|
Feature
Reducing the
Risks of Early M&A Discussions
Every executive knows what a high-stakes game M&A talks
can become. But even before the formal negotiations start, a
one-on-one conversation that plants the seed of a deal or a
back-of-the-envelope sketch of the business case for it may present
deal makers with conflicts of interest and strategic
vulnerabilities.
Benefits of a
third-party clean
team
|
DeKaser's
Financial Market Outlook
Hooray For
Tax Reform . . . . We Hope
The
federal tax code, broadly speaking, is an abomination. Far from the
simple, easily understood ideal with the lowest possible tax rates
on the broadest possible base, the present system is riddled with
complexities, inefficiencies and conflicting incentives. While this
may not be the worst system we've had, public finance experts are
nonetheless united in their
condemnation.
What about
the middle-income taxpayers?
|
|
Business Planning & Strategy
Motivating the Middle
Executives who need a lesson
in the delicate balance between leadership and teamwork should
consider a key off-field move made by NFL quarterback Tom
Brady.
Focusing
more on the
linemen
|
|
Legislation
& Regulatory
Tough Times Call for
Creative Risk Controls
Professor
Peter Drucker once said that "everybody has accepted by now that
change is unavoidable. Since he made that comment, security and risk
management in financial institutions have seen more elements of
change than there are ingredients in a great Texas Chili
Cook-off.
Adding a few more
ingredients
|
|
Human
Resources & Benefits
Managing
Retirement, After You Really Retire
Retirees confront any number of rule changes, tax angles,
longevity predictions and inheritance questions as they try to
unscramble the best way to make retirement savings last. With an
estimated $3.5 trillion in individual retirement accounts, and with
baby boomers soon to retire in droves, such issues come up with
increasing frequency.
Making the most of
retirement savings
|
|
Finance & Treasury
Impacting Hospitals' Business
Processes and Financial
Health
It's impossible
to miss the focus on larger market trends that have, or will have, a
direct impact on senior executives' daily responsibilities and the
financial health of every healthcare organization. Most of these
trends shine a light on data, processes and relationships that will
increase hospitals' ability to make good financial decisions like
businesses in any other industry.
Just when the dust settles
in healthcare
|
|
Personal
Investing
Three Questions That Count
You want to maximize your chances
of getting good results from stock picking? It boils down to
focusing on just three big questions and they aren't what you might
expect.
Overcome your psychological
failings
|
|
Economics
U.S. Ports
Running Smoothly During Peak Season
A series of anti-congestion measures taken by
the transportation industry have combined with slower growth in
imports to ease pressure on the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The
improvement is a relief to US importers, such as Home Depot and
Wal-Mart, which suffered increased costs and supply delays during
last year's bottlenecks.
Setting sale for the
U.S.
|
|
Sales &
Marketing
Megabrands
The
nation's Top 200 megabrands aggregated $23.27 billion in first-half
2005 spending, up 10.6% from 2004, according to Advertising Age's
200 Megabrands, a semi-annual report on brands that spend the most
in U.S. media. Their 10.6% growth pulled the ad train in the first
half, as support for all brands outside the Top 200 advanced only
1.7%.
Our nation's
most-advertised megabrands
|
|
International & Trade
Let a Thousand Brands Bloom
While it was once enough for companies to focus on the 100
million or so Chinese living in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and a
handful of other big cities, today they're scrambling to offer
products tailored to more segments of the population -- rural,
urban, middle class, wealthy, and poor.
Multinationals
that are segmenting the
market
|
|
Trends
& Technology
Data: A Sea Change
Ahead
Data
quality--in the "BIG-Q" sense--means having the right and correct
data in the right format, in the right place, at the right time to
complete an operation, satisfy a client, conduct an analysis, or
make and execute a plan. BIG-Q data quality elevates the people
using data to the role of customers and recognizes that they are the
final arbiters of its quality.
Changing the way organizations manage
data
|
|
Small
Business
With a Mentor by Your
Side
Entrepreneurs,
loath to seek mentoring, should take at least one piece of advice:
try it, you'll like it, writes the author who built a business by
accepting help from smarter and more experienced founders. Included
is a look at the workings of her relationship with her current
mentor.
An
entrepreneurial mentoring
program
|
|
