Finance and investments

Oceans of ink have been used in discussing the current and ongoing dramas surrounding finance companies. Here are some tips for you to consider should you be inclined to invest in these institutions; firstly consider the financial information. Start with key facts and figures-if you are happy with these then you can progress on to examine the company more closely. Ask the following; - What are the current funds under management? (Size of portfolio)...

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Womenomics

I have just read a disturbing and poorly researched article by Sarah Catherall published in the Dominion and here in the Press on the 2nd of October. There is no denying the statistics she quotes, but as always the figures are historical and as usual can make a case depending on how they are framed (For more on framing read Money, Money, Money..Aint it funny)The article would have had better balance if she had examined the trends relating to women...

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Why?

Why do we think that globalisation is our invention? Globalisation is a new word to describe a process as old as the human race. It really began according to Nayan Chanda around 60,000 years ago when our ancestors first walked out of Africa. The motives of the early adventurers were generally selfish- to profit, convert, learn or conquer-the overall effect has been to contract our world and draw us down the path to a “global village”. Humankind followed...

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Musings and Amusings

'That mans got balls'I am not a sports fan at all, but I think that I might give croquet a try. A male streaker running across the croquet lawn gave members of the Takaro Croquet Club in Palmerston North more than they bargained for at their club day on Sunday morning. Manawatu Croquet Club publicity officer Rex Oliver said the streaker "appeared, completely nude, at one corner and disappeared in the other. No-one was fast enough to catch him."...

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Who's counting?

It’s not so much who is counting as how we are counting. Ways ignorance about maths and probability can hurt you. There is a scene in a Simpson’s episode where a psychologist is giving a ‘team talk’. He makes the statement, ‘You are all very good players’. The team members mimic the psychologist, ‘We are all very good players’. Then the psychologist says, ‘You will beat Shelbyville!’. And the team, again in unison, reply, ‘We...

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Everyday Money

“Bizarre” says Clayton Cozgrove-and that is putting it politely. Everyday Kiwis buy and sell homes and if you don’t plan to do it yourself, you will use a real estate agent. Now, you've got to wonder what is going on at Agent Central; The Real Estate Institute. A 2003 survey on the REINZ website showed that only 23% of all vendors thought that that agents commissions were reasonable. And its not just the commissions that concern us. In May the...

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