TR EMERITUS

By James Quinn from Daily Telegraph Mr Rogers, the respected currency trader and hedge fund pioneer, cautioned that when the downturn takes hold "the world is going to be in worse shape because the world has shot all its bullets." Speaking in an interview with business television channel CNBC, the septuagenarian investor said that "since the beginning of time" there has been a recession every four-to-six years, and that's mean another one is due around 2012. However, he said that due to the extraordinary measures already adopted by central banks and governments around the world, the arsenal of available tools to combat the next recession is somewhat lacking. With reference to Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, he said: "Is Mr Bernanke going to print more money than he already has? No, the world would run out of trees." Meanwhile, Robert Shiller, co-creator of the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index, warned that the next downturn may come even sooner. "For me a double-dip is another recession before we've healed from this recession. The probability of that kind of double-dip is more than 50pc. I actually expect it," he said. His prediction came despite the S&P/Case-Shiller index for May showing a 4.6pc year-on-year increase in house prices in 20 major US conurbations. Source: Daily Telegraph  Read More →

Two new Facebook groups have been set up in the span of two days calling on Singaporeans to boycott the Youth Olympic Games hosted by the PAP regime. They are: 1. Boycott Singapore YOG 2. I hate YOG The first Facebook group to boycott YOG has been shut down after garnering more than 300 members. A message sent by its founder Tony Yan to its members suggest that ISD may be involved: "Dear members please be careful of the ISD which may be possibly monitoring our group and will not hesitate to use any means to silence us. For the safety of everyone I am shutting down this group and urge everyone to refrain from setting up similar groups." Despite the extensive media publicity on the YOG, the response from Singaporeans on the ground has been lukewarm so far, prompting one PAP MP Zainudin Nordin to admit that "more support from Singaporeans is needed." Many Singaporeans view the YOG with disdain as another "ego trip" of the PAP which has drawn public flak for exceeding the YOG budget. More than $387 millions (and possibly more) has been splurged on the YOG so far. Besides the Singapore media, no other international papers have reported on the YOG yet, a sign that the YOG may become a big flop and embarrassment for the face-conscious PAP.   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us   DISCLAIMER: The Temasek Review does not endorse, promote or support the above Facebooks' initiative to boycott the YOG. Please join them at your own discretion.  Read More →

By Rosabeth Moss Kanter from Harvard Business School Publishing Tony Hayward's expected departure as CEO of BP today won't be the biggest surprise; the surprise is that it's taken so long. (I called publicly for his resignation some time ago.) The Case of Tony Hayward and the Gulf Oil Spill will be fodder for business school discussions for years to come, as a how-not-to-do-it guide for leadership when disaster strikes. Mr. Hayward must have studied management in a parallel universe, where a set of anti-rules for bad leadership are taught. Here's what I imagine are those anti-rules. Deny and minimize problems. Drop any mention of the high-minded principles you announced at the beginning of your term, such as safety and a culture that puts people first. Sweep them under the rug as you play down the significance of the crisis. Or better yet, find someone else to blame — a supplier, a business partner, a lowly employee or two. Emphasize your own power and importance. Keep yourself front and center all the time. Rarely bring forward the rest of the team, nor even indicate that it's a team effort. Make the story all about you. Talk about your heavy burdens and the costs to your life. When forced to acknowledge the true victims, pay lip service. Never apologize, and don't even pretend to learn from your mistakes. Brush off public disapproval, and persist in the same mindless behavior that provoked criticism in the first place. Hang onto your job even when it's clear you should go, in order to negotiate the highest severance package, whether you deserve it or not. Don't even consider a deferred resignation to allow for smooth suggestion. Cling to power, and keep everyone guessing to the very end. Read rest of article on Harvard Business School Publishing Copyright © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.  Read More →