The G20 protests

The G20 summit takes place in London this week. The economic crisis needs continued and coordinated global response and will be the main focus of the summit. But what is happening outside in the streets of London beggars belief. As with most other world events, every conceivable group wants to use the...

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Did you turn your lights off on Saturday ?

(photo from www.webwombat.com.au) Saturday 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM local time was Earth Hour as most people know by now. 4000 cities and towns in 88 countries joined the event initiated by the World Wildlife Fund to dim non essential lights to highlight the threat of climate change. The organisers had hoped...

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Credit Cards

I received a very kind message from my credit card issuer saying that the interest rate is revised to 42% p.a . YES FORTY TWO PERCENTReaders of my blog may remember my rant against credit cards. Click here to read my earlier post.Please show me one expenditure that's worth paying 42% interest on and I'll eat my hat. When will the idiots who borrow on credit cards stop ?Shylock seems a positive angel...

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Swiss Banks and Secrecy

The legendary secrecy of Swiss banks is coming under sustained attack, especially from the US. I read an article in the FT today, that some Swiss banks are imposing a complete ban on their senior executives travelling outside Switzerland for fear that they may be detained and questioned.The US is mounting a sustained campaign against tax havens, as is Germany. The case against "Swiss bank secrecy"...

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The Chinalco Rio Tinto affair

The proposed acquisition of a 18% stake in Rio Tinto by Chinalco is starting to get more and more messy. The deal raises a number of issues and hence this post.First the facts. Rio Tinto is an Anglo Australian mining giant. It is listed in the UK and in Australia (as separate companies, but...

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They just don't get it

Some companies have shown amazing insensitivity in recent days. What was AIG thinking when it decided to go ahead with the bonuses ? How could they not foresee the furore that this would cause ? How could the Chairmen of GM, Ford and Chysler even consider coming to Washington in their private jets to press for a bailout ? And to compound the disaster, when one of the Congressional leaders asked if...

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Thus spake Jack Welch

Jack Welch in a recent FT interview was quoted to have said "on the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world".This has created a storm with many columns, articles, blogs being written about how one of the doyens of capitalism had turned against it.This is a classic case of sensationalising a quote taken out of context.He was asked what he thought of "shareholder value as a strategy"....

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A CEO with a head and a heart

Paul Levy is the CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Just like everybody else, the hospital is hurting from the downturn. Things came to a stage where they had to shed 600 jobs. Ouch ! But nothing special - this is what every organisation is going through.But Paul Levy's reaction...

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Ask the stupid question

Who doesn't want to look brilliant, sharp, knowledgeable, completely on top, impressive ...... This post argues that sometimes it pays to look stupid.Reflect back on your own experience. How many times have you listened to a presentation, or read a proposal, and not understood exactly what was being...

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Irresponsible advertising

Which is the most dangerous place in the world ?Iraq ? Afghanistan ? Darfur ? Gaza ?Wrong.The most dangerous place (actually the second most dangerous place, but that's another story) in the world is the Indian road. About 100,000 people are killed each year. 2 million people are seriously injured. India loses 3% of GDP due to road accidents. It claims more victims than Aids, TB and malaria combined....

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The VIP Visit

Visits of corporate honchos to distant lands are often amazing events. Some companies take it cool, but in most companies, the preparations are taken to absurd lengths. If he is a real real honcho, then preparations rival those of a royal or papal visit. In my long experience, I have seen many such...

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The AIG Bonus affair

The newslines are awash with reports of AIG paying out bonuses of $165 m, after getting a bailout of $ 170 bn from the US government to stay afloat. Normally, I am of the view that too much noise is being made on executive pay, stemming largely from jealousy, and it doesn't deserve all the attention...

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Are these the guys we work for ?

We all work for our shareholders. That's what capitalism is all about, isn't it ? All employees are there to maximise returns for the shareholders. If we all work for them, shouldn't we get to know better who these guys are ?Amongst all stakeholders, the shareholder is the guy we know the least about....

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Tha anatomy of a fraud

Most, if not all, corporate frauds start small. Probably not even as a clear cut fraud. It then builds momentum, becomes a monster, and gets out of hand. Two recent cases lead me to muse on how, and why, frauds start.Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty yesterday and was taken in handcuffs to jail. He will...

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Its just not cricket

You either love cricket or you don't have a clue about the game. There isn't anything in between. The lovers of cricket are found in the Commonwealth. Everybody else can't figure head or tail of this funny game. This is a "Light Reading" post, not linked to business ; after some real business stuff,...

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Do companies deserve loyal employees ?

In the good old days, life was simple. You joined a company when you were young. You worked through the ranks and rose to a decent position in the company. You stayed with them for most, if not all, of your working life. The job offered you an anchor to your life, to your family. Most of your friends worked with the company too. If it was a big company, usually the local town was built around the...

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Earnings Guidance - Good or Bad ?

The Economist , in its Feb 28th issue, carries a leader "To forecast or not to forecast" ? It warns its readers to be beware of firms that refuse to issue annual forecasts. The trigger was the recent announcements by a few companies that they would not give an earnings guidance for 2009, citing the turbulent times. The article, as all Economist articles are, is very well written with cogent arguments...

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Companies aren't bad creatures

Companies in general, seem to be disliked by the public. The larger the company, and the more global it is, the more it is disliked. Have you noticed how often somebody rails at "multinational corporations", with the word multinational being said as if it were some highly distasteful object. Why ?...

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Jumped a red light, ever ?

There are few things in life that are starkly black and white. Corporate Ethics is one. That's why its so difficult, for its human nature to seek shades of grey. White is too startlingly brilliant. Darkness is not tolerable. Grey is comfortable. Unfortunately in something like corporate ethics, there is no such comfort zone. It is black and whiteI read a nice post by Ujjal Gupta which prompted me...

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Executive Pay

(cartoon from www. corpwatch.org)There are few universal truths in business. Here is one however. Everybody believes he should be paid more and everybody else should be paid less. The more senior the "else" is, he should definitely be paid a lot lesser.A zillion words have been written on executive...

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Wanna earn $ 20m for doing nothing ?

Executive pay is a hot topic these days. Everybody, President Obama included, is railing at the insane bonuses at Wall Street and calling for curbs on executive pay. While you could argue for, or against, it (and I intend to in a future post), here's a non Wall Street example of pay excess, the pundits...

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What does a manager really do ?

Walk into any office anywhere. The overwhelming sight is one of most people peering into a computer screen while a few others are closeted in meeting rooms. This has always stuck me as odd - why do managers peer into a computer screen all the time. I did so too; so why did I do it ?Which led me to the...

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