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The SEC Boosts Investors’ Influence Over Management

Friday, July 30th, 2010

In the lopsided world of shareholder voting, investors have to posses incredible gumption to effect any kind of change within a company.

  • In most companies, the management owns the majority of the stock, meaning that shareholders have little influence in a company’s policies.
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to even the playing field for shareholders, making it easier for them to effect change within a company.
  • The SEC is imposing nonproxy measures – like electronic surveys – to gauge whether or not investors support management. And yet, despite these efforts, because of money and knowledge, the management still wields most of the power.

Best Quote

“Time and again, we have brought opportunities [for mergers or acquisitions] to the attention of the board. Each time, he says, the suggestion was rebuffed or ignored. It’s been a decade of complete nonaction.” – Shareholder, Cadus Corportation

Tax Break And Debate

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Republicans and Democrats squabble over the extension of tax breaks for middle income families.

  • Debates over taxes and spending in Washington are prevalent as both parties attempt to address The Unites States’ ballooning budget deficit.
  • Democrats advocate extending tax cuts for the middle class while eliminating tax cuts for higher income Americans.
  • Republicans say that it is unwise to allow upper income tax breaks to expire, insisting that it will weaken an already unstable economy.

    Best Quote

    “Washington Democrats are poised to allow the largest tax increase in American history to take effect next year.” – Mike Pence, Republican, Indiana

    Baltimore Hires For Healthy Food

    Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

    Providing healthy food to Baltimore’s poor residents has been given a face, and a salary

      • Baltimore recently became one of the first U.S. cities to hire a “food czar” – someone who works to make healthy food more accessible to the city’s poor residents.
      • But Holly Freishat, Baltimore’s food czar, lacks a budget for major food programs and so spends most of her time raising grant money.
      • Despite these challenges, Ms. Freishtat’s paid position signifies a hefty improvement in the effort to provide healthy food to a city’s residents. Though many cities have food-policy councils, few of them have managed to implement lasting changes.

      Facts & Figures

      • Ms. Freishat is paid for 30 hours of work per week
      • New York, Boston, and Kansas City have also hired food policy directors

      New Job-Training Programs Are Looking Good

      Monday, July 26th, 2010

      A new report shows job-training programs prove to be a great way to bolster employment numbers.

      • Job-training programs typically collaborate with specific industries (like construction and health care, for example).
      • Participation in a job-training program can significantly increase an unemployed or low-skilled worker’s likelihood of getting hired.
      • Certain elements from the programs contribute to their success, such as linking to employers and screening the participants.
      • These programs must identify employers’ needs, screen for suitable program participants, be able to fund the training and hire the staff needed to train.

      Facts and Figures

      • Program participants earned an average of 29% more than those who didn’t attend.
      • Job-training programs are active in 40 states.

      Best Quote

      “It’s very easy for someone to say, ‘We have a sectoral-employment strategy,’ particularly when more money may be coming from Washington. We really wanted to make sure we were doing this with our eyes wide open, to help scale the positive findings in the study.” – Nadva K. Shmavonian, President of Public/Private Ventures, which authored the report

      On Amazon, E-Book Sales Surpass Hardcovers

      Monday, July 26th, 2010

      The convenience of the skinny Kindle sways more customers.

      • Sales of the Kindle, Amazon.com’s digital book reader, have skyrocketed and Amazon reports that it is now selling more electronic books than hardcover editions.
      • In order to compete with other e-readers made by Apple and Sony, Amazon slashed the price of the Kindle almost in half - a move that increased sales even further.
      • The growing popularity of the e-book boosted Amazon stock, reversing a steady decline since the recession.

      Facts & Figures

      • Amazon has sold 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardcover books
      • Amazon will probably sell 3.7 million Kindles this year

      Best Quote

      “We’ve reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books — astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.” – Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive of Amazon.com

      Early Exhaustion In Online Journalism Careers

      Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

      The Internet has turned many news outlets into frenzies of über-competitive racing to break even the smallest tidbits of news, and many young journalists can’t handle the pressure.

      • The Internet has changed the way journalism works, and now many young people who envisioned trips to exotic locales to capture groundbreaking stories are instead tasked with sitting at their computers and watching for the smallest pieces of information to publish.
      • Editors now foster competitiveness by posting the most-viewed articles on their sites and even calculating paychecks based on how many clicks a writer’s articles have gotten.
      • These conditions have led to increased turnover at news outlets like Gawker and Politico, with many young journalists leaving quickly because they’re exhausted.

      Facts & Figures

      • The top editors at Politico wake up as early as 4:30 am on workdays (a typical newspaper workday is from 10 am to 7 pm).
      • Out of a staff of just 70 reporters and editors, about a dozen of Politico’s employees quit in the first half of this year.
      • An entry-level reporting job at Politico can pay as much as $40,000 per year.

      Best Quote

      “At a paper, your only real stress point is in the evening when you’re actually sitting there on deadline, trying to file. Now at any point in the day starting at 5 in the morning, there can be that same level of intensity and pressure to get something out.” – Jim VandeHei, Politico’s Executive Editor

      Using Social Media To Nonprofits’ Advantage

      Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

      Nonprofits are learning that the interactive and communicative elements of fund-raising are essential for raising money with social media.

      • On Facebook, direct fund-raising has proven to be unsuccessful.
      • Nonprofits raise more money when donors can engage in the philanthropy (through dialogue and games, for example) rather than direct solicitations.
      • Establishing relationships between Facebook users and real-world outcomes has led to more people donating to a cause.
      • Zynga (the largest game developer on Facebook) has partnered with Water.org and Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) and has raised more than $130,000 for the causes.

      Facts & Figures

      • 61.1% of nonprofits reported little to no results when fund-raising through social media.
      • More than 235,000 nonprofits are on Facebook, but a relatively small number of them have donor funds.

      Should We Let Computers Make Our Investing Decisions?

      Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

      Dissatisfied with human beings’ powers of intelligence, several firms are trying to use AI to create the ultimate investor.

      • Using a branch of artificial intelligence called “machine learning,” some investors are trying to create an AI that can analyze market data, make predictions about the future, decide which stocks to buy and sell, and learn from its mistakes.
      • The advantage of using an AI program is that it can process huge amounts of data in a short time. But there is no guarantee that the program’s calculations will remain accurate if fundamental market conditions change.
      • One of the companies pioneering this type of AI is Rebellion Research, a small hedge fund based in New York run by a quartet of investors in their 20′s. In recent years, the company has performed better than both the Dow and the S&P 500.

      Facts & Figures

      • Rebellion Research has beaten the S&P 500 index by an average of about 10% a year since 2007.
      • In 2009, the hedge fund increased by 41%, whereas the Dow only increased by 19%.
      • Star, Rebellion Research’s AI program, keeps track of approximately 30 factors that affect a stock’s market performance. It usually holds between 60 and 70 stocks at any given moment.

      Best Quote

      “It’s pretty clear that human beings aren’t improving.But computers and algorithms are only getting faster and more robust.” – Spencer Greenberg, one of the founders of Rebellion Research

      The Bumpy Roads Of India’s Growing Economy

      Monday, July 19th, 2010

      Public projects in India are unpredictable and foreign investors are watching.

      • India’s rapidly growing economy could be hindered by the sorry state of their public roads.
      • India’s roads are narrow and often unnavigable. Their condition often stalls industrial activity and sometimes causes perishable goods to spoil before reaching their destination.
      • India is looking towards foreign investors to fund a massive reparation of India’s roads. However, because of India’s reputation for poorly completed infrastructure projects, few outsiders are game to invest.

      Facts & Figures

      • National highways account for only 2% of India’s total road network
      • New Delhi plans to build 7,000 km of new road every year

      Best Quote

      “Delays are a fact of life in India, and investors know it.” – J.N. Singh, member of finance, National Highways Authority of India.

      The Point Of No Return

      Monday, July 19th, 2010

      It seems that no funds are consistent enough to weather the worst economies, no matter how reliable they seem.

      • In the wake of the economic crisis, more people are investing in “absolute return” funds - portfolios that supposedly deliver gains in any kind of market.
      • Firms advertise these funds as low-risk investments because they focus on short duration and high quality securities.
      • It seems, however, that the name of these funds might be misleading. In recent months they have been gaining little, and in some cases even been posting losses.

      Facts & Figures

      • The Aston/New Century Absolute Return exchange-traded fund lost 9.51% in June

      Best Quote

      “You just have to be careful that absolute return doesn’t turn into no return.” – Mr. Tuttle, Financial adviser

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