Chris Dillow argues that unacknowledged ignorance can cause real problems. Usually cloaked in phrases like humility and unassuming, bringing the concept that you may not know to the fore can be helpful in business. Ignorance
TJN’s appeal to the Queen seeks to draw a link between the contrasting prospects of those Commonwealth nations battling against poverty and those UK-linked tax havens that have attracted capital oversea because of the low tax and secrecy on offer.
“The victims of this secrecy include, among others, 2 billion Commonwealth citizens,” Christensen tells the Queen. “A recent study of 33 African countries found that they lost over $1tr in capital flight since the 1970s, of which $640bn came from 16 Commonwealth countries. These losses dwarf the external debts of ‘just’ $190bn for the 33 countries.”
The Queen is known to take a particular interest in her crown dependencies and overseas territories, which operate as largely self-governing jurisdictions. UK ministers have long been aware of the reputational risks of association with pariah tax havens but have frequently looked the other way, claiming their constitutional powers to intervene are negligible. Does the UK Lead Financial Secrecy Havens
Gina Din-Kariuki is the local shareholder of CAMAC Energy, a US-based New York Stock Exchange-listed company involved in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas. “We are going to be exploring for oil in this region. So one of these days you will see me with a hard hat.” Her entry into the energy sector makes Din-Kariuki one of very few women in Africa to actively invest in the energy sector.
“Maybe I will bring a little bit of glamour to the oil industry,” she says with a chuckle. But beyond bringing glamour, Din-Kariuki hopes to influence policies that will see Kenyans benefit from the country’s resources. This is also a serious long-term investment for her. Entrepreneurship in Kenya
While this article focuses on inequality issues in the US, every country in the world is having or will have similar problems. Whether countries are adjusting to post-industrial economies or speeding through their industrial phase at rapid rates caused in large part by technology, training people for the jobs societies can offer is a huge problem. The solution to the GINI problem, for people of both right and left persuasion, lies in jobs. Lloyd McAulay, a US lawyer and politician, examines the issues in the US. The GINI Problem in the US
Bloomberg News suggests:
Four changes turn the classic game into its deregulated — and more educational — variant:
1. Let every player borrow and lend from any other player. They are free to negotiate all terms, such as the interest rate, the repayment schedule, collateral and down payment requirements (if any), and what happens in the event of default. This allows players to borrow before buying any property.
2. Players who lend cash in exchange for pledges to be repaid can use those promises to secure loans from other players. They can also sell them.
3. Let players sell shares of the rental income generated by specific properties. The stakes can be traded and used as collateral for loans. Players can set their own rules about dilution and how to finance additional investments on their properties.
4. Let players write derivatives contracts with other players, such as insurance policies that pay out when a player lands on specific properties and options contracts that give a player the right to buy un-owned properties at preset prices from another player if he lands on it first. ReWriting Monopoly
Branson on Virgin Airways startup: At the airport, my final flight to the Virgin Islands was cancelled because of maintenance or something. It was the last flight out that night. I thought this was ridiculous, so I went and chartered a private airplane to take me to the Virgin Islands, which I did not have the money to do.
Then, I picked up a small blackboard, wrote “Virgin Airlines. $29.” on it, and went over to the group of people who had been on the flight that was cancelled. I sold tickets for the rest of the seats on the plane, used their money to pay for the chartered plane, and we all went to the Virgin Islands that night.
After speaking with our group, Branson sat on a panel with industry experts to talk about the future of business. As everyone around him was filling the air with business buzzwords and talking about complex ideas for mapping out our future, Branson was saying things like: “Screw it, just get on and do it.” Which was closely followed by: “Why can’t we mine asteroids?”
As I looked up at that panel, I realized that the person who sounded the most simplistic was also the only one who was a billionaire. Which prompted me to wonder, “What’s the difference between Branson and everyone else in the room?” Successful Entrepreneurs Begin Before They Are Ready
Part of the problem with understanding sex in Japan is cherry-picked data. Take the 2011 survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research on which sex-drought stories are often based. Its finding that 61 percent of unmarried men and 49 percent of single women between 18 and 24 of age weren’t in any kind of romantic relationship is mentioned up high. Rarely cited is this fact on Page 2 of the report: almost 90 percent of respondents intend to marry someday. And what about international comparisons? A recent Pew study found that 71 percent of unmarried Americans aren’t in committed relationships. Also, there can be big cultural and generational differences in the meaning of “single,” “dating” and “having sex.” There are important things to be learned from the Japanese experience. How do countries manage with large aging populations and low birth rates. William Pesek reports. Japan Faces Aging Population and Low Birth Rates
Until the Glass-Steagall Act is restored by the U.S. Congress, until prosecutors rid Wall Street of its serial wrongdoers parked in the executive suites, it’s best to pay careful attention. Are Wall Street Banks Unsafe?
An Italian judge ruled on Tuesday that Raoul Weil, the ex-UBS banker wanted in the United States over allegations of helping Americans dodge taxes, must remain in custody while awaiting possible extradition, a judicial source said. The decision was taken by a judge of the Court of Appeal in Bologna, where Weil, a Swiss citizen and former head of UBS’s global wealth management business, was arrested by Italian police on Saturday. Dealings with UBS were spelled out in detail in US Senate hearings in 2008. If the US is going to go after assets hidden in other countries, will legitimate revenue at last go into the coffers of the country of origin?
There are three quick and dirty tests for whether or not a business might be a candidate for franchising:
1. Is it a good moneymaker? The old rule of thumb is that the franchise company is going to take a royalty fee of about one-third of the expected or average profits to cover their service expenses and make money. Is that going to leave enough profit for the franchisee to get a good return on their money? If not, it will be very difficult to recruit franchisees.
2. Can you systemize the operation of the business to make it simple enough that any reasonably talented and smart individual can follow your instructions after a fairly short training program and be successful? If it is more difficult than that or requires a lot of special skills or education, it may not work because the prospective franchisee pool will be too small.
3. Is it fairly easy to market the business so that you attract a sufficient number of customers at a reasonable price? If not, then you’re going to end up with failures and that’s not going to be good for anyone. Franchising for Entrepreneurs
