Doug McMillon: The southern charmer taking over Walmart’s retail empire

November 29, 2013 6:54 pm

Doug McMillon: The southern charmer taking over Walmart’s retail empire

By Barney Jopson

The retailer’s next chief is a keeper of the retail chain’s thrifty culture, writes Barney Jopson

At Walmart’s annual meeting last year Doug McMillon took the stage and made a cocktail. He poured a can of Coca-Cola into a glass of cumin, black pepper and lemon juice to make an Indian masala coke. “Can you start to imagine what that tastes like?” he asked. Read more of this post

Korean economist and bestselling author Ha-Joon Chang says the time is right to embrace moral dilemmas as well as mathematical models

November 29, 2013 6:15 pm

Lunch with the FT: Ha-Joon Chang

By David Pilling

Over fish curry in Cambridge, the Korean economist and bestselling author says the time is right to embrace moral dilemmas as well as mathematical models

Ha-Joon Chang’s hands are chopping the air like helicopter blades. He whirrs them in a tight 360-degree spin or brings them down on the beat like a conductor. Sometimes he tightens his fists to emphasise frustration, or holds his hands flat – palms upwards, fingers splayed – as though weighing two bags of rice. At one point he stretches both arms over his head before bringing them together as if along an invisible monkey bar. What could be prompting so much passion? You guessed it. We are talking economics. Read more of this post

In Paris, umbrellas built to outlast their owners

In Paris, umbrellas built to outlast their owners

Saturday, November 30, 2013 – 16:48

AFP

PARIS – Easily broken and frequently lost, the humble umbrella is not usually seen as a luxury item. But for Frenchman Michel Heurtault, whose creations can sell for thousands of euros, that is exactly what they are. The 48-year-old artisan uses the finest of materials for his umbrellas and parasols, which are made to last and intended to be handed down from generation to generation. Read more of this post

When we focus on immediate returns, we inevitably miss out on what is more important and lasting. Perhaps we need to step off the carousel and consider how we can impact lives through caring

Updated: Sunday November 24, 2013 MYT 7:49:55 AM

The choice is in our hands

BY SOO EWE JIN

Perspective is everything. When we focus on immediate returns, we inevitably miss out on what is more important and lasting. Perhaps we need to step off the carousel and consider how we can impact lives through caring.

A DEAR friend, in the last stage of a terminal illness some years back, wrote to me that it is not about how long we live, but how we live, that makes a difference. How true. Today, we have the phrase, “Live a legacy, leave a legacy.” Read more of this post

Asia’s richest man Li Ka-Shing has revealed his inner hopes and fears in a dramatic press interview

Li’s political pipe dream
Eddie Luk
Friday, November 29, 2013

Asia’s richest man has revealed his inner hopes and fears in a dramatic press interview. And Li Ka-shing, chairman of Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa, said if he could turn back the clock and start again, he’d be a politician. However, Li warned that Hong Kong should not be ruled by an individual, and the government should never exercise its powers selectively. In a wide-ranging interview with the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily, Li spoke about his sons, the HK$2 billion he paid a kidnapper, politics, government, the market situation and his commitment to Hong Kong. Present at the interview was the director of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, Solina Chau Hoi-shuen. Read more of this post

There is little doubt that Li Ka-shing loves his two sons, a point he made clear. What’s more, he said, they love their country

Doting dad happy with how boys turned out 
Eddie Luk
Friday, November 29, 2013
There is little doubt that Li Ka-shing loves his two sons, a point he made clear. What’s more, he said, they love their country. Li said elder son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi is hardworking and meticulous while Richard Li Tzar-kai is clever but playful. He also said Victor, who has been working alongside him for the past 30 years, is “serious and never lazy.” Read more of this post

Li Ka-shing broke his silence of 17 years to say he never had second thoughts when asked to pay HK$2 billion by the kidnapper of his eldest son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi

What tycoon told gangster who abducted son
Staff reporter
Friday, November 29, 2013
Li Ka-shing broke his silence of 17 years to say he never had second thoughts when asked to pay HK$2 billion by the kidnapper of his eldest son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi. However, Li said he told the gangster “Big Spender” Cheung Tze-keung that he could get his hands on only HK$1 billion immediately and that he would have to go to the bank to get the rest. Read more of this post

James Dyson on Negative Feedback

James Dyson on Negative Feedback

November 27, 2013

Dyson’s first invention was the Rotork Sea Truck, a watercraft he sold while in art school

James Dyson
Managing director, Dyson
Net worth: $4.4 billion

How do you deal with negative feedback?
—@amalt

You learn from it. Often it starts a line of development: Well, yes, that person said they want a light vacuum, which is impossible, because motors are very heavy. So you say, “We might develop light electric motors—no one’s ever done it before; we must do it.” About 18 years ago, we set off on that journey. It took us 15 years before we launched a revolutionary small, light motor. Negative feedback is really interesting. I enjoy it in a masochistic way.

Success tip: Think like a dyslexic

Fiona Smith Columnist

Success tip: Think like a dyslexic

Published 26 November 2013 12:10, Updated 27 November 2013 16:39

Jonathan Ive, chief designer for Apple, is dyslexic – just like Apple founder Steve Jobs. The inability to decipher text is a curse for most people with dyslexia. It makes them outsiders in a world where everything is written. But for some, the condition has become a strength. The way their brains compensate has been a defining element of their outrageous success. Read more of this post

How To Be Happier With What You Already Have

How To Be Happier With What You Already Have

ERIC BARKER, BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE
NOV. 28, 2013, 3:20 PM 1,823

You probably have far more now than you ever had in the past but you’re probably not much happier. And, instinctively, we think the problem can still be fixed by more. More of whatever. More money. More food. More things. Generically, more. We’re not even sure what we need more of, but whatever we have now sure as hell isn’t doing it so turn it up to 11, Bertha. This isn’t an anti-capitalist rant or your grandfather saying you kids don’t appreciate anything. It’s another example of our instincts gone awry. So what’s the problem here? Two researchers figured it out.

“Am I making the most out of my life?” Read more of this post

Going off the rails: Companies need to keep an eye on their bosses for signs of destructive behaviour

Going off the rails: Companies need to keep an eye on their bosses for signs of destructive behaviour

Nov 30th 2013 | From the print edition

THOSE of us who still read newspapers over breakfast have had a delicious choice of late: do we start with the story about Bradford’s crystal Methodist or the one about Toronto’s stuporman? Paul Flowers, the former chairman of Britain’s Co-operative Bank and a Methodist minister, allegedly bought cocaine and crystal meth for a “drug-fuelled” orgy. Rob Ford, Toronto’s mayor, has finally admitted, after months of denials, that he smoked crack cocaine—before adding the comforting proviso that he only did it in “one of my drunken stupors”. Read more of this post

Lord Young: “Tell me what you need, entrepreneurs”

Lord Young: “Tell me what you need, entrepreneurs”

Enterprise adviser to the Prime Minister, Lord Young, has teamed up with entrepreneurs’ organisation Prelude to launch Growth Britain, a new platform for business owners to submit policy requests to government.

Lord Young is calling on business owners to suggest ideas to help Britain’s businesses start up and grow. Photo: PA

By Rebecca Burn-Callander, Enterprise Editor

4:59PM GMT 28 Nov 2013

The Growth Britain campaign invites the public to pitch their ideas and offer feasible solutions to what will help drive growth and positively shape the British enterprise landscape. Read more of this post

Tory Burch’s seven secrets for success

Tory Burch’s seven secrets for success

Billionaire fashion designer Tory Burch reveals her business lessons for budding entrepreneurs at an event in London

BY KATE BUSSMANN | 28 NOVEMBER 2013

Burch was speaking at Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design to Imran Amed, founder of Business of Fashion.

Don’t be a snob 
When the Amed mentioned that her typical customer has been described as a “soccer mom”, rather than being insulted, Burch didn’t flinch. “I’m a soccer mom – well, a lacrosse mom,” she said. “The brand always had a diverse customer base – all different kinds of women were wearing it. They make it their own.” Read more of this post

Steve Jobs: “Everybody in this country should learn to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think”

Updated: Sunday November 24, 2013 MYT 7:46:44 AM

The new buzz language

BY TUNKU MUNAWIRAH PUTRA

Literacy in Coding is an advantage in this technology-driven economy.

“Everybody in this country should learn to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think”

— Steve Jobs

Software and computers are taking over the world. Almost everything we do require some form of programming and almost every student has access to computers, tablets and smart mobile phones. Are we doing enough in our schools to encourage computer science and prepare our students for this future? Read more of this post

Ex-SAC Analyst Horvath Says He Provided Inside Info to Boss Steinberg Because He Feared Firing

Ex-SAC Analyst Horvath Says He Provided Inside Info to Boss Steinberg Because He Feared Firing

Testimony Comes as Steinberg’s Trial for Alleged Insider Trading Continues

JAMES STERNGOLD

Updated Nov. 27, 2013 5:48 p.m. ET

A former analyst at SAC Capital Advisors LP testified in court Wednesday that he believed he would be fired if he didn’t provide inside information to his boss, Michael Steinberg.

The analyst, Jon Horvath, said that Mr. Steinberg, a portfolio manager at the hedge fund and currently on trial for alleged insider trading, confronted him after a losing trade in mid-2007 and told Mr. Horvath he had to deliver “edgy, proprietary information” for Mr. Steinberg to use. Mr. Horvath said he assumed Mr. Steinberg meant inside information and that he would be fired if he failed to produce profitable tips. Read more of this post

Saju, face reading and feng shui

2013-11-28 18:14

Saju, face reading and feng shui

Janet Shin

Which fortune telling practices do you usually refer to? The most frequently cited ways in the Orient may be saju, face reading and feng shui. How can we discriminate them and evaluate their methods?  Read more of this post

Making the case for wealth; This nation cannot afford for wealth to become a dirty word

Making the case for wealth

This nation cannot afford for wealth to become a dirty word, says entrepreneur columnist Michael Hayman.

London Mayor Boris Johnson attracted a storm of criticism when he suggested that the nation’s wealthy should be knighted. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Michael Hayman

9:37AM GMT 25 Nov 2013

Times are changing and as the economy emerges from its period of sackcloth and ashes it will bring with it a great deal of new wealth. With it the profile of success and its exposure within society will change. But as we take the first tentative steps to recovery, Britain has the feel of the pasty holidaymaker and those early days defrosting on a warm beach. It takes a while to thaw and even longer to develop the confidence of that golden hue. Read more of this post

Maker of Nutella and Tic Tacs Confident in Family Hands

Maker of Nutella and Tic Tacs Confident in Family Hands

MANUELA MESCO

Nov. 28, 2013 9:15 p.m. ET

For years, investment bankers have beaten a path to the door of Ferrero SpA—the Italian maker of Tic Tacs, hazelnut spread Nutella, and Kinder chocolate eggs—dangling proposals to take the company public or sell out to a bigger rival. Just last year, Mars Inc. expressed interest in the company, while Nestlé SA NESN.VX +0.08% has looked at Ferrero for years, according to people familiar with the situation. Read more of this post

Life in the old fossil yet: How remnants of dinosaur tissue have survived for millions of years

Life in the old fossil yet: How remnants of dinosaur tissue have survived for millions of years

Nov 30th 2013 | From the print edition

WHEN most animals die, nature likes to tidy up by making their bodies disappear. The remains get eaten by scavengers, bones are scattered, tissues rot away and anything left over tends to get destroyed by the elements. Very occasionally, though, these destructive processes get disrupted. This usually happens when the corpse is quickly buried by sediment deposited by a river or blown in by the wind. Then begins a slow process in which minerals precipitate from groundwater into the encased organic material, eventually replacing it with a stony replica: a fossil. Read more of this post

Ikea’s faces cultural challenge as flat-pack empire grows; Retailer needs to stay true to its small-town Swedish values

November 28, 2013 1:11 pm

Ikea faces cultural challenge as flat-pack empire expands

By Richard Milne, Nordic Correspondent

Retailer needs to stay true to its small-town Swedish values

When Ikea entered the US in a big way in the 1990s, its executives were bemused by the number of vases they were selling. Slowly it dawned on workers at the Swedish retailer that Americans were buying them not to put flowers in, but to drink from: the European-style glasses Ikea stocked were just too small for US tastes. Read more of this post

Even when a single-party government was possible, Germany chose to form a coalition. It is truly amazing

The lessons learned from Germany

Even when a single-party government was possible, Germany chose to form a coalition. It is truly amazing.

by Park Myung-rim

Nov 29,2013

Is the century of Germany coming again? Not just Europe, but the entire world is paying attention to Germany again. Some foreign scholars and media already call today’s unified Germany “The Fourth Empire” and refer to Chancellor Angela Merkel as “Kaiser.” The international prediction that Germany would suffer an extended slump because of the expenses to rebuild East Germany after the reunification has been proven wrong. Germany not only overcame the aftermath swiftly but also plays the role of a mainstay in the integrated Europe as the most solid economy in Europe despite the global economic crisis. Read more of this post

Cornell M.B.A. Melds Technology, Management; Hands-On Work Plays Bigger Role, With Some Lecture Courses Out

Cornell M.B.A. Melds Technology, Management

Hands-On Work Plays Bigger Role, With Some Lecture Courses Out

MELISSA KORN

Updated Nov. 26, 2013 12:18 p.m. ET

Can coders become business leaders? Cornell University is betting they can. Next spring, the university’s Johnson Graduate School of Management will launch a one-year M.B.A. designed to give engineers and software developers a grounding in management skills. The combination is crucial, employers say, as information technology shifts from a back-office function to a core business strategy. Read more of this post

Centuries-Old Italian Olive Trees Die as Scientists Track Killer

Centuries-Old Italian Olive Trees Die as Scientists Track Killer

A plant germ found in Europe for the first time is killing off centuries-old olive trees in southern Italy’s Apulia region, and researchers haven’t yet figured out how far the pathogen has spread. Scientists found xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium native to the Americas, in plants across Lecce province in Apulia’s south and are now widening their search to all the region, Anna Maria D’Onghia, head of integrated pest management at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, said by phone today. Read more of this post

Billionaire Retail Mogul Trains Kids to Beat Russia Soccer Elite

Billionaire Retail Mogul Trains Kids to Beat Russia Soccer Elite

Sergey Galitskiy took less than two decades to build OAO Magnit (MGNT) from scratch into Russia’s retail leader. With the wealth that’s brought him, the billionaire is training local kids to challenge the country’s soccer elite. Galitskiy, 46, created FC Krasnodar in 2008 and since then has spent more than $250 million bringing the southern Russian team up to a level to compete with the likes of Spartak Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg. That’s a fraction of the amounts lavished on soccer by some Russian billionaires as Galitskiy seeks to bring through the region’s best young talent, rather than spending vast amounts on the sport’s big names. Read more of this post

14th-century Singapore: The Silk Road of the Sea

14th-century Singapore: The Silk Road of the Sea

Nov 29th 2013, 2:00 by Banyan | SINGAPORE

TO THOSE who know Singapore as a thriving modern city, relentlessly striving towards the futuristic, it is something of a shock to learn that “Singapore’s golden age came to an abrupt end just before 1400.” Most visitors and even most residents think of Singapore as a place where nothing much happened until it was discovered by the British under Sir Stamford Raffles in the early 19th century. And it only really made something of itself after independence in 1965. Read more of this post

“Frozen,” from Disney, departs a bit from the company’s traditional princess formula

November 26, 2013

MOVIE REVIEW

From the Heat of Royal Passion, Poof! It’s Permafrost

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Anna, a princess besotted with a rogue, and Kristoff, the ice dealer who comes to her aid, with Olaf, the snowman who would be a beach bunny, in “Frozen.”

A beautiful princess with magical powers that she can’t control; an adorable snowman, with buck teeth and a carrot for a nose, who longs to sunbathe because no one ever told him that heat melts ice; a picture-perfect prince who is revealed to be a scheming, opportunistic cad. Read more of this post

On Thanksgiving, understanding what gratitude requires

On Thanksgiving, understanding what gratitude requires

By E.J. Dionne Jr., Thursday, November 28, 7:37 AM

Thanksgiving Day is awash in sentiment, but gratitude is not a sentiment. It’s a virtue. It’s certainly nice, but it is more than a feeling or an emotion. Properly understood, gratitude is hard because it entails both an admission and a demand. A genuine sense of gratitude is rooted in the realization that when I think about all that I am, all that I have and all that I might have achieved, I cannot claim to have done any of this by myself. None of us is really “self-made.” We must all acknowledge the importance of the help, advice, comfort and loyalty that came from others. Read more of this post

Gratitude is more than simple sentiment; it is the motivation that can save the world

Gratitude is more than simple sentiment; it is the motivation that can save the world

By Miles Kimball 30 minutes ago

Miles Kimball is an economics professor at the University of Michigan. He blogs about economics, politics and religion.

As my regular academic work slows down in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, my thoughts have turned toward gratitude. In a visceral way, I feel thankful for my family, for my work, for the exhilarating November air on a brisk walk around my neighborhood, for my friends both here in Ann Arbor and online, and for being alive in this very interesting era—in what I believe is still close to the dawn of human history, yet a time of great abundance compared to what has gone before in past centuries. Read more of this post

Where Is the Love? It’s easy to scorn the poor from a position of privilege. But, on Thanksgiving, maybe we need a conversation about empathy for fellow humans in distress

November 27, 2013

Where Is the Love?

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

When I’ve written recently about food stamp recipients, the uninsured and prison inmates, I’ve had plenty of pushback from readers. A reader named Keith reflected a coruscating chorus when he protested: “If kids are going hungry, it is because of the parents not upholding their responsibilities.” A reader in Washington bluntly suggested taking children from parents and putting them in orphanages. Jim asked: “Why should I have to subsidize someone else’s child? How about personal responsibility? If you procreate, you provide.” Read more of this post