President-elect Trump takes over running the US on Friday. Is he up to the job? More importantly, is his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, equipped to take over the Middle East peace process?
President-elect says his son-in-law ‘knows the region, knows the people,’ but the reality appears to be somewhat different
This story has come across my desk again and again. Many will gloat at the demise of Yahoo. But is it a good thing?
This article was sent through to me at the end of last year. Some of the links are useful.
All the best for 2017
Going to a local mosque in Christchurch was a surreal experience. But I guess that’s because I had never imagined I’d be doing it. For a start, I’d never considered that the local Muslim community, in what was always the most English of cities, would be large enough to support one.
I've been asked a lot recently whether I've covered private equity. The answer is a definitive "yes". For the six months ending February 2016 I was Asia/Pacific correspondent for Private Equity International, a London-based publication. Here's the link with a couple of articles as well. There's a paywall so it might be difficult to access all the material.
Recently this article appeared in Fdi magazine and Fdi Intelligence (24/11/16) http://www.fdiintelligence.com/News/IFSWF-Conference-where-should-sovereign-wealth-funds-invest. Do take a look.
IFSWF Conference: where should sovereign wealth funds invest?
One of the most intractable problems of the Middle East is the relationship between Israel and Palestine. It's always been problematic and it always will be. I doubt that the problem will be resolved, at least any time soon.
I went to Bethlehem from Jordan three years ago, travelling into the Palestinian territory via the Allenby Crossing via bus, as a journalist. I was with several coach loads of Palestinians going to Bethlehem to attend a conference on Palestine- or at least to obtain a visa so that he/she could enter the Palestinian territory in the first place. What an experience.
A majority of readers would now vote to REMAIN in the European Union bucking the way the region voted six months ago in the referendum, according to a new Express & Star survey.
The poll – the biggest online news questionnaire this paper has carried out – saw nearly 10,000 people respond to five questions on what readers thought of Brexit since the historic vote.
How do people or companies with vested interests spread ignorance and obfuscate knowledge? Georgina Kenyon finds there is a term which defines this phenomenon.
In 1979, a secret memo from the tobacco industry was revealed to the public. Called the Smoking and Health Proposal, and written a decade earlier by the Brown & Williamson tobacco company, it revealed many of the tactics employed by big tobacco to counter “anti-cigarette forces”.
– by Lucia Dore
Mats Anderson, former chief executive at one of Sweden’s four pension funds, AP4, said that “sustainable investments are drivers for higher returns at a lower risk” and that “there is no conflict between returns and sustainability”. He also explained that the fund has three factors that come together to produce sustainability- environment, social and governance (ESG) but that “it all starts with governance”.
Recently, I went with my Te Reo Maori class to the marae in Bluff, rated one of the best in New Zealand for its artistry. The main artist was Cliff Whiting, who also worked on Te Papa (NZ's national museum). It was a great experience, especially appreciating the powhiri (welcoming ceremony) and learning all about Maori culture. I also loved going to Oreti Beach- on the outskirts of Invercargill- ostensibly to get toheroas (a type of shellfish you dig in the sand for) since I grew up there and we used to go the beach often, sometimes to get toheroas when it was the season. You have to dig deep and quickly for the shellfish, which are generally below the shoreline, and to avoid the tide coming in and undoing all your hard work.
Here are some photos.
Lawyers find Trump in violation of Emoluments Clause. The president-elect's business holdings present significant problems under the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, according to a new study from Norman Eisen, Richard Painter, and Laurence Tribe. Should Trump refuse to divest from his businesses? The authors conclude that the Electoral College, Congress, and the Supreme Court are within their rights to deny or remove him from the White House.
I'm posting this because it made me laugh. It came out first on December 11, 2016,
This article is the fourth in a series adapted from Alaimo’s book “Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication.”
As part of the research for “Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication,” my new book on how to practice public relations in countries and cultures around the world, I conducted interviews with senior communicators in 31 nations about best local practices.
This article on the impact on how communication impacts technological change that recently crossed my desk is an interesting read for everyone.
Ann Pilkington | December 6, 2016
The answer is: not always what they are given. So found marketing executive Charlotte Wallis when she picked this theme for her CIPR Internal Communication Diploma project. Over to Charlotte to explain more….
At the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) held in Auckland from 8-11 November, economist and former managing director of the IMF John Lipsky debunked the arguments put forth by others, such as Bob Prince, Bridgewater associates, and Massimiliano Castelli, UBS Asset Management (see previous blogs) that the world economy would see low interest rates and low growth for the foreseeable future. “Despite the alternatives and the pessimism, the outlook, and trend analysis, the consensus forecast isn’t that bad,” he said, adding that “if it [an improvement in the global economy] can be achieved in a structural sense it will start to improve the performance and expectations that I think is going to set the stage ..for a much more favourable outlook ahead.”
The firm also manages opportunistic funds in Vietnam and the US along with a hospitality fund targeting the Pan Asia region. Additionally, Gaw Capital also provides services for separate account direct investments in the global markets. Since 2005, Gaw Capital Partners has raised equity of USD$ 7.3 billion and commands assets of USD$ 12.8 billion under management.
Here is a press release on the company’s latest acquisition.
The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) held their Eighth Annual Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, from 8-11 of November. One of the issues the international conference addressed is how SWFs could ensure high enough returns in a low growth, low-interest rate environment.
Ensuring you can speak with confidence and competence
A great deal of time (and frequently money) can be spent working on the content of a speech, structuring sentences and phrases, re-writing and honing it. This includes selecting the appropriate alliteration and assonance chosen to enhance the effect, using quotations and examples and the rule of three- this is a writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things — slavishly adhered to.