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.