2008 May:   Business
Anchor:   Base Index
Other months:    April  June
Other areas:    Climate  computing  education  health  international  Internet  science  social  technology  Others
Topics:   Agriculture  banking  carbon  climate  competition  consumerism  copyright  corruption  economics  environment  fraud  free trade  freight  globalism  management  manufacturing  marketing  media  money  newspapers  outsourcing  pay  policy  politics  privatism  publishing  social  television  trademarks  wealth
Carbon(see also in Climate) last  down  top   back  on

Gerard Brody, What am I bid for this emissions permit, still in wrapper?, The Age, 2008 May 29 (as the EU experience shows, permits to emit carbon mean windfalls to business)
Hamish Macdonald, Indonesian bid to end emissions stand-off, The Age, 2008 May 29 (Indonesia plans to cut its projected carbon emissions from energy and douse forest fires in an effort to lead Kyoto Protocol signatories into faster action on climate change)
Juliette Jowit and Tim Webb, Plans for new coal plants under fire, Observer, 2008 May 18 (campaigners seek guarantees of safeguards to prevent the escape of carbon gases)
Chris Hammer, Climate expert sees bright future for coal, The Age, 2008 May 8 (climate change adviser Ross Garnaut believes "clean coal" technology will be commercially viable by 2020, contradicting claims made this week by environment group Greenpeace International)
Chris Hammer, Greenpeace rejects 'clean coal', The Age, 2008 May 6 (clean coal technology has been labelled a "scam" by Greenpeace, which says it cannot possibly be ready in time to prevent dangerous climate change)
Clean-technology firms: Labour pains, Economist, 2008 May 3 (a talent shortage hits green start-ups)
Competition(see also Marketing) up  down  top   back  on

Julianne Dowling, Who owns an idea? Jump in number of court cases, The Age, 2008 May 29 (lawyers report surge in cases relating to trade secrets, intellectual property and restraint of trade)
Competition law: The American way of trustbusting, Economist, 2008 May 3 (rooting out price-fixing benefits sound businesses as well as consumers)
Investigating price-fixing: Supermarket sweep, Economist, 2008 May 3 (a complicated investigation of Britain's supermarkets looks like the latest example of the use in Europe of American trustbusting techniques; however, in other areas of competition policy deep differences remain)
Mergers and dominant firms: Oceans apart, Economist, 2008 May 3 (Europe still seems to have less faith than America in the ability of the free market to tame monopolies)
Consumerism(see also Social and in Social) up  down  top   back  on

John Lee, China's donkey of consumption drags its hooves, The Age, 2008 May 29 (the Chinese economy is dangerously unbalanced towards investment)
Aditya Chakrabortty, Why we buy what we buy, Guardian, 2008 May 20 (the conventional wisdom that huge choice makes it more likely a shopper will make a purchase is being challenged by the new discipline of behavioural economics)
Ari Sharp, Expert advises on wider world of web, The Age, 2008 May 8 (by 2012 almost half of all retail purchases will in some way involve the internet but many retailers are failing to integrate the web into their operations, according to an American cross-channel retailing expert)
Nassim Khadem, Big banks 'pose consumer risk', The Age, 2008 May 8 (the increasing dominance of the big four banks in the mortgage market was dangerous for consumers and businesses, and could result in higher interest rates, lender Aussie Home Loans indicated)
Copyright and Trademarks(see also in Internet and Technology) up  down  top   back  on

Doris Frankel, Barbie's creator takes on sassy Bratz in ownership spat, The Age, 2008 May 29 (it has surely crossed the mind of many a knit-browed parent that the Bratz doll prototype would land in trouble)
AP, Lawsuit threatens freedom to cut and paste, The Age, 2008 May 27 (a $US1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit over YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off its popular video-sharing site threatens how hundreds of millions of people exchange all kinds of information on the internet, owner Google said)
Nokia responds to gamers' anger, BBC, 2008 May 23 (mobile giant Nokia says it will allow people to transfer games between its handsets following protests)
David Van Homrigh and Dean Ellinson, Biggest threat to your business may be on inside, The Age, 2008 May 22 (theft and loss of intellectual property are serious)
Economics and Policy(see also Money) up  down  top   back  on

Tim Colebatch, So where has the investment gone?, The Age, 2008 May 29 (businesses are investing less than economists expected; the question is why; and it is important to get the answer right)
Inflation in emerging economies: An old enemy rears its head, Economist, 2008 May 24 (emerging economies risk repeating the same mistakes that the developed world made in the inflationary 1970s)
John Garnaut and Matt Wade, Higher prices and tighter supply to enter our common life, The Age, 2008 May 24 (the explosion in the oil price is part of a wider commodities price boom, from which the worst we can expect is inflation)
Aditya Chakrabortty, Why we buy what we buy, Guardian, 2008 May 20 (the conventional wisdom that huge choice makes it more likely a shopper will make a purchase is being challenged by the new discipline of behavioural economics)
Economics focus: A tale of two worlds, Economist, 2008 May 10 (if emerging economies diverge from America's, monetary policy also needs to break free)
Bloomberg, Soros says impact of crisis just starting, The Age, 2008 May 8 (the damage done to the global financial system "has to affect, in my opinion, the real economy," Soros said in a question-and-answer session in Washington; "the effect of that is only beginning to be felt; there is a certain time lag")
Economics focus: An aberrant abacus, Economist, 2008 May 3 (coming to terms with China's untrustworthy economic numbers)
Environment(see also in Health and Science) up  down  top   back  on

Kenneth Davidson, Environment is secondary to private profits, The Age, 2008 May 22 (investing in renewable energy is being ignored to keep fossil fuels burning)
Richard Black, Call to settle ocean care dispute, BBC, 2008 May 21 (governments are urged to agree measures to protect oceans and the sea floor at a UN conservation meeting)
Tim Colebatch, Now is no time to go soft, The Age, 2008 May 18 (our economy and environment both require a clear and consistent approach)
Martha Schwartz, Urban planning needs green rethink, BBC, 2008 Apr. 29 (the focus on green homes and offices ignores the wider landscape around our towns and cities)
Fraud and Corruption(see also in Internet and Social) up  down  top   back  on

EU Enlargement: Trust me, Economist, 2008 May 31 (the theory and the practice of the rule of law; part of a special report)
Rory McCarthy, US businessman says he gave Olmert $150,000 in cash-stuffed envelopes, Guardian, 2008 May 28 (financier's testimony major embarrassment to Israeli leader in fifth corruption investigation brought against him)
Rachel Williams, ID fraudsters target well-off aged 26-45, Guardian, 2008 May 28 (high-earning professionals who own their own home are most at risk accordng to survey)
Gaby Hinsliff, US detains BAE bosses over Saudi contracts, Observer, 2008 May 18 (two senior executives working for Britain's biggest defence company detained by authorities investigating corruption allegations)
Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker, Doctor silent on money, The Age, 2008 May 16 (a senior Melbourne doctor who extolled the virtues of surgical implants failed to tell a conference audience of his financial ties to a company that sells the implants)
Ethics and the arms trade: Scout's honour, Economist, 2008 May 10 (BAE, its reputation tarnished, promises to behave better)
Globalism and Free Trade(see also in International) up  down  top   back  on

EU Enlargement: The dark side of globalisation, Economist, 2008 May 31 (jobs come, but they soon go again; part of a special report)
Chris Zappone, Is capitalism robbing us blind?, The Age, 2008 May 26 (while people have more choice than ever before among products, market forces affect their lives as never before. Industries come and go; jobs provide little or no stability; there is a growing divide between the top and bottom income earners in numerous democracies)
Taxing multinationals: The other tax rebellion, Economist, 2008 May 10 (taxing multinationals is no easy task, especially if they can leave)
Management(see also in Computing) up  down  top   back  on

Tara Conlan and Mark Sweney, Watchdog accuses BBC chiefs of breaching licence as website overspend hits £36m, Guardian, 2008 May 30 (trust blames restructuring for increase in costs; managers given deadline to improve oversight)
Corporate governance: A family affair, Economist, 2008 May 24 (the Rockefeller family confronts the board of Exxon Mobil)
Supply-chain management: Shrink rapped, Economist, 2008 May 17 (America's food retailers should wage a tougher war on waste)
Secrets of leadership: Smartly does it, Economist, 2008 May 17 (the relationship between power and leadership, in both the political and business spheres; The Powers to Lead, Joseph S. Nye)
Manufacturing(see also in Technology) up  down  top   back  on

Eco-manufacturing: Get your green pants here, Economist, 2008 May 31 (a Sri Lankan firm says it has the world's first carbon-neutral clothes factory)
Aviation: Flying the flag, Economist, 2008 May 17 (taking on Boeing and Airbus could be an expensive mistake for China)
Marketing(see also Competition and in Internet) up  down  top   back  on

Computers and the environment: Buy our stuff, save the planet, Economist, 2008 May 24 (the internet could become as ungreen as aviation; a self-serving solution beckons: technologies including multi-core processor chips, more efficient power supplies and smart cooling systems are already available; so too is software that allocates computing resources more efficiently)
The art market: Signs of weakness, Economist, 2008 May 17 (stellar art-auction results in New York do not tell the full story)
Media and Television(see also Newspapers and in Technology) up  down  top   back  on

Mark Sweney, Good scheduling and wet weather cause commercial TV viewing figures to bloom, Guardian, 2008 May 28 (UK commercial TV broadcasters enjoyed a bumper April thanks to bad weather and high-rating programming)
Media freedom: Hacks v beaks, Economist, 2008 May 10 (rich people and bad laws mean tough times for free speech)
Ad sales boost News Corp profits, BBC, 2008 May 7 (profits at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp have tripled, driven by advertising sales at the firm's Fox TV network and Fox News)
Money and Banking(see also Economics and Wealth) up  down  top   back  on

Clancy Yeates, Dollar catches greenback, higher oil could slow economy, The Age, 2008 May 23 (the price of oil and the Australian dollar hit new record highs yesterday, driven by the widening gulf between growth in the developing world and a US-led slowdown)
David Stout, US ruling could send greenback to drawing board, The Age, 2008 May 22 (an appeals court has ruled that the US discriminates against the blind because its paper currency is the same size regardless of a bill's value)
Tim Colebatch, Cost of credit cards soar, The Age, 2008 May 16 (bank fees on the use of credit cards have soared by up to 150% in the past five years, as fee income charged by the banks has skyrocketed more than $10 billion a year)
Vanessa Burrow, Bank accounts cost more than credit cards, The Age, 2008 May 16 (Australian households are paying $4.4 billion in bank fees and a big portion of it is coming from their deposit accounts)
Bank lay-offs: First ink, now blood, Economist, 2008 May 10 (the West's financial centres run red)
Nassim Khadem, Big banks 'pose consumer risk', The Age, 2008 May 8 (the increasing dominance of the big four banks in the mortgage market was dangerous for consumers and businesses, and could result in higher interest rates, lender Aussie Home Loans indicated)
Outsourcing(see also Pay and in Social) up  down  top   back  on

Pay and Wealth(see also Outsourcing and in Social) up  down  top   back  on

Toyota acts on overwork culture, BBC, 2008 May 22 (Toyota increases the amount of overtime payments that can be made for officially voluntary activities)
Stuart Washington, The $80,000,000 man, The Age, 2008 May 21 (MacQuarie Group chief executive Allan Moss leaves the "millionaires' factory" with a fortune worth more than $80 million)
Michelle Grattan, Howard's high earners to face cuts, The Age, 2008 May 6 (Australia's top earners nearly doubled their income during the Howard government years, new figures have revealed, providing ammunition to Treasurer Wayne Swan as he prepares to slug the rich in next week's federal budget)
Will Hutton, Feeble government lets the superclass soar over the rest of us, Observer, 2008 May 4 (the superclass can only make the scale of money it does because of its capacity to do what it will with cash)
Privatisation and Private Equity up  down  top   back  on

Private equity in Austria: Fending off the locusts, Economist, 2008 May 31 (will an American private-equity firm buy Vienna's Ferris wheel?)
Private equity: All Clear?, Economist, 2008 May 17 (what this week's Clear Channel deal says about the state of private equity)
Publishing and Newspapers(see also Media) up  down  top   back  on

Victor Keegan, Books are thriving despite the internet, Guardian, 2008 May 29 (there may even be a link between digitisation and the onward march of books)
Aleks Krotoski, Why is the book world threatened by gamers?, Guardian, 2008 May 29 (there's a shift afoot in storytelling, one unavoidably inspired by computer games and new technologies)
Matthew Ricketson and Ruth Williams, Narrow 'Age' on hold, but papers going great : Fairfax chief, The Age, 2008 May 18 (Fairfax Media chief executive David Kirk says the company is still planning to narrow the size of its flagship broadsheets, but has admitted the original timeline was unrealistic)
Book clubs: The final chapter?, Economist, 2008 May 17 (the future looks bleak for an archaic corner of old media)
Matthew Ricketson, Newspapers 'must change their focus', The Age, 2008 May 16 (newspapers around the world need to change focus from their product to their audience if they are to survive the digital media age, according to a new report)
Matthew Ricketson, Readers need print despite migration online, The Age, 2008 May 16 (online readership of newspapers is surging around Australia while print editions are moving marginally up or down)
Katie Allen, Editors more optimistic on newspapers' future, Guardian, 2008 May 7 (survey brings back pots full of optimism, prediction of free papers and technology savvy journalists; fears that ambition won't be backed by investment)
American media: On the brink, Economist, 2008 May 3 (some of America's most venerable newspapers face extinction, unless they evolve)
Indian media: India's newspapers embrace a profitable but questionable new sideline, Economist, 2008 May 3 (an increasingly popular practice is exposing Indian newspapers to growing conflicts of interest: accepting payments for ads in the form of shares in the advertiser's firm)
Social(see also Consumerism) up   first    top   back  on

Tim Colebatch, Now is no time to go soft, The Age, 2008 May 18 (our economy and environment both require a clear and consistent approach)