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It’s Not “Time Management.” It’s Lean.

Markovitz Consulting

Of course, software firm 37 Signals has been operating four-day work weeks over the summer since 2008. Unfortunately, companies in the lean community don’t seem to take much note of, or try to copy these experiments, probably because the benefits aren’t reflected on the income statement or balance sheet.

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Consultant Ninja: A Simple Question about the Credit Markets.

Consultant Ninja

Heres my understanding of the current TARP/TARPII/PPIP/etc plans: The major "sick" banks wont lend to businesses, because their balance sheets are tied up with bad assets that they cant sell. Isnt also true that providing funds to the sick banks also insures they dont go under? A Simple Question about the Credit Markets.

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Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: FHA Swamped By Defaults.

MishTalk

According to Ligon, the only way the FHA can avoid a bailout is to reduce its market share by lowering maximum loan limits to $325,000 over the next four years, raise credit requirements for borrowers, and institute “burden sharing” with loan originators by reducing insurance coverage from the current 100 percent to 50 percent by 2016.

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Back in the Saddle, Just in the Nick of Time

MishTalk

Ally, whose defunct GMAC Mortgage unit was one of the biggest lenders of subprime mortgages in the run-up to the 2008 housing bust, will inch back into direct home loan originations next year, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Brown said this week at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. financial conference in New York. "I

Mercer 28
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Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Ritholtz on Gold and on.

MishTalk

If there was ever a time when monetary insurance was needed, it is today. Contrary to 1979/1980, the current gold bull market will unlikely end due to a sudden strong rise in interest rates, as the balance sheets of governments, households and corporations are tainted by huge debt. December 2008 (85). November 2008 (78).

Trends 63
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Why GE’s Jeff Immelt Lost His Job: Disruption and Activist Investors

Harvard Business

With refrains of “unlock hidden value” and “increase shareholder value,” and powered by over $120 billion in assets , activist investors like Trian look for companies like GE (or Procter & Gamble) whose share price is underperforming relative to its peers (or that have large amounts of cash on their balance sheets).

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Laughable Eurozone Banking "Non-Union"; Expect Disorderly Breakup

MishTalk

A big bank collapse would dwarf the available resources; some €473bn of capital has been pumped into EU banks since 2008. He notes that the ECB will end up as "supervisor" of 128 banks with an aggregate balance sheet "somewhere between €26 trillion and €27 trillion." Will the banking union cover all eurozone banks?

Banking 73