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Capitalists Compete For A Piece Of Lenin

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

This is probably not what he imagined when he commissioned all those paintings and sculptures of himself.

  • The Hungarian government is auctioning off a bunch of Lenin memorabilia to help pay for cleanup of the massive wave of toxic waste that flooded Budapest this October.
  • Ads for the auction featured a picture of Lenin being struck on the head by the hammer from the communist hammer-and-sickle logo, along with the words “Never Again.”
  • Some bourgeois bidders are just picking up kitschy decoration for their homes, but others appear to be having a little communist-bloc nostalgia (see quote below).

Facts & Figures

  • Communism collapsed in Hungary more than 20 years ago
  • A small ceramic bust of Lenin sold to a 22-year-old for $1,000
  • The auction was held at a former warehouse of the Hungarian secret police

Best Quote

“When I was young, I didn’t really look deeply into the faults of the system. I lived a calm, secure life where bread cost 3.5 forints and everyone had a job.” – Gyorgy Torok, a real-estate entrepreneur struggling in the current economic climate

Jumo Picks Up Where Facebook’s “Causes” Left Off

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Jumo.com wants to “do what Yelp did for restaurants.” But do people want to connect with nonprofits as badly as they want to eat tasty food?

  • Chris Hughes, one of Facebook’s founding fathers (and if you watch the movie, they’re alllll fathers), has started a new kind of social networking site all about connecting people to the issues they care about.
  • Jumo indexes charities, projects, and causes to help users learn about them. It also gives charities big and small easier access to potential supporters.
  • Users sign up with their Facebook account, so sharing donation announcements and favorite causes/ organizations with friends is easy. The site also has some familiar Facebooky features – users can share and comment on pages, and see which organizations their friends like.

Facts & Figures

  • Hughes was the Chief Digital Organizer for Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008
  • Only 9% of the $300 billion in donations in 2009 were submitted online
  • Jumo launched with over 3,000 issues and organizations on the site

Best Quote

“It’s still not clear whether or not followers translate to volunteers and donors. But people that are more engaged with nonprofits are most likely to become a donor or support them in another way.” – Steve MacLaughlin, Director of Internet Solutions at BlackBaud, a tech consultancy serving nonprofits

Groupon Will Not Be Googled

Monday, December 6th, 2010

They can probably find a better deal anyway.

  • Google allegedly offered $6 billion for the popular online coupon company – the most expensive acquisition in Google history. The initial offer was between $3.5 – 4 billion.
  • Online coupons have never been more popular, and Google was eager to get a piece of the action. They think that advertising locally is about to become really, really big.
  • Groupon is currently owned by a private group of investors, but it may go for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2011.

Facts & Figures

  • Over 33 million people subscribe to Groupon’s daily emails
  • Google is currently sitting on $33 billion in cash and other assets
  • Groupon made $500 million in sales this year – it’s growing at a faster rate than Google or Amazon did

Budget Cuts Kill Hope For Arizona Transplant Patients

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

To help balance budgets, most states are trimming Medicaid benefits, but so far none have opted for denying people lifesaving transplants. That is, until now.

  • In October, Arizona stopped funding organ transplants for low-income patients relying on Medicaid (the state-funded healthcare program).
  • Transplants cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they’re the only hope of survival for many people. Doctors say these cuts are basically a death sentence for these patients, many of whom are already on a waiting list to receive an organ.
  • Some politicians are trying to reverse the situation, but the governor of Arizona, Republican Jan Brewer, blamed “Obamacare” (referring to the newly passed health care bill) for the cuts. Actually, Arizona voted to approve the measure before the national health care bill was signed into law.

Facts & Figures

  • The cuts affect roughly 100 people currently waiting for a transplant
  • Lung transplants, certain liver transplants, and some bone marrow and pancreas transplants will be discontinued, saving the state about $4.5 million
  • Private donors are now stepping in to help patients fund their operations

Best Quote

“I know times are tight and cuts are needed, but you can’t cut human lives. You just can’t do that.” –  Flor Felix, wife of denied liver transplant patient Francisco Felix

Thinking About Getting An MBA? Prepare For Possible Unemployment

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Compared to last year, it’s easier for MBAs to get a job, but nowhere near as easy as it was before the recession.

  • The recession has made it a lot harder for business-school grads to get a job, especially in the consulting and financial services industries.
  • Though companies are recruiting less, some schools have maintained relationships with those hiring sources. But schools that don’t have those relationships are having a much harder time hooking their grads up with jobs.
  • Companies that are hiring are focusing their recruiting efforts on schools located nearby, even more than the top-tier schools.

Facts & Figures

  • In 2009, 84% of business-school grads worldwide had  jobs within a few months of graduating; in 2010, that number rose to 88%
  • Industries now actively recruiting MBAs: healthcare, energy, technology
  • Median starting pay for business-school grads in 2010 was $78,820 in 2010; in 2009 it was $75,000

Best Quote

“Back in 2007 and 2008, students had flexibility to decide where they wanted to live and work. With outlooks tightening, students will take opportunities wherever they’re available.” – Nicole Hall, President of the MBA Career Services Council

“Tax Cuts For Millionaires” Democrats’ New Rallying Cry

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Republicans and Democrats are once again failing to compromise – this time it’s on a major tax decision for wealthy Americans.

  • During the Bush presidency, taxes were cut for pretty much everyone, at every income level. But now Congress is having a pretty heated debate about whether to renew them this month.
  • Republicans want to keep the tax cuts, but Democrats believe that raising taxes on the rich (to pre-Bush levels) is the only way to reduce our giant budget deficit and fund relief for Americans suffering from the recession.
  • Publicly, Democrats are fighting the extension of Bush-era tax cuts, calling them “tax cuts for millionaires.” But because opposition from Republicans is so strong, they may be forced to accept a renewal of today’s tax structure.

Facts & Figures

  • Republicans once coined the emotionally-charged term “death tax” to turn public opinion against estate taxes
  • Some Dems have proposed a compromise that only raises taxes on households making more than $1 million

Best Quotes

In the Democrats’ corner:

“Just as the death tax sort of put Democrats on the defensive on the estate tax, the millionaires’ tax is putting the Republicans on the defensive on tax policy. I think it is a potent issue with the public.” – New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer

The Republican perspective:

“They are trying to create class warfare. But I don’t care who they take it from. It’s still money out of the private sector.” – South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint

Investment Advice From A Banker’s Deathbed

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Some people would shatter under the weight of Gordon Murray’s diagnosis. But he channeled his remaining energy into creating a legacy.

  • In 2008, former Wall Street bond salesman Gordon Murray was diagnosed with brain cancer. Five months ago he decided to end his treatment and write “The Investment Answer.”
  • After 25-years of high-level jobs on Wall Street, Mr. Murray says he suddenly realized that everything he knew about investing was wrong. Actively managing (tinkering with) investment portfolios, he says, is useless at best, and harmful at worst.
  • Even as an experienced financial player, Murray found he didn’t actually know much about asset allocation. He learned the ropes in firms like Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, which valued risk and bravado over safety and simplicity. His book, full of simple investment advice, is aimed at investors who are in the same position he was.

Facts & Figures

The five choices Murray says every investor needs to make:

  • Only work with financial advisors who earn commission from you – not mutual funds or insurance companies
  • Diversify! Keep your money allocated between stocks and bonds, big and small, and value and growth
  • Make sure to include foreign investments to guard against economic disasters in the U.S.
  • Be skeptical of actively-managed funds… even experienced fund managers can’t predict the future of the market
  • Rebalance – sell your winners, buy more losers. It’s painful, but improves your returns in the long run

Best Quote

“It’s American to think that if you’re smart or work hard, then you can beat the markets.” – Gordon Murray

Throw Angry Birds For Stress Relief

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Congratulations, English! There’s now a thing called “entertainment snacking.”

  • Super-popular Angry Birds is just one of the “casual games” now dominating the digital marketplace. These games are accessible to nearly everyone because they’re rooted in basic physics concepts and extremely easy to understand.
  • A study showed that casual gaming actually reduced stress and improved mood in players, most of whom report that they play while waiting for appointments. One of the characteristics of Angry Birds is that it doesn’t punish players for failing – its feedback mechanism is reward-only.
  • Simple games aren’t new, but they’ve always been popular – just look at Tetris or Bejeweled. Alas, eventually all games run out of levels, so developers will have to keep innovating to feed the time-killing needs of their audience.

Facts & Figures

  • Angry Birds has sold more than 12 million copies since last year
  • The average session of casual gaming lasts less than 15 minutes
  • Famous Angry Birds addicts: David Cameron (the UK Prime Minister), Salman Rushdie, Conan O’Brien

Best Quote

“[I'm] something of a master at Angry Birds.” – Salman Rushdie, Booker Prize-Winning Novelist

No Fracking Way

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Shooting chemicals into New York State’s groundwater to capture an unsustainable energy source? Not in my backyard.

  • New York State is days away from approving a temporary ban (moratorium) on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. “fracking”).
  • Fracking (outside the parlance of Battlestar Galactica) is a method of drilling for natural gas trapped beneath shale rock. Water, chemicals, and sand are blasted into the rock until it gives, then the gas is collected.
  • Environmental groups, and now New York State legislators, are concerned about shooting harmful chemicals into the state’s water supply. Gas industry people disagree.

Facts & Figures

  • Natural gas trapped under the Marcellus Shale – a rock formation spanning NY, PA, OH, and WV – could meet U.S. gas demand for more than 10 years
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will release a report about fracking in 2012
  • The moratorium will go into effect when Governor Paterson signs it before the end of this year

Best Quote

“Right now, we think any time-out is a good one. The gas isn’t going anywhere.” – Craig Michaels, Watershed Program Director at

Ireland’s Cuts Don’t Touch Corporations

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Ireland is in pretty big financial trouble, and the government is looking everywhere for extra money. But it seems like it forgot to look at the super-low corporate tax rate.

  • Ireland is the next European country up for a bailout from its neighbors, but it will only receive the money if it manages to scrape together $20 billion on its own.
  • So far, the government has lowered the minimum wage and raised taxes on homeowners, but it hasn’t raised its famously low corporate tax rates.
  • The emerald nation attracts big multinational corporations because they benefit from these low tax rates. Corporations bring jobs and money, but many have found ways to funnel most of their profits outside of the country.

Facts & Figures

  • Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Pfizer all operate partially in Ireland
  • Google alone employs 1,500 Irish workers
  • Multinational corporations paid more than half of all corporate taxes last year

Best Quote

“People feel that on the one hand, corporations, including Irish banks, caused the crisis, and therefore the whole corporate sector should pay. On the other hand, because people are so nervous about the future, they know that the corporate tax is one of the factors that attracts foreign direct investment, and therefore it would be a delicate time to touch it.” – Paul Sweeney, Economic Advisor at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions

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