Don’t end naked credit default swaps in Europe October 12, 2011 AT A TIME when the sovereign debt crisis is gripping Europe and threatening to destabilise the global economy, the European Union is considering doing something which would make global debt markets less efficient, less liquid and less transparent – making it more difficult rather than easier for EU states to raise money to fund their [...]
Bolder policies would help to limit job losses October 12, 2011 EVEN the government’s supporters admitted that yesterday’s unemployment figures were grim. The number of people out of work is now 2.57m, the highest for 17 years, with more than one in five young people now jobless. Labour was quick to make political capital out of it by blaming it on the government’s cuts, citing the [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 12, 2011 Women welcomed The article by Jennifer Harris in Wednesday’s Forum rather misses the point on women in the boardroom. Voluntary quotas are quite different from compulsory targets. Earlier this year, voluntary EU quotas were proposed to bring women into high-level positions in business and I welcomed them. However, when later in 2011 the previously voluntary [...]
Entrepreneurs: born or made with an MBA? October 12, 2011 DO not let Steve Jobs’s gown fool you in this photo. The recently departed, near-legendary founder of Apple and Pixar never finished his undergraduate degree, let alone got an MBA. In this picture, he is giving Stanford University’s 2005 commencement address. In the speech, he told his audience that he “couldn’t see the value” in [...]
The desirability of diversity at business school October 12, 2011 IT’S an accepted truth in business schools that diversity is a good thing. Meeting people from different cultures or sectors opens your eyes to how business is done elsewhere, helps you to challenge your own preconceptions, and also boosts your contacts book. But is diversity really all it’s cracked up to be? Should diversity play [...]
New ways to raise funds for your MBA October 12, 2011 FUNDING an MBA can be a tricky thing. Many schools offer grants and scholarships, often sponsored by businesses or donors, and some lucky students’ fees are paid by their businesses. But for many, stumping up the cash for those three little letters involves dealing with banks. As we all know, banks are not exactly keen [...]
Autocracy’s risky; but so is buying freedom too dear October 12, 2011 IT IS risky to invest in unstable countries, and autocracies are on average more unstable than democracies, despite some commentators’ views to the contrary. But surprisingly the data suggests that whether or not a country is democratic shouldn’t be a key factor for investors’ decisions. IMMORTAL DEMOCRACIES Stability and growth matter for investors. Happily, promoting [...]
The crema de la crema of coffee making machines October 12, 2011 BEING particular about how your coffee is made is no bad thing. Discernment is a means to an end – and when you want to make yourself a coffee on a glorious Sunday afternoon, just because you can, you want to have one that’s rightly made. It’s a confusing world of coffee machines out there, [...]
INTERVIEW | THE DIGITAL ENTREPRENEUR October 12, 2011 CHIEF EXECUTIVE THEBROWSER.COM Henry Lane Fox, brother of Martha (the UK’s official Digital Champion), is a digital expert and the chief executive of the Browser website. He began his career at lastminute.com before founding manufacturing network Maxipos.com and Amuse Bouche champagne bars. The Browser was founded by Economist journalist Robert Cottrell, and investor Al Breach, [...]
The sherry bar that’s rocking South London’s food scene October 12, 2011 TONIGHT, José Pizarro is a rock star in his own restaurant. He’s shaking everyone’s hand, or rather, everyone’s shaking his hand. Hardeep Singh Kohli, the Scottish Sikh presenter, and his chums are settling in round a pillar to order and are giving him the pats on the back. It could be because today the Bermondsey [...]
