Seth Godin’s appearance in this talk show is constrained by the format: a talk show requires “controversial sound bites” and leaves little room for deep analysis of a given issue. That’s up to us, and the ideas he repeats here – “get ready for a ‘forever recession’ by reinventing yourself”, “learn by doing”, “go ahead and do it”, “take risks” – are worth considering during the weekend.
Interesting, short interview with Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush. A reminder of the sometimes almost insurmountable barriers of inefficient habits and practices in some sectors. The potential for IT-based revolutions in healthcare is huge, however the questions of “when” and “how” are still hard to answer. Yet keeping track of the “cost control/ accountability” trend in HC is vital.
We’re still digesting the MF Global collapse, and we’re guessing it will be the case study for the intersection of risk management and culture/ incentive systems – not that it could ever be separated, but this was the case that really drove it home because of the inconceivable use of client funds… We highlight several articles on counterparty risk, fraud and MF Global inside.
DLD 2012 has started today in Munich and runs until Jan. 24th. In it, people as diverse as Sheryl Sandberg, Arianna Huffington, the Dyson family and Hiroshi Mikitani share their views on what matters to them. The themes are varied and the program is packed with interesting talks and panels. In the age of multi-disciplinary events, this is one of the best.
Researchers have not been able to find a link between banker compensation and short-term performance metrics. In their words, their finding “refutes the suggestion that incentive structures in banks could be blamed for the crisis”. As we were reading the study’s description, we were alarmed that the professor equated “short-term performance” with the short-term movements in share prices, which is not usually how compensation is set in banks. Then we found a post by the Epicurean Dealmaker that destroys the study precisely on these arguments.
Just as in our September 2011 post called “How to spot a fraud”, a Wall Street Journal piece tells another story about returns that look too good to be true – but in this case, “too good” means “low volatility”. The point here is the ages-old trap of equating “risk” with “volatility” and assuming that a low-volatility fund is less risky. Even ignoring the possibility of fraud, it’s a bad move.
Two recent stories highlight the current moral double standards regarding defaults and indebtedness in general. The first article uses American Airlines’ Chapter 11 filing, lauded as a “smart move”, and contrasts this reaction to the stigma surrounding personal bankruptcies by home owners. The second article tries to tack the same “double standards” theme onto Germany, but it doesn’t work nearly as well.
Two recent stories in US newspapers highlight the huge per-capita spending of Brazilians in the US. While one piece focuses on tourists in NY and retail sales, the other focuses on Florida and also mentions Brazilians buying up real estate. The big point: the taxation making imports so expensive in Brazil as to justify, in some cases, the airfare and hotel expenses.
TV show “60 Minutes” had a profile of Howard Buffett following Buffett’s appointment of him as his preferred choice for non-Executive Chairman after Buffett somehow relinquishes that role. As a guardian of Berkshire’s unique culture, he is as good as it gets. We collect a few links and videos about Howard Buffett.
Interesting food for thought on Apple’s capital allocation issues and it ties well with our last two posts on capital allocation. Just a reminder: this post is highlighted exclusively for overall capital allocation policies that might be applied to other investments. Buysiders.com doesn’t advise on specific stocks nor do we make any recommendations, as highlighted in the post.
