Bamboo Innovator

The fumbles that led to Forge Group’s demise: CEO David Simpson, a former rugby player, was tripped by projects that cost him the game

The fumbles that led to Forge Group’s demise

February 15, 2014

Brian Robins

CEO David Simpson, a former rugby player, was tripped by projects that cost him the game.

For David Simpson, it was pretty much the dream job: his first gig as chief executive of his own public company.

After an extensive background in the construction sector, working for ABB and Leighton, he had most recently run UGL’s resources arm, a $1 billion business. So stepping up to run his own show was the opportunity of a lifetime. Read more of this post

Australia needs to smarten up its act with manufacturing exports; The decline of large-scale manufacturing leaves a gap for hungry small businesses to fill

Australia needs to smarten up its act with manufacturing exports

February 15, 2014

Georgia Wilkins, Ruth Williams.

The decline of large-scale manufacturing leaves a gap for hungry small businesses to fill

Hybrid Electronics is the kind of business that has been touted as the future of local manufacturing.

The Melbourne-based company’s highly skilled workforce makes high-tech products for a niche market. Read more of this post

Deloitte Anjin faces credibility crisis; Accounting firm suspected of “deliberately” inflating Ssangyong Motor’s losses

2014-02-14 16:50

Deloitte Anjin faces credibility crisis

Accounting firm suspected of inflating Ssangyong’s losses

 Accounting firm suspected of inflating Ssangyong’s losses

By Na Jeong-ju
Deloitte Anjin is at risk of losing market trust because of allegations that it “deliberately” inflated potential losses of Ssangyong Motor to help it cut more than 2,600 jobs in 2009.
Last week, an appeals court ruled that the layoffs were invalid because it was based on the accounting firm’s “wrong” evaluation of Ssangyong’s value. If the ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, the fired Ssangyong workers will get their jobs back. Read more of this post

The ‘Made in Canada’ brand: Does it even make any economic difference?

The ‘Made in Canada’ brand: Does it even make any economic difference?

Armina Ligaya | February 15, 2014 7:00 AM ET

Canada enjoys an enviable reputation around the world for being a stable and friendly economic powerhouse with wide expanses, and, of course, a hockey-loving, maple-syrup churning, multicultural population. Read more of this post

China’s Risky Reforms

Ian Bremmer is President of Eurasia Group and the author of Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World.

David Gordon, a former director of policy planning in the US State Department, is Chairman and Head of Research at Eurasia Group.

FEB 14, 2014

China’s Risky Reforms

NEW YORK – When it comes to economic reform, China’s leaders no longer believe that time is on their side. With a new sense of urgency, President Xi Jinping and his inner circle are attempting one of the most ambitious economic and social-policy reform plans in history. Read more of this post

China $160 mln investment vehicle misses four scheduled payments, as fears grow that potential financial sector defaults could roil markets in the world’s second-biggest economy

Updated: Friday February 14, 2014 MYT 4:05:51 PM

China $160 mln investment vehicle misses payments

SHANGHAI: A US$160mil investment vehicle sold by China’s second-largest bank has missed four scheduled payments, state media reported, as fears grow that potential financial sector defaults could roil markets in the world’s second-biggest economy.

The “Songhuajiang River No.77” product, which raised a total of 972.7 million yuan (US$160mil) in six tranches, had failed to repay investors’ capital and interest four times by early February, the 21st Century Business Herald reported late Thursday.

Investors were also informed by Jilin Province Trust, which structured the product, that they will not receive the fifth payment due on February 19, according to the report.

China Construction Bank promoted the scheme, which funded a coal company, as a “risk-free and high-yield” investment, promising annual returns of 9.8 percent, investors told the paper.

The news comes after a possible default on a $500 million investment product, sold by the country’s largest bank ICBC and also backed by a loan to a debt-ridden coal firm, was averted in late January just three days ahead of deadline.

Analysts worry that China likely faces further problems in the trust sector.

A total 5.3 trillion yuan worth of trust products will mature this year, up 50 percent from 2013, state media have reported, citing research from Haitong Securities.

Default on such investment products would send a shockwave through China’s multi-trillion dollar “shadow banking” system – a massive network of lending outside formal channels – in the world’s second-largest economy, analysts said.

With the “Songhuajiang River No.77” product, the coal firm it was supposed to fund, Shanxi Liansheng Energy, filed for bankruptcy reorganisation in November last year after incurring around 30 billion yuan of debts.

“As far as we know, there’s no problem with the firm’s assets. The firm is negotiating with investors,” 21st Century Business Herald cited Jilin Province Trust as saying.

“We are all very anxious,” the official Shanghai Securities News on Wednesday quoted an investor as saying ahead of the February 19 maturation. Read more of this post

Hong Kong’s financial future hangs on getting the right mix

Published: Saturday February 15, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Hong Kong’s financial future hangs on getting the right mix

BY TAN SRI ANDREW SHENG

Hong Kong’s financial future hangs on getting the right mix

HONG Kong is currently engaging the public on its population policy. The policy paper is a very informative and educational document, full of useful statistics and asks what the citizens want for their own people, in terms of quantity and quality. Read more of this post

Johor chokes on property; The property market in Johor, particularly Iskandar Malaysia, might be a case of too much too soon.

Updated: Saturday February 15, 2014 MYT 10:34:05 AM

Johor chokes on property

BY WONG WEI-SHEN AND ZAZALI MUSA

The extra property supply would not pose an issue if foreign developers were attracting foreign buyers rather than targeting only domestic buyers.

THE property market in Johor, particularly Iskandar Malaysia, might be a case of too much too soon. Read more of this post

Lego Builds an Empire, Brick by Brick

Lego Builds an Empire, Brick by Brick

By GREGORY SCHMIDTFEB. 14, 2014

In this week’s top-grossing children’s movie, not only skyscrapers but actors built of tiny bricks inhabit a rather dystopian world known as “Lego-verse.”

That new realm, in “The Lego Movie,” which earned a near record-breaking $69.1 million when it debuted last weekend, represents the Lego Group’s first foray onto the big screen. Read more of this post

Politics, Fed could whip up new emerging markets storm

Politics, Fed could whip up new emerging markets storm

Fri, Feb 14 2014

By Natsuko Waki

LONDON (Reuters) – A stabilization in emerging marketsafter January’s rout may turn out be the calm before the storm if political flare-ups and Fed policies provide the spark for the next round of selling. Read more of this post

Rent-seeking culture dampens entrepreneurial spirit

Rent-seeking culture dampens entrepreneurial spirit

Saturday, Feb 15, 2014

The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – Property developers and agents should refrain from using words and phrases like “unnerving” and “not sustainable” when referring to the current state of the property market (“CDL chief calls for review of property cooling measures”; last Saturday). Read more of this post

Over-enthusiasm for emerging markets is just one fashion I have seen in the past 16 years, says Mohamed El-Erian

February 14, 2014 6:10 pm

Emerging-world fashions that change with the seasons

By Mohamed El-Erian

Over-enthusiasm for emerging markets is just one fashion I have seen in the past 16 years, says Mohamed El-Erian

As I prepare to step down from Pimco at the end of March, emerging markets are once again in the news for all the wrong reasons. In Argentina the currency has collapsed, Thailand and Ukraine are riven with political conflict, and Turkey is shaky. Read more of this post

Brazil housing bubble fears as economy teeters

February 14, 2014 4:48 pm

Brazil housing bubble fears as economy teeters

By Samantha Pearson in São Paulo

Thalita de Jesus Moreira had just given birth to her fifth child when she moved to New Palestine, a vast squatter settlement on the outskirts of São Paulo.

Her landlady had left her with little choice, she says – late last year the monthly rent for her family’s bedsit nearby was increased to R$500 ($207), almost as much as the minimum wage her husband was earning as a caretaker at a factory. Read more of this post

Crisis-hit European utilities square up to technological revolution

February 14, 2014 5:15 pm

Crisis-hit European utilities square up to technological revolution

By Guy Chazan

Faced with a grim present and an even grimmer future, Europe’s utilities are being forced to reinvent themselves – and adapt to a technological revolution in home energy services.

Once unassailable incumbents are under pressure as never before, squeezed by the explosive growth of renewables and low wholesale energy prices. Read more of this post

Corporate wealth divisions throw a mirror on society; Evidence growing of a ‘winner takes all’ economy

February 14, 2014 6:06 pm

Corporate wealth divisions throw a mirror on society

By Brooke Masters

Evidence growing of a ‘winner takes all’ economy

For months now, the improving economic indicators in both the UK and the US have not been mirrored in better results from many companies – particularly those that cater to consumers.

That split was heightened this week as the Bank of England unveiled surprisingly bullish economic forecasts in which it predicted UK growth would hit 3.4 per cent for 2014, instead of 2.8 per cent as forecast. Read more of this post

Does Australia have too many accountants

Does Australia have too many accountants?

February 12, 2014 – 4:00PM

Edmund Tadros and Agnes King

It used to be one of the safest career choices. But while Australians are deserting the accounting profession, an avalanche of foreign accounting students has hit our universities, prompting a fight between the government and big firms about how many accountants we actually need. Read more of this post

The real story behind the biggest collapse in modern Canadian legal history; Heenan Blaikie reveals the flaw of the partnership model

Ian Holloway: Heenan Blaikie reveals the flaw of the partnership model

Ian Holloway, Special to Financial Post | February 11, 2014 | Last Updated:Feb 11 2:05 PM ET
So a giant has fallen. Last week, the remaining partners of the law firm of Heenan Blaikie LLP voted to dissolve the partnership and to wind up the business

. Practice groups have decamped to firms that, until a short time ago, were rivals. A rump tried to become the Canadian bridgehead of global firm DLA Piper, but those talks appear to have failed. Read more of this post

The politics behind China’s banned banquets

The politics behind China’s banned banquets

Staff Reporter

2014-02-12

Extravagant banquets may now be frowned upon by China’s ruling Communist Party, but they were once considered one of the most important tools for climbing the political ladder in China, reports Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese. Read more of this post

Private lending crisis cripples coal city of Ordos

Private lending crisis cripples coal city of Ordos

Staff Reporter

2014-02-12

After the housing market bubble burst in the city of Ordos in Inner Mongolia, which led to the liquidation of many of the city’s residents’ financial assets, people who funded the construction of the city have begun demanding a refund for their money from fundraisers, the Chinese-language Securities Times reports. Read more of this post

Watch out Woolies: Aldi’s rapid growth could open the door for others; Aldi has almost doubled its share of the $82 billion Australian grocery market and now accounts for more than 10 per cent of grocery sales

Watch out Woolies: Aldi’s rapid growth could open the door for others

February 12, 2014 – 4:54PM

Sue Mitchell

The rapid growth of German-owned supermarket Aldi in Australia could open the door for more foreign grocery chains, analysts say.

Aldi has almost doubled its share of the $82 billion grocery market and now accounts for more than 10 per cent of grocery sales, knocking Metcash’s IGA supermarket network out of third place. Read more of this post