not excessive.But a handful of companies are paying their outside direct...
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markets
by leon on January 24, 2008
After the Monday Massacre of global stock markets, Asian markets have rallied and the Australian market ended its losing streak with the biggest one day gain since last August after the Fed's sur...
Read more of Will the Fed avert a recession and other questions
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litigation
by leon on January 23, 2008
The fallout from the the US Supreme Court's long-awaited decision in StoneRidge Investment Partners v Scientific Atlanta last week continues.The battle of StoneRidge was fought over a case brough...
Read more of Supremes screw investors
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corporate crime
by leon on January 23, 2008
Siemens faces a fine of 4 billion euros ($5.8 billion), a figure that would wipe out a full year's profit, after a probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reports Bloomberg.For the ye...
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Ethics
by leon on January 22, 2008
Last year, I looked at Google's move into philanthropy with it setting up a special arm to to fight poverty, disease and global warming. Google.org has the freedom to form start-up companies and ...
Read more of Google reshapes philanthropy
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executive pay
by leon on January 21, 2008
At the end of last year, I did a blog entry looking at how investment bankers were still raking in enormous bonuses, despite the Subprime Meltdown. Indeed, according to research at Breaking Views, bo...
Read more of Merrill Lynch's bonus pain
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corporate crime
by leon on January 21, 2008
With Conrad Black this week filing a bid for bail until his appeal of fraud and obstruction convictions is heard, there are signs what the grounds of appeal might be.Black is expected to follow the l...
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corporate crime
by leon on January 20, 2008
Prosecutors might be facing serious difficulties prosecuting Blackwater security guards involved in a September shooting that killed at least 17 Iraqis. Part of the problem is immunity granted to Bla...
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risk
by leon on January 19, 2008
In the past, I have written about how to build a resilient organization. The problem with risk management in many organizations is that they don't know how to pull it all together and incorporate...
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risk
by leon on January 19, 2008
In the past I have raised the question of whether China is headed for a slowdown. It's one of the big issues for 2008 and the answer is important for businesses and economies around the world, pa...
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strategy
by leon on January 17, 2008
Around the world, the statistics for start-ups are scary. About two out of three first-time start-ups will fail, usually because of cash flow problems and often because stuff happens that hasn't ...
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SOX
by leon on January 17, 2008
With Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox last month announcing a one-year delay in imposing Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 requirements for small public companies - something that...
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corporate governance
by leon on January 16, 2008
Who is the youngest director in the US? And who is the oldest?The Corporate Library has an interesting breakdown of the demographics of US boards. As a snapshot of corporate governance, US style, its...
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strategy
by leon on January 16, 2008
Mattel's recall of some 20 million toys last year highlighted that the old supply chain had changed. About 65 per cent of Mattel's toys are made in China, where about 50 per cent of Mattel...
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Compliance
by leon on January 16, 2008
Last year, former Morgan Stanley chairman Sir David Walker issued a report that put greater onus on private equity funds in Britain to provide more details of the financial performance of companies t...
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strategy
by leon on January 16, 2008
Does sponsorship deliver bang for the buck? How effective is it as a strategy?Joe Akaoui, the R&D director of marketing analysis firm Integration has some interesting insights in his paper Brand ...
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strategy
by leon on January 15, 2008
Many years ago, management thinker Gary Hamel was praising Enron just before the energy giant imploded. Never mind, Hamel's ideas are always provocative. And he has maintained that stance in his ...
Read more of The Future Of Management
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corporate governance
by leon on January 15, 2008
How is it that despite all the focus on corporate governance and diversity, corporate boards all look and sound the same? Why do some directors get more board seats than others, and as a result have ...
Read more of Corporate governance 101: flattery will get you everywhere
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markets
by leon on January 12, 2008
When Alan Greenspan was at the height of his influence as Fed chairman, the financial news network CNBC would film him arriving for Federal Open Market Committee meetings and focus on the size of his...
Read more of The Age Of Turbulence
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risk
by leon on January 12, 2008
Some sobering reading from McAfee about this year's biggest IT disaster zones.McAfee's Top 10 Threat Predictions for 2008 tells us to watch out for botnets piggybacking on Storm Worm, the mos...
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risk
by leon on January 11, 2008
The threat of bird flu has dropped off the radar - thus far, avian influenza has killed just over 200 people worldwide with about half occurring in Indonesia - but that doesn't mean the pandemic ...
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Accounting
by leon on January 10, 2008
Despite best efforts, problems with audits still keep coming up. According to the International Federation of Accountants, improving audit quality requires a massive shake-up of practices and behavio...
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markets
by leon on January 10, 2008
Back in November I did a blog entry looking at how Citigroup had given itself into Junk bond status with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's $7.5 billion bailout, giving it a near 5 per cent sta...
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Ethics
by leon on January 9, 2008
Fascinating developments in the world of micro-finance.Online auction giant eBay last year launched a microlending website that lets people invest in entrepreneurs in poor communities around the worl...
Read more of Microplace and Kiva
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markets
by leon on January 9, 2008
Back in November, I did a blog entry focusing on research showing that average private equity returns have underperformed the benchmark S&P 500 share index by 3 per cent, after fees charged to in...
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regulators
by leon on January 9, 2008
Most states in the US, and indeed many jurisdictions around the world, have enacted some form of anti-spam legislation. But it's done nothing to stop the onslaught and indeed, the problem seems t...
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markets
by leon on January 8, 2008
Just finished reading Will Hutton's powerful book The Writing On The Wall which argues that China's extraordinary growth is more the result of good fortune than good management. Hutton argues...
Read more of The Writing On The wall
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risk
by leon on January 8, 2008
So what are the big trends to watch out for in 2008. According to a raft of surveys that came out before Christmas, reported here, the global credit crunch, tougher economic conditions and the chase ...
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corporate crime
by leon on January 6, 2008
More on the Samsung scandal.Now The Art Newspaper has published allegations that Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee set up a $225 million slush fund to buy art for his art museum director wife. The allegat...
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corporate crime
by leon on January 5, 2008
Conrad Black made his biggest mistake in giving up his Canadian citizenship in order to join Britain's House of Lords as Lord Black of Crossharbour. It means that he can he not be returned to Can...
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Accounting
by leon on January 4, 2008
There seems to be a profound disconnect for chief financial officers in their first 100 days on the job. According to a McKinsey survey, most CFOs say their time is not being spent in areas where it&...
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markets
by leon on January 4, 2008
The US dollar keeps sinking ahead of expectations of more bad economic news expected today and it's going to get worse. "The dollar will remain under pressure. On a 12-month horizon, the mar...
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corporate crime
by leon on January 4, 2008
Last month, I did a blog entry on the power of empires in the South Korean market. Specifically, I was talking about the problems confronting Samsung.The issue was in the news again this week when Ki...
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markets
by leon on January 4, 2008
US stocks are down - the biggest point drop yet for the first trading day of the year, and its largest percentage decline since 1983 - oil has hit a record and gold is getting there. What a start to ...
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litigation
by leon on January 4, 2008
Just after Christmas, I did an entry looking at how the subprime crisis had driven a big increase in securities lawsuits. The NERA Economic Consulting's semi-annual benchmark study showed the 200...
Read more of Lawsuits increase with subprime
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markets
by leon on January 3, 2008
Interesting questions raised from The Wall Street Journal's scoop last week that Warren Buffett plans to make a buck out of the turmoil in the financial markets by establishing a bond insurance f...
Read more of Buffett bonding
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regulators
by leon on January 2, 2008
While the US was heading into the subprime meltdown, lawmakers around the country were being dissuaded from bringing in laws to curtail their sharp lending practices and Predatory lending through dec...
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strategy
by leon on January 2, 2008
Winning elections is now more expensive than ever so the parties and candidates are now even more dependent on corporations. As Will Hutton points out in his book The Writing On The Wall, back in 197...
Read more of Primary color of the dollars
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risk
by leon on January 2, 2008
Will Osama Bin Laden be caught in 2008? Will George Bush pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby? The prediction markets are already taking bets. But predicting the future is not what it used to be. J...
