Commentary
Journalism Excellence Awards for Seattle Business Magazine
It’s nice to see hard work go rewarded, but only rarely do we in the journalism field like to call attention to ourselves, preferring instead to let our stories speak for themselves. Saturday night was one such occasion, however, as the regional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists gave out its Excellence in Journalism…
The Brazilian Connection: Supplier, Customer, Competitor and Teacher
Remember Brazil? Not that long ago it was the worlds basket case with hyper-inflation, bloated deficits , political instability and an economy stifled by bureaucracy. Today, Brazil has foreign reserves of $240 billion, which exceeds the combined debts of the nation’s government and corporations. Once a recipient of IMF bailout money, this time, Sergeo Rezende,…
Moving Learning Online
I will admit, the title of this blog is a little misleading. New education sites like Udemy, Edufire and Myngle that are popping up are not attempting to move education from the classroom. Instead, they are attempting to expand the ability of willing learners to connect with willing teachers. Video instruction is not a new…
Its Time to Make Our Taxes Smarter
Sometimes, politics obscures the most obvious solutions tomany problems. Replacing some of Washington states most unpopular taxes with acarbon tax is one such solution. With oil prices down and huge reserves of cheap natural gasincreasingly available, we have the opportunity today to make a relativelypainless transition toward an economy less dependent on risky,pollution-generating oil and…
Washington Business Alliance, A New “Centrist” Business Organization in Olympia?
A new business organization is out looking for members. The organization argues that it will do a better job representing the values of Washington businesses in Olympia. The organization is chaired by David Giuliani, CEO of Pacific Bioscience Laboratories. Here is the pitch they are sending out to businesses across the state: Bringing a business…
The Four Horsemen of Washington’s Economy are Riding Again
Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon. When three of these four iconic companies were in trouble two years ago, they signalled broader pain for our economy. That’s because these companies had long been solidly profitable, reliable generators of job growth. Their spending supported an entire ecosystem of companies around them. When they laid off employees they…
If Goldman Sachs’s Clients Were Careless, So Was Goldman
One of the key tenets of Goldman Sachs’s defense against the recent charges of foul play by the Securities Exchange Commission is that its clients are big financial institutions that have the resources to do research on the financial instruments they buy from Goldman. It’s not up to Goldman to reveal every last detail about…
Washington’s Economy Adds Jobs for Second Straight Month
Washingtons economy gained an estimated 1,600 jobs in March, compared to the month before according to the state’s Employment Security Department. In spite of the added jobs, the unemployment rate edged up to 9.5 percent in March from Februarys revised rate of 9.4 percent as more unemployed residents started to look for work again. The…
The Summer of our Discontent
June is the cruelest month, at least in western Washington.After a long winter and a short spring, hopes for warmer weather are oftendashed by long stretches of even more cold and rain. And so it is with the economy. The current recession, now 18months old, has lasted longer than any downturn since the Great Depression….
A Recession is a Terrible Thing to Waste
During the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy presented thegoal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth by theclose of the 1960s, saying, We choose to go to the moon in this decade … notbecause [it is] easy, but because [it is] hard. As we know, on July 20,…
The MBA Final Exam (Revised)
Name: _____________________________________________ Desired Occupation: __________________________________ Desired Salary: ______________________________________ Note to the MBA candidate: This years final has beenshortened and simplified in keeping with the challenging economic and businessclimate we face. Because a strong economy needs strong entrepreneurs, cheatingis expressly prohibited except where it is done to prevent failure. 1. Youare the CEO of a large…
Crossing the Valley
The Obama administration is pouring billions of stimulusdollars into research on everything from medical science to alternative energy.Its a windfall. The University of Washington alone could receive up to $300million. Whats not to like? Research, and the technology it produces, opens newfrontiers, raises productivity and improves our quality of life. Apples iPodwas the result of…
No Time for Cutbacks
In the winter of 2008, Starbucks saw the early days of therecession as an opportunity for innovation. Several weeks previously, thecompany announced that it would close stores for the first time in its history,and its stock price began to fall. While in these conditions most brands sinkinto retrenchment, Starbucks implemented a plan to reinforce its…