Finance Matters » Business http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters When Finance Matters Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:27:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 FT column: Don’t put venture capital at risk http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21408/ft-column-dont-put-venture-capital-at-risk/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21408/ft-column-dont-put-venture-capital-at-risk/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:27:15 +0000 John Gapper http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=36381

Who wouldn’t want to be a venture capitalist right now? Investment bankers may be reviled and private equity executives hammered but Silicon Valley’s billionaire elite can do no wrong.

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21408/ft-column-dont-put-venture-capital-at-risk/feed/ 0 Reckitt’s brave new world http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21382/reckitts-brave-new-world/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21382/reckitts-brave-new-world/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:28:18 +0000 Andrew Hill http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=36261 Rakesh Kapoor has been in charge of Reckitt Benckiser for less than a  year but already he’s changed the world. Or, more accurately, he’s changed Reckitt’s view of the world, by merging its European and North American operations into one …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21382/reckitts-brave-new-world/feed/ 0 FT column: Big Pharma should learn from Hogwarts http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21283/ft-column-big%e2%80%89pharma-should-learn-from-hogwarts/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21283/ft-column-big%e2%80%89pharma-should-learn-from-hogwarts/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:51:00 +0000 Andrew Hill http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=36241 Harry Potter and Viagra have more in common than you may imagine. They came to market within a year of each other in the late-1990s; they enjoyed enormous success; and what was a boon for the companies that produced and …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21283/ft-column-big%e2%80%89pharma-should-learn-from-hogwarts/feed/ 0 The unbearable vagueness of Zuckerberg http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21284/the-unbearable-vagueness-of-zuckerberg/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21284/the-unbearable-vagueness-of-zuckerberg/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:31:48 +0000 John Gapper http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=35881 Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, sets himself an admirable test in the company’s filing for an initial public offering – “that everyone who invests in Facebook understands what this mission means to us, how we make decisions and why we do …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21284/the-unbearable-vagueness-of-zuckerberg/feed/ 0 Fred, title inflation and bad business baronets http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21285/fred-title-inflation-and-bad-business-baronets/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21285/fred-title-inflation-and-bad-business-baronets/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:36:49 +0000 Andrew Hill http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=35771 The Los Angeles Times story about the humiliation of Fred Goodwin describes Britain as “a land where essentially feudal titles still carry great prestige”. True-ish. But I have to say that the UK doesn’t do business honours like it used to. I’ve …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21285/fred-title-inflation-and-bad-business-baronets/feed/ 0 Misguided pitchforks for ‘Mr Fred’ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21286/misguided-pitchforks-for-mr-fred/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21286/misguided-pitchforks-for-mr-fred/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:08:01 +0000 FT http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=35701 By James Mackintosh, investment editor Arise, Mr Fred Goodwin. The banker who single-handedly brought down the British banking system has had his knighthood stripped away, and no one is sorry. Politicians, the public and the press are united in supporting …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21286/misguided-pitchforks-for-mr-fred/feed/ 0 FT column: More than two reasons against dual heads http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21287/ft-column-more-than-two-reasons-against-dual-heads/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21287/ft-column-more-than-two-reasons-against-dual-heads/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:21:20 +0000 Andrew Hill http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=35671 I’ll say one thing for co-chief executives: two scapegoats are better than one. Since Research in Motion’s fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse last year, its dual-leadership structure has taken a beating. With the BlackBerry-maker’s decision last week …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21287/ft-column-more-than-two-reasons-against-dual-heads/feed/ 0 Three reasons why Stephen Hester is exceptional http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21288/three-reasons-why-stephen-hester-is-exceptional/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21288/three-reasons-why-stephen-hester-is-exceptional/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:14:36 +0000 Andrew Hill http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=35541 Politicians would like to think that Stephen Hester’s decision to give up his bonus marks the start of a mass renunciation of “excessive pay” by private sector bosses. It is certainly time the UK corporate and political world moved on …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21288/three-reasons-why-stephen-hester-is-exceptional/feed/ 0 Swiss Railways and the art of personal service http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21289/swiss-railways-and-the-art-of-personal-service/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21289/swiss-railways-and-the-art-of-personal-service/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:10:59 +0000 John Gapper http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=35451 It is rare for customer service to be so good as to take one’s breath away but Swiss Federal Railways achieved it on Sunday by making a personal stop for me when I boarded the wrong train. On my way …
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]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21289/swiss-railways-and-the-art-of-personal-service/feed/ 0 Tax, Obama and Buffett’s far-from-average secretary http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21290/tax-obama-and-buffetts-far-from-average-secretary/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/21290/tax-obama-and-buffetts-far-from-average-secretary/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:46:20 +0000 Andrew Hill http://blogs.ft.com/businessblog/?p=35311 I have met Debbie Bosanek. I’ve also met her boss Warren Buffett. But as far as this week’s US political news is concerned, the more important figure is Ms Bosanek, the billionaire investor’s secretary. She’s important because she’s met Barack …
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