understanding

Kenneth Cole, Compass Partners Launch Support For College-Aged Social Entrepreneurs

by on April 1, 2011

Huffington Post…

NEW YORK — As famous for his side-buckle shoes as for his work combining the political and sartorial, designer Kenneth Cole on Friday announced his latest effort to promote activism and engagement at the community level. Awearness , Cole’s philanthropic foundation, has pledged $500,000 to the nonprofit group Compass Partners, launching a partnership to support and mentor college-aged entrepreneurs aiming to develop the next generation of socially-conscious businesses. The effort is not Cole’s first foray into the world of social activism: he serves as chairman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research and has supported similar community engagement programs at Columbia and Emory universities. Awearness’ support for the two-year Compass Fellowship, presently on offer at nine schools, will help the organization to expand its training and mentoring program to 15 universities by year’s end. Describing what initially attracted him to Compass, Cole said, “I was overwhelmed by the extent of their understanding, and the opportunity to affect a generation of individuals who still have a genuine sense of social justice. They want to and are inspired to maintain and create a meaningful and sustainable difference. They also want to do it globally.” Compass Partners , a 2-year-old nonprofit founded by onetime fair-trade tea dealer Neil Shah and would-be farmer’s market delivery-service entrepreneur Arthur Woods, began as a project at Georgetown University while both Shah and Woods were still undergraduates (their other respective businesses ultimately shuttered). Sensing the need for greater support and training for socially-conscious businesses, the Compass Incubator gave way to the Compass Fellowship, which Awearness will support. Shah and Woods first contacted Cole after reading about his involvement with similar programs at Columbia and Emory. Describing their first encounter in New York, Shah said, “We didn’t know what to expect, but we explained what we were doing, and Kenneth said, ‘Let me know how I can help, give me a pitch.’ And it just blossomed into this relationship.” Cole, for his part, said he understands the need for greater resources for young, socially-minded entrepreneurs. “They’ve got a great sense of content, but not context,” he said. “They’re not taught how to do it — the skills of doing business.” Speaking to the importance of reaching college-aged students specifically, Cole said, “It’s so much easier to connect with people at that right point in their lives, when they believe that social justice is everyone’s right. While they’re students, they’re far more inclined to launch and experiment with new opportunities. In the real world, you don’t have the luxury of figuring it out along the way.”

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Kenneth Cole, Compass Partners Launch Support For College-Aged Social Entrepreneurs

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Ohio Governor Unveils Severe Budget Cut Plan

by AP on March 15, 2011

Huffington Post…

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In another move that would limit the influence of organized labor in the state, Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday proposed exempting universities from a requirement that they pay union-level wages on construction projects. The plan is part of the governor’s two-year budget proposal that seeks to plug an $8 billion shortfall while retaining an $800 million, two-year income tax cut that went into effect in January and adding an additional $34 million in tax incentives designed to create jobs. The budget announcement came as Kasich has voiced his support for a much contested bill that would restrict the collective bargaining rights of state employees. Hearings on the bill, which has passed the Senate and is now before the House, have drawn thousands of protesters to the Statehouse in recent weeks. As the governor briefed the media about his budget plan, a demonstration was held by about two dozen people, including one with a sign saying “Recall King Kasich.” Other education proposals pitched by the governor would increase funding to K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and allow more charter schools, which receive state funding but are operated by private groups. Among cost-cutting measures in the governor’s plan is a proposal to sell five prisons to private operators to avoid mass closures and raise $200 million that was covered in the last state budget with federal stimulus dollars. Two of the five prisons already are privately run. Combined, the four adult prisons employ 1,238 people – including 755 security guards – and house 6,059 inmates, according to information from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Their combined budgets are $98 million a year. Under Ohio law, private operators have to deliver a 5 percent savings over similar, public facilities – which the state estimates will mean $9.3 million over the two-year budget cycle. In his education plan, Kasich seeks to add $67 million in aid to higher education, with an increase of 2.7 percent in the 2012 budget year and an increase of 0.9 percent the following year. He proposes a 2 percent increase in K-12 funding the first year, followed by a 1.5 percent increase. He suggests continuing a cap of 3.5 percent on tuition increases, creating three-year bachelor’s degree programs and increasing teaching loads for faculty. The plans were met with praise from some university presidents. “I am grateful to Gov. Kasich, whose proposed budget reflects the unquestionable financial challenges of the day, as well as the understanding that higher education and our state’s long-term strength are inextricably linked,” said Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee. University of Cincinnati President Gregory H. Williams said the school is “very appreciative that Gov. Kasich’s proposed budget has done as much as possible to support higher education and suggests some first steps toward much-needed construction reform.” Kasich also wants to double the number of scholarships that allow students in low-performing schools to attend private schools, give bonuses to high-performing teachers and allow teachers to create centers for innovation. The prison facilities the governor has targeted are North Coast Correctional Treatment Facility and Grafton Correctional Institution, both in Grafton; North Central Correctional Institution in Marion; Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut; and a juvenile prison in Marion that closed in 2009. Prisons director Gary Mohr said no employee who wants to stay in corrections will lack for a job under the plan. Six-month early retirement will be offered to about 100 eligible employees at Grafton and North Coast, and unions will be able to collectively bargain for how other positions will be filled. Those with seniority will be able to bump less experienced guards at other state facilities, and jobs will be available at private facilities for those bumped from the public sector – most likely those not vested in the state pension system. Ohio received about $300 million in federal stimulus money toward prisons in its last budget, Kasich said, and the move is necessary to make up that gap. Without the sales, the state would have been forced to close six prisons and ship 12,000 inmates to neighboring states, he said. The state will continue to oversee the most volatile or sensitive inmates, including maximum-security prisoners, women and those with mental health or medical issues. ___ Online: http://obm.ohio.gov/SectionPages/Budget/FY1213/ExecutiveBudget.aspx

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Ohio Governor Unveils Severe Budget Cut Plan

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Visual IQ Appoints Frank Suljic as Executive Vice President

March 7, 2011

Customer Data Management Expert Brings Critical Understanding of Clients’ Cross Channel Marketing Challenges

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Carbon Energy Limited (ASX:CNX) Announces Memorandum Of Understanding With Adani Group In India

February 17, 2011

Carbon Energy Limited (ASX:CNX) Announces Memorandum Of Understanding With Adani Group In India

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Carbon Energy Limited (ASX:CNX) Announces Memorandum Of Understanding With Adani Group In India

February 17, 2011

Carbon Energy Limited (ASX:CNX) Announces Memorandum Of Understanding With Adani Group In India

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Equatorial Resources Limited (ASX:EQX) Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With Port Authority Of Pointe-Noire For Mayoko-Moussondji Iron Project

February 3, 2011

Equatorial Resources Limited (ASX:EQX) Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With Port Authority Of Pointe-Noire For Mayoko-Moussondji Iron Project

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Chevron Leaving Coal Mining Industry

January 31, 2011

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Petroleum giant Chevron Corp. said Friday it plans to get out of the coal industry by the end of the year. The decision came after the company determined that new coal technologies were developing too slowly to make staying in the industry a good strategy, Chevron Mining Inc. spokeswoman Margaret Lejuste said. One of the technologies is known as coal-to-liquids, in which coal is processed into diesel, gasoline or other fuels. “Those technologies are so far into the future, 10 to 15 years in the future, they made the strategic decision to focus on other operations other than mining,” she said of the company. Chevron intends to sell off three coal mines in Wyoming, New Mexico and Alabama. The sites include the company’s open pit mine outside Kemmerer in western Wyoming, which has been on the market for about a week. “It’s my understanding there are a number of interested parties who are looking at the mine,” Lejuste said. The company also is closing a deal with Tampa, Fla.-based Walter Energy to sell its North River underground mine in western Alabama. A tentative agreement with Walter Energy was announced last year. San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron also may sell reclaimed land from a surface coal mine in northwestern New Mexico that has been closed since 2009. The three mines together produced nearly 10 million tons of coal in 2009. Chevron also intends to sell its 50 percent stake in a proposed coal mine outside Sheridan in northern Wyoming. The Kemmerer mine, which employs about 300 people and produces around 5 million tons of coal a year, is one of the world’s largest open pit coal mines. Even so, it’s a small producer compared with the strip mines of northeast Wyoming, which can yield upward of 100 million tons of coal a year. Wyoming produces 40 percent of the nation’s coal, more than any other state, and has invested heavily in coal technologies. Coal-to-liquids should be viable at today’s oil prices, said Mark Northam, director of the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources. But questions remain about the performance and long-term viability of coal-to-liquids plants, Northam said. “Some folks can stomach that uncertainty and some can’t,” he said. A company such as Chevron has other business besides coal to fall back on, he said, whereas a company such as St. Louis-based Arch Coal is all about coal. Arch Coal has invested in a planned $2.7 billion coal-to-liquids plant tentatively set to open in southeast Wyoming in 2014. “If you were looking at it from the point of view of Arch Coal, where coal is your product and you’re looking to expand the market and protect its position, you would have a different view,” Northam said.

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Linc Energy Limited (ASX:LNC) Continues Memorandum Of Understanding With BP Australia

January 24, 2011

Linc Energy Limited (ASX:LNC) Continues Memorandum Of Understanding With BP Australia

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Clean Global Energy Limited (ASX:CGV) Enters Into Non Binding Memorandum Of Understanding for Syngas Supply To The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Shady Point

December 6, 2010

Clean Global Energy Limited (ASX:CGV) Enters Into Non Binding Memorandum Of Understanding for Syngas Supply To The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Shady Point

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Clean Global Energy Limited (ASX:CGV) Enters Into Non Binding Memorandum Of Understanding for Syngas Supply To The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Shady Point

December 6, 2010

Clean Global Energy Limited (ASX:CGV) Enters Into Non Binding Memorandum Of Understanding for Syngas Supply To The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Shady Point

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Tim Hanni: A Challenge to the Wine Industry

November 18, 2010

There are many positive factors that have parlayed wine into the adult beverage most associated with good taste, sophistication and style. Wine quality, at all price levels, has improved dramatically. The range of wine types and styles available today is complete enough to satisfy every possible consumer preference and pocketbook. Indeed one of the challenges consumers face is how to confidently drill into the overwhelming number of choices and find wines they will love. An equally dizzying number of choices exist with wine classes, educational initiatives and the availability of wine evaluations and information. The birth and expansion of social media, blogs and on line wine communities ranging from eRobert Parker, Jancis Robinson and Snooth have provided and explosion of connectivity and the ability to share points of view. To top it all off there are new generations of wine heroes and evangelists like Gary Vaynerchuk, Joe Roberts, Jeff Lefevere, Alder Yarrow and many, many others that millions of consumers and professionals alike tune into every day. Yep, there is plenty of wine information and interaction available. This being said I am struck by how often the same issues and obstacles to expanding wine consumption seem to arise over and over again. So let’s take a look at the progress that has been made over the past 10 years. The following quote appeared in Brand Week a decade ago and at the center of discussion in many wine industry circles as a call to action: “The fragmented, historically insular (wine) industry generally seems resigned to accepting the wine consumer pool as is rather than aggressively pursuing new markets… the next decade could easily be referred to by future wine historians as the “years of missed opportunity.” Brand Week, May 1, 2000 10 Years After So what does the wine landscape look like 10 years after Brand Week’s prediction that “the next decade could easily be referred to as the ‘years of missed 0pportunity’”? “The wine industry is guilty of going out of its way to confuse the consumer, and must urgently come up with ‘a new big idea’, according to a British advertising heavyweight…’The wine industry is the most fragmented market I’ve seen. Fragmented, confusing, impenetrable.’” Sir John Hegarty, June 28, 2010, Masters of Wine International Symposium, Bordeaux, France Hmmm. Sounds pretty familiar. What is it that keeps us stuck in this deeply etched rut carved into the path of wine enjoyment and appreciation? I am convinced that it is a combination of complacency, misinformation and stubbornness in the wine industry. It is an unwillingness to adapt and change that is preventing us from having a larger consumer base and compromising our long-term fiscal stability and health. Despite ample evidence that the wine industry would be well served by becoming more consumer-focused, simplifying our messages and improving OUR ability to communicate our mantra remains the same, “we must better educate consumers, move them up to better wine.” This is nothing new about the wine industry mission to educate consumers and there is also nothing wrong with the idea. Ditto for the idea of moving them up to better wine. Perhaps what we really need is another strategy to run concurrently. We seem to be keeping something in place that is not working for a really large portion of the market and then we wonder why we are not making more sustainable progress in removing the overwhelm and intimidation as evidenced in every wine consumer study ever conducted. This quote about the Project Genome consumer study taken from Wines & Vines in 2008, “With the highest percentage of consumers falling into the “Overwhelmed” category, Leslie Joseph, Constellation’s vice president of consumer research affairs, commented: ‘We need to do a better job as an industry of helping these people understand what a wine’s going to taste like.” And the following is from the UK site WINEOPTIONS.COM illustrating this phenomenon is present on a global scale. “WineOption.org feels the wine trade has traditionally placed its focus on connoisseurs and wine snobs rather than the much greater number of unpretentious people who enjoy wine. Many producers, retailers and wine writers have traditionally taken much of the potential enjoyment out of wine drinking by shrouding the subject with myth, snobbery, and arcane or pretentious language. This facade has been, and in some quarters remains, a convenient means of confusing or even intimidating wine shoppers into making purchase decisions much less helpfully informed than is the case with most other foods and beverages. In fact, it is perfectly possible to provide in relatively simple day to day language the basic information which most wine drinkers need and want to select any given wine.” I think that it is high time we look in the mirror and ask ourselves, “What are we missing that keeps a vast majority of consumers (and many of us professionals who are able to admit it) confused, mystified and intimidated?” The answer as I see it is to turn the tables and start newly educating ourselves and cleaning up a lot of the tired clichés and misinformation that is disseminated under the pretense of “wine education”. I am not implying that we stop wine education per se, just that we enforce a greater rigor in the information we dispense and come up with alternative solutions for the huge market segment that is further disenfranchised by our narrow, product-based and self-serving approach. The call to action is not to change anything about the many things we are doing right as an industry, it is a call to action so we can collectively discover what we may be missing that would add immeasurably to our continued growth and success. I love this quote: “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” Tony Robbins What would it look like if the wine industry and wine communities to on the mission to understand, embrace and cultivate ALL wine consumers, not just the over-saturated segment we narrowly define as ‘worthy’? What if our next educational initiative were internal and focused on learning more about consumers and discovering more about who likes what and why? I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter!

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Cindy Fornelli: Working Together to Fight Financial Reporting Fraud

November 18, 2010

Enron. Worldcom. Adelphia. Once upon a time, all were successful companies, the envy of the business world. Until each was undone by financial fraud perpetrated by corporate leadership. When major frauds like these are discovered, investors are left angry and the markets in disarray. We wonder why we didn’t see it coming. We ask, “How did this happen?” What compels someone to commit fraud — to work hard, rise to the top, then undo his or her life’s work by committing a crime? That question led the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) to launch an ambitious effort to understand financial reporting fraud, and to mitigate the conditions that can lead to such fraudulent behavior. As part of that initiative, the CAQ has established the first cross functional working group to develop tools and further research on deterring and detecting financial reporting fraud. The partnership is made up of leading organizations representing those with responsibility for the public company financial reporting “supply chain”: company management through Financial Executives International (FEI); audit committees through the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD); internal auditors through The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA); and external auditors through the CAQ. This partnership is the outgrowth of a report released in October by the CAQ, Deterring and Detecting Financial Reporting Fraud – A Platform for Action. The basis of the report was a series of roundtable discussions attended by more than 100 stakeholders, and led by Michele Hooper, the CAQ Governing Board’s Co-Vice Chair, public company audit committee chair, and corporate governance expert. The report argues that a collective sharing of ideas and resources will advance efforts to detect and deter fraud to the benefit of investors and the capital markets. The CAQ’s anti-fraud partnership with FEI, NACD and The IIA will engage in activities designed to help foster an overall environment in which the risk of financial reporting fraud is minimized. The essential elements of such an environment include a) having a strong “tone at the top” – a strong corporate culture that expects employees to “do the right thing” throughout all levels of a company; b) robust and frequent communication among company management, their board members, and the external auditor to share information relevant to the company’s financial reports and control environment and to identify gaps in fraud monitoring; and c) the application of skepticism, a questioning mindset that leads to professional objectivity and an attitude of “trust, but verify.” The partnership is designed to leverage the experience and resources of the four groups to produce new and better tools and resources to help the supply chain more effectively deter and detect fraud. Initial work will focus on four broad areas: Advancing the understanding of the conditions that contribute to fraud to better understand the pre-conditions and indicators of financial reporting fraud. Promoting enhanced skepticism that is able to overcome a natural inclination to trust management and others involved in financial reporting without creating a hostile environment. Moderating the risks inherent in focusing only on short-term results. Exploring the role of information technology, which can be both an inhibitor and a facilitator of financial statement fraud, to maximize its potential to inhibit fraud. The anti-fraud partnership soon will consider next steps within the four areas of focus, with the goal of making recommendations for specific projects early next year. One of those steps will be exploring the psychology behind fraudulent behavior to expand our understanding of “Why?” According to one expert observer in the CAQ’s new report, “Most people who come unstuck in this context of accounting misstatement are basically honest people who get caught up and then they get desperate.” Through the work of our collaborative partnership, our goal is not only to better understand why people commit fraud, but also spot the warning signs before it’s too late.

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Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) Enters Into Infrastructure Memorandum of Understanding with BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP)

November 17, 2010

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) Enters Into Infrastructure Memorandum of Understanding with BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP)

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Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) Enters Into Infrastructure Memorandum of Understanding with BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP)

November 17, 2010

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) Enters Into Infrastructure Memorandum of Understanding with BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP)

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Australian Market Report of October 18, 2010: Marengo Mining (ASX:MGO) Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With China NFC (SHE:000758) For Copper-Molybdenum-Gold Project In Papua New Guinea

October 17, 2010

Australian Market Report of October 18, 2010: Marengo Mining (ASX:MGO) Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With China NFC (SHE:000758) For Copper-Molybdenum-Gold Project In Papua New Guinea

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Australian Market Report of October 18, 2010: Marengo Mining (ASX:MGO) Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With China NFC (SHE:000758) For Copper-Molybdenum-Gold Project In Papua New Guinea

October 17, 2010

Australian Market Report of October 18, 2010: Marengo Mining (ASX:MGO) Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With China NFC (SHE:000758) For Copper-Molybdenum-Gold Project In Papua New Guinea

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MIL Resources (ASX:MGK) Signed Memorandum Of Understanding With SinoTech To Raise A$5 Million For Gold And Base Metals Projects In Papua New Guinea

October 15, 2010

MIL Resources (ASX:MGK) Signed Memorandum Of Understanding With SinoTech To Raise A$5 Million For Gold And Base Metals Projects In Papua New Guinea

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John Lipsky: Forewarned Is Forearmed: How the Early Warning Exercise Expands the IMF’s Surveillance Toolkit

September 23, 2010

“Never again can we let ourselves be caught unprepared by an economic and financial crisis of such global magnitude.” This was the spirit in which G-20 Finance Ministers in late 2008 tasked the IMF and the newly-formed Financial Stability Board to jointly develop an Early Warning Exercise (EWE), to be ready by the IMF’s 2009 Istanbul Annual Meetings. The inspiration was clear: In the wake of the September 2008 onset of unprecedented financial turmoil, policymakers recognized that earlier danger signs had not been synthesized into an actionable warning. The EWE was intended to fill the analytical gap: the goal is to produce an effective “call to arms” as threats emerge–but well before crises erupt. That the IMF would be called upon in these circumstances isn’t surprising, it was a confirmation of one of the Fund’s responsibilities. After all, assessing macroeconomic and financial risks constitutes a core task of the Fund’s surveillance activities. The Fund’s primary multilateral analysis as presented in the World Economic Outlook (WEO), Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), and Fiscal Monitor publications traditionally addresses the principal risks to the staff’s baseline global forecast. Assessing risks also forms a central aspect of bilateral surveillance, and a section of IMF country reports discusses the principal risks to the outlook. Thus, the IMF’s macro-financial expertise, analytical talent and data resources–together with Financial Stability Board’s breadth of knowledge regarding both financial regulation and supervision- were viewed as key and complementary ingredients. From the Fund’s perspective, the EWE is best understood in contrast with “traditional” surveillance products. The WEO/GFSR analysis incorporates directly those risks to the baseline outlook that are sufficiently probable that they need to be taken into account explicitly in setting policy. The EWE, in contrast, focuses on tail risks (i.e., risks that may not be relevant for policy-setting at present, but that could become important). The goal is to identify the most relevant tail risks, to demonstrate how the possible emergence of these risks could be recognized, and to specify the policy changes that would need to be implemented if they were to materialize. By now, the exercise has been repeated several times, and the results have been presented to meetings of the Fund’s International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), comprising finance ministers and central bank governors. While the content of the exercise remains confidential–in order to facilitate the most candid exchange of views, and to avoid any confusion regarding the Fund’s base case forecast―a newly released paper available on the IMF’s website provides an overview of the design and methodological underpinnings of the EWE. What are the main features of this exercise? First, coverage is fairly comprehensive, including both advanced and emerging economies. Moreover, work is underway to extend the exercise to low-income countries and to deepen the understanding of how crises spread. Second, the EWE is based on a holistic approach to assessing risk. While it is based on rigorous analysis and cutting-edge techniques, it draws on various tools, rather than relying on a single crisis model. Third, the EWE combines empirical analysis with forward-looking thinking, based on inputs from key policymakers and academics, in-depth real-world knowledge (e.g., from market practitioners), and seasoned judgment from IMF experts. Broad consultation is intended to avoid “fighting the last war”. Fourth, the exercise does not aim to predict the timing of crises, but rather to help prevent their occurrence and to limit their potential damage. Indeed, history has taught us that crisis triggers are highly unpredictable. The primary purpose of the EWE is to identify as early as possible the buildup of underlying vulnerabilities that predispose a system to a crisis, so that corrective policies can be implemented and contingency plans put in place. Effective communication will be critical if the EWE is to fulfill its role successfully. Providing credible intelligence to policymakers that will elicit action requires more than simply identifying risks and vulnerabilities. Warnings need to be precise and compelling, consist of serious but plausible scenarios, outline the consequences of inaction, and lead to specific policy advice. Indeed, a major failure prior to the recent crisis–that the EWE is designed to correct–was the inability of analysts to “connect the dots” among the many vulnerabilities in different parts of the global financial system, and to propose policy options to address them. However, the dissemination of EWE outcomes does not end with the presentation to policymakers at the IMFC. The EWE’s analyses and conclusions also have become a valuable input for the IMF staff’s bilateral discussions with country authorities. The main results and policy implications relevant for the respective country typically are presented and discussed, and the gist of such discussions is reflected in documents relating to the annual Article IV consultations. In summary, the Early Warning Exercise draws together an impressive combination of analytical techniques, practical experience, seasoned judgment and unique databases in order to think through the potential consequences associated with economic and financial tail risks. It is not a crisis forecasting exercise, but forms a valuable complement to the Fund’s multilateral and bilateral surveillance work. Reflecting its relatively short history, it represents a work in progress–both the IMF and FSB participants continue to refine the process and content. The ultimate task is clear, however: Make sure that available knowledge is focused systematically and effectively on reducing the risk of a new global crisis. From iMFdirect blog

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Jonathan Bernstein: How to Avoid Foot-in-Mouth Disease

September 22, 2010

On a daily basis, we see celebrities, politicians and business leaders jam their designer shoes firmly in their mouths during media interviews. You can regularly read a hilarious collection of them in Merrie Spaeth’s infamous Bimbo Awards. Now you’d think that people of that stature would have been media trained. The problem is, however, that many people simply don’t know how to determine if their media trainer is qualified to prepare them properly. Retaining someone to provide a service about which you know little yourself can always be tricky, whether it be an auto mechanic, a lawyer, a plumber, a computer tech or — the topic du jour — a media trainer. Below are a list of questions to ask any potential media trainer. The answers should help avoid foot-in-mouth disease when a reporter’s microphone is in your face — assuming, of course, that you listen to your trainer’s advice! Have you been a working journalist yourself? If yes to #1, what type of journalist were you (e.g., anchor, investigative reporter)? If no to #1, what is the basis for your understanding of the media? Does your training include how to deal with non-traditional media, e.g., social media? Do you teach us how we can maintain the skills we have learned from you? Be specific. Does your training prepare us both for routine interviews and for crisis-level interviews? How long have you been a media trainer? Could you show me anything you’ve written about this topic, and/or articles in which you’ve been interviewed? If the stuff hits the fan, can you also provide us with spot advice on what we can say? Are you an experienced media interview subject yourself — i.e. do you practice what you preach? Shoes belong on your feet, not in your mouth, so use the above to make sure you get the best possible media training.

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David Berri: Why Macroeconomists — and Some Politicians — Should Watch Sports

July 29, 2010

Britt Robson of CNNSI.com recently wrote a column examining the worse offseason moves in the NBA. A perusal of the list reveals some familiar patterns. Decision-makers in the NBA have given significant dollars to scorers like Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, and Rudy Gay. Darko Milicic — a player whose “size”, “youth”, and “potential” hasn’t vanished yet — received $20 million from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Such moves illustrate documented biases in decision-making in the NBA. Specifically, scoring is overvalued and teams have trouble abandoning evaluations made during the NBA draft. These moves, though, also tell a different story. The column Robson offered is essentially written by sports writers each off-season in the NBA. In fact, similar columns are written in the off-seasons of each sport. Year after year, sports writers — and of course, the fans — are convinced decision-makers in sports are getting it wrong. Now sometimes the writers — and of course, the fans — are incorrect. But published research in economics makes it clear that some of the criticism of decision-makers in sports is on target. People in sports will make the make the same mistakes over and over again (shameless self-promotion — Martin Schmidt and I report many of these stories in Stumbling on Wins ). Obviously these stories are important to sports fans. But these stories also inform our understanding of macroeconomic policy. Yes, I know. That seems like quite a leap. A quick review of recent Congressional testimony by Nobel Laureate Robert Solow provides us with the connection. Solow’s testimony — “Building a Science of Economics for the Real World” — focused on how certain macroeconomic models inform the economic policies some people prefer. Here is a quick summary of what Solow had to say: Certain macroeconomic models — specifically the DSGE models — are based on the idea that the economy is comprised entirely of rational people. An implication of this approach: The DSGE story — as Solow emphasizes — “has no real room for unemployment of the kind we see most of the time.” In the DSGE world, the unemployed are people who are rationally volunteering to avoid work; because of a preference to consume more leisure or a desire to retain some flexibility for the future. In other words, there is no involuntary unemployment. Because everyone in the economy is rational and making the best decision given their circumstance, there is no room for government policy. In other words, stimulus packages and unemployment benefits are not necessary in the DSGE world. In fact, these policies can only make things worse. So if you believe people are perfectly rational, it leads you to a certain set of policies. But are people perfectly rational? Behavioral economists and cognitive psychologists have offered ample evidence from laboratory experiments that people are not perfectly rational. Sports fans, though, can see that these experiments may not have been necessary. To be clear, people who work in sports are not stupid. Decision-makers in sports are generally very educated and well-trained for the industry where they are employed. Furthermore, these decision-makers have an abundance of information and very clear incentives. Specifically, when you get it wrong in sports, you not only get fired, you also are the subject of public ridicule. In sum, if there was an industry where decision-makers should be perfectly rational, the sports industry should be it. But people in sports are not perfectly rational. Again, scoring is consistently overvalued by NBA decision-makers. Furthermore, on draft night, NBA decision-makers place too much emphasis on Final Four appearances and not enough emphasis on rebounding. And the NBA is not the only place where decision-making has problems. In the NFL, Cade Massey and Richard Thaler have offered evidence that first round draft picks are overvalued ; while David Romer has emphasized that coaches have problems with decision-making on fourth down . In Soccernomics – by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski – evidence is presented that decision-makers in soccer make systematic mistakes. One of my favorites: Kuper and Szymanski argue that scouts overvalue blond soccer players. And let’s not leave out baseball and hockey. In baseball, decision-makers historically undervalued on-base percentage and over-valued stolen bases. And on the ice, Stacey Brook and I have published research that argues the performance of goalies is not quite as different as their salaries would suggest. The examples cited are but a sample of what we find in the academic research. And one suspects that fans of any team can find more examples just thinking about the decisions made by their favorite team. Despite this evidence, some macroeconomists insist that decision-makers are perfectly rational. This suggests that these people are simply not sports fans. So if you meet one of these macroeconomists, please take them to a game. Remember, some policy makers listen to these economists. And maybe the advice they give would improve if they spent less time playing with DSGE models and more time watching sports.

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EODT Appoints Former U.S. State Department Official to Board of Advisors

June 22, 2010

LENOIR CITY, TN–(Marketwire – June 22, 2010) –  Ambassador at Large Dell L. Dailey , former U.S. Department of State Coordinator for Counterterrorism, has been appointed to EOD Technology, Inc.’s (EODT) Board of Advisors. Ambassador Dailey’s remarkable contributions to the United States in both military and diplomatic capacities will grant the Board a further understanding of international stability operations and policies.

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UN to Deliver Aid Flotilla’s Cargo to Gaza Strip Under Accord With Israel

June 15, 2010

By Bill Varner June 15 (Bloomberg) — The United Nations will transfer humanitarian aid supplies to the Gaza Strip from a flotilla of foreign ships that Israel intercepted in international waters May 31, the world body’s top envoy to the Middle East said. “The government of Israel has agreed to release the entire cargo to the United Nations in Gaza on the understanding that it is for the United Nations to determine its appropriate humanitarian use in Gaza,” Robert Serry told the UN Security Council today. Serry said in reference to Hamas that the UN has “reason to believe that the de facto authorities in Gaza will respect the independence” of the world body’s agency to aid Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The UN will begin the transfer of the supplies “as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the amount of aid was “modest in scale compared with the needs in Gaza.” The cargo includes medicine, food and clothing, the Israeli Defense Ministry said today in an e-mailed statement announcing Israel’s agreement to the UN role. Israel has faced international criticism over the raid by naval commandos on a flotilla of aid ships as well as calls for it to lift restrictions on the flow of goods into the Hamas- controlled Gaza Strip. The U.S. has declined to join in the criticism of Israel. Criticism within Israel on the flotilla operation has focused largely on the execution of the raid and not the blockade. Israeli Probe The incident, which resulted in the deaths of nine pro- Palestinian activists, has led to demands for Israel or others to investigate the raid on the ships that headed Gaza in an effort to undermine Israel’s blockade. Israel’s Cabinet yesterday approved a public probe into the raid. Israel said it issued numerous warnings to the flotilla beforehand to change course for the port of Ashdod and unload there. The violence took place on only one of six ships in the flotilla. Israel launched an operation in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 which it said was meant to stop the firing of rockets into its territory. More than 1,000 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the conflict. Since the end of the three-week operation, some 330 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel, killing one foreign worker last March, the Israeli army said. Israel has been blockading Gaza since Hamas seized full control there in 2007, after winning Palestinian parliamentary elections the previous year. The group is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union and Israel. A survey of Israeli Jews published in the Maariv daily on June 2 showed 94.8 percent agreeing that it was necessary to stop the boats, with 62.7 percent saying it should have been handled in a different manner. Only 8.1 percent thought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign. The newspaper didn’t say how many people were surveyed or give a margin of error. To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net

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Goldman’s Rare Losses Show Client Focus, Not Proprietary Trades, Cohn Says

May 11, 2010

By Christine Harper and Michael J. Moore May 11 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ’s infrequent sales and trading losses are evidence that the division doesn’t depend on proprietary trading to generate revenue, President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn said. “There is often speculation that proprietary trading revenues drive our outperformance in these businesses,” Cohn said today at a financial services conference hosted by UBS AG in New York. “Over the last 12 months we have only recorded 11 loss days. It is implausible that a proprietary-driven business model could be right 96 percent of the time.” Goldman Sachs, which makes more money from sales and trading than any Wall Street firm, reported yesterday that it made at least $25 million trading every single day of the first quarter, the first perfect quarter in the company’s history. The company’s fixed-income, currencies and commodities business, known as FICC, and equities unit generate those returns by making markets for clients rather than betting the firm’s own money, Cohn said. “The simple answer is that our FICC and equities businesses are largely global market-making businesses where we intermediate flows and commit capital and liquidity and in the process generate revenue including bid-offer spreads,” Cohn said. “These franchises create numerous opportunities for the firm.” Fraud Suit Goldman Sachs is contesting a fraud lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges the firm misled investors about a mortgage-linked security in 2007. At a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing last week, Goldman Sachs executives defended the company against accusations it made bets against the same securities it was selling to clients. “Our business model is client-driven and given the dynamic and unpredictable world in which we operate, the needs of our clients will continue to drive our future strategic decisions,” Cohn said today. In response to an investor’s question about how the firm views its fiduciary responsibility, Cohn replied that just one of Goldman Sachs’s units has a fiduciary duty to clients: the asset-management division. He said markets would not work if market-makers like Goldman Sachs’s sales and trading division were required to serve as fiduciaries to clients. European policymakers came up with a “good response” to market concern about the euro this week when they unveiled a set of policies including a rescue package that amounts to nearly $1 trillion, Cohn said. Still, he said he expects more volatility in the markets as investors digest the potential consequences of the aid measures. “We will continue to have relatively volatile markets until we get a better understanding,” Cohn said. “And to the extent that the understanding is that it is a socialization of the risk into many of the other European economies, we may have continued negative fallout from that because there is an overall view that some of those other European economies are not strong enough themselves to be part of a global bailout.” To contact the reporters on this story: Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net Michael Moore in New York at mmoore55@bloomberg.net

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Clare J. Morgan: College Students Must Make Real Change as Economic Literacy at All-Time Low

April 29, 2010

As National Financial Literacy Month comes to a close, young adults remain vulnerable to the traps of poor financial management in record numbers with 45 percent of college students with more than $3,000 in credit card debt. The number of college students who drop out due to financial pressure is at 8.5 percent and continues to soar. People in the 18 to 24 age bracket spend nearly 30 percent of their monthly income just on debt repayment as a result of living beyond their means – double the percentage spent in 1992. Some know better and get into trouble anyway because they’re immature and used to having adults bail them out. But, many simply don’t understand the basics and spiral out of control financially before they realize the long-term damage they’re doing to their lives. Sixty-five percent of college students tested on basic personal finance principals failed, according to a recent study by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy which has been promoting April as financial literacy month since 2000. Congress added it endorsement three years later and officially named the month National Financial Literacy Month in 2004. The following tips will help students better understand how to manage their finances: Create a budget. It’s surprising that so few students – and adults – don’t know their total monthly expenses. In fact, only 39 percent of Americans have and follow a budget. Making a budget – a list of all expenses, including rent, utilities, books, auto insurance, etc., offset by income – lets people know what the shortfall might be and allows them to take action. Live within your means. The concept of supply and demand isn’t complicated – it means living off what’s in your wallet. However, more than 40 percent of Americans today live beyond their means, and on average, 32 percent of students graduate from college with four or more credit cards. Reloadable prepaid cards help young adults learn how to live within their means, as the money they load onto the card is all they have available to spend. Prepaid cards can be used like any credit or debit card but don’t require having a bank account, they’re inexpensive and they eliminate the possibilities of overspending, falling into debt and potentially having to drop out of school. Choose wisely by applying a cost/benefit analysis to everyday decisions. It may make you popular to buy all your friends pizza one night, but does that benefit outweigh your need for groceries that week? College students are not the only ones at fault. In addition to being poor at budgeting, the average household carries approximately $12,000 in total revolving debt that zaps spending power as interest and fees eat up a large portion of monthly paychecks. That’s a trend we don’t need to see the next generation of wage earners continue. Although it’s true plastic is required in today’s world for in-store and online electronic payments, there are newer and smarter options that don’t let college students – or anyone else – spend money they don’t have. National Financial Literacy Month is a good time to access our understanding of our own personal spending and move to more rational behavior each month moving forward. It’s the only way we can all change and arm students with the facts so that they can stay in school and become wise stewards of their financial future. Morgan is vice president of nFinanSe, a financial services company and provider of stored value and prepaid card solutions headquartered in Tampa, Fla.

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Deborah Frett: Fact or Fiction: Is Gen Y Lazy?

April 22, 2010

Calling Gen Y (born 1978-1994) lazy is en vogue . The Washington Post’s April 3rd article is among the latest to call into question this generation’s work ethic . The article highlights new data from the Pew Research Center that confirms current suspicions: Gen Y is different. Is this really a surprise? Unlike the Silent Generation, Boomers and Gen X, Pew found that Gen Y is the only generational cohort that doesn’t cite “work ethic” as a defining characteristic. The top three responses elicited by the open-ended question were: technology use, music/pop culture and liberal/tolerant. Further, Gen Y believes that older employees have a better work ethic and therefore they aren’t interested in asserting moral superiority. As the head of a research organization, I could critique Pew’s methodology or call the analysis problematic (see Erica Williams’ discussion on the use of “work ethic” ). As an employer of Gen Y women, I could testify about the hard-work and dedication of my younger staff members. And, of course, insert an overused stereotype about their techie tendencies (after all they did convince me to buy an iPhone). I’m going to put my professional and personal concerns on hold for now. My concern is less about the data or conclusions many researchers have been asserting, and more about the issues they are raising. What we learn about Gen Y is determined by the questions we ask. And we’re asking the wrong questions. Gen Y workers don’t define themselves by their work ethic. So, what? It’s an interesting piece of data. But, that’s all it is. What we really need is data that can lead to action. To be competitive in the future, employers need information that leads to strategies for attracting and retaining Gen Y talent. The current literature on Gen Y, seems preoccupied with the extent to which Gen Y is or isn’t lazy. But this distracts from larger research questions. We need a new framework for understanding Gen Y. We don’t have to stop discussing generational differences, but we do need to probe deeper to understand the factors that create those differences. How does Gen Y understand work? What is their definition of work ethic? How does their understanding of work affect how and when Gen Y produce results? How can employers collaborate with Gen Y to redefine the workplace? These are the types of questions Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation is exploring. Through our Young Careerist Research Project we’re asking Gen Y women about their views of work and the workplace and will then share that knowledge with employers looking to recruit and retain these young women. Employers are beginning to recognize that utilizing the talents of Gen Y will increase their talent pool and will also improve their bottom line. BPW Foundation’s primary research will give voice to a distinct group of working women who are vital to developing tomorrow’s diverse and skilled workforce. Over the next 20 years, talent will be the most important corporate resource. If we are going to succeed, we can’t afford to ignore Gen Y’s demands for new rules of engagement. BPW Foundation is looking for Gen Y women and employers to partner with us in our research. If you would like to redefine the workplace for today, and in the future, email to foundation@bpwfoundation.org .

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David Meerman Scott: Whitacre Has Much More to Learn as GM CEO than the Car Business

January 25, 2010

At a news conference this morning, interim General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre announced that he is assuming the role full time. While there is a lot for a former telecommunications executive to learn about the automobile business, Whitacre has an even steeper learning curve in his understanding of how people research products on the Web and interact via social media. This is particularly important if GM is to bring younger buyers into their brands. People in the “first car age bracket” get their information via Google and Facebook, not the Wall Street Journal and NBC Nightly News. I was shocked in early December when I learned that Fritz Henderson was ousted as CEO by the GM board. Having been critical of GM marketing and communications tactics in the past , I felt that Henderson was making great progress in this area. I enjoyed my discussions with Henderson in September and felt confident that under Henderson, the marketing area was finally opening up to the immense power of the Web as a communications tool. Henderson understood new marketing and was an effective leader in this area. Of course, I don’t pretend that my narrow interest in how GM communicates to its customers is the only important thing for a CEO of GM. But it does seem to be an area that is getting less focus under Whitacre. Qualifications of a CEO of GM As Whitacre transitions into the full time CEO role, he’s got to personally build an understanding of how people communicate online. I want to see the progress that Henderson made continue and I hope the emerging culture of open and honest communications, especially online, will grow in importance. This is important for Whitacre, 68, because from what I can discern, Web communications is beyond his comfort zone. While running some of the world’s largest telecommunications companies a decade ago, he reportedly didn’t have a computer in his office and didn’t do email, preferring to write notes by hand and have letters typed by a secretary. While I’m told that he now does BlackBerry, his online expertise is far from that of Henderson, 51, who made it a communications priority. To succeed in the new world of always on, YouTube-driven, social media enabled, real-time marketing on the Web, a corporate culture of losing control is required. The command-and-control, big-media, paid-advertising era of GM from the glory days needs to change for GM to be successful.

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LeukoDx Appoints Dr. Bruce Davis as Chief Scientific Officer and Signs MOU for In-Licensing Technology From Trillium Diagnostics

January 12, 2010

TOWSON, MD–(Marketwire – January 12, 2010) – LeukoDx LP is pleased to announce today the appointment of Dr. Bruce Davis, MD as Chief Scientific Officer of LeukoDx. The company is concurrently announcing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Dr. Davis’ company, Trillium Diagnostics, for in-licensing a patent and technology pertaining to quantifying CD64 at the point of care on LeukoDx’s compact flow cytometry platform. These activities represent critical advancement for the development of LeukoDx’s technology and product line.

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Eliot Spitzer: Tip of the Iceberg

January 7, 2010

In a December New York Times op-ed , we called for the full public release of AIG email messages, internal accounting documents and financial models generated in the last decade. Today, a Bloomberg story revealed that under Timothy Geithner’s leadership, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York told AIG to withhold details from the public about its payments to banks during the crisis. This information was discovered when emails between the company and the Fed were requested by representative Darrell Issa, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The emails requested by Issa span five months beginning in November 2008. If five months of emails reveal information key to our understanding of the aftermath of the crisis, imagine what 10 years of emails could contribute to our understanding of its causes. We believe the AIG emails and other internal company documents are the ‘black box’ of the financial crisis. If we understand the failure of AIG, we will more fully understand the crisis — what caused it and more importantly how to prevent it from happening again. The emails today detail the efforts of the Fed to suppress the disclosure of payments made to banks such as Goldman, Sachs Group for reimbursement of their credit-default swap exposure. When the Treasury Department stepped in, AIG had at least $440 billion in credit-default swaps outstanding. The Fed, led by Tim Geithner, paid Goldman, Sachs Group and other banks 100 cents on the dollar for these instruments rather than negotiating a lower rate closer to the actual value, (estimated by some to have been as little as 20 cents). In testimony to the Congressional Oversight Panel, Tim Geithner insisted it was necessary to make these payments in full, arguing that even a small downward negotiation would prove catastrophic to the financial sector. Elizabeth Warren, head of the oversight panel, has repeatedly challenged this assertion. Regardless the size of the payments, the Fed’s request to suppress both their amount and the parties to whole these payments were made would not have come to light without the release of these emails. Without the rest of the emails, we will be unlikely to fully understand what led to the collapse of AIG and the financial markets. If we can’t understand it, we will be unable to prevent it from happening again. As such, today we are renewing our request for the full public disclosure of all AIG documents. We believe the government should put these documents on-line, thereby establishing an open-source investigation that would allow journalists and citizens the opportunity to piece together the story of what happened at AIG and in so doing more fully understand what happened in the broader financial collapse. AIG — and more specifically its credit-default swaps exposure — was an important contributing factor to the crash of the financial markets. What sets this company apart from others that played a role in the crisis is that we, the taxpayers, own it. As we noted in our original piece, US taxpayers bought 80% of AIG when they bailed the company out with $180 billion last year. As owners of the company, taxpayers are also owners of AIG. As owners of the company we can demand the release of these documents. The taxpayer’s stake in AIG is held by the A.I.G. Credit Facility Trust, whose three trustees are Jill M. Considine, a former chairman of the Depository Trust Company and a former director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Chester B. Feldberg, a former New York Fed official who was chairman of Barclays Americas from 2000 to 2008; and Douglas L. Foshee, chief executive of the El Paso Corporation and chairman of the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. We call on these three officials (interestingly all former Fed officials) to immediately release the documents we request. The value of these documents, if it were ever in doubt, was certainly proved by today’s revelations. Release the emails. This post originally appeared on New Deal 2.0 .

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Antidepressants Don’t Help Patients With Mild Disorders, Researchers Find

January 6, 2010

By Simeon Bennett Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — Antidepressants such as those made by GlaxoSmithKline Plc may be no better than dummy pills for people with mild or moderate depression, according to a study that suggests 70 percent of patients wouldn’t benefit from the drugs. In a review of six trials of antidepressants involving more than 700 patients published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers led by Jay Fournier at the University of Pennsylvania found the drugs helped only those patients with the most severe depression. Most trials excluded patients with milder forms of the disorder, the authors said. About 70 percent of patients have a form of depression below the level at which they would benefit from medication, Fournier and colleagues wrote, citing a 2002 study. Doctors, policy makers and sufferers should be made aware that there’s little evidence to show the treatments will benefit patients with less severe symptoms, the authors said. “This important feature of the evidence base is not reflected in the implicit messages present in the marketing of these medications to clinicians and the public,” they said. The researchers combined data from six trials, including three of paroxetine, the main ingredient in London-based Glaxo’s Paxil and Seroxat pills, and three of imipramine, an older generic medicine. The drugs had a “nonexistent to negligible” effect on patients with mild, moderate and severe symptoms, compared with those who took a placebo, according to a commonly used scale used to measure the disorder. The pills had a large effect on patients with very severe symptoms, the study found. ‘Important Option’ “The studies used for the analysis in the JAMA paper differ methodologically from studies used to support the approval of paroxetine for major depressive disorder, so it is difficult to make direct comparisons between the study results,” Glaxo spokeswoman Claire Brough said in an e-mail. “Antidepressants are an important option, in addition to counseling and lifestyle changes, for treatment of depression.” The findings of the study are “probably going to have some beneficial impact on doctors who may be less experienced” in treating depression, said Michael Baigent, an associate professor of psychiatry and clinical adviser to Beyond Blue , a Melbourne, Australia-based organization that seeks to raise awareness of the disorder. “It may also filter through to consumers, and help them in their understanding of depression,” Baigent said in a telephone interview today. Almost 16 percent of people in the U.S. had been diagnosed with depression at some time in their lives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in a 2006 survey of 35 states. Worldwide sales of antidepressants reached $20.3 billion in 2008, according to IMS Health Inc. Debate The study is the latest to challenge the health benefits of antidepressants since the drugs became available in the 1950s. Research has linked antidepressants with suicidal thoughts, birth defects and a life-threatening neurological disorder. Studies have also shown the medicines can impair male fertility, curb female libido and interfere with a breast cancer drug. In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring a black box, the most serious type of warning for prescription drugs, to be added to labeling of all antidepressants to warn about the increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and adolescents being treated with the medications. The study was funded by the Bethesda, Maryland-based National Institute of Mental Health. To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Singapore at sbennett9@bloomberg.net

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Asia Properties Signs MOU to Acquire Macau Casino

November 19, 2009

HONG KONG and BELLINGHAM, Wash., Nov. 19, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Asia Properties, Inc. (API) (Pink Sheets:ASPZ) announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding “MOU” to acquire 50.13% of a Macau casino VIP club.

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Sarah O’Leary: If You Want Sales, Don’t Discount Marketing

September 29, 2009

“You know, the first place to cut is marketing.” The devaluing of marketing seems an acceptable mantra during challenging economic times, as if strategies that promote sales are expendable sprinkles on top of the corporate cake. In truth, the lack of effective marketing destabilizes brands and can lead to dead silence at the register. The time to be committed to the consumer sell, from the corporate campus to Wall Street to Main Street, is even more critical when the financial climate is tenuous. If you doubt the importance of consumer marketing, ask some simple questions: When consumers don’t know about or care about a product/service, does it sell? If consumers know about a product yet no one is persuaded to buy it, does it sell? When the retailer doesn’t support a product, will it move from shelf to shopping cart? Lastly, if a company doesn’t want to invest in the sell, why would it bother producing it or should potential shareholders consider investing in it? No product sells itself. Without the support of targeted, strategic marketing, the best of corporate intentions may be wasted efforts. Not always within the cross hairs of Wall Street analysts, a corporation’s marketing initiatives are crucial when weighing the validity of potential investments in the company. It is imperative that marketing plans be consistently scrutinized by seasoned experts. Like most other professions, smart marketers can see the strengths and limitations of fellow marketers’ plans. This understanding is tantamount to successful analysis, and the need for such expertise should not be taken lightly. Analyzing marketing strategy is a not a trip to the shallow end, but a deep dive by trained professionals. The questions asked by investors and shareholders must go beyond who is the new CMO or what will be the next hot ad campaign. It’s not simply the percentages of spend in general terms, nor is it just past results and a broad stroke glimpse into the future. It’s a constant, comprehensive study, not something that simply needs to be considered at quarterly or annual meetings. If a publicly traded corporation loses a factory to fire, stock prices would fall accordingly. However, if a corporation wastes $100 million on a bad ad campaign, average investors may not realize it because of the way information is presented to them. It is, most certainly, difficult to quantify many forms of advertising and marketing. However, it is not impossible to measure a great deal of it. Expert vigilance is key to successful investment, as it is critical to protecting the investor’s profit. At the beginning of the Recession, I spoke with an old friend who was working on the marketing business for a publicly traded cruise line. One of the cruise line leaders, citing the economy and his personal perspective regarding the expendability of advertising and promotion, canceled all of the line’s advertising and promotional efforts. He was convinced, it seemed, that the company would magically generate sales with even less support than the lean initiatives that had been in place. Instead, the strategy (or lack there of) severed much of the company’s exposure in the marketplace and arguably cost the company sales in an already tough economy. Surprisingly, no one seemed to question of the move. Most likely, it was because no one on Wall Street or those holding shares even knew the move was made. You don’t need to be an economic scholar to understand the basics of supply and demand. If a consumer product falls in the retail forest and no one cares, the register won’t make a sound. And in this economy, we need to make as much smart noise as possible.

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Mark Goulston, M.D.: Just Listen – Behavioral Finance

September 12, 2009

Why Do Smart and Wealthy People Get Out and Back In the Market and You Don’t Are you one of the many who waited too long to get out of the market and are now waiting too long to get back into it? Is this not the first time you’ve done this? Is this also a time when you’re kicking yourself for acting this way and jealously resenting those who get out and get back in sooner than you? What is it that separates those who benefit from or at least seem to be able to ride out market volatility from those who stay paralyzed on the sidelines? Is it smartness? Somewhat. Is it discipline? Of course. Is it courage? Possibly. But is it something more? Definitely. Those who do better with the wide swings and through crises have clarity. They know that GE, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble and Mattel are going to be around through thick and thin. They know when they are truly undervalued and worth buying. On the downside, they know when a real estate debacle is heading our way or when stocks are so overvalued that they just don’t make sense. And that is just the tip of the iceberg of what they see so clearly. These people don’t have the courage of their convictions; they have the courage of their clarity. On the other hand, people like you and me don’t possess such clarity in the financial arena. Instead we depend, trust and rely on people who exude confidence based on their clarity. It’s not that they are clear and you and I are not. You and I do possess clarity in the non-financial aspects of our lives and when we do, it is that area where our clients and customers depend, trust, rely and have confidence in us. My internist possesses clarity about diagnosing and treating the multiple illnesses I have had during my life. My accountant possesses clarity about my tax issues. As for me, I may have little clarity regarding finance, but I am remarkably clear in seeing and calling people on the b.s. that they are doing to others or to themselves and that prevents them and others around them from performing to their full capability. Here’s the rub and what causes us to freeze. When we discover that the person we trusted, depended on, relied upon and had confidence in lacks clarity and stops exuding confidence, we stop in our tracks. When as confident as we once felt about someone is as doubtful as we turn out to feel; when all the reassurance we felt from what they were going to do for us turns into worrying about what they are going to do to us; and when we are no longer able to depend on them nor ourselves, we become and remain stuck. Since it is clear that we can’t rely on ourselves, why then don’t we go find new advisors? Many of us do, but many of us hesitate because we are acutely aware that the new ones have also lost money for their clients. We think that maybe it’s better to stay with the devil you do know instead of the devil you don’t. Then why don’t we reattach and recommit ourselves to our financial advisors and tell them to continue to advise and make decisions for us financially? Two factors get in the way: first, if we feel disappointed or let down by them, we are hesitant to now freely give them our trust and confidence; second, our advisors know the results we received have disappointed us and their being uncomfortable with confrontation causes them to be tentative when they interact with us. We often mistakenly read that tentativeness in our advisor’s manner as a lack of confidence or clarity when in fact it may be entirely based on their awkwardness of dealing with us, knowing that we have been disappointed in or even angry. What’s the best thing to do? Meet with your financial advisor. In your mind have them stop looking to them to say “I’ll take care of you” and stop your passively dependent position that may have been fine during financially up times. Instead look to them to explain their understanding of what has happened, why it might have happened, the best approach to take going forward and why that is the best suited for you. I have done that with my financial advisor through downturns of the past decade and have not only found their understanding and clarity very centering and reassuring, but have actually discovered that I am teachable in an area (finances) where I thought I wasn’t. Check out my interview with Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald on my about to be published book “Just Listen.”

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Dave Johnson: Stimulus Package’s Buy American Clause In The News

August 10, 2009

President Obama, at the “Three Amigos” summit today in Mexico, responded to Canadian and Mexican complaints about the “Buy American Clause” in the stimulus package, reiterated that the clause is legal within existing trade agreements and does not threaten our trading partners. From an Edmonton Sun report, Obama: ‘Buy American’ won’t hurt Canadian trade While he didn’t leap to the defence of the contentious “Buy American” program, U.S. President Barack Obama urged Canadians to take a deep breath and put things in perspective. The policy is a one-off to help weather tough economic times and will have minimal impact on multi-billion trade between our two countries, he said. . . . Obama said the policy is geared only to the massive American stimulus package, not part of a larger pattern of protectionism. He insisted it complies with World Trade Organization rules, and suggested provinces and states can work on cross-border procurement practices that expand trade. Back in February Paul Krugman wrote about “policy externalities,”pointing out that the only way a stimulus package can work is if it stimulates. In the absence of a coordinated worldwide response to the financial crisis each country has to be responsible for stimulating its own economy. Or not. Since the world’s economy is far too large for just the U.S. to provide adequate stimulus, our stimulus needs to focus on our economy. Other countries need to stimulate their economies. In Protectionism and stimulus (wonkish) , Krugman wrote, Let’s be clear: this isn’t an argument for beggaring thy neighbor, it’s an argument that protectionism can make the world as a whole better off. It’s a second-best argument — coordinated policy is the first-best answer. But it needs to be taken seriously. What’s the counter-argument? Don’t say that any theory which has good things to say about protectionism must be wrong: that’s theology, not economics. The right argument, I think, is in terms of political economy. Everything I’ve just said applies only when the world is stuck in a liquidity trap; that’s where we are now, but it won’t be the normal situation. And if we go all protectionist, that will shatter the hard-won achievements of 70 years of trade negotiations — and it might take decades to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again. Also in February, the Alliance for American Manufacturing published a report, Buy America: Key To America’s Economic Recovery (PDF), that knocks down several myths about the legality of the clause, points out the steps that other countries take to protect their own economics, and points out that this provision is essential to creating the necessary jobs in America. From the report, The recovery package will create an estimated 3,675,000 jobs, 408,000 of which will be in manufacturing. Buy American provisions will maximize the number of recovery program jobs that are created in America, kick starting domestic demand and economic growth here at home. A recent analysis found that application of Buy American requirements to recovery projects would raise the number of jobs created by such projects by as much as 33 percent. It is important to note that the Hufbauer and Schott estimate of additional manufacturing jobs created directly by the inclusion of Buy American provisions in the recovery legislation is based on the understanding that, absent the inclusion of such provisions in the legislation, domestic preferences already in existing legislation would apply to economic recovery spending. Thus, their estimates only measure the additional jobs created due to including Buy American language in the recovery legislation itself, not the number of jobs owed to the application of any Buy American rules at all. The President is correct to say that the “Buy American” clause is beneficial and necessary. The package, with this clause has already saved hundreds of thousands of American jobs and stands to save millions more.

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Perot Lawsuit Says Mark Cuban Diverted Money to NBA’s Mavericks From Arena

July 21, 2009

By Aaron Kuriloff July 20 (Bloomberg) — One of Mark Cuban ’s business partners accused the Dallas Mavericks’ owner of wrongfully diverting millions of dollars to the National Basketball Association team from its home arena to make up for the club’s losses. Hillwood Center Partners LP, a company controlled by former Mavericks owner Ross Perot Jr. , says Cuban is hiding his team’s cash shortfalls by making more than $29 million in unauthorized loans from the arena to the club instead of distributing the money to his partners. Since Cuban bought the team, its business side has “suffered substantially, causing the Mavericks to have to rely heavily on borrowings to meet ongoing financial obligations,” the company’s petition said

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