I was watching a documentary on National Geographic the other day, about life in the Savannah. At one point the camera was focused on a caracal that hadn’t eaten for days, following repeated failed attempts at ambushing its prey. The caracal caught the smell of a carcass eaten by two jackals nearby. Thinking that they Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #31: The trap of flexibility[…]
A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a student from the US, asking me for help with her thesis. Her questions mostly revolved around business valuations, with a secondary focus on ratio analysis. I usually refrain from helping others on a one-to-one basis, because, practically speaking, if I said “yes” to every such Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #30: It’s all relative[…]
The European commission issued its Eurozone forecast update this week, only a couple of weeks later than the ECB, which had published its own forecasts in June. Both authorities agree that economic growth in the Eurozone will be somewhat weaker in 2019 compared to 2018 (1.2%, compared to 1.9%) owing primarily to the unpredictable nature Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #29: Eurozone 6M19 forecast[…]
One of the things that I am often requested to do, is to improve (in other words, bring up to professional standards) the financial models that some companies are either creating in-house, or are procuring from inadequate (read: cheap) financial modelers. (Ironically, this also means that they end up paying way more than what they Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #28: Efficiency at work[…]
The former President of the Republic of Cyprus passed away yesterday (I write this on Saturday). It was immediately declared that Tuesday (the day of the former President’s funeral) will be a public holiday. Why is that I wonder? Out of respect one would probably reply out of the top of their head. Which wouldn’t Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #26: Distinction[…]
It’s only been a couple of hours as I am writing this on Saturday morning, since the international news agencies have started reporting that the massive extradition protests in Hong Kong have achieved their initial objective: That of the suspension of the controversial plan to allow extraditions to mainland China. Of course, since the ultimate Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #25: Extradition protests in Hong Kong achieve their initial objective.[…]
The much-advertised FCA – Renault merger didn’t come to pass after all. Very unfortunate in my view. I was surprised to see however that other people were happy by this fact, citing concerns over the potential reduction in competition among carmakers. I believe such a view is flawed, and here’s why: As things are at Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #24: The big-5 that were not meant to be[…]
They say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Which is probably correct. They also say that, in general, appearance doesn’t matter. Which is also probably correct. Should appearance matter? For rational people appearances don’t matter. All they care about is getting what they want. Continuing on from the example of the book, Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #23: But the cover matters![…]
You are overwhelmed with work, start complaining to your boss, they disregard your complains, you insist, you make their life miserable and after some time you may be lucky enough to persuade them to invest in bringing in a new colleague to help you out and take some workload off your back. Except that you Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #22: Give to get[…]
It is very rare for a new employee to be in a position to contribute immediately to the team as a full member. I have never seen this happening to be honest, but I am holding a bit back just in case there are any miracle kids out there. The reason for this isn’t lack Read more about Something’s Gotta Give #21: The culture gap[…]