Wall Street Journal (July 11)
Spurred by Japan’s corporate governance reforms, Nintendo finally relented and committed to broadening its reach to mobile devices. Pokémon Go, one result of this decision, has boosted “the struggling Japanese firm’s market value by $7.5 billion—a turn of corporate fortune with lessons for Japan Inc. …. The fitness-conscious should like a video game that requires players to be active, and Nintendo’s long-suffering shareholders are glad that one of their products is breaking the internet. Here’s hoping other notoriously risk-averse Japanese corporations take the hint.”
Tags: Corporate governance, Japan, Japan Inc., Market value, Mobile, Nintendo, Pokémon Go, Risk-averse, Shareholders, Video game
Washington Post (August 13)
“U.S. businesses are aging…and a sharp decline in start-up companies is a big reason. As the share of young firms shrinks, the surviving companies are naturally older — and this may have huge ramifications for the economy.” Nobody’s sure why this trend is occurring, but it suggests slower job creation and raises a troubling question. “Could it be that a society whose members are getting older is more risk-averse and less adventurous?”
Tags: Adventurous, Aging, Businesses, Decline, Economy, Job creation, Ramifications, Risk-averse, Society, Start-ups, U.S.
Washington Post (February 18)
Joblessness remains protracted in the U.S., with the CBO estimating unemployment will not fall below 7.5% until 2015. “That would make six years above 7.5 percent — the longest stretch of high joblessness in 70 years.” The U.S. economy was always distinguished by job creation. What’s changed? “To overgeneralize slightly: We have gone from being an expansive, risk-taking society to a skittish, risk-averse one.” Rather than buying today, everybody is waiting until tomorrow. “Pessimism produces a sluggish economy; a sluggish economy produces pessimism. That’s the main explanation of poor job creation.”
Tags: CBO, Economy, Job creation, Joblessness, Risk-averse, Risk-taking, U.S., Unemployment
