Dateline: 18 May 2011
IMPORTANT: Axiom Strategy Advisors, LLC, has instituted its business continuity plan in response to the Mississippi River flood threat to Southeast Louisiana. As such, should AxSA suspend or modify its normal business operations in the potentially affected area, the consultancy will make every effort to give advanced notification of the changes, via email, to its clients.
AxSA Factoid of the Week
The disability trust fund provided by Social Security is in turmoil. At the turn of the century, there were roughly 6 million recipients of benefits averaging $1,064 per month, but by 2010, the number of recipients passed ten million. In Texas alone, where on 25 million Americans now live, the number of recipients moved up by 85%. The cumulative national burden means that new taxes must be enacted, or that the disability fund must be allowed to tap the more secure retirement fund, lest the disability fund will be exhausted with four to seven years.
News & Commentary
Crisis on the Mississippi
Rising Mississippi May Take Toll on Businesses
The Times-Picayune
The threat of flooding has significant consequences on many of the heavy-industry sectors of South Louisiana…Read More
USDA to Pay for Flood-damaged Crops in Atchafalaya Basin
The Daily Advocate
More than 15,000 acres of crop are forecasted to be impacted…Read More
Insurers Face $2 Billion in Mississippi Flood Claims
Global Reinsurance
The federal government faces over $500 million in flood claims from homeowners…Read More
Flooding Hinders Shipping on the Mississippi River
The News Star
As flooding continues along the river, millions of dollars in commodity and chemical deliverables are being upended. Expect a pricing impact across the broader economy…Read More
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Management
What’s a Strategic Business Partner, and Can I Be One?
Forbes
Human resources managers can play a big role in an organization’s performance and direction…Read More
How to Make a High-stakes Decision
Harvard Business Review
Every so often, we must make decisions that can reshape our professional lives. Here is one way to process those decisions…Read More
What LeBron James and the Miami Heat Teaches Us about Teamwork
Fast Company
Last night notwithstanding, the Miami Heat has seemed like an unstoppable team. Their composition of dedicated, high performers provides a formula for success for any organization…Read More
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Finance
Entrepreneur’s Tweets Sparks Fight with Angels
Reuters
After tech-startup founder Matt Mireles questioned the experience of one angel investors, others immediately began to flock to the latter’s defense…Read More
Another Digital Gold Rush
Economist
Are we witnessing the start of another tech bubble? Read More
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Economics
Top Myths on the U.S. Debt-ceiling Crisis
Financial Post
Bernanke and Geithner warn that a failure to raise the debt ceiling will be “catastrophic”, but Drunkenmiller and Buffet are not inclined to agree. Who is right? Read More
Shrinking Supplies Mean Good-bye Used-car Bargains
Wall Street Journal
Supply factors and changes in consumer demand have helped to bump up the prices of used cars by as much as $3,000…Read More
Book Description:
As the economic giants of Asia and elsewhere have awakened, Western leaders have increasingly struggled to maintain economic stability. The international financial crisis that began in 2007 is but one result of the emerging nations’ increased gravitational pull. In this vividly written and compellingly argued book, Stephen D. King, the global chief economist at HSBC, one of the largest banking groups in the world, suggests that the decades ahead will see a major redistribution of wealth and power across the globe that will force consumers in the United States and Europe to stop living beyond their means.
The tide of money washing in from emerging nations has already fuelled the recent property bubble in the West, while new patterns of trade have left the West increasingly dependent on risky financial services. Unless things change drastically, King argues, the increasing power of emerging markets, when coupled with poor internal regulation and an increasingly anachronistic system of global governance, will result in greater instability and income inequality, accompanied by the risk of a major dollar decline. And as Western populations age and emerging economies develop further, the social and political consequences may be alarming to citizens who have grown accustomed to living in prosperity.
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