Everyone hates managers; they're either vicious psychopaths, mendacious Machiavellians or narcissistic incompetents. All of them; without exception. Managers grind you down with endless and pointless meetings, make claiming your rightful expenses so complex you give up and they think the air of company dissatisfaction can only be improved with team-building away-days. They should just let you get on with it. Teachers cannot teach, police cannot catch criminals and doctors cannot heal, because they are swamped by all the bureaucracy, by useless paperwork, instead of doing what they are best at. In their new book, The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan say: “Imagine a world without managers as a kind of paradise where workers are unshackled by pointless bureaucracy... a place where stuff actually gets done”. Weirdly, managers tend to agree. The ambition of every plod-hopping multi-national is to become more like a start-up and this usually entails a company café, table tennis and some intense hot-desking. The book,…
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Until recently, Medellin, Columbia's second largest city, was ridden with drug lords and criminal organisations – it was known as the murder capital of the world. This urban battlefield meant many people were displaced and they looked for refuge up in the surrounding hill, where they built informal settlements. The result of these improvised communities is an extension of the city, which reflects today's most impoverished neighbourhoods. Yet, here we are in 2013, and Medellin is one of the three chosen finalists for the City of the Year Award. This award is an initiative of Citi and the Wall Street Journal, where a jury, comprised of experts from the Urban Land Institute, selected the final cities and an online poll was open until January for the public to vote the winner. The result is yet to be announced, but it is to be noted that Medellin, this once notorious city, is competing against New York and Tel Aviv, because the jury believed that it should…
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Pope Benedict XVI resigns. First papal resignation in 600 years. North Korea confirms 'successful' nuclear test. Sars-like virus reaches Britain. Horsemeat found in more processed food. 'No one really understands what’s going on in our economy.' Jeremy Warner. Watching porn on smartphone is best way to catch viruses. Barclays cuts 3,700 jobs in overhaul. G4S Olympic losses hit £70 million. Financial Times editor Lionel Barber has said that news no longer has a place in the paper. Nokia is hiring City analysts to improve the way it uses digital and social-media data for marketing campaigns, according to one of its senior marketers. Sony Mobile global marketing boss Steve Walker departs. GOLDMAN SACHS Goldman Sachs promoted Gregg Lemkau to jointly head its global mergers and acquisitions team and Gilberto Pozzi to lead its M&A coverage in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), according to memos seen by Reuters. Lemkau, head of M&A for EMEA and Asia Pacific, will work alongside Gene Sykes. Pozzi, who has…
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Tainted horsemeat could be tainted. It could also be donkey. England beat Ireland 12-6 in Rugby 6 Nations. Foster's celebrates 125th anniversary with multimillion-pound push. C4 wins rights to 2014 and 2016 Paralympics. Job applicants with schizophrenia facing ‘discrimination’. Vince Cable: Britain in need of rich immigrants. HMV marketing director Mark Hodgkinson made redundant. Glue Isobar hires Douglas Le Patourel to run Kellogg's. Steve Atkinson returns to OOH with Outdoor Plus. CREDIT SUISSE AG The investment bank named Neil Harvey as vice chairman of asset management for Asia Pacific. This is in addition to his role as co-CEO for Greater China and CEO for Hong Kong. FINANCE 3.0 The Swiss advisory firm appointed Michael Willi as chairman. Willi joins from Swiss bank UBS, where he was the chief communication officer. TOWERS WATSON & CO The firm, which provides risk management and human resource consulting services, appointed Mark Higgins and Fraser Howard in its U.S. casualty treaty reinsurance broking business. Both Higgins and Fraser join from…
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Monday Headlines: • China beats US in global trade race • UK private sector bounces back • Independent Scotland could lose EU & UN membership • EU chiefs meet to discuss aid to Cyprus and Greece • France’s industrial production may have declined • UK inflation poised to miss another inflation target • Australian stocks near three-year high; Most Asian markets closed • European markets seen flat at week’s opening • Euro touches two-week low on slowdown fears • Venezuelans panic-buying following devaluation • US movers closer to energy self-sufficiency • Hedge funds increase bullish commodity bets News: China has eclipsed the US to become the world’s top trader in goods for the first time, official figures from the two countries revealed. Chinese imports and exports together totalled $3.87 trillion in 2012, according to figures from the country’s ministry of commerce, just ahead of the US’s $3.82 trillion in goods traded – surpassing the world’s biggest economy for the first time. The UK private sector…
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Het bedrijf waar we het over gaan hebben heeft de twee eigenaren 50 miljoen pond opgeleverd en heeft een waarde van 384 miljoen pond gekregen in minder dan 5 jaar. Klinkt goed, nietwaar? Errol Damelin en Jonty Hurwitz verkopen geen drugs of wapens, en toch is het 'legale' bedrijf een van de meest schadelijke bedrijven die er zijn. Wonga is een bedrijf dat kortlopend krediet verstrekt, tegen een rente van 11.913%, en de enorme groei die het bedrijf doormaakt is vooral te danken aan het lenen van korte-termijn kredieten aan gezinnen die het moeilijk hebben; tegen een exorbitante rente. Ondersteund door een gigantische reclamecampagne, geleid door onschuldige witte omaatjes, is Wonga snel uitgegroeid tot een bekend merk. Het bedrijf zegt dat het bestaat voor mensen die flexibel geld willen lenen en die de middelen hebben om de lening vervolgens terug te betalen. Maar critici zeggen dat Wonga doelt op wanhopige werkloze gezinnen, en hun lokt met de belofte van een financiële injectie die binnen 15…
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A solar 'superstorm' is coming and we'll only get 30-minute warning. Job centre apologises after sending German teen to work in a brothel. Findus beef lasagne ready meal was up to 100% horse meat. Lego forces management to sit social media exams. Starbucks opens first franchise store in the UK (Liphook Hants). BARCLAYS PLC The bank has hired 16 investment representatives in its wealth and investment management unit across seven offices in the United States. The representatives come from Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, BofA Merrill Lynch and BNY Mellon among others. TOWERS WATSON & CO The firm, which provides risk management and human resource consulting services, appointed Asghar Alam as a senior consultant in its investment and retirement businesses. Alam joins from human resource consulting and outsourcing company Mercer. AVIVA PLC The British company said former Group Transformation Director David McMillan has been appointed CEO of Aviva Europe, taking charge of businesses stretching from Spain to Russia. Former AIA Chief Administration Officer Nick…
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• China: Trade tops forecasts in January • Japan: Back-to-back monthly deficits • EU: Close to budget cuts in response to Cameron • Ireland: ECB deferral scheme eases pressure • Global Markets: Headlines from key indexes • Energy: Oil trims weekly loss on China trade • Commodities: Copper imports by China rise China: Trade tops forecasts China’s exports and imports rose more than estimated in a January that had five more working days than last year, helping sustain a growth rebound in the world’s second-biggest economy. Overseas shipments increased 25% from a year earlier, the customs administration said today, compared with the 17.5% median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Imports rose 28.8%, exceeding the 23.5% median forecast of analysts. Separately, Japan posted back-toback monthly current- account deficits for the first time since 1981. Japan: Back-to-back current-account deficit in December Japan posted back-to-back monthly current-account deficits for the first time since 1981, highlighting challenges for Prime Minister Sinzo Abe’s campaign to revive the economy. The…
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This company has made its two founders £50 million between them and has grown to a value of £384 million in just five years. Sounds great doesn't it? Errol Damelin and Jonty Hurwitz do not sell drugs or arms, yet their company, totally legal, is one of the most pernicious imaginable. Wonga is a payday lender, offering loans at 11,913% and its astonishing growth is mostly due to giving short-term cash loans to struggling families at exorbitant interest rates. Backed by a huge advertising campaign, fronted by loveable and non-threatening, white-haired grannies, Wonga has quickly become a household name. The company says it serves people who need the flexibility of borrowing short-term and who can afford to pay the money back. But its critics say Wonga targets desperate unemployed families, tempting them with the promise of a cash injection into their bank account within 15 minutes. By default, they target people in financial difficulty and make those difficulties worse. The company has just said it…
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England beat Brazil 2-1 in friendly (first time since 1990). RBS fined £390m for rigging rates for profit. Ireland votes to liquidate Anglo Irish Bank. Ready meals removed from supermarket shelves over horse meat contamination fears. Interpublic will look to appoint a chief executive of IPG Mediabrands UK, following global changes that will see Jim Hytner, global chief executive of the Initiative network, take the role of chief executive of IPG Mediabrands G14. Bauer Media acquires Planet Rock for £1.3m. O&M's Jaimes Leggett to join M&C Saatchi Australia. Dom Moira and Kieron Roe have been promoted to associate creative directors at Lean Mean Fighting Machine. Trine Pillay joins B-Reel as executive producer. Lida promotes Jonathan Goodman to managing partner. TD ASSET MANAGEMENT Brian Murdock, the chief executive of the Toronto-Dominion Bank unit, has resigned to return to the United States from Canada, a company spokeswoman said. Murdock, who joined TD as CEO of TD Asset Management in 2009, has held a number of positions in…
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