Thursday, May 31, 2012
Life insurance in developing countries
The cost of life insurance in developed countries has increased considerably in recent years. At what point will developing countries see a need or desire for this type of insurance?
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Austerity simplified
Austerity is a simple (in explanation) reduction of government spending and increase of taxes. Its always easier said than done as with anything dealing with the restoration of an economy. The recent French elections are a true game changer within the eurozone and the actions of Pres. Hollande will definitely be something to watch regarding this matter.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Why Africa is more open to China than the U.S.
Understanding the difference between economic development
and economic growth is essential to any economist. But understanding which
countries have succeeded in recent years with that notion is even more essential.
With the recent global economic downturn the U.S has been the central focus and
often considered the beginning of the house of cards that caused the entire
disaster. However, the downturn has stabilized from its massive drop off and
economic expansion has begun in many parts of the world. The interesting
economies to study are those that were relatively unaffected by the global
recession and majority of those are developing countries in Sub Saharan Africa.
Sub Saharan Africa has emerged in 3 waves of independence to
the present day. They include political independence, social independence, and
now economic independence. Political independence began with the end of European
colonization and the beginning of autonomous rule and democratic elections.
While the process of full democratic elections are still evolving across the entire
continent, we are aware that a fully democratic region is attainable in the near
future. Social independence coincided with the political independence and will
always evolve within every country globally. Being socially independent means
that a citizen is not ashamed of who they are and will not allow past
stereotypes to determine their future outcome.
Economic independence is a self- sustaining economy that
relies on its tax base rather than foreign aid to fund its GDP. This independence
has always been desired but it hasn’t come into light as a possibility until
recent years. One of the main advocates for this independence is Dr. Dambisa
Moyo who is the author of a book entitled “Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and
how there is a better way for Africa”. In the book she exposes the future of
Africa without aid and why it’s necessary many aid programs are phased out. As
well as arguing for African countries to participate in the capital markets to
raise government funds instead of utilizing the aid model.
Chinas’ interest in Africa isn’t a new interest because
trade between the regions dates back millennia. One of the worlds’ most famous
trade routes, the silk road, connected the regions over 2,000 years ago and the
trade continues today in a different capacity. In recent years China has
emerged as the worlds’ greatest economic success story and many African countries
have taken notice due to the fact that Chinese development has lifted hundreds
of millions of people out of destitute poverty and created sustainable jobs and
investments for its citizens.
What has separated the U.S. from China as this economic
example? The answer is development versus growth. The U.S. has been a developed
country in economic terms since the industrial revolution 150 years ago. So the
country as a whole hasn’t experience development in this current technological dispensation
which has limited the U.S. influence in developing world. Many of these
developing countries have primarily interacted with the U.S. on a basis of
international aid and not necessarily investment.
China has launched a massive campaign to assist many African
countries through investments in infrastructure, trade, and development. The
Chinese example has promoted a way of developing to reduce poverty and increase
economic lifestyles. The U.S. example has not been to reduce poverty but rather
to preserve wealth. Wealth preservation can’t be attainable if it isn’t a
present factor in the lives of citizens in a developing country.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Distance education in Africa: How people outside the continent can benefit
Have you
ever wondered how to obtain credibility internationally before you’ve ever left
your home country or just want to spice up your resume? Try distance education.
In some countries it can be costly while in others in can be relatively
inexpensive. Distance education might be a somewhat new to the masses of
Americans with the rise of the internet but with other countries it is over a
century old.
One of the
worlds “mega” universities is the University of South Africa which has over
300,000 students. These students come from over 130 countries by the means of
distance education. Some of you might be surprised that you’ve never heard of
an institution of that size. Don’t be surprised at all because there are many
places in the world that just might not be popular to the people around you or
your news sources.
The
University of South Africa (or UNISA for short) has several degree options to
choose from and the levels of education range from undergraduate to doctoral
degrees. Many in the western hemisphere are probably asking about accreditation,
which is a legitimate question. UNISA
accreditation is with the South African department of education and the Council
of Higher Education. UNISA is also registered with the South African
Qualifications Authority. So if there is any doubt about the validity of UNISA
please check with the Accreditation agencies within your respective country.
UNISA has
produced many high profile alumni such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and
Cyril Ramaphosa. So you will be in a great company upon joining UNISA.
For more
information please visit the University of South Africa at: http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.html
Meet Facebooks' competition
www.WAYN.com
Facebooks competitor is not new to social networking but it hasnt had the chance to take off as it now has. Take a look and see what you think. There are similarities to Facebook but WAYN can maintain a close corporate free organizational structure.
Facebooks competitor is not new to social networking but it hasnt had the chance to take off as it now has. Take a look and see what you think. There are similarities to Facebook but WAYN can maintain a close corporate free organizational structure.
Facebook IPO: Not impressive
The Facebook IPO must have been the most talked about event of the month and yet it pretty much fell flat. I was always against Facebook going public but I did expect more movement on the day of the IPO due to the sheer "excitement" of the general public. I also expected more movement based on the fact that Facebook was originally reported to be oversubscribed. With this being said I was right and wrong in the same moment.
Now that Facebook is public and will be measured under the auspices of Wall Street and away from its original effort just to be an online social gathering. Many things will change about the networking site from the inside and the outside. The internal culture will have to fight to maintain its laid back and easy going atmosphere. While the external culture will find itself under more pressure than ever from other start-up firms looking to grasp users looking for a network with a less corporate feel.
Now that Facebook is public and will be measured under the auspices of Wall Street and away from its original effort just to be an online social gathering. Many things will change about the networking site from the inside and the outside. The internal culture will have to fight to maintain its laid back and easy going atmosphere. While the external culture will find itself under more pressure than ever from other start-up firms looking to grasp users looking for a network with a less corporate feel.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Facebook: A $16 Billion IPO
Like many companies in Silicon Valley, Facebook has very little or no debt but yet they have a hoard of cash from operations. So, maybe Facebook is the exception because they don't necessarily have a great hoard of cash until the IPO. With $16 Billion in cash who should be concerned?
The concern should be with 1) The competition: Facebook can possibly flop or not just not live up to the expectations. 2) The competition: Facebook now has the ability to make a significant offer to acquire their company for cash. With that being said it all now remains in the hands of Facebook management. If Zuckerburg can assemble the right team to analyze the potential investment targets for his firm then and only then can Facebook have a chance for survival.
Google made their presence known through a series of acquisitions as well. Youtube, Earth Viewer (now Google Earth), and Grand Central (now known as Google Voice) have all been very positive acquistions. Technology has moved very rapidly since then and the question remains: Can Facebook purchase several homeruns just as Google has?
Its no secret that I have my doubts about the continued success of Facebook with this IPO. But Facebook could prove a lot of people wrong.
The concern should be with 1) The competition: Facebook can possibly flop or not just not live up to the expectations. 2) The competition: Facebook now has the ability to make a significant offer to acquire their company for cash. With that being said it all now remains in the hands of Facebook management. If Zuckerburg can assemble the right team to analyze the potential investment targets for his firm then and only then can Facebook have a chance for survival.
Google made their presence known through a series of acquisitions as well. Youtube, Earth Viewer (now Google Earth), and Grand Central (now known as Google Voice) have all been very positive acquistions. Technology has moved very rapidly since then and the question remains: Can Facebook purchase several homeruns just as Google has?
Its no secret that I have my doubts about the continued success of Facebook with this IPO. But Facebook could prove a lot of people wrong.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Diversify your portfolio: Invest in African Stocks
The safest
investments have always been considered blue chip stocks and U.S. government
securities. But in the past 5 years there has been a change in thinking due to
the uncertainty of the markets and many investors have begun to look for
alternative investments. The search for alternative investments led many
investors to take notice of which nations maintained certain levels of
stability throughout the global economic downturn. Asia and Latin America have
received some investment due to their developed and modernized stock exchanges.
However, the
same investors also took notice of the economic stability or rather
independence of African nations. The question was raised: how do I invest in
those markets? Not all investors are able to set up a business and partake from
the physical transactions of business in those nations. With that being said
here is one way to take part: African ADRs.
ADR stands
for American Depository Receipt. It is a certificate issued by an American bank
that represents a proportion of shares in a foreign company and is traded on a
U.S. stock exchange. By being traded on a U.S. exchange they can be purchased
through any major stock brokerage firm such as Scottrade, etrade, Fidelity, or
TDameritrade. So, diversifying your
portfolio and taking advantage of the growing economies in developing countries
is much easier than many people thought.
Here’s a
list of African ADRs:
Here’s a
full list of global ADRs:
Why the Facebook IPO will hurt the economy
This post
will take a turn from previous posts in general on this blog but it is
absolutely relevant to business, finance, and economics. While everyone else is
chiming in on their opinions of the worlds’ greatest addition in the new
century so will I. The Facebook IPO is a great mistake and opportunity wrapped
into one.
Facebook is
the beginning of a new age post-recession internet bubble. I have a background
in finance and I’m still trying to understand the valuation of Facebook. I’ve
seen a few numbers on the company but I won’t be certain of the numbers until
the company officially goes public. A valuation of $95 billion on revenues of
less than $4 billion is very hard to believe. As with any highly anticipated
IPO the first few days would cause the stock price to skyrocket and any
untrained investor would try to buy the stock because Facebook is popular.
Facebook is a “celebrity stock” and doesn’t have the fundamentals of Google.
Google was a popular stock but not a celebrity primarily because Google was in
a new but proven sector. Google also had diversified streams of income which
allowed the company to be more than just a search engine.
Facebooks’
recent acquisition of Instagram raises even more concerns because of the
valuation. Instagram had no revenue but a purchase price of $1 billion is
strikingly similar to the Facebook craze. My honest opinion is that this is the
beginning of another bubble in the market that the world can’t afford at this
time or anytime in the future. However, now that Facebook would be subject to
the likes and domain of Wall Street we will see if they can survive beyond the
“like” of the general public.
With
Facebook being a public company with few hard assets and now at the mercy of
financial engineers, quants, and analysts (yes, I’m included) we will see their
future in a different light. Possibly the market would realize a valuation that
high doesn’t coincide with their numbers. This is
great for other tech firms who are looking for their big break in the
marketplace. Facebook has had a great run and can still be saved if the income
streams are diversified and backed by additional hard assets. If not, it’s
possible to see Facebook in the same shadows as MySpace.
JPMorgans $2 Billion loss: the aftermath
This loss still has me a little puzzled because the full details haven't been disclosed to the public yet. But the fact that people are already resigning says that it's pretty bad. The real issue that has caught my attention is the discussion that has followed concerning financial regulation. Is regulation really the answer?
President Obama recently stated that JPMorgan is one of the most well managed banks in the U.S. If thats the case then what happened? The trade itself was based on a hedge of the current markets. So my speculation is that it was a hedge against the Eurozone or the energy markets. Regulation has nothing to do with the success or failure of any trade in this nature.
Many firms hedge their investments in multiple forms and JPMorgan isn't any different. The $2 Billion trading loss doesn't match with the overall $17.5 Billion loss that includes the investors loss in the stock of JPMorgan. In other words a segment of behavioral finance comes into play with this situation.
The $2 Billion loss will not cause JPMorgan to fold like BearStearns nor will it cause them to have to be acquired by another firm. The general public has become so fearful in recent years with losses in the financial industry that any abnormality can transpire into panic. JPMorgan is a well managed and compliant company that will be around for years to come this is not the end. So, no bailout is needed nor has one been requested.
President Obama recently stated that JPMorgan is one of the most well managed banks in the U.S. If thats the case then what happened? The trade itself was based on a hedge of the current markets. So my speculation is that it was a hedge against the Eurozone or the energy markets. Regulation has nothing to do with the success or failure of any trade in this nature.
Many firms hedge their investments in multiple forms and JPMorgan isn't any different. The $2 Billion trading loss doesn't match with the overall $17.5 Billion loss that includes the investors loss in the stock of JPMorgan. In other words a segment of behavioral finance comes into play with this situation.
The $2 Billion loss will not cause JPMorgan to fold like BearStearns nor will it cause them to have to be acquired by another firm. The general public has become so fearful in recent years with losses in the financial industry that any abnormality can transpire into panic. JPMorgan is a well managed and compliant company that will be around for years to come this is not the end. So, no bailout is needed nor has one been requested.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Death of the Eurozone
The introduction of the Eurozone in 1999 brought much
speculation that this was the beginning of a great economic consensus unseen
since World War II. The beginnings seemed promising with more countries continuing
to join the monetary union with hopes of connecting themselves with the prosperity
they have witnessed their European counterparts enjoy. With so many countries
relying on the goods and services of each other, the Euro made sense.
However, as with a deck of cards we’ve globally witnessed
what can happen when one country in a union has an independent thinking central
bank. The independent mindset is expected due to the fact that each country has
separate needs and responsibilities. Somewhere in that process the thought for
what could possibly become of that entire monetary union went unnoticed.
Now with Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Greece, and possibly Italy
on the brinks will this union cease to exist? If those were the only factors at
hand then my guess would have to be no. But with the recent elections in France
it’s hard to say where the new austerity measures will go from here. Sarkozy
and Merkel forged a very good working relationship although; some would argue
that it wasn’t perfect. It was however, a relationship that sought after
results to maintain the status of the Euro and most important of all to work
towards the progress of the European economies.
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