Forbes (March 9)
Worldwide there are now a record 1,210 billionaires. Combined, they are worth $4.5 trillion. You’re most likely to meet one in Moscow, but the world’s richest billionaire remains Mexico’s Carlos Slim who added $20 billion to his wealth, currently estimated at $74 billion. The U.S. hosts 413 billionaires. In China, the number of billionaires doubled to 115. Meanwhile, Japan is home to 26 billionaires, ranging from Masayoshi Son ($8.1 billion) to Yusaku Maezawa ($1 billion).
Tags: Billionaires, Carlos Slim, China, Japan, Mexico, Moscow, U.S.
Bloomberg (March 9)
Hewlett-Packard is under fire (again). This time the issue is CEO Leo Apotheker’s involvement in the nomination of five new directors. Company rules stipulate this process must be conducted by independent directors. Because they failed to uphold the nomination process, proxy adviser ISS is recommending “no” votes against 3 directors standing for re-election and against the CEO’s remuneration. “The CEO’s formal participation in the ad hoc committee established to identify potential director candidates runs contrary to the Nominating and Governance Committee’s Charter.”
Tags: Directors, Governance, HP, ISS, Nomination, Proxy adviser
Boston Globe (March 8)
The U.S. should avoid setting up a no-fly zone in Libya unless this becomes “absolutely necessary to prevent a bloodbath.” Obama should resist making this “big commitment” because of myriad pitfalls and complications. Moreover, the rebels will eventually “be forced to build a government out of a nation of divided and sometimes hostile tribes.” Success will be easier if the victory is entirely their own. “The best result for the United States would be a stable, progressive Libyan government built by Libyans on their own.”
Tags: Libya, No-fly zone, Rebels, U.S.
Washington Post (March 8)
Oil again crossed the $100 per barrel threshold. The price hike isn’t entirely bad. It may “spur conservation and stimulate domestic oil production, thus rendering the country less vulnerable to future oil shocks.” The 1973 oil crisis certainly did. The U.S. economy now “consumes less than half as much petroleum and natural gas per dollar of economic output as it did.” In fact, the Post would welcome higher gasoline taxes to encourage “sensible long-term conservation measures.”
Tags: Conservation, Energy, Oil, Tax
Financial Times (March 6)
In times of trouble, investors flock to the U.S. dollar. Or did. Despite turbulence in the Mideast, the Financial Times reports, “Hedge funds and forex dealers are betting record amounts against the dollar, reflecting a growing belief that the US currency has lost its haven appeal and that eurozone interest rates will soon rise.”
Wall Street Journal (March 5)
Many recent financial reforms are designed to prevent banks from becoming too big to fail. In fact, large banks and holding companies still enjoy “a lower cost of funds than banks in every other category.” The market still believes the banks are too big to fail. The Wall Street Journal believes there will be even more bailouts come the next crisis because, “Dodd-Frank is making the big banks bigger and more protected than ever against failure.”
Tags: Bailouts, Banks, Dodd-Frank, Financial Reform
Economist (March 3)
A new kind of global company is on the rise. Diversified multinationals from emerging markets are challenging long-held business principles. In the West, companies with strategic focus are considered more competitive than conglomerates. Yet diversified multinationals, such as India’s Tata Group, are competing successfully on a global level. These companies developed, in part, “to deal with the problems of operating in places where governments are frequently incompetent and markets are hopelessly underdeveloped.” Western businesses may have much to learn from this new breed of company.
Tags: Conglomerates, Diversified, Emerging markets, Tata
New York Times (March 3)
In the U.S., conservatives are creating false alarm that federal and state governments may go bankrupt. “A country with a deficit is not necessarily any more ‘broke’ than a family with a mortgage or a college loan. And states have to balance their budgets. Though it may disappoint many conservatives, there will be no federal or state bankruptcies.”
Tags: Bankruptcy, Budget, Government, U.S.
New Zealand Herald (March 2)
While much of the world is fighting higher taxes, New Zealanders are open to a temporary tax to help fund the reconstruction of Christchurch. We “are prepared to be taxed for Christchurch’s sake. This is a rare sentiment in public opinion, but completely understandable after a disaster such as this. The rest of the country stands ready to help.”
Tags: Christchurch, Disaster, New Zealand, Tax
Washington Post (February 28)
Will the Jasmine revolution spread to all of the Arab States? Who should the U.S. and other countries back, existing leaders or the protestors? The Post believes, the “direction of events means that, more than ever, the American interest lies in encouraging more rather than less freedom and in reaching out to those Arabs who seek genuine democracy. If that means straining ties with autocratic allies, that is preferable to appearing to back the wrong side.”
Tags: Democracy, Diplomacy, Middle East, Revolution
