We have all seen the harrowing images on TV that looked like something out of a Hollywood disaster movie so we know the incalculable and incredibly tragic human loss and suffering that has been caused by the 11 March 2011, Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
It is my considered view, that when women make it big in the corporate world, their achievements are more difficult to accomplish and therefore worth more admiration. Because they not only had to be as good as the men, they had to be better than the men; to survive and to excel. Plus women always have more on their plate than men – being expected to juggle home and work at the same time. That is why, when I came across this CNN list of the World’s Most Powerful Business Women, all of whom I salute and who have my deepest admiration, I thought I would share with my readers –
People I am going to take a bit of a break from my usual bargain hunting posts to take a look at the rather serious subject of climate change and how it impacts the world of economics and business. While some call it placing obstacle in economic progress and placing curbs on free enterprise, this is a shortsighted view. We have to preserve and conserve now, so that we don’t destroy our resources and have the wherewithal to continue to produce tomorrow.
A couple of months ago, just such an initiative was underway in Copenhagen where the future of business was decided during the World Business Summit on Climate Change. The aim of this summit was for top CEOs to discuss how their firms can help solve the climate crisis through innovative business models, new partnerships, and the development of low-carbon technologies. The object was also to send a strong message to the negotiating governments on how to remove barriers and create incentives for implementation of new solutions in a post-Kyoto framework.
One of the most fascinating stories in international finance currently is that of the Ambani Brothers, Mukesh and Anil, from India. Theirs is a sweeping family saga spiced with money, ambition, avarice and sibling rivalry which is keeping the financial markets not only of India but the world over riveted. These two men are among the richest in the world, with vast business holdings, enormous riches and tremendous clout in the financial markets of the world. If one sneezes, the Indian stock market catches cold!
Over the past few weeks I have been watching the Israel Gaza conflict unfold, in horror and in indignation: horror at what Israel was doing and indignation that no one in the world was doing anything to stop it. I feel indignant at the nonchalant way in which Israel creates incursions into territory that is not its own, attacks with impunity and kills with utter brutality with no regard for whether it was a child that was killed or a hospital that was bombed. The current ceasefire has done little to undo the harm done.
