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Friday 30 October 2015

When Will the Doomsayers Be Right and Can They Make Us Any Money?

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., Editor of Forecasts & Strategies, is a nationally known investment expert, economist, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. Currently Skousen is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He recently was named one of the 20 most influential living economists. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College and Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology and other Fortune 500 companies.

Ziad K. Abdelnour is a Wall Street Financier, Author, Philanthropist, Activist, Lobbyist, Oil & Gas Trader & President & CEO of Blackhawk Partners, Inc., a New York based private equity “family office” that focuses on originating, structuring, advising and acting as equity investor in management-led buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations, buildups, and growth capital financing in companies and projects based both in the US and emerging markets.

For More: http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/fpcnew/EventDetails.aspx?id=41/When-Will-the-Doomsayers-Be-Right-and-Can-They-Make-Us-Any-Money

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Thursday 29 October 2015

Harvard Business Review: Candid Arrogance or Just Plain Stupidity?

A few years back, I was in Hsinchu, Taiwan, (aka "Science City") lecturing on technology strategies to 35 vice presidents and senior executives of one of the world’s largest and most prestigious Taiwanese high tech corporations. As we began to dig deeper into the true definition of “strategy,” a member of the audience asked for my view of the Harvard Business Review.  He asked the question because we were discussing the difference between true strategy and what the business world usually passes off as strategy.

I immediately responded to the question by calling the Harvard Business Review a Trick-of-the-Month club.  I explained that one month, HBR will say that the key to a company's success is for it to totally focus on the customer.  Two months later, the HBR will say that the key to success is to totally ignore the customer to avoid always being stuck in the present.  In neither case does the HBR explain why the approach is sound, nor does the writer connect to any of HBR's other previous "nuggets of wisdom."   I shared that I’ve noticed that in most cases, these “nuggets” are nothing more than isolated and superficial observations that HBR’s contributors and writers base upon fragmented, anecdotal information.  HBR treats readers as nothing more than fat, dumb frogs willing to blindly jump from lily pad to lily pad, not caring that they have no ability to know which pad will be strong enough to support their hefty weight.

For More: http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/FPCNEW/blogdetails.aspx?id=1104/Harvard-Business-Review:--Candid-Arrogance-or-Just-Plain-Stupidity

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Wednesday 28 October 2015

Bringing Main Street to Wall Street - Financial Policy Council


The mission of the Financial Policy Council Inc. (FPC), a research think tank and educational institution, is to formulate and promote sound public policy based on the principles of free enterprise and wealth creation as envisioned by the ideals of the American Founding Fathers.

For More: http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/fpcnew/MMedia.aspx

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Tuesday 27 October 2015

Increasing Marketshare and Profitability through the Crowd



When crowdfunding and marketplace lending came onto the scene there was little interest from Wall Street in these platforms that were mainly working with undesirable startups and sub-prime borrowers.

Georgia P. Quinn is a securities attorney specializing in crowdfunding at the firm of Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole.  Quinn was recognized in 2014 as a Top Female Attorney in New York City by Thomson-Reuters.

Chris Tyrrell, CEO of OfferBoard has more than 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship, financial law, technology and capital markets, having managed and founded two private technology companies and been involved in over $20 billion of financing transactions.

Joy Schoffler, founder and principal of Leverage PR, is a nationally recognized author and speaker in the field of innovative financial services marketing and communications.

D.J. Paul is the founder of DJP&Co., a financial services consulting firm specializing in investment crowdfunding regulation, implementation and business development.


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Monday 26 October 2015

The Economic Plans of International - Ziad Abdelnour

The FASB would be directed to make all banks and financial corporations value their assets at their true market value. This would reveal the mega Wall Street banks and corporations like GE and the likes to be insolvent. An orderly bankruptcy of all insolvent financial firms involving the sell-off of their legitimate assets to well-run risk adverse banks that didn’t screw up would ensue. Bondholders and stockholders would realize their losses for awful investment decisions. The economic system would be purged of its bad debt.

The currency of the US would be backed by hard assets. A basket of gold, silver, platinum, uranium, and some other limited hard commodities would back the USD. If politicians attempted to spend too much, the price of this basket would reflect their inflationary schemes immediately.

For More: http://www.streetarticles.com/economics/an-economic-plan-worth-considering

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Friday 23 October 2015

When Will the Doomsayers Be Right and Can They Make Us Money?

 
When Will the Doomsayers Be Right and Can They Make Us Any Money? - Financial Policy Council
 
Monday, 16 November 2015
6:00 - 9:00 PM
 





Topic: When Will the Doomsayers Be Right and Can They Make Us Money? 
 
Date: Monday November 16, 2015  

Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm  

Location: The Graduate Center / CUNY at 365 Fifth Avenue at The Elebash Recital Hall – On the main floor of the building and on the left as you enter into the main lobby 

Moderator:

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., Editor of Forecasts & Strategies, is a nationally known investment expert, economist, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. Currently Skousen is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He recently was named one of the 20 most influential living economists.


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Wednesday 21 October 2015

Dollars Versus Syrian Humanitarianism - Is There a Return on Investment?

I strongly believe that allowing more refugees to move to the United States - a solution that would certainly work, would carry little in the way of short-term financial costs, and would likely provide a powerful boost to the US economy and drastically increase the living standards of Syrians who are able to relocate.

If we're actually serious about helping Syrian people - both people who've stayed and refugees - it's not enough to identify an intervention that seems like it could make things better and then declare that it's the only viable solution. You have to compare it with alternative plans, and see which produces the most good at the least cost. And it's very, very hard to argue that the kind of intervention that could have plausibly prevented the bloodshed of the past four years would have done more good, at lower cost, than simply issuing green cards to every Syrian who wants one - or even issuing them to just 1 million, or 500,000 - and providing airlifts to bring people here.

For More: Dollars Versus Syrian Humanitarianism

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Tuesday 20 October 2015

For Russia oil equals money, what if the money dries up before the oil does?

For most countries, the economic slowdown in China and the accompanying slump in commodity prices represent something between nuisance and pothole.  For Russia, they are a catastrophe.

Russia’s currency and economy, already squeezed by Western sanctions, have been sent into virtual free fall by slumping oil prices. The IMF now puts Russia’s long-term potential growth at 1.5%. I personally think it’s just 1%, astonishing for a country whose standard of living is barely 40% that of the U.S.

Russia is indeed skating on thin ice: Cheap oil, Western sanctions and years of mismanagement have sent its economy into a deep freeze. Now everyone is wondering when the ice will crack.
                                                         
Inflation has soared to 15%, the ruble is trading near record lows, consumer and business sentiment is on the slide, and its companies are shut out of financial markets in the US and Europe.

For More: http://us.wowcity.com/newjersey/pottersville/page_article/?id=7137

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Monday 19 October 2015

CREATING THE RIGHT NON PROFIT BOARD

It happened to me last month….. An executive director of a non-profit approached me after my keynote address at a very big event in Washington DC and mentioned how ineffective his board of directors is.

He was very impressed in what I have created at the Financial Policy Council http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/ and wanted to explore ways I could assist him creating a similar type board at his non-profit.

I said why not and we went doing a series of things that helped his board better understand its role and get excited and engaged in the work of expanding its reach, increasing its accountability, and driving its growth strategy.

For More: http://ziadabdelnourfinance.com/creating-the-right-non-profit-board/

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Friday 16 October 2015

WHY DO PEOPLE VIEW MAKING MONEY AS EVIL?

I believe there was a time before capitalism took hold when everybody didn’t have too many opportunities to make vast amounts of money without resorting to illegal or evil ways. It was a time when government (or before that the monarchy) controlled everything. Actual freedom to run with your ideas and build companies is a recent development. It happened in the US first. In other countries it’s even more recent. So even when capitalism took hold, initially it wasn’t fair.

There was a lot of what is now referred to as crony capitalism. In the US this was the time of the “robber barons”. In India, Russia, China, etc….people are still living in this “robber baron’s” age. This has enforced the idea in the common man’s mind that making money is evil. It will take some time before enough people will be able to earn significant amounts of money through honest means before this idea changes.

For More: http://ziadabdelnour.org/what-to-do-with-lebanon/

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Thursday 15 October 2015

What To Do With Lebanon?

It is a fact to everybody today that Lebanon’s situation been teetering close to the breaking point. Unless Assad is dealt with once and for all, Lebanon’s political and security institutions, its economy and its social fabric will without a doubt disintegrate into oblivion.

While the country’s main parties have joined a national unity government, the latter has still declared an official policy of neutrality and disengagement toward the Syrian conflict, which frankly doesn’t change a thing. Hezbollah is today more than ever fully engaged in the fight alongside the Assad regime and this has created space for the rise of more radical groups that want to challenge Hezbollah directly such as the movement of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, the Abdullah Azzam brigades, Jubhat al Nusra and other al-Qaeda linked groups.

For More: http://ziadabdelnour.org/what-to-do-with-lebanon/

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Wednesday 14 October 2015

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT “STRATEGIC INFLUENCE”

What is Strategic Influence?

Strategic influence is quickly becoming a critical skill because the nature of work is changing: success now depends on the ability to collaborate with all parts of the organization and to manage a web of connections that spans the broader business community. Your personal ability is a given these days. The fact is that you can no longer get anything done without other people.

It’s a concept that originated in the military, to describe one country’s ability to shape another country’s actions and policies. In that sphere, influence largely equates to power. As the term has migrated into the business world, however, its definition has altered. Today, an executive’s strategic influence is not nearly as dependent on authority as it is on integrity and also on the strong ties forged with people inside and outside the organization who respect that executive’s knowledge and point-of-view and respond positively to them.

For More: http://ziadabdelnour.net/getting-serious-about-strategic-influence/

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Tuesday 13 October 2015

It’s All About Big Oil'S Interests Stupid

Wake up folks…. It is high time to realize that the whole Syrian shenanigan was nothing but Assad getting in the crosshairs between his ally Putin and his Arab foes’ interests (Qatar and Saudi Arabia).

All the rest is for the birds… no matter what the US media leads you to believe.

No one gives a rat’s ass about 120,000 people dying or Assad playing with his toys…. It’s all about money, oil and power….. Very unfortunate state of affairs but true.

The fact of the matter is that Assad refused to sign a proposed agreement with Qatar that would run a pipeline from the latter’s North field, contiguous with Iran’s South Pars field, through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and on to Turkey, with a view to supply European markets – albeit crucially bypassing Russia.

For More: http://ziadabdelnour.net/its-all-about-big-oils-interests-stupid/

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Monday 12 October 2015

About Venture Philanthropy

I also believe a philanthropist should think like an entrepreneur and think of social challenges as an opportunity to create large enterprises. It’s really easy to create a $1 billion company–you just have to solve a $10 billion problem. Most of these large $10 to $100 billion problems happen to be social problems. That’s why I think that some of the largest opportunity exist for an entrepreneur in solving humanity’s grand challenges.

True philanthropy requires a disruptive mindset, innovative thinking and a philosophy driven by entrepreneurial insights and creative opportunities. To disrupt the status quo, drive philanthropy at tremendous scale, and develop long-term economic vitality through giving, we must apply the same models for success in our philanthropic endeavors as we do in business.

For More: http://ziadabdelnourfinance.com/about-venture-philanthropy/

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Friday 9 October 2015

Reinventing Capitalism?

It is argued that Capitalism is the single most effective engine for change we’ve ever invented but it’s also been instrumental in creating the very challenges that threaten our continued survival: climate change, the impending energy crisis, even over-population.

Does capitalism’s focus need to be changed – from short-term stock prices, valuing profits over people, and costs deferred to future generations – to some more alluring system if this system exists.

I personally believe that anything we will do to reign on Capitalism will stifle the wonders that it produces. I also believe that the so-called “problems of capitalism” are not from capitalism itself, but from attempts to “improve” on the free market in an attempt to better some particular interest group by redistribution from some other lesser interest group, at the point of a gun.

For More: http://ziadabdelnourfinance.com/reinventing-capitalism/

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Thursday 8 October 2015

The mission of the Financial Policy Council


The mission of the Financial Policy Council Inc. (FPC), a research think tank and educational institution, is to formulate and promote sound public policy based on the principles of free enterprise and wealth creation as envisioned by the ideals of the American Founding Fathers.

For More: http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/fpcnew/default.aspx

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Wednesday 7 October 2015

Branding Your Non - Profit

It is clear to anyone in the nonprofit sector today that fundraising is maybe the most important activity out there if you want your organization not just to survive but also to thrive.

Most charitable nonprofits rely today upon the generosity of donors for some or all of their funding and many fundraising focused businesses and consultants help nonprofits identify and cultivate individual donor prospects.

All good.. but what about branding? Do nonprofits at large pay enough attention to it?

I believe not.

For us though at the Financial Policy Council, branding is more than just a logo; it is the image and impression that sits in our donors mind when our organization’s name is mentioned.

For More: http://ziadabdelnourfinance.com/branding-your-non-profit/

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Tuesday 6 October 2015

Can Our Tax Code be Transformed from a Tool for Redistribution


The mission of the Financial Policy Council Inc. (FPC), a research think tank and educational institution, is to formulate and promote sound public policy based on the principles of free enterprise and wealth creation as envisioned by the ideals of the American Founding Fathers.

For More: http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/fpcnew/default.aspx

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Monday 5 October 2015

Ziad K Abdelnour on Fox News

                 

Ziad Abdelnour says if we really want to go after these terrorists, we have to go after their pockets

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