Retail Exchanges: Learn the Score Before You Buy

On November 27, 2009

Retail Exchanges: Learn the Score Before You Buy

It's OK if your boyfriend doesn't like the digital camera you bought him. So long as he doesn't open the box. As you begin your holiday shopping, remember that return policies vary greatly, even among products from the same store. For example, some retailers charge a 15 percent restocking fee on digital cameras and other electronics if the packaging is unsealed.


On November 27, 2009

Walker Report: Banks Risk Carbon Copy Non-Execs

As the UK finance industry ponders the repercussions of Sir David Walker's report on the banking sector, much has been made of proposals to declare the number of employees paid £1m or above. While this is an emotive issue that provides for great headlines, it's likely this measure will have little impact on the growth or collapse of the UK financial sector. Speaking to Chizu Nakajima, director for finance regulation and crime at Cass Business School and Charles Cotton, performance and rewards advisor for the CIPD, it's plain they are worried the Walker report concentrates too heavily on remuneration and does little to address the underlying problems with the sector. These problems, they maintain, are around corporate culture and talent management. One of the...


On November 26, 2009

Get Ready for Enforced Flexibility | BTalk Australia

[podcast] The start of next year sees the introduction of the National Employment Standards in Australia. Part of the changes require employers to consider all requests for flexible ways of working. Juliet Bourke, a Partner at Aequus Partners, explains how this will work.


On November 26, 2009

No BS Wine Pairing Tips for Thanksgiving

Step away from the cabernet. That's right, just walk away. The last thing you want for Turkey Day are tannins, and cabernet, merlot, Bordeaux reds in general, are the kings of tannins. Without all the wine-speak that nobody understands, here are my wine tips for Thanksgiving dinner.


On November 26, 2009

10 Things to Be Grateful For

I’ll admit it. I have a soft spot for Thanksgiving. First, because it’s an excuse for me to bake for three days. (If you need a last-minute recipe for the world’s best chocolate cream pie, I’ve got you covered.) And second, because it reminds me to quit grumbling and start noticing all of the amazing stuff I’ve [...]


On November 26, 2009

New Print Alliance Getting Ready For War — A Decade Too Late

According to the New York Observer, Conde Nast, Time Inc., and other magazine publishing powerhouses are discussing coming together, a la  the Super Friends, to monetize their digital content, but even a rock-solid virtual wall won’t help them get money like 1999. In fact, it may further alienate customers –- who may have even more reason to turn to the free resources already available. The rumoured group, to be launched by Time Inc. Executive Vice President John Squires, will be finding ways to charge what has already been free for more than a decade. Squires gave a solid “no comment” to the newspaper, but in an Observer interview earlier this year he said, “Unlike books and music, I think [for...


On November 26, 2009

Google’s Buckshot Approach to Mobile Turning Off Game Developers

Google has more than a dozen phones on deck through 2010, all with different software platforms, but game developers are already balking at the prospect of multiple platforms. Stability, not variety, is what has courted tens of thousands of game companies to the iPhone/iPod Touch in just over a year. At this rate, the Android will never pick up steam. When I interviewed Doom and Quake game creator John Carmack earlier this month, he said id Software has no further interest in developing for the Android: The issue is more Android versus iPhone. Android really has the support and the flexibility, but I've been talking with the Electronics Arts people about Android, and many folks are saying the money isn't...


On November 26, 2009

Last Quarter Not Good For QinetiQ

QinetiQ reported a decline in their profits for 2009 which is a big change from last year when the company made over $1 billion. The recent removal of their CEO heralded possible struggles for the English defense contractor over the next several months.


On November 26, 2009

Walker Report Will Shake Up Non-Finance Companies Too

If you think the Walker Report applies only to banks, think again. Much of what Sir David Walker is recommending today will apply to all companies tomorrow. Corporate governance codes are a reaction to crises: Cadbury produced the original rulebook after Maxwell's collapse, Higgs revised it after Enron and Walker is the response to the banking collapse. But the Financial Reporting Council, custodian of the Combined Code, is currently rewriting the rules and Walker has produced a readymade set of new regulations that will be pasted into the updated code. The new code for all companies will be published in December and will apply to all accounting period starting after June 2010.  And there will be codes within the code...


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