Month: October 2011

East Markets Up; West, Down

European Crisis

Stocks and shares in the east are faring well again, but in the west – particularly Europe – the situation isn’t as good.  The upcoming Euro leader meeting could be partly to blame.  While European leaders and executives were not anticipating a total recovery to their large debt issues, they remain somewhat helpful that the meeting will provide some assistance towards a strengthening of the EuroZone Rescue Fund.  While the Euro crisis will be discussed, it doesn’t seem that any decisions will be made quickly although France and Germany both seek to begin negotiations sooner rather than later.

Japan’s Market

The Nikkei stock average in Japan opened down 0.04 percent.  Europe is definitely having an impact.  According to SMBC Nikko Securities Equity Division GM Hioichi Nishi, “until the European plan takes shape and investors are reassured, it's difficult for markets to make major moves, and trading should stick to recent ranges.”  While the Euro is not faring too badly against the dollar, stealthily moving up 0.2 percent against it, (and the Australian dollar went up 0.3 percent too), it still looks like it won’t be moving all that much given that there is caution about taking any major steps before the meeting.  The entire Asian region is definitely standing back somewhat vis-à-vis activity within its markets with European shares declining last week and American stocks increasing.  This was good news as it indicated that fears of American’s economy once again falling into a recession, were relieved.

China Conference at Washington Post

The popular place to invest these days is Asia, more specifically China.  For any high net-worth individual or business with capital in the western world, it seems their best bet is to bring it to China for the safest returns.  That is a given.  But what is not so well-known is the different options on offer and how the East can invest in the West.

Thus last Tuesday a conference at the Washington Post on business opportunities in China was held to discuss issues on American-Chinese economic relationships and how the West should use the East’s interest in making its investments in America.  The West needs to be careful about investments made there, striking a balance between being open and protective at the same time.

Whatever happens next though, it is clear that the interest between east and west is not minimizing though.  Right now there are approximately 20,000 Americans studying China and 130,000 Chinese studying in America.  Clearly bonds are developing between the two countries…east is meeting west.

There have been many investors and successful business leaders who have understood this need for a long time now.  General Motors (GM) has been making impressive investments more in China than in America. GM sold more cars in China than at home while not sending any cars back from China to the US.  So it’s happening.  East is meeting West and vice versa at increasing speeds.

Small Businesses: The Answer to US Job Creation?

It seems like the word on the street is that small businesses could be the answer to some of America’s economic problems.  The majority of US employees are working in small businesses, so it would make sense that these are the agents for helping the economy get out of its current pickle.  The problem is, how can more jobs be created by these businesses?  This is where there seems to be conflict.  The solution is clear; it’s the method that is being questioned in America right now.  The matter will be discussed at length on Friday October 14th, at the Northern Virginia Technology Council, with Steve Case as host.

The New Wave of CIOs

Businesses throughout the U.S., such as Intel, have begun to realize that chief information officers are more effective when they have experience with managing a business and encouraging innovation, as opposed to just simple IT skills.

Rebecca Jacoby, CIO at Cisco Systems, supports this realization. She said: “Companies have always used technology to run their businesses better. What’s changed is that technology is now a part of the products and services that companies provide.”

As of last year, women made up 10 per cent of CIOs at Fortune 500 companies. 5 of the top 10 highest-paid CIOS are women, as well.

Steve Jobs Mourned By Hollywood and Tech Industries

Hollywood and the tech industry are mourning the loss of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Mr. Jobs died at 56 from pancreatic cancer, having resigned from his position as CEO only months before. Throughout his life, Jobs challenged conventional computing and the digital world, creating original and unsurpassed devices like the iPod, iPad and iPhone.

Jobs bought George Lucas’s animation business and renamed it Pixar, creating some of the most-loved children’s films of the generation and pushing the limits of digital animation. Having befriended Michael Eisner’s successor Robert Iger, Jobs also brought movies and video clips to the iTunes interface.