Comcast Eyes Netflix Territory; Cable Provider Seeks Rights to ‘Despicable Me 2,’ to Show Free to Subscribers

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Comcast Eyes Netflix Territory

Cable Provider Seeks Rights to ‘Despicable Me 2,’ to Show Free to Subscribers

BEN FRITZ

Updated Feb. 12, 2014 6:26 p.m. ET

Comcast Corp. CMCSA +0.44% is looking to edge in on Netflix Inc. NFLX -1.17% ‘s territory—with the help of its own movie studio.

The cable giant is in talks to acquire the pay-television rights to “Despicable Me 2,” a film produced by Comcast’s Universal Pictures, in a deal that appears to mark the first entrance of a cable provider into that business. Read more of this post

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Pernod versus Rémy: battle of the booze-makers

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

February 11, 2014 7:20 am

Pernod versus Rémy: battle of the booze-makers

By Adam Thomson in Paris

Pernod Ricard and Rémy Cointreau share more than a passing resemblance. Both are French, both make cognac and other spirits and both founding families retain important stakes. They also both have offices in Paris – in Haussmann-era buildings, less than two miles apart. Read more of this post

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There is no such thing as the banking profession; Self-inflicted injuries result from a lack of both common purpose and shared values

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Last updated: February 12, 2014 7:13 pm

There is no such thing as the banking profession

By John Gapper

Self-inflicted injuries result from a lack of both common purpose and shared values

Antony Jenkins’ efforts to change the culture of Barclays by cutting bankers’ pay are on hold. At its investment bank, it is paying bonuses that are 13 per cent higher to “compete in the global market for talent”. The bank’s chief executive wants to reform the pay of US and Asian investment bankers but it is beyond his control. Read more of this post

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Everything I Know About Investing I Learned From My Drivers’ Ed Teacher

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

February 12, 2014, 11:00 AM

Everything I Know About Investing I Learned From My Drivers’ Ed Teacher

JASON ZWEIG

Kids who grow up in farm country learn how to drive early.

When I was a teenager in the mid-1970s in the foothills of New York’s Adirondack Mountains, I and all my friends drove tractors and bashed-up jalopies through the hayfields and on the dirt roads long before any of us had a learner’s permit or a driver’s license. Read more of this post

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A Stanford recipe for bloat-free expansion

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

February 12, 2014 3:56 pm

A Stanford recipe for bloat-free expansion

Review by Andrew Hill

Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less, by Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao, Crown Business, $26

How to get big without getting bloated is one of the greatest challenges facing growing businesses. Start-ups want to know how they can expand without adding layers of deadening process. At the same time, large companies want to know how to replicate the creativity and in­novative prowess of start-ups without triggering an anarchic free-for-all. Drawing on the authors’ own and others’ insights, Scaling Up Excellencepromises many answers to those pressing questions. Read more of this post

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EMs are paying the price of ETF liquidity; Volatility inflamed by ability of exchange traded funds to exit quickly; Chances are high of mass exodus from EM; No framework for co-ordinating an orderly reversal of flows

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

February 12, 2014 10:05 am

EMs are paying the price of ETF liquidity

By John Authers

Volatility inflamed by ability of exchange traded funds to exit quickly

Are exchange traded funds the best way to invest in emerging market equities?

Last week, I wrote a column arguing that the structure of ETFs, which allows trading through the day, had contributed significantly to the scale of the recent sell-off in emerging markets, and was helping to make the sector more volatile. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Accountants PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY face taming moves; Are the Big Four accounting leviathans about to be tamed?

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

February 12, 2014 6:32 pm

Accountants PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY face taming moves

By Sam Fleming

Are the Big Four accounting leviathans about to be tamed?

Even as their revenues ascend to fresh records, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY are struggling to navigate new legal and regulatory pitfalls in two of their most important markets – China and the European Union.

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On Wednesday the four networks’ Chinese affiliates were preparing to appeal a US decision to bar them from working for any US-listed Chinese companies for six months. The spat between the two countries threatened to check progress for the accountancies in one of their fastest-growing regions, as well as souring broader commercial relations between the nations. Read more of this post

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Canada Clamps Down on Investor Visas; Ottawa Ends Its Immigrant Investor Program Popular Among Wealthy Chinese

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Canada Clamps Down on Investor Visas

Ottawa Ends Its Immigrant Investor Program Popular Among Wealthy Chinese

JASON CHOW in Hong Kong and ALISTAIR MACDONALD in Toronto

Updated Feb. 12, 2014 8:28 p.m. ET

Canada’s cancellation of an immigration program popular with wealthy Chinese is adding to concerns that a country once welcoming of China’s investment and immigrants is now closing the door on both. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

How big data lets us see a little further into the unknown; Small changes can lead to bigger changes in outcomes. And then there is the human factor

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

February 11, 2014 6:36 pm

How big data lets us see a little further into the unknown

By John Kay

Small changes can lead to bigger changes in outcomes. And then there is the human factor

It is Monday, and it is raining again in thesouth of France. But it was sunny yesterday. And it was also dry last Wednesday, although it then rained almost continuously from Thursday through to Saturday. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

U.S. Firms Fret Over China Debt, Investment Rules

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Feb 12, 2014

U.S. Firms Fret Over China Debt, Investment Rules

U.S. companies that do business in China are worried about investment rules that limit their growth there, as well as about the repercussions of rising levels of debt in the world’s second-biggest economy, a U.S. business group said Monday. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Myanmar’s mobile sector is regarded as one of the world’s last remaining frontiers for companies; mobile penetration in Myanmar estimated at around 11% is the fourth-lowest rate in the world

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

February 11th 2014

Telecoms take-off

The development of Myanmar’s nascent mobile telecommunications sector is poised to take off. Operating licences have been granted to two international telecoms operators, Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo, which have committed to invest billions of dollars to provide almost total mobile coverage within five years. But with mobile penetration in Myanmar estimated at around 11%—the fourth-lowest rate in the world—and a lack of requisite infrastructure in large areas of the country, Telenor and Ooredoo have a daunting task ahead of them. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends, TMT Trends

How Mulberry got squashed in fashion’s squeezed middle; The brand was one of Britain’s success stories – but alienated its core customers by putting up prices without raising quality accordingly

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

How Mulberry got squashed in fashion’s squeezed middle

The brand was one of Britain’s success stories – but alienated its core customers by putting up prices without raising quality accordingly

Hannah Betts

The Guardian, Friday 31 January 2014 19.20 GMT

One upon a time there was a nice, British leather brand called Mulberry that occupied the middle market where it flourished very happily. Many of its acolytes were women of the same vintage as this Seventies institution, customers who admired good quality at good value prices. Then, the company acquired a fashionable new designer who beguiled their daughters, giving them “it” bags for “it” girls, the various Alexas, Lanas and their ilk. Everyone was terribly proud and its forces went from strength to strength. And then, someone got greedy … Read more of this post

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Income + wealth inequality = More trouble for society

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Income + wealth inequality = More trouble for society

Thursday, February 13, 2014 – 09:00

Robin Chan

Assistant Political Editor

The Straits Times

MUCH attention given to inequality in Singapore in recent years has focused on income inequality. There is a good reason: Singapore’s income gap, as measured by the Gini coefficient for income, is one of the widest among developed countries at 0.478. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Ancient star helps scientists understand universe’s origins

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Ancient star helps scientists understand universe’s origins

Sun, Feb 9 2014

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian astronomers have found the oldest known star in the universe, a discovery that may help to resolve a long-standing discrepancy between observations and predictions of the Big Bangbillions of years ago. Read more of this post

Filed under Life

Vietnam bets on loosening gaming laws to lure high rollers

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Vietnam bets on loosening gaming laws to lure high rollers

6:32pm EST

By Nguyen Phuong Linh and Farah Master

HO CHI MINH CITY/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Nguyen Van Tuon seems unconcerned that his business driving Vietnamese gamblers across the border to Cambodian casinos is under threat. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

CSIMA (Columbia Student Investment Management) Conference Notes

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

AGENDA

A Conversation with Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management

Moderator: Bruce Greenwald, Columbia Business School

 

Panel 1: Activism as a Catalyst for Unlocking Value

Jesse Cohn, Elliott Management Corporation

Scott Osfeld, JANA Partners

Tom Sandell, Sandell Asset Management

Moderator: Ken Squire, 13D Monitor and the 13D Activist Fund

Read more of this post

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Sqrl, an information-gathering and communication tool created by accountants, announced that its platform is now open to users, and that it has raised $550,000 in seed money

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Accountants Launch Sqrl, Raise Seed Money

CINCINNATI (FEBRUARY 10, 2014)

BY DANIEL HOOD

Sqrl, an information-gathering and communication tool created by accountants, announced that its platform is now open to users, and that it has raised $550,000 in seed money. Read more of this post

Filed under TMT Trends

Lessons Learned Over Forty Years: Investing in Companies with Significant Hidden Assets (Particularly Real Estate)

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Lessons Learned Over Forty Years: Investing in Companies with Significant Hidden Assets (Particularly Real Estate)

Lessons Learned: Hidden Assets

We are approaching our 40th year of publishing Asset Analysis Focus. As far as we know, we are the oldest subscription based institutionally oriented research publication on Wall Street. Read more of this post

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Is trickle-down economics working for Singapore?

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Is trickle-down economics working for Singapore?

The annual Budget is an expression of the Government’s commitment to its policies — put simply, the Budget is when the bucks are put into the bangs.

BY DEVADAS KRISHNADAS –

13 FEBRUARY

The annual Budget is an expression of the Government’s commitment to its policies — put simply, the Budget is when the bucks are put into the bangs. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

What do millionaires regret? Super successful business bosses reveal the things they would change if they could

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

What do millionaires regret?

February 12, 2014

Caroline James

Super successful business bosses reveal the things they would change if they could.

Every businessperson makes mistakes. David Yuile’s cost him $1.3 million in a day. Read more of this post

Filed under Life

What do millionaires regret? Super successful business bosses reveal the things they would change if they could

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

What do millionaires regret?

February 12, 2014

Caroline James

Super successful business bosses reveal the things they would change if they could.

Every businessperson makes mistakes. David Yuile’s cost him $1.3 million in a day.

The chief executive of telecommunications company AAPT jointly started a CRM consultancy in London in the mid-1990s. Read more of this post

Filed under Life

Seeking Their Fortune: The Career Path for Top Executives in Big Companies

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Seeking Their Fortune: The Career Path for Top Executives in Big Companies

Feb 11, 2014

Executives in the highest ranks of management have become increasingly diverse in recent years, and the number of lifelong employees has continued to decline. At the same time, the recession has “reversed two key trends, increasing both average age and length of tenure. Read more of this post

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Another JPMorgan Banker Dies, 37 Year Old Executive Director Of Program Trading

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Another JPMorgan Banker Dies, 37 Year Old Executive Director Of Program Trading

Tyler Durden on 02/12/2014 11:09 -0500

Ordinarily we would ignore the news of another banker’s death – after all these sad events happen all the time – if it wasn’t for several contextual aspects of this most recent passage. First, the death in question, as reported by the Stamford Daily Voice is that of Ryan Henry Crane, a Harvard graduate, who is survived by his wife, son and parents at the very young age of 37. Second, Ryan Henry Crane was formerly employed by JPMorgan – a bank which was featured prominently in the news as recently as two weeks ago when another of its London-based employees committed suicide by jumping from the top floor of its Canary Wharf building. Third: Crane was an Executive Director in JPM’s Global Program Trading desk, founded in 1999 by an ex-DE Shaw‘er, a function of the firm which is instrumental to preserving JPM’s impeccable and (so far in 2013) flawless trading record of zero trading losses. Read more of this post

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5 Famous Entrepreneurs Who Learned From Their First Spectacular Failures; Feeling like a failure? So did these entrepreneurs–before they went on to revolutionize their industries.

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

5 FAMOUS ENTREPRENEURS WHO LEARNED FROM THEIR FIRST SPECTACULAR FAILURES

FEELING LIKE A FAILURE? SO DID THESE ENTREPRENEURS–BEFORE THEY WENT ON TO REVOLUTIONIZE THEIR INDUSTRIES.

BY STEPHANIE VOZZA

Most new businesses fail–that means most entrepreneurs and CEOs fail right along with them. What makes one person pack up his desk and go home while another shakes it off and tries again? Read more of this post

Filed under Life

Why The New York Times Hired A Biology Researcher As Its Chief Data Scientist

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

 WHY THE NEW YORK TIMES HIRED A BIOLOGY RESEARCHER AS ITS CHIEF DATA SCIENTIST

TO HELP MAKE SENSE OF THE MASSIVE TROVES OF DATA PRODUCED BY PEOPLE CLICKING AROUND ITS WEBSITE, THE TIMES MADE A (VERY) NONTRADITIONAL HIRE–CHRIS WIGGINS, A BIOLOGY RESEARCHER WITH A PHD IN THEORETICAL PHYSICS. IF YOU CAN MAP THE HUMAN GENOME, MAYBE YOU CAN EVEN FIX JOURNALISM.

BY REBECCA GREENFIELD

0  COMMENTS

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It doesn’t come as a huge surprise that the New York Times has hired a chief data scientist. Even 162-year-old media companies know that technology will play a huge role in the future of journalism. And, despite its age, the Times hasn’t shied away from digital innovation. What’s surprising, however, is that the new hire, Chris Wiggins, has spent the last 10 years steeped in biology research. Read more of this post

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The omnipresent craft: Graft

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

The omnipresent craft: Graft

Wednesday, February 12, 2014 – 09:00

Nayan Chanda For The Straits Times

The Straits Times

GLOBALISATION has been facing strong headwinds as a result of anti-immigrant and anti-free trade pressures.

Now, a third issue challenging the benefits of global connectedness is taking centre stage in many countries: corruption. Globalisation does not cause corruption. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

China to crack down on fake data ‘corruption’: Statistics chief

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

China to crack down on fake data ‘corruption’: Statistics chief

Wednesday, February 12, 2014 – 17:09

Reuters

BEIJING – China will step up efforts to investigate and punish any cases of falsified statistics, the country’s chief statistician said in remarks published on Wednesday, highlighting the issue of reliability of Chinese data. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

DIY publishers break out in Korea

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

DIY publishers break out in Korea

Wednesday, Feb 12, 2014

Kate Bolster

The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

KOREA – The difficulty of finding a voice in a country that doesn’t speak her language is all too familiar to Doria Garms-Sotelo.

The aspiring journalist, whose husband is in the US Army, has called Korea home for the past nine years. She has used that time to hone her writing skills and complete a book on a topic that is close to her heart. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

Expert on quest to find out secrets of successful leaders

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Expert on quest to find out secrets of successful leaders

Wednesday, Feb 12, 2014

Mok Fei Fei

The Straits Times

High-octane conversations with Wall Street players or the wielders of power in the White House are all in a day’s work for leadership expert D. Michael Lindsay. Read more of this post

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China think-tanks rising in numbers

February 21, 2014 Leave a comment

China think-tanks rising in numbers

Wednesday, February 12, 2014 – 03:00

Esther Teo

China Correspondent In Beijing

The Straits Times

MR LI Fan was initially worried that a two-day seminar on democracy he was organising in Beijing last December might run into trouble with the authorities due to its sensitive topic. To his surprise, the event ran smoothly. Read more of this post

Filed under Macro Trends

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