Pimco Said to Have Considered Goldman’s Cohn for Top Job - Bloomberg Business
Pimco paid El-Erian a bonus of about $230 million in 2013 as part of an executive profit-sharing plan as the firm’s assets approached $2 trillion. Cohn was awarded $26.9 million for 2013, according to the Bloomberg Pay Index, which values an executive’s compensation as of the company’s fiscal year end. Since 2012, he’s taken home about $61.7 million, which includes salary and cash bonuses, as well as vested stock and exercised options that were granted in previous years, the index shows.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Japan Unleashes a Robot Revolution - Bloomberg Business
Japan Unleashes a Robot Revolution - Bloomberg Business
Two years ago, Google acquired Schaft, a startup founded by two University of Tokyo professors who’d developed a robot that walks on two legs. Schaft failed to line up local venture funding before turning to U.S. giant Google. “If we don’t create a culture of [venture] investment, there will be a lot of similar examples,” says Waseda University mechanical engineering professor Atsuo Takanishi.
Japan has a built-in edge over its rivals, starting with a deep and sophisticated domestic robotics industry, says Hal Sirkin, a senior partner and managing director at Boston Consulting. In factory robotics, “they can pretty much easily produce what they need.” Cheaper sensors, motors, and computing power have driven the cost of some industrial robots to as low as $25,000, down from $100,000 just a few years ago. That means small and midsize companies can afford advanced machines. With Japan’s declining workforce, job displacement won’t be as much of a barrier to rolling out more machines as it would in the U.S. By 2025, Japan’s robots could shave 25 percent off factory labor costs, says BCG.
U.S. Saw Islamic State Coming, Let It Take Ramadi - Bloomberg View
U.S. Saw Islamic State Coming, Let It Take Ramadi - Bloomberg View
The U.S. watched Islamic State fighters, vehicles and heavy equipment gather on the outskirts of Ramadi before the group retook the city in mid-May. But the U.S. did not order airstrikes against the convoys before the battle started. It left the fighting to Iraqi troops, who ultimately abandoned their positions....
...The U.S. intelligence community had good warning that the Islamic State intended a new and bolder offensive on Ramadi because it was able to identify the convoys of heavy artillery, vehicle bombs and reinforcements through overhead imagery and eavesdropping on chatter from local Islamic State commanders. It surprised no one, one U.S. intelligence official told me.
The U.S. watched Islamic State fighters, vehicles and heavy equipment gather on the outskirts of Ramadi before the group retook the city in mid-May. But the U.S. did not order airstrikes against the convoys before the battle started. It left the fighting to Iraqi troops, who ultimately abandoned their positions....
...The U.S. intelligence community had good warning that the Islamic State intended a new and bolder offensive on Ramadi because it was able to identify the convoys of heavy artillery, vehicle bombs and reinforcements through overhead imagery and eavesdropping on chatter from local Islamic State commanders. It surprised no one, one U.S. intelligence official told me.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
What's Really Driving Income Inequality - Bloomberg View
What's Really Driving Income Inequality - Bloomberg View
Consider Apple and McDonald’s. The Piketty perspective is that inequality rises because the top executives at both companies get much bigger raises than the rank-and-file. But the other possibility is that the average pay at Apple rises a lot relative to the average pay at McDonald’s, even as the wage gaps within each firm stay about the same.
Consider Apple and McDonald’s. The Piketty perspective is that inequality rises because the top executives at both companies get much bigger raises than the rank-and-file. But the other possibility is that the average pay at Apple rises a lot relative to the average pay at McDonald’s, even as the wage gaps within each firm stay about the same.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Europe as a "Welfare Museum" + Greece
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-05-25/greece-is-playing-a-huge-game-of-chicken-von-pfeil
Friday, May 22, 2015
Breaking Eggs
The 10-Point: My Guide to the Day's Top News. - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
The financial toll of the worst U.S. bird-flu outbreak in history is soaring. About 10% of the U.S. egg-laying flock has been wiped out. The egg-supply squeeze is pinching profits for some food makers, and prices at grocery stores are expected to rise as retailers pass along the higher costs. Egg-industry officials say that producers will be reeling for years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has allocated just under $400 million to cover claims from poultry farmers that have culled flocks to stem the spread of the disease.
The financial toll of the worst U.S. bird-flu outbreak in history is soaring. About 10% of the U.S. egg-laying flock has been wiped out. The egg-supply squeeze is pinching profits for some food makers, and prices at grocery stores are expected to rise as retailers pass along the higher costs. Egg-industry officials say that producers will be reeling for years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has allocated just under $400 million to cover claims from poultry farmers that have culled flocks to stem the spread of the disease.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Transforming the Tax Function into a Strategic Business Partner - Deloitte CFO - WSJ
Transforming the Tax Function into a Strategic Business Partner - Deloitte CFO - WSJ
As globalization accelerates, tax issues often become more complex and relevant to an organization’s business strategies. Increasingly, executives face demands by tax authorities for more information faster—sometimes in real time. They also face a growing number of IT challenges as commercial tax applications evolve to satisfy regulatory mandates.
In response, some leading companies have made a fundamental shift in the way they operate tax departments, transforming the tax function into a strategic business partner across the enterprise.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
The Materials Superhighway; TSCA and the Bioeconomy Pt 3 - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
The Materials Superhighway; TSCA and the Bioeconomy Pt 3 - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
A revolution in physical materials is occurring - aimed ultimately at displacing and competing with all physical commodities, such as steel, aluminum, chromium, plastics, crops, fuels and chemicals - a process which has already begun and will substantially accelerate in this generation - of which advanced fuels, chemicals, bioproducts and advanced food and feed are the earliest signs.
The Superhighway includes thousands of replacement molecules that are just now making it into the market. These are platform technologies that have been licensed or invested in by virtually every major oil, chemical, steel, and automotive producer.
In today's Digest, we look at revolutionary advances in nanocellulose, synthetic spider silk, graphene, fuels and chemicalsthat are changing the world around us and the geography of procurement รข€" today at biofuelsdigest.com.
A revolution in physical materials is occurring - aimed ultimately at displacing and competing with all physical commodities, such as steel, aluminum, chromium, plastics, crops, fuels and chemicals - a process which has already begun and will substantially accelerate in this generation - of which advanced fuels, chemicals, bioproducts and advanced food and feed are the earliest signs.
The Superhighway includes thousands of replacement molecules that are just now making it into the market. These are platform technologies that have been licensed or invested in by virtually every major oil, chemical, steel, and automotive producer.
In today's Digest, we look at revolutionary advances in nanocellulose, synthetic spider silk, graphene, fuels and chemicalsthat are changing the world around us and the geography of procurement รข€" today at biofuelsdigest.com.
Possibility of private investment in Eskom being considered, Treasury confirms
Possibility of private investment in Eskom being considered, Treasury confirms
Government would also consider amending regulations so that the private sector could build generating capacity to meet its own requirements and supply the surplus electricity to the grid.
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Government would also consider amending regulations so that the private sector could build generating capacity to meet its own requirements and supply the surplus electricity to the grid.
It is our preference that if you wish to share this article with others you should please use the following link:
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/possibility-of-private-investment-in-eskom-being-considered-treasury-confirms-2015-05-18/rep_id:3182
Biosimilars Are Here. Now What? | The Financialist
Biosimilars Are Here. Now What? | The Financialist
The market for biologics, which are often produced by genetically modified cells and act like naturally occurring substances, has grown fast and is still expanding. Biologics accounted for 29 percent ($159 billion) of global pharmaceutical sales (not including generics) in 2014, up from 10 percent in 2000, and are expected to reach a full 30 percent ($181 billion) by 2016, according to Credit Suisse’s biotech analysts. It’s the moment biosimilars have been waiting for, as the first generation of branded biologics is starting to lose exclusivity. -
See more at: https://www.thefinancialist.com/biosimilars-are-here-now-what/?utm_source=taboola&utm_term=bloomberg&utm_campaign=Global#sthash.GvBuR3it.dpuf
The market for biologics, which are often produced by genetically modified cells and act like naturally occurring substances, has grown fast and is still expanding. Biologics accounted for 29 percent ($159 billion) of global pharmaceutical sales (not including generics) in 2014, up from 10 percent in 2000, and are expected to reach a full 30 percent ($181 billion) by 2016, according to Credit Suisse’s biotech analysts. It’s the moment biosimilars have been waiting for, as the first generation of branded biologics is starting to lose exclusivity. -
See more at: https://www.thefinancialist.com/biosimilars-are-here-now-what/?utm_source=taboola&utm_term=bloomberg&utm_campaign=Global#sthash.GvBuR3it.dpuf
Monday, May 18, 2015
A Raid Doesn’t Make Up for Loss of Ramadi | Commentary Magazine
A Raid Doesn’t Make Up for Loss of Ramadi | Commentary Magazine
More important is to create Sunni military forces in both Syria and Iraq that are able and willing to fight against ISIS with American help. But there is scant sign of progress on this front, because the Obama administration has held U.S. policy in Iraq hostage to the dictates of Baghdad, where the Shiite sectarians who are in control are, to put it mildly, unenthusiastic about arming Sunnis.
That’s why Ramadi fell and why there will be little success in rolling back ISIS’ gains in Syria and Iraq–because Sunnis still see ISIS as the lesser evil compared to domination by Shiite extremists armed and supported by Iran. That is the fundamental strategic problem that must be addressed in order to make progress against ISIS. Special Operations raids, no matter how successful, are of scant importance by comparison.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Friday, May 15, 2015
Dwindling pensions a sticking point in Greece bailout talks - FT.com
Dwindling pensions a sticking point in Greece bailout talks - FT.com
“This situation can only get worse . . . The system has maintained high contribution rates even though pensions have been effectively halved . . . This puts severe constraints on hiring and encourages expansion in the informal labour market,” said Milton Nektarios, a former governor of IKA....
Pensions are a particularly sensitive issue in a country where 2.9m people — more than a quarter of the population — are formally retired even though 1m of them are still below 65.
“We still allow people to retire in their 50s on a full pension, for example mothers with underage children who have worked for 20 years,” said Platon Tinios, a Piraeus university professor and international pensions expert.
“This situation can only get worse . . . The system has maintained high contribution rates even though pensions have been effectively halved . . . This puts severe constraints on hiring and encourages expansion in the informal labour market,” said Milton Nektarios, a former governor of IKA....
“Structural reforms of the pension system remain unfinished because the funds are used by politicians for making patronage appointments,” Mr Nektarios said.
New Breed of Endowment Managers Beats Harvard at Its Own Game - Bloomberg Business
New Breed of Endowment Managers Beats Harvard at Its Own Game - Bloomberg Business
Stuart Mason, who oversees the University of Minnesota’s $1.3 billion endowment, also credits venture capital for its top one-year record. Mason said he spends a week every month in Silicon Valley scouting for investments in companies that back technology startups. The university also has a foundation managing an endowment that reports performance separately.
Stuart Mason, who oversees the University of Minnesota’s $1.3 billion endowment, also credits venture capital for its top one-year record. Mason said he spends a week every month in Silicon Valley scouting for investments in companies that back technology startups. The university also has a foundation managing an endowment that reports performance separately.
Wall Street Loves Peer-to-Peer Loans Despite Concerns of a Bubble - Bloomberg Business
Wall Street Loves Peer-to-Peer Loans Despite Concerns of a Bubble - Bloomberg Business
Is peer-to-peer lending out of control?
There’s certainly some cause for concern. Consider these facts: P2P loan volume is poised to hit $77 billion this year, a 15-fold increase from just three years ago. LendingClub, the No. 1 player worldwide, is trading at a market value of about $7 billion even though it lost $33 million last year. And in a flashback to the subprime mortgage boom, P2P startups have begun bundling and selling off loans through securitizations.
The business of matching lenders with borrowers online—which still amounts to only 0.08 percent of the $96 trillion in global corporate and household outstanding debt...
...pursuing loans that are generating 5 to 12 percent annual returns in an era of nonexistent interest rates. Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Alibaba, and even Google are making deals in the space.
In the U.K., holders of tax-free savings accounts known as ISAs may even soon be allowed to invest in P2P loans, a move that could draw Britain’s top asset management houses and provide £150 billion ($220 billion) in fresh cash by 2020, according to Liberum Capital, a London investment bank. “Every single lending product that a bank provides is vulnerable to this model,” says Cormac Leech, a senior analyst at Liberum.
And now Wall Street is cranking up the volume by running these loans through its securitization machine. In November, Morgan Stanley and Goldman led the sale of securities backed by $303 million in student loans originated by SoFi. In February, BlackRock unveiled the first investment-grade-rated package of P2P consumer loans with a $281 million offering of notes from Prosper Marketplace, a site that lets users apply for loans as well as back them.
Such deals will help P2P platforms spread risk and multiply loan volume, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Growth is good, right? Still, the specter of the subprime-mortgage bust looms over this nascent market.
...London-based RateSetter maintains a “provision fund,” which stood at £13 million as of May 14, to make lenders whole should borrowers default, a feature other sites are now imitating.
Most P2P firms also shun subprime borrowers. Zopa, a 10-year-old British firm that’s issued more than £800 million in consumer loans, approves only one out of five applicants. Both Zopa and RateSetter have default rates of less than 1 percent, while bad loans at LendingClub and Prosper are below 3 percent.
In the U.S. market, LendingClub and its brethren have enabled consumers to pay off pricey credit card balances with cheaper P2P term loans.
Renaud Laplanche, the founder and CEO of LendingClub,...says, the global lending market is so vast that platforms like his, which is multiplying its volume by 20 percent a quarter, won’t have to take on riskier borrowers for years....“There’s no need to loosen standards,” Laplanche says.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
supply chain analytics and Columbia Software Co.
The Morning Download: Google Corporate Security Looks Beyond Firewall and VPN - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
Columbia Sportswear says supply chain analytics pays off.Analytics software Columbia Software Co. using to track apparel through the supply chain has boosted its bottom line – something CIO Fred Pond said wasn’t possible with a tool the company built internally. "We’re raising gross margin because we’re selling products at full price versus discounting because we didn't move it around right," he tells CIO Journal.
Columbia Sportswear says supply chain analytics pays off.Analytics software Columbia Software Co. using to track apparel through the supply chain has boosted its bottom line – something CIO Fred Pond said wasn’t possible with a tool the company built internally. "We’re raising gross margin because we’re selling products at full price versus discounting because we didn't move it around right," he tells CIO Journal.
Monday, May 11, 2015
China Smartphone Market
China's smartphone market slows down. Experts say the slowdown of smartphone sales in China is largely driven by the disappearance of China’s first-time buyers. shipments in China fell 4.3% in the first quarter compared with a year ago for the first time in six years, according to a new survey set to be released on Monday by International Data Corp. Rival surveys show continued growth during the quarter, but at much slower levels than previously, says the WSJ’s Carlos Tejada and Eva !
Link (need subscription)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-smartphone-market-slows-down-1431296873?mod=djemCIO_h
Link (need subscription)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-smartphone-market-slows-down-1431296873?mod=djemCIO_h
The Morning Download: - BlockChain - Bitcoin Technology - Financial Disruptor
The Morning Download: Microsoft Recasts Windows as a Service, and CIOs Must Adjust - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
A bitcoin technology gets Nasdaq test. If Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.'s upcoming experiment with bitcoin's blockchain technology in its fledgling marketplace Nasdaq Private Market proves successful, it will use the technology in its stock market, the WSJ's Bradley Hope and Michael J. Casey report. Some see the blockchain as a way to attain a long-held securities-industry goal of real-time settlement. Private companies typically handle sales and transfers of shares with! largely informal systems, including spreadsheets maintained by lawyers who verify transactions by hand. Oliver Bussmann, chief investment officer of Swiss bank UBS AG, last year said the blockchain was the biggest disrupting force in the financial sector.
A bitcoin technology gets Nasdaq test. If Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.'s upcoming experiment with bitcoin's blockchain technology in its fledgling marketplace Nasdaq Private Market proves successful, it will use the technology in its stock market, the WSJ's Bradley Hope and Michael J. Casey report. Some see the blockchain as a way to attain a long-held securities-industry goal of real-time settlement. Private companies typically handle sales and transfers of shares with! largely informal systems, including spreadsheets maintained by lawyers who verify transactions by hand. Oliver Bussmann, chief investment officer of Swiss bank UBS AG, last year said the blockchain was the biggest disrupting force in the financial sector.
The Morning Download: Microsoft Recasts Windows as a Service, and CIOs Must Adjust - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
The Morning Download: Microsoft Recasts Windows as a Service, and CIOs Must Adjust - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
Bosch remakes company around 'Internet of things'. Robert Bosch GmbH, is trying to bridge Germany’s vaunted manufacturing know-how with American Internet savvy, the WSJ’s Christopher Alessi writes. The manufacturing giant in February disclosed it would acquire Cologne-based ProSyst Software GmbH, a 110-person producer of software for smart devices. Bosch in March said it would recruit some 12,000 new employees, a "growing number" of them for its ! software business. The company now has 3,000 software engineers working on the Internet of Things. Those coders won’t just be programming for Bosch. The company aims to promote his company by creating software platforms that others can easily access and adapt.
Bosch remakes company around 'Internet of things'. Robert Bosch GmbH, is trying to bridge Germany’s vaunted manufacturing know-how with American Internet savvy, the WSJ’s Christopher Alessi writes. The manufacturing giant in February disclosed it would acquire Cologne-based ProSyst Software GmbH, a 110-person producer of software for smart devices. Bosch in March said it would recruit some 12,000 new employees, a "growing number" of them for its ! software business. The company now has 3,000 software engineers working on the Internet of Things. Those coders won’t just be programming for Bosch. The company aims to promote his company by creating software platforms that others can easily access and adapt.
3D Printing: Prepare Now for Data Onslaught - Deloitte CIO - WSJ
3D Printing: Prepare Now for Data Onslaught - Deloitte CIO - WSJ
The use of 3D printers for mass producing many finished goods—such as cars, car parts, or luxury goods—may still be anywhere from two to five years away due to factors currently limiting enterprise adoption of 3D printing, according to Duncan Stewart, director of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications research for Deloitte Canada. And high-volume, low-value consumer goods like screws or paper clips may never be made with 3D printers.
The use of 3D printers for mass producing many finished goods—such as cars, car parts, or luxury goods—may still be anywhere from two to five years away due to factors currently limiting enterprise adoption of 3D printing, according to Duncan Stewart, director of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications research for Deloitte Canada. And high-volume, low-value consumer goods like screws or paper clips may never be made with 3D printers.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Why words are the new numbers | The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Why words are the new numbers | The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
econometrics of looking at word usages in big data
econometrics of looking at word usages in big data
Monday, May 4, 2015
The Morning Download: Facebook Opens Up its Free Global Internet Service - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
The Morning Download: Facebook Opens Up its Free Global Internet Service - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail
Physical stores benefit from digital-first strategy. Shortly after clothing retailer Saks launched a discount website, its outlet stores showed increased sales for items promoted online. "When customers use digital first, conversion in stores increases," Michael Burgess, president of HBC Digital, the digital technology unit of Hudson's Bay Co., tells CIO Journal.
Physical stores benefit from digital-first strategy. Shortly after clothing retailer Saks launched a discount website, its outlet stores showed increased sales for items promoted online. "When customers use digital first, conversion in stores increases," Michael Burgess, president of HBC Digital, the digital technology unit of Hudson's Bay Co., tells CIO Journal.
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