Category: Sector

The (Corporate) View from the Outside (CEO)


Companies in distress often recruit a new chief executive officer (CEO) from outside the firm. It looks like Woolworths is currently heading down this path, as could the National Rugby League. It has also been a succession strategy at telecommunications giants Vodafone and Telstra.

The underlying idea seems straightforward: find a highly skilled individual with no vested interests, pay them generously, and let them make the tough decisions needed to change the status quo.

CAREC Countries E-Commerce Progress


In 2015, Central Asia made some important improvements in the environment for cross-border e-commerce: Kazakhstan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will boost commercial transparency, while the Kyrgyz Republic’s membership in the Eurasian Customs Union expands its consumer base.

Why e-commerce?  Two reasons.

First, e-commerce reduces the cost of distance. Central Asia is the highest trade cost region in the world: vast distances from major markets make finding buyers challenging, shipping goods slow, and export prices high.

Obama Announces Ambitious Clean Energy Plan


President Barack Obama announced a plan to implement a fee oil companies would pay to fund investments in alternative energies.  The plan would impose a $10 fee on every barrel of oil paid by oil companies, which would be “gradually phased in over five years,” according to the White House.

The Pros and Cons of Disclosing Mental Health Issues at Work


Disclosing a mental health issue in a workplace is still a risky call for most workers, research indicates. Even though there is generally no legal duty to disclose to an employer and legal recourse if employees are discriminated against, disclosure can have its costs.

The Alphabet According to Google


We have got used to Google as a massive global success story. However, sometimes the detail is more interesting than the top line. On February 1 an announcement by the firm’s holding company Alphabet gave investors their first real insight into the relative performances of its different parts. In addition, it revealed a lot about a section of the operation of which we previously knew very little – the large number of investments into technologies that are some distance from the core businesses.

Strong-Arming Russia Over Oil


When Saudi Arabia led an OPEC decision to end a restraint put on oil production in November 2014, it marked the beginning of a new era in oil economics. It has given us a tumbling oil price, prompted huge losses and job cuts at oil firms like BP and might yet give us economic and political drama in the heart of Moscow. To understand why, it is worth drilling down to the start of the whole process, and the costs of getting oil out of the ground in the first place.

Published
Categorized as Energy

It’s Just (Trump) Business


Demagoguery aside, much of Donald Trump’s bid to gain the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States rests on his success as a businessman. It was his business fortune that meant he could kickstart his bid with $1.8m of his own money. However, how credible a business leader is he? In addition, in light of his track record, should he be trusted to run the US?

Coping with Low Oil Prices


Oil prices have tumbled to new lows in 2016. Slowing demand and a glut of supply has made the oil market incredibly bearish. However, while prices have halved over the past year, the number of mergers and acquisitions has most definitely not. In addition, a surge in deal making can be expected over the coming year.

Published
Categorized as Energy

Maximizing Labor Market Performance


Research has demonstrated that in general, training has a positive impact on an individual’s labor market performance: wages grow faster after training, training has positive impact on employment security and training increases the probability of re-employment after job loss.