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VALUE BLOGSeditors deskEye on The Markets
THE VALUE OF DESIGNWhy Design Matters Good design does not always equal good business. But good business outcomes—especially when the goal is to create new sources of value in the world—are most often achieved through a well-structured design process that is more holistic and inclusive than the notion of [...] Why KIVA is one of the fastest-growing nonprofits in history.The Profit in NonprofitKiva, the first online peer-to-peer microcredit marketplace, is one of the fastest-growing nonprofits in history. But its nonprofit status was not inevitable. Here’s why Kiva chose to be a 501(c)(3), what this tax status buys the organization, and how being a [...] New research on a link between luxury goods and self-interest.The ‘Luxury Prime’: How Money Changes People Does money change everything? If not everything, it does seem to have an important effect on human cognition and decision-making, according to new research on a link between luxury goods and self-interest. Could such insights help rein [...] Roots of Prosperity. An in depth article from strategy + businessRoots of Prosperityby R. Glenn Hubbard and William DugganThe lessons of history, from the Roman Empire to Africa today, suggest that if we want to reduce poverty in emerging markets, regulation reform and business success are prerequisites, not outcomes. In the history of economic success, [...] Rethinking your investment portfolio?Woody Tasch, founder of Slow Money Alliance, a nonprofit that hopes to do for capitalism what the Slow Food movement has done for food and agriculture, would recommend you invest closer to home. Money—not the paper stuff in your wallet, but the bits of data [...] Capital For Good (Xigi.net)
High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn: Focus on Housing, Health, and Hunger (A Guide for Donors) is available for free download from UPenn?s Center for High Impact PhilanthropyHello, I’m Autumn Walden from UPenn’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy. I wanted to share with you all the direct link to the electronic pdf file of our latest research on effective philanthropy in the downturn. If you are interested in downloading our previous philanthropic investment guides in malaria and education, or our study on [...] Value Networks Discussion Group› Re: Enriching Context for Business Processes › Re: Enriching Context for Business Processes › Enriching Context for Business Processes A Value Network is any web of relationships that generates tangible and intangible value through complex dynamic exchanges between two or more individuals, groups, or organizations. VIDEO
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Off The Wires
There's been a whole lot of public anger about the bailouts of big Wall Street firms. But whether it was wise or not to bail out the top banks, at least it did not cost taxpayers an arm and a leg. In fact, it looks now like taxpayers got a pretty decent return on their "investment" in banks.
Fortune reports that, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the government will ultimately make a profit of $7 billion from assisting the banks: $3 billion from the Capital Purchase Program, which amounted to preferred stock purchases; $2 billion from bailing out Citigroup (C) and another $2 billion from bailing out Bank of America (BAC).
Not all aspects of TARP have been profitable. The bailouts of AIG (AIG), GM and Chrysler still look to be underwater. CBO projects the government will lose $9 billion from AIG bailouts and $47 billion from auto industry bailouts. TARP is actually helping the budget situation. It will yield an unexpected profit of $67 billion for 2010.
By Jim Kim on FierceFinance.com
For more:
Russia diversifies into Canadian dollars
Russia’s central bank announced on Wednesday that it had started buying Canadian dollars and securities in a bid to diversify its foreign exchange reserves.
Analysts said the move could be a sign of increased diversification of emerging market central bank assets away from the dollar and into investments denominated in other commodity-linked currencies, such as the Australian dollar. Source: FT.com
The winter 2010 issue has just been released, to read the publication online or download a copy, just go to CECP’s Web site.
SEC subpoenas big banks over CDOs
In a last ditch effort to become part of the solution US regulators finally start to probe global financial groups
Several leading international banks have received subpoenas from US regulators investigating one of the complex securities markets at the heart of the financial crisis, people familiar with the probe say.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sent subpoenas last month to banks including Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital, these people said. Requests for information were also made by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees broker-dealers. Source: FT.com
How will Japan Airlines fare under its Zen monk boss?
Investors have driven Japan Airlines (JAL) shares into the floor, desperate to sell before they lose their shirts.
The price hit 7 yen, just 8 US cents, and a new record intraday low. A year ago it was 213 yen.
The selling has been unstoppable, pushing the airline towards the sixth biggest bankruptcy in Japanese history.
Source: BBC.com
HAITI: MAJOR CORPORATIONS STEP UP
In response to the crisis in Haiti, companies around the world are scrambling to donate to the cause. In addition to Americans sending more than $8 million via text message donations facilitated by cell phone companies, companies of all sizes have quickly mobilized their efforts. Source: HuffPo
Foundation protests Goldman Sachs Head Fake
Today begins the first hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in Washington and its attendees include the likes of Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, John J. Mack of Morgan Stanley, and Brian T. Moynihan of Bank of America.
Reported in Reuters early on January 12, this story was about Goldman Sachs trying to block a proxy vote by some activist shareholders including, notably, the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Calling this block the “the biggest head-fake in history,” Cummings Foundation President Lance Lindblom was sharply critical of the Goldman Sachs attempt to prevent the shareholders from voting to examine the wage disparities between the average worker and top executives. January 12, 2010; Reuters |
Frank Rich: The Other Plot to Wreck America
The reckless Citi executives of our day may not have given themselves interest-free loans, but they often walked away with the short-term, illusionary profits while their employees were left with shredded jobs and 401(k)’s.
Among those Citi executives was Robert Rubin, who, as the Clinton Treasury secretary, helped repeal the last vestiges of Glass-Steagall after years of Wall Street assault.
Rubin has never apologized, let alone been held accountable. But he’s hardly alone. Even after all the country has gone through, the titans who fueled the bubble are heedless. In last Sunday’s Times, Sandy Weill, the former chief executive who built Citigroup (and recruited Rubin to its ranks), gave a remarkable interview to Katrina Brooker blaming his own hand-picked successor, Charles Prince, for his bank’s implosion.
Weill said he preferred to be remembered for his philanthropy. Good luck with that.
Citi, that “innovative” banking supermarket, destroyed far more wealth than Weill can or will ever give away.
Risky Business: 10 Key Questions On Risk Management For The New Decade
Banks Roll Out New Check, Credit Card Fees
The nation's banks will be bombarding customers with new fees and products in 2010 as they try to replace more than $50 billion in revenue wiped out by new rules that clamp down on certain business practices. Their greed knows no limit...beware!
No Market Love for These Value-Creating Stocks
In Goldman Sachs' Cayman Islands Deals, Investors Could Only Lose
McClatchy has obtained previously undisclosed documents that provide a closer look at the shadowy $1.3 trillion market since 2002 for complex offshore deals, which Chicago financial consultant and frequent Goldman critic Janet Tavakoli said at times met "every definition of a Ponzi scheme."
Where on earth are the WSJ and FT on this story?
Will they continue to be part of the problem or dare to find the spine to take on the risk of this kind of investigative reporting?
MOVE YOUR MONEY
Watch film maker Eugene Jarecki's amazing video, then go to www.moveyourmoney.info to learn more about how easy it is to move your money.
And pass the idea on to your friends (help make this video -- and this idea -- go viral!). Source HuffPo.
The Card Game U.S. Looks to Australia on Credit Card Fees
After a law forced a cut in transaction fees, some merchants and banks added new charges for customers that were, sometimes, higher than the old ones.
American merchants, like their counterparts Down Under, complain that the high fees they must pay credit card companies and banks to accept their cards force them to increase prices on everything they sell — even for people who pay with cash — to make up the difference.
In the United States, the Government Accountability Office last week issued a report showing that consumers who did not use credit cards “may be made worse off by paying higher prices for goods and services, as merchants pass on their increasing card acceptance costs to their customers.” Source NYT.com
On Goldman Sachs, the FT, speed-reading and Caesar’s wife…
From an earlier letter to the editor Goldman's speed reading champion
From Mr Alan Morton. Sir, So Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's chief executive and co-chairman of the panel of judges of the 2009 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs business book of the year award, said all 15 books on the list were "both compelling and enjoyable" A quick browse online informs me these books total 5,292 pages…it would take approximately 264 hours to plough one's way through this list. Mr Blankfein would therefore have had to commit 6.5 hours per day since the list was published on August 7 to complete the exercise.
While the FT’s laudatory Person of the Year piece on Blankfein points to his prodigious reading appetite; the letter writer totally misses a much larger point:The FT/Goldman Sachs Book awards involve an exchange of lucre (a.k.a. “Sponsorship”) and this runs the risk of a repeat of The Bona Dea ScandalBlankfein may be the ‘master of risk’ but the FT would do well to appoint an independent risk assessor.
Needless to say, it was Caesar’s third wife Calpurnia who had the dream of his imminent death just before the fateful Ides of March. Nightmare PR headaches in Q1 for both FT and Goldman perhaps?
Comments from HuffPo: Goldman Sachs CEO Named 'Person Of The Year' By Financial TimesBank Analyst Cancels FT Subscription In Protest
Fake Christmas cards from Goldman Sachs
"He knows if you've been bad or good...We get paid in either case. Happy Holidays from Lloyd and staff." So goes a fake Christmas card that has been making the rounds via email on Wall Street, reports the New York Post. The card also depicts Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein as Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame.
There's no telling who is behind the effort, which I doubt has gone completely viral. As pranks go, this one is pretty tame; I do not think the card contains any viruses or anything. But it does point to the firm's image problems that will likely be in the news again as bonus seasons rolls around.
From Jim Kim on FierceFinance.com For more:- here's the article
Toxic Swaps Approved By Larry Summers Cost Harvard Almost $1 Billion
The swaps, which assumed that interest rates would rise, proved so toxic that the 373-year-old institution agreed to pay banks a total of almost $1 billion to terminate them.
Most of the wrong-way bets were made in 2004, when Lawrence Summers, now President Barack Obama’s economic adviser, led the university.
Cranes were recently removed from the construction site of a $1 billion science center that was to be the expansion’s centerpiece, a reminder of Summers’s ambition. The school said last week they would suspend work on the building early next year.
Beware of this fox and his genius advice now running the national economic hen-house...
The real costs of war:
Working paper: Mental Health in the Aftermath of Conflict
Wars are detrimental to the populations and the economy of affected countries. Over and above the human cost caused by deaths and suffering during a time of conflict, survivors of conflict are often left in poor economic circumstances and mental-health distress even after the conflict ends.
How large are these costs?
How long does it take for conflict-affected populations to recover from the mental stress of conflict?
What policies are appropriate to assist mental health recovery?
While considerable attention has been paid to post-war policies with regard to recovery in physical and human capital, mental health has received relatively less attention.
The World Bank's Quy-Toan Do and Harvard Business School professor Lakshmi Iyer review the nascent literature on mental health in the aftermath of conflict, discuss the potential mechanisms through which conflict might affect mental health, and illustrate the findings from their study of mental health in a specific post-conflict setting: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Download the PDF.
Drug money 'saved banks from crisis'
Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the London Observer newspaper.
Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organized crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result.
Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi: How Obama Sold Out America
Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008. He pushed a tax plan to soak the rich, ripped NAFTA for hurting the middle class and tore into John McCain for supporting a bankruptcy bill that sided with wealthy bankers "at the expense of hardworking Americans." Obama may not have run to the left of Samuel Gompers or Cesar Chavez, but...
So You Want to Live to 100? More of Us Will, and Here Is What Life Might Look Like
The implications are enormous for everything from retirement planning and health care costs to new models for the workplace and innovative approaches to education. As one Wharton professor says: "This is a demographic revolution the likes of which we have never seen before on earth." What challenges will individuals, organizations and governments confront due to increases in life expectancy that show no signs of slowing down?
Paul Volcker stuns the financial community by saying they are worthless sacks of crap who have contributed fark-all to society and the world economy. Where's his Nobel Prize? (telegraph.co.uk) Source: Fark.com
Too Big to Exist
Source: Carnegie Council Policy Innovations
Don’t always look on the Bright Side of Life, here’s why
Speaking to In These Times about her new book, Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, Barbara Ehrenreich offers some reasons to think twice about the origins and virtue of optimism. Optimism became a prevailing cultural phenomenon as job security began to change (and in many cases vanish) in the 1980s, she explains.
“If you want to have a compliant populace, what could be better than to say that everyone has to think positively and accept that anything that goes wrong in their lives is their own fault because they haven’t had a positive enough attitude?”
Source: In These Times
Is there room for altruism and compassion in our economic system?
On April 9 - 11, 2010, at the Kongresshaus Zürich, economic leaders and leading minds in neuroscience, applied economics, philosophy, contemplative science and anthropology will discuss moral and ethical dimensions of our economic system.
The ongoing global financial crisis clearly shows how vulnerable economic systems are to human behavior, particularly to corruption and greed. This conference focuses on the question: can we develop economic systems which deliver prosperity and welfare, while at the same time reward altruism and compassion?
Speakers include:
Questions include:
The Mind and Life XX conference offers a unique opportunity to follow a high-level interdisciplinary exchange between scientists and economists.
The whole dialogue will be held in English. Please find attendance and registration details on our homepage: www.compassionineconomics.org
China eyes industrial bases in Africa
Lower-value manufacturing facilities could be moved out of China to developing countries.
The World Bank and Beijing are in discussions about setting up low-cost factories in new industrial zones in Africa to help the continent develop a manufacturing base and reverse its declining share in global trade.
Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, said Beijing had shown “strong interest” in proposals to set up manufacturing bases to help African countries achieve high growth paths similar to Asian ones. From FT.com
Goldman Sachs bankers, to arms!
Granted, Goldman Sachs has endured some public abuse as of late, but has it come to the point that Goldman Sachs bankers need to arm themselves? A Bloomberg column finds that "senior Goldman people" are buying guns to protect themselves. The New York Police Department told the columnist that it "believes some of the bankers" inquired about do indeed already have pistol permits. The NYPD said it will be a while before it can name names.
I'm not sure what to make of this. There have been a few protests at regional offices of Goldman Sachs and at the actual homes of a few AIG executives. But these staged "events" tend to be done more for the media than out of malice, but there may be things we do not know. I wouldn't be surprised if the company hasn't fielded some threats, but I would be surprised if any were credible. In any case, the company can take no chances. It needs to protect its employees. I just wonder whether nervous bankers packing heat will make anyone really safer. You might be tempted to say that adding guns to this mix may do more harm than good. By Jim Kim at FierceFinance.com
For more:
Rotarians are bringing safe drinking water and sanitation to millions around the world. A new press kit describes these efforts.
The High Rise Urban Farms of the Future
Moving Farms off land and into skyscrapers is on the verge of becoming reality. The main hurdle isn't technology; it's one of engineering and funding. Happy Thanksgiving from us and thanks to Globe.net
Cisco and The Economist Discuss the Social and Economic Impact of CSR
A Video Conference -- using Cisco Systems’ technology, naturally -- connecting the CEO in San Jose, California with knowledgeable, but clearly beholden journalists in London, England.
Is U.S. Immigration Policy Ruining Us Economically?
Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Stanford President John Hennessy blasted the U.S. immigration policy that forces foreign students to return to their home country after being educated in the United States. From Stanford video...
Goldman Sachs Doing "God's Work"?
By Charles Gasparino, Author, The Sellout
The only thing worse than Goldman Sachs amassing billions in bonus money for its executives, based on various government subsidies and bailout measures, is listening to it try to explain it all away. From HuffPo
The Sheriff's Posse: The People Behind the Regulations
Gene Sperling was paid by Goldman Sachs and for speeches made at various financial institutions, and Mariner Investment Group, a New York City hedge fund, paid Lee Sachs.
The trouble of course arises from the fact that both counselors, along with the rest of Geithner's inner circle, are responsible for managing the $700 billion in government funds allotted for the financial rescue plan, most of which has been spent bailing out troubled investment banks. Read the report... at FierceFinance Will the new Pay Czar ride to the rescue?
10 States Hurtling Towards Bankruptcy
California was only the beginning.
Nine more states are "barreling toward an economic disaster" according to a new Pew poll that sees deep service cuts and temporary tax hikes to avoid fiscal calamity. Some of these states will be familiar to Atlantic Business readers. I've been leading the funeral cry for the united states of MichiCaliFlAriVada (that's Michigan, California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada), and all five states are on Pew's list. Rounding out the ten are Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
read more at atlantic business
Labels reveal companies' social responsibility
From Soup to ... Corporate Social Responsibility: Campbell's Efforts to Lead the Way
The Unreasonable Institute has officially begun its search for the world's 25 most driven, most brilliant, high-impact social entrepreneurs. The Institute is looking for social entrepreneurs, between ages 20-30, who will develop social ventures that history may one day recall defined progress in the 21st century - ventures with the ability to measurably improve the lives of millions of people around the globe.
The Unreasonable Institute exists for no other purpose than to find these young social entrepreneurs and give them everything they need to create this kind of impact.
Be afraid -- be very afraid! -Ed
Monster bubble
By Nouriel Roubini in the FT
Since March there has been a massive rally in all sorts of risky assets – equities, oil, energy and commodity prices – a narrowing of high-yield and high-grade credit spreads, and an even bigger rally in emerging market asset classes (their stocks, bonds and currencies). At the same time, the dollar has weakened sharply, while government bond yields have gently increased but stayed low and stable.
Lippo Group CEO James Riady: 'Money and Power Are a Blessing and a Curse'
Human capital: the challenges facing Asia
While the economic downturn is a key focus for many C-level executives, the need to attract and retain talent remains an important issue, says INSEAD Professor Narayan Pant. This is all the more so in Asia where developing countries such as China and India are helping to drive the world's economic recovery.
Goldman seeks help from Bridgespan
Having posted record profits in the third quarter, and setting aside a compensation pool of $16.7 billion for employees so far this year, Goldman Sachs is working with philanthropy-consulting group Bridgespan to determine how to use charity to mitigate public backlash against perceived greed, Bloomberg News reported Oct. 15 (see Goldman Sachs story).
Soros calls Wall St profits ‘gifts’ from state
The big profits made by some of Wall Street’s leading banks are “hidden gifts” from the state, and taxpayer resentment of such companies is “justified”, George Soros, the fund manager, said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Great idea for interactive online debates from the Economist
A FEW years ago, I accepted a Golden Globe award by barking out an expletive. One imagines President Obama did the same when he heard about his Nobel, and not out of excitement.
When Mr. Obama takes the stage at Oslo City Hall this December, he won’t be the first sitting president to receive the peace prize, but he might be the most controversial. By BONO Op-Ed in the NYT
The tycoon who puts his money where his mouth is
From humble beginnings in Sudan as the son of a clerk, Mo Ibrahim has had quite a journey. Now worth over $2.5bn (£1.5bn), the entrepreneur and philanthropist is changing lives across Africa by using his money and influence to encourage clean politics. BBC Feature.
The free market is not up to the job of creating work
The US may be looking at long-term, double-digit unemployment.
Only massive programs are equal to the challenge of restoring stable growth to our economy, writes Mort Zuckerman in the FT
NOT SMART: Harvard Bet on Interest-Rate Swaps Backfires, Costing School $500 Million
Harvard University’s failed bet that interest rates would rise cost the world’s richest school at least $500 million in payments to escape derivatives that backfired.
Harvard paid $497.6 million to investment banks during the fiscal year ended June 30 to get out of $1.1 billion of interest-rate swaps intended to hedge variable-rate debt for capital projects, the school’s annual report said. The university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said it also agreed to pay $425 million over 30 to 40 years to offset an additional $764 million in swaps. Bloomberg.
Laptop for every pupil in Uruguay
Uruguay has become the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending state primary school. President Tabaré Vázquez presented the final XO model laptops to pupils at a school in Montevideo on 13 October. From the BBC
MUCH of the recent anger over bank bonuses has been focused on Goldman Sachs, which, according to results just published, accumulated a further $5.4 billion for its staff in the most recent quarter. Yet the one thing that can be said about Goldman is that if its employees are making hay partly on the back of an implicit public guarantee, so are shareholders. In the same quarter the bank generated an annualized return on equity of 21%.
Not so for some of America’s other banks. There, the owners (and in theory the controllers) of the firms seem to have been forgotten, even though pay remains relatively high. About the only consistent beneficiaries of the new boom are employees. The Economist Full article
Goldman Mounts Charm Offensive
On Thursday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will announce that life is pretty much back to normal: billions of dollars in quarterly profit and record pay set aside for employees at the firm known for running circles around the rest of Wall Street.
Hoping to defuse a politically combustible situation, Goldman officials have been mounting a soft-sell campaign that pushes the usually reticent company into the spotlight. From WSJ.com
So much for conserving cash. After axing around 195,700 jobs during the global financial crisis, big Wall Street banks are jump-starting hiring again. Full Article
The illusion of control: dancing with chance
Looking back, it may seem obvious that there was insufficient risk management in the financial industry. In a new book called 'Dance with chance, making luck work for you' authors Spyros Makridakis, Robin Hogarth and Anil Gaba suggest that while there are events that you can't anticipate, there are better ways of dealing with risk. INSEAD Knowledge Read More...
Green Running through its Veins Novo Nordisk, a global diabetes and biopharmaceutical company makes sustainability its lifeblood-and grows big…
China's Green-Tech Market: $1 Trillion By 2013
A new report says China's green-tech market could reach $1 trillion by 2013
China Greentech Initiative: "China’s market requirements for greentech solutions are tremendous. Chinese government policies are positive drivers for greentech market development and a wide range of businesses are beginning to deploy greentech solutions to address a broad spectrum of environmental issues. While significant challenges remain, stakeholders have clear opportunities to accelerate market development and create a more environmentally sustainable China"
A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll finds that two-thirds of Iranians would favor their government precluding the development of nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against Iran.
Can Nike and Wal-Mart really save the Amazon?
An ambitious commitment by some of the world's largest companies not to buy beef or leather products from the Brazilian Amazon may falter if a strong monitoring system isn't put in place. From: CSMonitor.com
Green Alchemy: Turning Waste Plastic to Black Gold
The Envion Oil Generator (EOG) is a first-of-its-kind technology that converts any type of plastic waste into high quality, synthetic light medium oil for less than $10 per barrel.
Envion’s innovative approach provides a comprehensive solution that has the potential to remove plastic waste from landfills, freeing up the estimated 24% of capacity that plastic occupies in landfills. The United States produces approximately 50 million tons of plastic waste per year, the vast majority of which ends up taking up space in landfills. From Globe-Net.com
US foundations developing ESG emerging markets fund
A group of US charitable foundations are developing an environmental, social and governance-focused emerging markets equity fund with the aid of consulting firm Cambridge Associates. by Daniel Brooksbank | Responsible Investor.
Jobs site focuses on reviewing 'great bosses' leave bosses," GetaGreatBoss facilitates reviews of managers by From Springwise.com
Global investors call for binding climate policy
Banks, pension funds and other investment groups representing more than $13 trillion in assets called for a strong global agreement on climate policy on Wednesday, saying it would lead to a flood of investment into the low-carbon economy.
"Without the policies to encourage clean energy, investors are stuck at the starting gates," Mindy Lubber, the president of Ceres, a Boston-based coalition of investors and environmentalists, and the director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk.
More than 180 investor groups called for a global target of emissions reductions of 50 to 85 percent by 2050, including higher cuts by wealthy countries, and plans in developing countries to make measurable emissions reductions. From Reuters’ - -
Companies reinvent giving for ‘new era’ -Philanthropy Journal online-
Nine Investor Law Firms Support SEC Efforts to Ensure Shareowner Rights Source: Social Funds
Norman Borlaug, 95, Dies; Led Green Revolution
A Nobel Peace Prize winner, he developed high-yielding crop varieties that helped to avert famines worldwide.
Loss Creates Leaders. I made that the title of the first chapter in my new book because I believe it's the most important lesson for anyone who aspires to leadership in business or elsewhere in life.
What is small, French and green? President Nicolas Sarkozy, who proposed on Thursday September 10th a tax on carbon-emitting sources of fuel. If it goes ahead, 17 euros ($25) will be levied, initially, per tonne of carbon dioxide. Although France would not be the first country with a general carbon tax—Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway already have them—it would be the largest economy yet.
North America's Largest International Event on the Business of the Environment
Over the past 20 years, the GLOBE Series has grown to become one the world's most influential international events on the business of the environment. Every two years, GLOBE™ brings together leaders of government and industry to discuss current sustainable business trends and to showcase innovative solutions to the world's environmental problems.
GLOBE 2010 March 24-26, 2010 Vancouver, Canada www.globe2010.com
Dow Jones sustainability indices see re-shuffle of best performing companies
On 3 September 2009, the results of the 2009 annual review for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World) and Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index were announced by Zurich-based SAM, an investment boutique focused on sustainable investing. In their assessment of corporate sustainability leadership over the previous year, SAM announced that 33 companies will join the DJSI, and 33 will be deleted from the 317 component index. New additions to DJSI include companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Coca-Cola, Samsung Electronics and Bank of Nova Scotia. Some of the deletions include National Grid, Mitsubishi Estate, SABMiller and BAE Systems.
Record-Breaking Numbers of Resolutions and Engagements on Climate Change are Recorded in 2009 Proxy Season
U.S. Increases Its Share of Worldwide Arms Market
More than two-thirds of all foreign armament deals last year were made with U.S. suppliers, at a value of more than $37 billion, a Congressional study found.
The United States signed weapons agreements valued at $37.8 billion in 2008, or 68.4 percent of all business in the global arms bazaar, up significantly from American sales of $25.4 billion the year before.
Italy was a distant second, with $3.7 billion in worldwide weapons agreements in 2008, while Russia was third with $3.5 billion in arms sales last year — down considerably from the $10.8 billion in weapons deals signed by Moscow in 2007.
By Thom Shanker New York Times
Bailed-out bankers to get options windfall: study
As shares of bailed-out banks bottomed out earlier this year, stock options were awarded to their top executives, setting them up for millions of dollars in profit as prices rebounded, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The top five executives at 10 financial institutions that took some of the biggest taxpayer bailouts have seen a combined increase in the value of their stock options of nearly $90 million, the report by the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies said.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Bailedout-bankers-to-get-rb-728839500.html?x=0&.v=1
Consumers and employees have made a strong business case for firms to adopt sustainability The concept of sustainability came on to the corporate agenda via the UN World Commission on Environment and Development (more commonly known as the Brundtland Commission after the name of its chairman, Gro Harlem Brundtland, a former Norwegian prime minister). The commission, set up in 1983 to address growing concern about “the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural resources, and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social development”, introduced the idea of sustainable development, which it famously defined as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
See also: John Elkington Revisiting my triple bottom line, http://bit.ly/Vr4gu
Banzai! A landslide victory for the DPJ in Japan
The victors have an emotive name for it: seiken kotai, or regime change. It came in brutal fashion on Sunday August 30th when Japan, Asia’s richest democracy, dumped the party that has ruled it for almost all of the last 53 years and gave a huge win to one that until recently had little idea of how it would govern.
The global agricultural sector –
including both ranching and farming - faces enormous challenges in meeting the 21st century's growing demand for food, fiber and fuel without eroding the natural resources and ecological systems upon which agriculture and humanity depend. Climate change is one of these challenges, as it has the potential to significantly disrupt food production across the globe and undermine small-holder farmer livelihoods.
Hilarious YouTube spot on Goldman Sachs
Now this is funny. Comedian Matt Rittberg offers a frankly hilarious "Goldfellas" spoof based on Goldman Sachs' compensation and bailout controversy. In this version, Lloyd Blankfein is the top dog of a criminal enterprise known as Goldman Sachs. The meat of the spoof features the Blankfein character going all Robert DeNiro on some managing directors who've been flashing their money around in the wake of Goldman's big heist.
"What are you stupid? What is the matter with you? What did you say? You being a wise guy? What did I tell you? Don't buy anything. Don't get anything. Nothing big. We just stole billions. Are you stupid? One guy comes in with a Mercedes, this guy comes in with a mink?" And the kicker: "Didn't anyone read my memo? What are you stupid?"
UK FSA chair slams City of London’s ‘socially useless’ excesses, floats Tobin tax
Lord Turner, the UK’s top financial regulator has lambasted some of the City of London’s banking and finance activities as ‘socially useless’ and suggested that a version of the controversial Tobin tax idea could be used to reign in its excesses. In an interview with Prospect magazine in the UK, Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, said the City had become “swollen” after a decade of excess to “beyond a socially reasonable size”.
SuperCorp: Values as Guidance System
In her new book SuperCorp, Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter details how vanguard companies such as IBM, Cemex, and Omron are rewriting the nature of the business enterprise and how firms will gain sustainable prosperity in the 21st century.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a Yale trained sociologist and not a financial engineer dreaming up the next algorithm…
To read an excerpt: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6267.html is
A Lehman Brothers movie to air The British Broadcasting Corporation will air a made-for-television movie that dramatizes the fall of Lehman Brothers. "The Last Days of Lehman Brothers" will focus on CEO Richard Fuld and this 11th hour moves to save the historic firm. Hopefully, it will air in the United States as well. I can't wait for the scene in which Erin Callan gets canned. I'm wondering whether we'll ever get a definitive novel or nonfiction effort that really nails this period in Wall Street history. One could point to novels like "The Bonfire of the Vanities," "Barbarians at the Gate," "Liar's Poke" and even some of those John Brooks classics, such as "Once in Golconda," as having really nailed previous eras of excess. I'm sure lots of journalists are working on this. For more:
Does Health Care Have an Electronic Future?
Public attitudes vary greatly about global warming
Russia, China, Canada and the United States are countries where global warming is not considered a serious problem according to a new survey
Mining The Sea Of PlasticScientists sail off to study plastic trash in the Pacific and ways of recovering it. Despite being about the size of France, the plastic garbage patch isn’t well understood. Located northwest of Hawaii, the gyre is not crossed by shipping routes. Cruise ships don’t go there, and sailors avoid it because it’s not windy.
Moving Toward Cosmopolitan BrandsFor a really good article on cosmopolitanism and how Noah Bopp, the director of the School for Ethics and Global Leadership teaches his students how global interconnectedness and choice determine brand ethics by using a Hershey's Kiss as an example, please visit Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism by Policy Innovations, an online publication of the Carnegie Council
Brands like the U.S.'s Patagonia, Sun Chips, Ethos Water, Newman's Own, Ben & Jerry's, as well as the U.K.'s Ethletic Sneaker, Ireland's Edun, France's Sur Le Dos Des Filles, and Korea's Beautiful Store and Natural Dream, a growing number around the world are beginning to move in this direction. These brands are making very conscious and considered choices about their impact on humanity. They are building into their brand DNA a code of ethics that is next generation and humanitarian focused. It is a long-sighted view. Given the urgency of global warming, issues of poverty, human rights, and confluence of other factors facing our global human society, planning only in the short term is rapidly becoming yesterday's model.
Excerpted from Patt Cottingham’s ‘Hello/Goodbye’ series on Huffington Post
Green Car Purchases Soar as Older Gas Guzzlers are RetiredUS Consumers Respond in record numbers to Cash for Clunkers Program Top 10 vehicles traded in under U.S. "Cash for Clunkers" program: 1. Ford Explorer (1998) 2. Ford Explorer (1997) 3. Ford Explorer (1996) 4. Ford Explorer (1999) 5. Jeep Grand Cherokee 6. Jeep Cherokee 7. Ford Explorer (1995) 8. Ford Explorer (1994) 9. Ford Windstar (1998) 10. Dodge Caravan (1999)
Top 10 vehicles purchased under the program: 1. Ford Focus 2. Honda Civic 3. Toyota Corolla 4. Toyota Prius 5. Ford Escape 6. Toyota Camry 7. Dodge Caliber 8. Hyundai Elantra 9. Honda Fit 10.Chevrolet Cobalt
Banks make $38bn from overdraft fees Poorer consumers are worst affected
US banks stand to collect a record $38.5bn in fees for customer overdrafts this year, with the bulk of the revenue coming from the most financially stretched consumers amid the deepest recession since the 1930s, according to research. The fees are nearly double those reported in 2000.
The finding is likely to increase public hostility towards the financial sector, which has been under political pressure to ease the burden on consumers by increasing credit availability and lending more fairly after being bailed out by taxpayers.
By Jonathan Salem Baskin Interesting book review in the Economist
“Branding doesn't work any more...You need another branding solution like you need a hole in the head.” Considering that he makes his living as a branding consultant, Jonathan Salem Baskin is a brave man. In his iconoclasm, he reminds of a routine by Rich Hall, in which the American comedian questions why Coca-Cola is willing to spend millions on brand advertising, only for diners in a restaurant to reply “Whatever” when the waiter asks “Is Pepsi OK?”
Economist Paul Romer unveiling his bold plan for helping failed states by creating "charter cities," special zones governed by partner nations.
How can a struggling country break out of poverty if it's trapped in a system of bad rules? Economist Paul Romer unveils a bold idea: "charter cities," city-scale administrative zones governed by a coalition of nations. (Could Guantánamo Bay become the next Hong Kong?) A TED Global 2009 Video.
Shrinking giants
The market capitalization of PetroChina may have fallen by almost half in the past year, but it remains the world’s most valuable publicly listed company. Chinese firms now occupy three of the top four slots. The Economist’s Full article
Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn
As a marketing scholar Kash Rangan is optimistic about strategic CSR efforts that provide value in communities and society. http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6179.html
The barbarians are coming, again
Along with the rest of the finance industry, the private-equity business has endured a miserable couple of years. Congress continues to plan heavier taxation of its profits, even though they have slumped. As banks, which had been lending buy-out firms spectacular sums of money on extraordinarily generous terms, abruptly turned off their taps, buy-outs became a rarity. In the first half of 2009, just $24 billion of private-equity deals were completed worldwide and only three loans were extended to fund leveraged acquisitions, the lowest number since 1985, according to Dealogic. That compares with deal volumes of $131 billion last year and $528 billion in 2007. Full article from the Economist
Only local business can end global poverty Glenn Hubbard on aid programs that work -
This week the United Nations reported that the recession has created a $4.8bn shortfall in its 2009 aid programs – more than half the $9.5bn it seeks.
“The global financial crisis is clearly a software problem. That is what everyone is trying to fix for the prosperous countries of the world. Poverty is also a software problem, but the aid system has been trying to fix the hardware instead, and got the software wrong. The Marshall plan got it right for postwar Europe. It is not too late to correct the error and get it right for the poorest countries.”
The writer is dean of Columbia Business School. His new book, The Aid Trap, is out soon.
Study finds a correlation between social media engagement and financial success.
A new study ranking brands based on their level of online engagement has named Starbucks the savviest brand when it comes to using social media. (AIG is listed at #99, but it is not at all clear why they were included in the survey.)
The coffee-maker comes in ahead of Dell and eBay, which placed second and third, according to a study by analyst Charlene Li of the Altimeter Group. Li's study sought to find which brands best leveraged social media to interact with their customers, and judged the brands on their levels of interaction across 10 social media channels, including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and discussion forums.
What went wrong with economics And how the discipline should change to avoid the mistakes of the past.
After pulling a 180 degree turn on their condemnation of ‘insidious CSR’ a couple of years ago, The Economist now thinks it is time to question their hard line orthodox stance on the dismal science, finally:
“OF ALL the economic bubbles that have been pricked, few have burst more spectacularly than the reputation of economics itself.” leader
A $10 billion Saudi fraud claim
Debt is capitalism's dirty little secret
Just why is there so much debt in the Anglo-Saxon world? Bankers and regulators know well that it is in nobody's long-term interests to have allowed borrowing to escalate to a position where the US now owes far more, as a multiple of the economy, than at the start of the Great Depression. The answer is capitalism's dirty little secret: excessive lending was the only way to maintain the living standards of the vast bulk of the population at a time when wealth was being concentrated in the hands of an elite. FT 6/30/09
Obama Rockets to Top of Poll on Global Leaders
US President Barack Obama has the confidence of many publics around the world - inspiring far more confidence than any other world political leader according to a new poll of 20 nations by WorldPublicOpinion.org.
A year ago, President Bush was one of the least trusted leaders in the world.
Putin and Ahmadinejad Receive Lowest Marks
Country-by-Country Summaries (PDF)
FT points out that: Two of the biggest bourses in Asia and Latin America have for the first time overtaken rivals in New York and London by market capitalization in a sign of how the economic crisis and tough competition in mature markets is reshaping the global exchange landscape. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) and Brazil's BM&F Bovespa have vaulted ahead of NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX and the London Stock Exchange in the value of shares in the exchange companies themselves. The Brazilian exchange will open a London office HKEx is now the world's second-largest exchange by market value, behind CME Group, the largest US futures exchange. BM&F Bovespa is in fourth place, after Deutsche Börse, the German exchange. The London Stock Exchange has slipped to 11th place
The current composition of the index is shown in this table:
Sources: http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=mvindex
UNICEF awarded $438,000 by Not On Our Watch Not On Our Watch was founded by George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Jerry Weintraub, and David Pressman to focus global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities. Drawing upon the voices of cultural leaders, its mission is to protect and assist the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced. See the video of Matt Damon on the ground at the Zimbabwe border here: http://www.notonourwatchproject.org/ Beyond Profit – a new Social Enterprise Magazine "Despite the fact that the world economy and its media hierarchy seem to be crumbling, against all odds we'd like to welcome you to the launch of a new magazine, the start of a new social business! Why, you ask? Why start a new business-a new publication, no less-now? We believe that our world could use more good news: Companies doing right. People who put community above self. Investors that look beyond a quick financial return. We believe that people and businesses that are looking beyond profit-at their impact on society, and their ability to change systems, processes and communities-are worth knowing about." Says Managing Editor, Lindsay Clinton in her introductory letter. We agree whole heartedly and wish this new magazine and web site all success. Free subscriptions offered to all who sign up before June 1st, so hurry over to: Is the Fate of the American Newspaper Industry in the Hands of the Government? The news about the newspaper business is bad. Circulation is sliding. Revenue is plummeting. Papers are closing. Layoffs abound. Amid the chaos, far too many in the industry are paralyzed by fear. Their idea of innovation is a token, tentative project here or there. Or a foolhardy call to charge for content nobody will pay for. Mostly, they're cutting to—and past—the bone, chasing harebrained schemes, and generally praying that some miracle will happen, that the hundred-year-floodwaters will recede, the skies will brighten, and somehow the newspaper industry will be saved. What's Next for the Big Financial Brands? Some of the great financial brands such as Merrill Lynch built trust with customers over decades-but lost it in a matter of months. Harvard Business School marketing professor John Quelch explains where they went wrong, and what comes next. http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6174.html Attached at the Wallet: The Delicate Financial Relationship between the U.S. and China. The financial relationship between China and the U.S. is beginning to look like an unhealthy co-dependency. China holds so much of its foreign reserves in dollar-based assets that it is now vulnerable to shifts in the U.S. economy. And the U.S. has allowed China to purchase so much of its debt that it is now beholden to Chinese interests. Experts disagree, however, about the real motives for China's continuing investments, and whether it would ever sell them off. -- a comprehensive online resource for the latest news, reports, and congressional hearings related to the government's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The site is constantly updated with the never-ending stream of information about TARP and its troubles, including:
All postings have been categorized and are searchable by corporation, oversight body, or congressional committee.TARPtales.org also features descriptions of and links to the myriad TARP oversight bodies and independent watchdogs that are monitoring the government's spending of bailout funds, as well as a detailed timeline of TARP-related events and developments Twitter: a new weapon in the fight against malaria? Indeed it is and the U.N. Foundation is in the thick of it right now with their Nothing But Nets campaign and their Chairman, Ted Turner, all in 140 characters or less! Last week, actor Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN and Ted Turner to see who could be the first to reach one million Twitter followers and Ashton won. He has already come through on his promise to donate 10,000 anti-malaria bed nets and now Ted has come through with a challenge of his own. Watch the video! Japan Pays Foreign Workers to Go Home, Forever Brazilian-Japanese workers who have lost their jobs are being offered money to return to their home countries. In the NYT: Get outta here….. Slide Show: A Cash Offer to Leave Japan Misgovernance at the World Bank Board members may be inclined to advance their own interests at voting time. This appears true for the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors, too. The problem? Many countries are being shut out of development funding. New research by Harvard Law School student Ashwin Kaja and HBS professor Eric Werker tells why misgovernance at the World Bank should be corrected. Q&A with Eric Werker: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6151.html The Americas and Washington: an era ends , Ivan Briscoe Excellent article from Open Democracy; now that American exceptionalism is in serious doubt, it looks like the Monroe Doctrine may be history: Two leading insiders - Thomas A Shannon, the highest serving state-department authority on Latin America, and Jeffrey Davidow, a White House adviser - have spoken of the summit as a therapeutic exercise in listening and learning; while vice-president Joe Biden has declared the "era in which we gave orders" to be over (see Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, "Washington and Latin America: farewell, Monroe") Redefining Value in a New Economy Green is up. Trust is down. BBMG’s new Conscious Consumer Report offers marketers a robust look at the issues, attributes and certifications driving awareness and intent to purchase among shoppers looking to purchase with a purpose. The BBMG study includes data on more than 100 attitudinal and behavioral dimensions, video clips from in-depth ethnographic interviews, a detailed consumer segmentation analysis and concrete takeaways on how marketers can use the insights in the report to drive innovation, growth and success. For highlights see their News and Insights page. In his new book, Viral Spiral, David Bollier, whose work centers on ways to reclaim common assets for public benefit, documents the rise of a "free culture" movement dedicated to creating a digital republic committed to freedom and innovation. The term "viral spiral" describes the process by which members of the Internet community - techies, lawyers, artists, musicians, scientists, businesspeople, and innovators - come together to build open-source software and other freely available common tools, to the despair of media conglomerates. Solar-powered cooker wins climate contest A solar-powered cardboard cooker has been announced the winner of a $75,000 competition to tackle climate change. The Kyoto Box uses the sun's rays to cook food and boil water. It is targeted at the 3bn people who use firewood. The box costs just $5 to make and will be given away free. Jon Bohmer, the cooker's inventor, said: "It's a great feeling. The prize is just what's needed to get this project off the ground. There's only so much I can do on my own." The Economist to cover the other half of the world’s people! Check out their rationale for under the Banyan tree: Introducing our new Asia column Clean tech Investment Drops in First Quarter Worldwide investment in clean technology suffered a steep decline in the first quarter of 2009 hitting record lows in some sectors. Going Green: Why Germany Has the Inside Track to Lead a New Industrial Revolution Already a leading player in so-called clean technology -- the mix of environmentally benign power generation and environmentally friendly technologies -- Germany may become the epicenter of the world's next industrial revolution: the triumph of clean, cheap, sustainable electricity. Why mainstreaming corporate social responsibility still makes good business sense With the recession in full swing and no reprieve in sight, one might expect interest in corporate social responsibility to wane, or perhaps even die a natural death. Not so, according to Craig Smith, INSEAD Chaired Professor of Ethics and Social Responsibility. He believes that corporate responsibility has never been more prominent on the corporate agenda. The video is well worth viewing in terms of what the Business Schools have and have not contributed to the current financial engineering mess.... http://knowledge.insead.edu/MainstreamingCRmakesgoodsense090119.cfm?vid=174 Innovest bought by RiskMetrics A Responsible Investor scoop Sustainable Corporations Outperform During Economic Crisis Study finds that companies with commitment to sustainability have outperformed others by an average of $650 million in market capitalization. Source SocialFunds.com. Billions in Nonprofit projects held up by credit crisis Johns Hopkins researchers estimate $166 billion in infrastructure projects delayed nationwide. Nonprofits always struggle to generate investment capital due to their nonprofit status and their inability to access the equity markets, but the survey results show that the recession has compounded their woes: The 1,837 organizations surveyed identified 1,065 shovel-ready projects stalled by the inability to secure financing. A state-by-state listing of these projects is at http://www.jhu.edu/listeningpost/news “Thanks to this eye-opening data, we now know about existing significant opportunities not just to stimulate employment but also to improve the social infrastructure of our communities,” said Tim Delaney, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits. “Let’s make sure nonprofit infrastructure projects are given as much consideration as roads, public buildings, and businesses in the uses made of economic recovery and bank bail-out funds.” The full text of the report “’Shovel-Ready’ but Stalled: Nonprofit Infrastructure Projects Ready for Economic Recovery Support,” complete with state-by-state estimates, is available online at http://www.jhu.edu/listeningpost/news AT&T Text Messaging Campaign to Benefit Hungry Kids Barack Obama pledged to end childhood hunger by 2015 during his presidential campaign. He also called for a national day of service on January 19, Martin Luther King Day. In response, AT&T has introduced Operation No Kid Hungry, a campaign to raise funds to help end childhood hunger and encourage Americans to hold food drives. Read more. Source: Boston College Wal-Mart Canada Opens First Environmental Demonstration Store New high-efficiency model to test innovative geothermal and daylight harvesting technology among other sustainable features. More... Globe.net Wal-Mart Stores spends over $40 million in digital-advertising And now the world's largest retailer plans a significant push into social media. See the full story in Ad Age: US Army issues its first Sustainability Report: Sustainability Report 2007: Sustain the Mission, Secure the Future The New York Times is on the verge of going out of business. This is a business with a great and beloved product. And while the economy is indeed tanking, failure of newspapers is not about macroeconomic issues. The Times' issues are specific to the newspaper industry. The problem is that while The New York Times still has a healthy readership, their readers are moving to the web version of the paper, where newspapers currently can't make money. From blogger Hank Wiliams of http://whydoeseverythingsuck.com/ Bail-outs are |
Tim Wirth on Creating The UN Foundation with Ted Turner