Box Canyon Dairy, a 2,500-acre dairy in Idaho, recently partnered with rugged Tablet PC manufacturer MobileDemand and agricultural industry software provider ProfitSource to implement a mobile computing system that improved the efficiency of daily operations and provides access to the information needed to give each individual cow the veterinary attention it needs.This simple implementation has resulted in significant time savings on the dairy that have helped streamline operations and reduce errors. For more information, read the press release, case study with photographs, or watch a case study...
President George W. Bush planned on Wednesday to call for a halt in the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, a first for a White House often accused of dragging its feet on climate change. But he was not expected to enunciate a specific plan or any mandatory steps to achieve the goal.Bush's cautious approach appeared unlikely to appease European leaders, who want more decisive action; Democrats in Congress, who soon will consider more-ambitious targets; or environmentalists. Senior administration officials who briefed reporters before a Bush speech on the subject said the president would not support any plan that would raise taxes, curb trade or abandon coal or nuclear power.Even before the speech, critics said Bush would not be going far enough."If all he does is lay out a...
Last Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., I joined a group of female entrepreneurs determined to learn the secrets of eliminating stress from our lives. It was smack in the middle of rush hour and few of us arrived right on schedule. The remainder trickled in over the next half hour, with each latecomer exuding a look that said, “My life is so busy that it is hard to be punctual even for a destressing workshop.” We filed into the conference room at In Good Company Workplaces and then Jennifer Edwards, a “stress reduction educator” with a background in dance, meditation and yoga, asked us to go around the table introducing ourselves along with a statement about why we think we were all so stressed. It went something like this:See full...
The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) has issued its "Report on Enhancing Market and Institutional Resilience." This work was undertaken at the request of the G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors and delivered for their recent meeting in Washington, D.C.Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox today issued the following statement regarding the FSF report:"The report by the Financial Stability Forum represents an important contribution to ongoing international discussions of these topics. It provides a backdrop for actions considered by the SEC and others to deal with the issues underlying the recent market turmoil. As the Commission prepares to write new rules for credit rating agencies under the recent authority granted us by Congress, this report will be of...
At USAIN's 2008 conference, Peter Young and colleagues gave an update on recent developments at the National Agricultural Library.He introduced 'Blueprint for Success: The National Agricultural Library 2008-2012' - a staff discussion paper that, according to Young explains "what it is that NAL's programmes are about." It responds to the question "what do you [the NAL] need ..." to revitalize and sustain the library and its services into the future. The paper is "meant to stimulate discussion, evoke critical comment and spark debate about NAL’s future."The starting premise of the team writing the report is that "information consumers, whether USDA staff worldwide or the Nation’s citizens, now expect easy and seamless access to digital content and personalized services. They demand...
by Ethiopis Tafara, Director, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionBefore the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, United States SenateChairman Dodd, Senator Shelby, and Members of the Committee:Thank you for inviting me to speak before today's hearing on the regulatory framework applicable to foreign government investment in the U.S. economy and financial sector.I should state at the outset that, as Chairman Cox, Secretary Paulson, and others have noted on many occasions, the United States welcomes foreign investment. I know that is a view widely shared and supported by members of this Committee as well. You have asked me to speak to the particular issues that arise not from foreign investment, but from foreign government investment in the...
One of the most common arguments against incentives to help people buy solar panels for their homes are that they are a subsidy for the rich, paid for by everyone. The argument goes: only the rich can buy a photovoltaic system, which, even with subsidies, costs thousands of dollars. Why should everyone chip in to help rich people buy new toys?On the face of it, this argument is persuasive. Why should everyone pay, if only the rich get the benefit?Basic fairness dictates that society should only subsidize activities which create societal (rather than individual benefit.) On closer reflection, however, we see that the bulk of the benefit for solar goes to society, rather than the homeowner-installer.Let's look at the benefits of a photovoltaic system (numbers are for a 4kW system, installed...
Citigroup to record another $11bn of losses, according to respected analyst.US investment banks are poised to make further huge writedowns to their sub-prime related portfolios this week, as they report first quarter numbers.Citigroup is expected to record a further $11bn (£5.6bn) of writedowns when it reports on Friday, according to one of the most influential analysts on Wall Street.See full...
El presidente de Estados Unidos George W. Bush anunció que impondrá nuevas y "ambiciosas" metas para frenar el crecimiento de emisiones de gases de invernadero para 2025.Mencionando que la clave estará en la nueva tecnología, el mandatario dijo que las emisiones en EE.UU. tendrían que alcanzar su apogeo dentro de 15 años para empezar a reducirse a partir de entonces.Defensores del medio ambiente reaccionaron rápidamente con críticas hacia las nuevas metas.Los tres principales contendores en la próxima elección presidencial apoyan políticas más agresivas en cuanto al cambio climático.See full...
This is very good news! Google has many tools and much creativity that it is directing at money-making ventures, and rightly so.However, it is also a leader in its field and, as such, needs to be a leader in these areas as well.It is not enough to talk about doing good!Onésimo Alvarez-MoroSee article:The fight against child pornography is getting an assist from technology designed by Google to help identify copyright-protected clips on its YouTube video-sharing site.Four Google employees used their "20 per cent time" - during which the company encourages them to pursue unofficial, out-of-the-box projects - to customize the copyright software for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's program for identifying children in sexually explicit photos and video.Software...
A proposal by President George W. Bush to halt the growth of US greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 met a cool response from other governments on Thursday.The proposal, made on Wednesday before two days of US-led talks in Paris on climate change, fell far short of what other governments have demanded as a response to scientific warnings on global warming.The reaction dimmed prospects for progress at the Paris talks, and at later United Nations negotiations.Germany slammed the proposal, which would allow emissions from the US to continue to rise until 2025. The environment minister’s office issued a statement describing the speech as “neanderthal” and demonstrating “not leadership but losership”. France said the target was “a bit late”.See full Article (paid subscription...
Sen. John McCain has caught St. Augustine’s bug: Give me higher energy taxes to dissuade consumption, but not this summer—not while I’m running for president.The Republican senator, who’s spent years fine-tuning big climate-change legislation that would curb greenhouse-gas emissions over the next fifty years, doesn’t want to start curbing just yet. Associated Press reports:To help people weather the downturn immediately, Sen. McCain urged Congress to institute a “gas-tax holiday” by suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. He also renewed his call for the U.S. to stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and thus lessen to some extent the world-wide demand for oil. Combined, he said, the two proposals would reduce...
'We believe fair value gives you more transparency into the underlying assets' - FASBTechnical staff of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board defended fair value over the weekend, amidst questions raised by the senior figures.'We believe fair value gives you more transparency into the underlying assets,' FASB technical director Russell Golden said.See full...
If the Pope were really ashamed he wouldn´t have those running his church in the US still in their posts. Those are the ones that moved their criminals around from parish to parish in order to avoid taking responsibility, with the additional scandal that these continued in their criminal activities with new unsuspecting children.And the US is not the only country where the Pope´s priests are running wild.Less talk of shame and more action!Onésimo Alvarez-MoroSee article:Pope arrives for first U.S. visit, vows to keep pedophiles out of priesthood.Pope Benedict XVI arrived Tuesday in the United States to a presidential handshake and enthusiastic cheering, a warm welcome that followed the pontiff's candid admission hours earlier that he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal...
In a bid to become more eco-friendly, last March, Ikea's U.S. division started to charge 5 cents per bag for going plastic. The alternative for customers was to either bring in their own bags or buy $0.59 reusable ones from Ikea.After one year, the company reports that the response was exceptional. Ikea's initial goal was to reduce usage in their stores from 70 million to 35 million bags per year. They got that and more: Plastic bag consumpiton dropped a whopping 92 percent, meaning roughly 64 million less bags were used.Ireland had similar results when it introduced a bag levy in 2002. See full...
Although he had been with the mortgage lender New Century Financial for only two months, Tajvinder S. Bindra had spent a good part of late 2006 and early 2007 pelting the company’s controller and a member of its auditing firm, KPMG, with questions about the company’s accounting.Zach Gast of RiskMetrics said better accounting at New Century would have raised flags sooner, perhaps tempering the subprime fiasco.Frustrated by their responses and staring down a deadline to close New Century’s year-end books, Mr. Bindra, the company’s chief financial officer, told both men that he needed written assurances from KPMG that New Century’s bookkeeping was proper, according to accounts of the discussions.But KPMG balked. A few weeks later, on Jan. 31, 2007, KPMG and New Century’s own...
Fuel prices and dividends are usually big drivers of the share prices of utilities. Now there is a new variable to consider: how much carbon their power plants emit.Exelon's nuclear power plant in Byron, Ill. Utilities with nuclear plants could benefit from some plans to limit emissions of carbon dioxide.Federal regulations over the next few years could limit the carbon emissions of these companies, and Wall Street analysts have begun compiling lists of potential winners and losers, based on that possibility.All of the leading presidential candidates say they favor such measures, and some kind of legislation affecting utilities is likely at some point after the November election, Citi Investment Research said in a January report. See full...
The rate of obesity in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years, and those extra pounds weigh on companies' bottom lines, according to a new report from The Conference Board. Today, 34 percent of American adults fit the definition of "obese." Obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion annually in medical expenditures and work loss.In a new report, Weights and Measures: What Employers Should Know about Obesity, The Conference Board examines the financial and ethical questions surrounding whether, and how, U.S. companies should address the obesity epidemic. The report was featured today on Marketplace, public radio's popular business program."Employers need to realize that obesity is not solely a health and wellness issue," says Labor Economist Linda...
The Federal Reserve has stepped up scrutiny of investment banks and their potential writedowns in the wake of the credit crunchThe central bank argues that if it is to act as the lender of last resort to the securities firms, it should keep a closer eye on their financial condition.Last week its staff were in Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers' offices to look at their lending and trading policies plus their levels of capital.See full...
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is to convene a meeting of hundreds of its Chinese suppliers to set out goals for significant reductions in the environmental impact of its vast supply chain.Wal-Mart accounts for about 30 per cent of all foreign buying in China and just under 10 per cent of total US imports from the country, which were worth $321bn (€204bn) last year.About 1,000 Chinese companies are expected to attend the Wal-Mart event in October, marking a push by the retailer to globalise a drive on environmental sustainability that has hitherto largely been focused on its US operations.Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's chief executive, said in an interview with the Financial Times that “we are really ambitious” about what can be achieved in China, given increased evidence of...
Citigroup's intention to add directors with finance expertise raises the question: How many is too many?Citigroup's announcement on Monday that it plans to stress finance and investing know-how in filling upcoming openings on its board of directors could be the tip of an iceberg.More financial-services companies whose earnings were hijacked by their investments in subprime mortgage-backed securities and other kinds of companies simply struggling with the current economic downturn are likely to adopt the same strategy, according to some who are familiar with the workings of corporate boards. But that doesn't necessarily mean the strategy is a sound one.Citigroup giant stated on its website that it is "actively seeking new directors" and is placing a "particular emphasis on expertise in...
Bear Stearns never ran short of capital. It just could not meet its obligations.At least that is the view from Washington, where regulators never stepped in to force the investment bank to reduce its high leverage even after it became clear Bear was struggling last summer. Instead, the regulators issued repeated reassurances that all was well.Bear’s principal regulator was the Securities and Exchange Commission, which says it was watching closely. “At all times,” wrote Christopher Cox, the S.E.C. chairman, in the aftermath of the collapse, “the firm had a capital cushion well above what is required to meet supervisory standards.”See full...
When: 15-17 April, 2008Where: Chicago, IL, USAAnti-corruption has become a top priority for Corporate America. More and more corruption cases are filed against US registered and listed companies. The Department of Justice, SEC, FBI and even the European Union are increasingly active. OECD nations, too, are turning increasing attention toward tackling business bribery. This opening conference session provides an overview of the landscape in key areas: The US, EU and emerging economies. Find out here about: * Trends: How rules and expectations are changing for large companies * The US/EU regulatory landscape: The new legislation designed to combat anti-corruption and push compliance * The global perspective: Which other Governments are serious about bribery, and what are they doing...
Former Vice President Al Gore and a nonprofit climate group have begun what they say will be a three-year $300 million advertising blitz to recruit 10 million advocates to seek laws and policies that can cut greenhouse gases.The campaign was introduced in a “60 Minutes” appearance by Mr. Gore on Sunday. The first ad, posted online at wecansolveit.org , compares the challenge of fighting global warming to the invasion of Normandy and the civil rights movement.That advertisement will start appearing on television Wednesday, according to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a group created by Mr. Gore in 2006. It will be followed by ads tailored to particular audiences and media, including the Internet. See full...
When: June 3, 2008Where: The Rainbow Room, New York, NY, USADriving Profit Through Ethical LeadershipCompanies with a strong ethical culture and reputation for integrity are consistently outperforming their competitors. In surveys, consumers have demonstrated a preference for goods and services produced ethically. The next generation of employees—and leaders—want to join businesses that value ethics, and not just the bottom line.In today's global marketplace, where companies are not only concerned about a corporate culture but also the merging of several different cultures, how do you lead ethically? How do you convey the importance of an ethical corporate environment to your employees around the world? To shareholders and stakeholders? And why should you even try? Do sound ethics...
Potential climate change is the greatest strategic risk currently facing the property/casualty insurance industry, with demographic changes taking priority for the life insurance industry, according to a new study by Ernst & Young, closely followed by demographic change and catastrophic events.For the new study, "Strategic business risk 2008" (pdf, 388kb), Ernst & Young and Oxford Analytica interviewed more than 70 industry analysts from around the world to identify the emerging trends and uncertainties driving the performance of the global insurance sector over the next five years. The study identified risks in three broad areas — macro, sector-specific and operational threats. It identified the top ten risks and five emerging threats.Peter Porrino, Global Director of Insurance...
The US Treasury Secretary launched this blueprint today for how to upgrade the financial regulatory system.Onésimo Alvarez-MoroGo to full Blueprint, in pdf...
Date: June 3, 2008Location: The Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor (New York City), USAEthical Leadership Forum & Awards DinnerDescription:Companies with a strong ethical culture and reputation for integrity are consistently outperforming their competitors. In surveys, consumers have demonstrated a preference for goods and services produced ethically.The next generation of employees—and leaders—want to join businesses that value ethics, and not just the bottom line. In today’s global marketplace, where companies are not only concerned about a corporate culture but also the merging of several different cultures, how do you lead ethically? How do you convey the importance of an ethical corporate environment to your employees around the world? To shareholders and...
Electronic filing is the centerpiece of Cox's plan to beckon companies to the U.S. capital marketsIn a continuing effort to make U.S. capital markets more appealing to foreign companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a number of amendments to its disclosure standards, including eliminating all requirements for paper submissions."The proposed amendments would bring our foreign company disclosure requirements into the 21st Century by eliminating any requirement for paper, and by giving investors instant access to foreign company disclosure documents electronically, in English, on the Internet," SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said.advertisementOne set of proposals, known as Foreign Issuer Reporting Enhancements, would permit issuers outside the U.S. to assess their...
Bottled water sales in the United States reached 8.82 billion gallons in 2007, worth $11.7 billion, making the U.S. market for bottled water the largest in the world, according to Beverage Marketing, a provider of beverage industry data. Worldwide, water bottlers sold 47 billion gallons, or 178 billion liters, in 2006, up from 43 billion gallons in 2005.Campaigners against bottled water cite concerns that include energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, waste, the environmental effect of water extraction, the perils of privatization and social issues."We're at the beginning of an awakening of the costs of our bottled water use," said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a sustainable development research organization in Oakland, California.Last year, the institute saw...