WSJ: For Scientists Seeking Research Backing, Crowdfunding May Be the Answer

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Scientists struggling to find funding for research may have a new source of money: crowdfunding.

That’s the conclusion of a new study, which suggests that scientists who lack extensive published research may be better off gathering many modest contributions instead of pursuing large financial grants from traditional sources. Read more here.

Photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash

P.J. Media: Despite Brexit Detractors, Signs of Strength in Britain’s Economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sometimes when you look at the facts, it just doesn’t jibe with the commentary from the chattering classes.

Take, for instance, the UK economy. The stock market recently hit a record, the same for investment, and unemployment is at a 42-year low. While that wouldn’t sound too shabby to most people, it does to some folks. Read more here.

Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash

Briefings Magazine: When a Tornado Can Save the Day

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A few years ago, a major Connecticut-based manufacturer was desperately trying to fix the profitability of one of its business units. Executives’ initial thoughts were that the business needed some good old-fashioned cost cutting, a bit of slash and burn if you like. But to be sure, they asked for some expert help in the form of Yael Grushka-Cockayne, professor of quantitative analysis at University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She got to work by analyzing the key variables—and came to a different conclusion. It wasn’t cost cutting. “The focus needed to be on sales growth,” she says.

But how do you convince a management stuck on one idea? Enter the tornado chart. This remarkably simple diagram—easy to produce—would be the game changer here, with bar lines proving the impact of boosting profits with more production. The wider the bar at the top, the bigger the impact—and, yes, it resembles the shape of a tornado. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: The Air France Challenge

It sounds like a scene from the torrid days of airline deregulation that made so many headlines in the 1980s: Unhappy unions, with strikes threatening to bring an iconic airline company to a near-standstill. A CEO who resigns. And in the middle of all this? Travelers scrambling to figure out the best way to secure their next vacation.

The carrier in this case is Air France, and while its challenges are not new, the partially state-owned airlines got an important piece of news recently from French president Emmanuel Macron. His message: You are on your own. Read more here.

Forbes: Why China's Yuan Is No Imminent Threat To The Dollar

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Some bad ideas just won't die. It seems to matter not that many are silly beyond logic.

When it comes to money matters, a big one stands out as ridiculous. That is the recurrent meme that China will somehow imminently oust the U.S. dollar from its role as by far the world's most important currency.

The problem is that the trope doesn't reflect the reality of the world in which we are living. Read more here.

Forbes: How U.S. Sanctions On Iran Could Boost Gold Prices

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Here's some good news for the gold bugs.

The recently announced U.S. sanctions on Iran will likely give a boost to prices for the yellow metal.

At least that's according to one analyst who has studied the bullion market for decades. Read more here.

Forbes: Did Witchcraft Win Trump The Election?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

What's really going on inside "Team Trump?"

It's a question that some authors have tried to answer, including Michael Wolff. More will no doubt try again.

But few would even have thought to venture the same place as did author Gary Lachman: The Occult.

The author was a founding member of the rock band Blondie. Since then, he's been busy writing a slew of books, the latest of which is titled "Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump," set to be published late May. Read more here.

Forbes: Why Oil Prices Will Head Even Higher

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Get ready for another surge in crude oil prices.

The cost of a barrel of crude oil is now at its highest level since 2014, but there will likely be another jump in the coming weeks. Primary among the reasons is that despite all the screeching, European companies will not be likely to get a waiver from soon-to-be-imposed U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Here's the skinny:

Forbes: Doomed? Why Iran's Economic Mess Will Get Worse

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Iran's economy is already a mess, but it will likely get a lot worse.

The matter at hand is the decision earlier this month by the Trump administration not to certify the so-called nuclear deal, and that means Iran will soon be subject to harsh U.S. sanctions. Overall the result will be a squeezed economy. Read more here.

Forbes: Spoilt For Choice -- Are There Too Many Mutual Funds & ETFs?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When it comes to selecting an exchange-traded fund or a mutual fund the choice just keeps getting larger.

In general, more alternatives would seem to be a better thing, but with investing it does the opposite and makes matters worse. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: In the UK, a Brawl from Within

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Nobody would have expected it to be easy. But in her efforts to manage Britain’s exit from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May has a new potential stumbling block: her own team. 

News broke over the weekend that at least a dozen cabinet ministers in the ruling Conservative party do not back May’s proposed plan for what she calls a “customs partnership.” Under that arrangement, Britain would continue to collect tariffs—essentially import taxes—for the EU even when the country leaves the bloc. 

Unfortunately for Britain’s leader, possibly as many as 15 of her 28-strong cabinet don’t back the idea. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson even called the plan “crazy.”  Read more here.

Mentioned in the press

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Read more here.

Darden Magazine: Hard Work and Dedication Carry UVA Darden’s Loutskina to Success in Classroom, Research

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It may be hard for some people to remember back to 2006 when the housing boom was still in full swing. But University of Virginia Darden School of BusinessProfessor Elena Loutskina certainly won’t forget it in a hurry. In hindsight, that year now looks pivotal to her career, although at the time what happened probably resembled a bad-news-good-news situation. Read more here.

University of Virginia

Photo by Ryan Ledbetter on Unsplash

Korn Ferry: Hitting the Panic Button on Brexit

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The collapse that had been widely feared has not happened, and economic indicators are chugging along fine. But Britain’s industry chiefs are still fretting over Brexit—and in a big very way. Read more here.

Forbes: How Trump's Move On Iran Helps Saudi Arabia

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Bad news for some, is good news for others.

A case in point is the end of American participation in the Iran nuclear deal.

It is certainly bad news for Iran, but it could be quite the opposite for Saudi Arabia. Read more here.

President Trump & Vice President Pence 

Photo by History in HD on Unsplash

WSJ: What Is A 'Sudden Stop' In the Markets?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

People who invest in emerging economies should be aware that sometimes market sentiment can take a sharp turn for the worse very quickly.

It’s what economists such as Daniel Lacalle of London-based money-management firm Tressis call a sudden stop. Read more here.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

WSJ: Some Active Managers Smile at the Index-Fund Robots

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Since the financial crisis there has been a consistent mantra around investing: Low-cost index funds makes the most sense because they are generally cheaper and perform better over long periods than mutual funds managed by stock pickers.

But now, some active managers are taking a new tack in making the case for their approach: They say the popularity of indexing, along with other changes in the market, is making it easier for them to find mispriced securities, resulting in a more fertile environment for stock picking than they’ve had in years. Read more here.

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

WSJ: Bull Markets Die of Old Age. But Is That Conventional Wisdom Wrong?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Is anxiety over how long this bull market will last overdone? Possibly, according to new research that suggests the life expectancy of bull markets not only doesn’t decline with age—it may actually grow.

“Once a bull market is five years old, its remaining life expectancy doesn’t diminish. If anything, it increases,” financial research firm HCWE & Co. said in a recent report. Read more here.

Nathaniel Ritmeyer, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Korn Ferry: Wages and Benefits are Rising; So Is CEO Anxiety

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It’s seemingly great news, American wages and benefit levels are growing at their fastest levels in years. But while U.S. workers are cheering, the speed of the growth is forcing some leaders into facing some difficult questions about the employment costs. 

New government data showed that the costs of U.S. salaries and benefits surged in first three months of 2018. Wages grew at an annualized 2.7% clip in the first three months of 2018, the fastest increase since the Great Recession. Meanwhile, benefits costs jumped at 2.6% annualized pace, the quickest since 2015. But many executives remember that it was not even a decade ago that they were doing everything to make sure their company survived following the financial crisis, says Bob Wesselkamper, global leader rewards and benefits solutions for Korn Ferry. “They are still acutely aware that raising your cost base isn’t wise,” he says. Read more here.

Photo by Uday Mittal on Unsplash