A comprehensive review of the characteristics of the world’s main financial centres by The Economist (EIU): Magnets for money. While the impact of technology on transformations of financial centres in recent decades is analysed, there could have been a more critical review of the outlook for the decentralisation of financial services through ICT.
Month:September 2007
New green PC
A new green machine from Lenovo is a response to rising energy costs around the world and to growing concern about electronics’ impacts on the environment. The new PC, officially known as the ThinkCentre A61e, is the company’s first EPEAT Gold-rated product, and surpasses the EPA’s Energy Star 4.0 criteria for computer systems with its …
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Excessive pay hurts economy and society
A new report claims that excessive executive compensation in the US is taking a staggering economic and social toll on American society, threatening leadership in the business, government, and nonprofit sectors and creating instability in the economy. The report gives a good summary of the gross disparity between top earners and average earners and disparages …
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Fees win over carry for buyout managers …
A new study by two professors at Penn’s Wharton School lifts the lid on a “secret” of private equity managers. The findings of Wharton professors Andrew Metrick and Ayako Yasuda show that, “on average, leveraged-buyout funds can expect to collect $10.35 in management fees for every $100 they manage, whereas about half that, $5.41 for …
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How to get fat without even trying
This five part YouTube series with now deceased TV newscaster Peter Jennings explores how the food industry spends billions of dollars to sabotage your health. Jennings also takes a critical look at the US government’s agricultural subsidy programmes, and the consequences of misguided government policies on diet and health. For example, sugar and fat receive …
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Self-inflicted terror in America
While we have come around to the notion that peace is an appropriate minimum standard of behaviour for developed countries it has never been an easy argument to make in our world today. The difficulty of fighting minds with armaments George Friedman, eminent strategic analyst, offers a sobering perspective on the fall-out from the American …
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SRI reduced sub-prime exposure
An interesting review of the run-up to the sub-prime mortgage meltdown shows that SR investors started considering the implications of sub-prime business exposure back in 1999 and a number of institutional SR investors adjusted portfolio exposure accordingly. It shows that investors who take a broader view of business (social and environment as well as economic) …
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Corporate attitudes to sustainability around the world
A new study by Harris Interactive explores attitudes toward sustainability among companies around the world. Their summary findings are: Waste reduction is considered the most important environmental issue in the USA; Brazil; Italy; Germany and China. Korea and India place more importance on developing green/environmentally friendly products. Overall, the use of renewable/cleaner energy sources is …
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CSR is growing up
The recent launch of Supercapitalism by Robert Reich which criticises CSR has stimulated debate about its role in private enterprise. You can see The Economist’s take here and an interview with the author by BusinessWeek here. It is naive, even primitive, to argue that corporations have no ethical dimension, rather it is increasingly their role …
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CSR increases profitability
According to a survey of more than 500 business executives by Grant Thornton, executives believe that corporate responsibility programs can positively impact their business and help achieve strategic goals. While commentary by traditionalists might suggest that CSR will be a cost, without benefit, only a quarter of survey respondents agreed that profits need be sacrificed, …
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