Why Africa is leaving Europe behind: Africans are relishing something of a reversal in roles. The former colonial powers in Europe are wrestling with debt crises, austerity budgets, rising unemployment and social turmoil. By contrast much of sub-Saharan Africa can point to robust growth, better balanced books and rising capital inflows. There is an opportunity in this novel scenario: for Africa to assert itself on the global stage, and for European countries to take advantage of their historic footprint in Africa by stimulating commercial expansion to their south. But it is far from clear either side will grasp it. Recently.
posted by infini
on Aug 21, 2011 -
27 comments
A simple idea: take an ordinary savings account, but instead of paying interest to account holders, hold a lottery to see who gets the lump sum. Freakonomics Radio investigates Prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts (
Part 1,
Part 2), which combine two things that seem completely at odds with each other: saving money and gambling. In Highland Park, MI,
PLS accounts have been very successful at converting "non-savers" into "savers". Why hasn't it caught on in the US? It's illegal in most states, of course.
posted by Jonathan Harford
on Dec 2, 2010 -
33 comments
A Glimpse of the World All across Africa, new tracks are being laid, highways built, ports deepened,
commercial contracts signed -- all on an unprecedented scale, and led by China, whose
appetite for commodities seems
insatiable. Do China's grand designs promise the transformation, at last, of a star-crossed continent? Or merely its exploitation?
The author travels deep into the heart of Africa, searching for answers.
[more inside]
posted by kliuless
on Apr 26, 2010 -
20 comments
Sellaband launched in August of 2006. You get the chance to buy $10 shares in a band and when they reach $50,000 they get to record an album - it was met with
cynicism in some quarters. Ten months later six bands have reached the $50,000 mark and the
first two albums are available [Dutch nu-metallers
Nemesea & Hawaiian singer-songwriter
Cubworld] with
four other artists about to enter the studio -
Second Person from the UK,
Clemence from France,
Lily from the US and
Maitreya from New Zealand.
posted by meech
on Jun 26, 2007 -
10 comments
Bubbleprice.com is the handy guide for Internet startup entrepreneurs to use to calculate their next investment round. If you've recently raised money for your startup, how do you plan to use it? If you're working for a startup, better hope
Matt Marshall doesn't tag you with the dreaded
bubble tag.
posted by gen
on Jan 7, 2007 -
7 comments
Big Business As Usual. "In
announcing their record settlement with 10 Wall Street firms accused of misleading investors with bogus recommendations, [the Securities and Exchange Commission] also released new e-mail records showing stock experts chortling about how they were making out like bandits at the expense of the average investor",
and revealed troubling insights into the way Wall Street really works: "Merrill Lynch initiated coverage of LFMN on September 28, 2000 with a 2-1 [10-20% appreciation forecast short term, 20% appreciation forecast long term], when LFMN traded at $22.69.
At that time, Merrill Lynch was pursuing an investment banking relationship with LFMN. After Merrill Lynch initiated research coverage, LFMN's price declined to the....$3-5 range in December. On December 4, 2000, Blodget e-mailed a fellow analyst,'LFMN at $4. I can't believe what a POS [piece of shit] that thing is. Shame on me/us for giving them any benefit of doubt.' Merrill Lynch's research report on LFMN dated December 21, 2000,
[reiterates] a 2-1 rating..."
And the "record settlement" with these common swindlers in three piece business suits from our brave SEC?
For Wall Street, Fines Are A Day's Pay.
posted by fold_and_mutilate
on May 7, 2003 -
23 comments
Sunday's Investment Tip: Snark Inc. This wasn't the sort of
snark I was looking for but it's too amusing to pass over. Worth singling out: the
Globalization game; the
Snark,
Snarquila and
Serf commercials (
this last one good enough to go legit, imho); the
Corporate Culture documentary and the
Careers questionnaire. All in all, healthy anti-capitalist fun for the whole family! [
Click on "View"; Flash required.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Jul 14, 2002 -
6 comments
Scientists will tell you that Hydrogen is the most common element in all of nature.
Me, I think the scientists have it all wrong. I think the universe is really made out of
irony
posted by BentPenguin
on Mar 12, 2002 -
9 comments
Fake profits are causing the stock market to descend. Could someone explain to me the meaningful difference between Enron and Amazon.com? One company recently reported fake profits of $5 million, while having billions in debt. Enron, well...no profits either, and billions in debt. So why is Amazon.com considered "promising"? Enron had a revenue stream too.... Prediction: Amazon.com's stock will be "revalued" sharply lower as people get lucid about real profits and as the accounting/profit scandals spread.
posted by ParisParamus
on Feb 4, 2002 -
19 comments
The Catch with Wells Fargo's Share Builder Some of you may have seen Wells Fargo's ads touting $4 per transaction and unlimited transactions for $12. The main catch is that you cannot trade every day. From their FAQ- "ShareBuilder trades can be made the first, second, third or fourth Tuesday of each month. You select which day you would like your trade to take place when setting up your ShareBuilder Plan. In the event of a month with five Tuesdays, no ShareBuilder trades will take place on the fifth Tuesday."
When the rest of the world is going to real-time trading, why do you think Wells Fargo is pushing this? Do you think it is deceptive that this is not mentioned up-front?
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy
on Dec 12, 2001 -
10 comments
Nader Responds to Accusations of Hypocrisy “I will fight for the U’wa and investor accountability by backing a shareholder resolution at the next Annual General Meeting of Fidelity Investments–one of the largest shareholders in Occidental Petroleum and I urge social and environmental screens as a filter for all holdings."
posted by snakey
on Nov 3, 2000 -
13 comments
"I wasn't doing anything wrong..." So says Jonathan Lebed, the 16-year-old who paid out $285,000 to the SEC to settle his pump-and-dump case. His father agrees: "He earned it. He did a lot of work. He didn't sit behind a garage smoking pot, or stealing wheels off a car." Yeah, right: after all, he bought his parents a Mercedes with the profits of his stock manipulation.
posted by holgate
on Oct 22, 2000 -
17 comments
It seems to me that this kid is only getting in trouble because a bunch of people are sore losers. Aside from the legal trappings that they used to frame him, don't you think that people stupid enough to take financial advice via postings on Yahoo (or other sites) shouldn't whine when they turn out to be bogus? thoughts?
posted by ooklah
on Sep 22, 2000 -
9 comments
