Category: finance
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The Age Wave: Are Retiring Baby Boomers the Recession Culprits?
Did the American economist Harry Dent correctly predict the recession, and is it really the fault of retiring baby boomers? Dent popularised the ‘age wave’ theory through his research on “the highly predictable nature of consumer spending based on a family formation pattern”. Some experts expect the worst consumer recession since 1980 to occur when…
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Recession Winners and Losers
Chris Yeh of Adventures in Capitalism answers the question: “Who are the winners and losers when an economy is in recession?” Losers Conferences Consultants Advertising-driven Companies Angel-funded Companies First-time Entrepreneurs/First-time VCs Anyone looking for money Winners Online Porn/MMOs/Virtual Worlds Low Cost Providers People With Cash Bootstrappers Liquidators As Chris says, “if you have a bootstrapped…
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Where a Book’s Cover Price Goes
Ever wondered what we pay for when we buy a book? Ever been interested in how the cover price gets divided between those involved; the author, retailer, publisher, etc.? Based on figures produced by The Observer, BookTwo has produced a wonderfully simple infographic depicting the percentages of the split (for a £20 hardback): Retailer: 55%…
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Startups and Bad Economies
Two weeks ago the renowned VC firm Sequoia Capital gave their portfolio CEOs a presentation on how startups should deal with the bad economy. In the presentation, the “entrepreneurs behind the entrepreneurs” gave some good advice any startup should follow in good and bad times (for example, “spend every dollar as if it were your…
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A Capitalist Manifesto and Capitalist Values
“The financial crisis is not the crisis of capitalism. It is the crisis of a system that has distanced itself from the most fundamental values of capitalism, which betrayed the spirit of capitalism.” – Nicolas Sarkozy Two excellent articles on the future of capitalism: A Capitalist Manifesto, Judy Shelton for The Wall Street Journal What…
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Library of Economics and Liberty
Approaching its tenth anniversary, the Library of Economics and Liberty still continues to be the première resource for economic reference and thought. Highlights of the site include: EconLog, written by Arnold Kling and Bryan Caplan: “issues and insight in economics” The award-winning EconTalk podcast: “economics in daily life” In addition to the multitude of online…
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Following the Diamond Trade
Foreign Policy presents A Trail of Diamonds – a photo essay following the diamond trade from mine to bride. It reminds me of a Janine Roberts interview (author of Glitter and Greed) where she discusses how the manipulation of supply and advertising created the myth of the diamond wedding ring and made Ernest Oppenheimer (who…
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The Cost of Firing: A Comparison of Severance Packages
With cost-cutting and downsizing on peoples’ minds, The Economist compares the cost of firing people around the world. America, New Zealand and Tonga are among the most company-friendly countries, requiring no penalties or compensation to fire a full-time employee of 20 years. By contrast, a business in Zimbabwe must shell out well over eight years’…
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The Four Kinds of Free
In addition to the gift economy, Chris Anderson of The Long Tail describes the three other business models in today’s ‘free’ economy. Paid products subsidizing free products Paying later subsidizing free now Paying people subsidizing free people
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10 Links for a Better Understanding of Today’s Financial Crisis
One of the few people I listen to on financial matters, Ramit Sethi, has produced a great list of 10 links to walk you through today’s financial crisis — and make you smarter than 99% of other people. I would provide you with the 10 here, but it’s best to go to Ramit’s article for…