Will Manchester United Actually Stay With AIG ???

With $150 billion of US government support, there has been intense scrutiny on the insurer’s spending habits, including those bonuses, some of which have now been returned. But AIG has to pay somewhere in between $20 million and $28 million to finish its four-year deal it signed with the team Manchester United in 2006.

The Question is not that how is AIG doing this? But the issue is that whether Manchester United and the owner Malcolm Glazer really cool with sporting these jerseys as they continue their quest to win championships? Actually it’s hard to get a quick sponsorship deal in this environment, but you have to think that it’s worth shelving the embarrassment by paying back the money from the rest of the deal and trying to sign a temporary stand-in.

But what about the ‘Nike’ jerseys which are already in production for next year? As explained by the London Telegraph recently, should AIG change the name to AIU (American Insurance United) would be responsible for the jersey change, but obviously if ManU ditches AIG, or whatever they’ll be called, for a blank jersey or another sponsor they would probably have to pay the bill.

How embarrassing would it be then for ManU to wear the AIG logo on their chests as they try to win the Champions League in Rome in May?

Ref.- Reuters

Credits - Manik Gursahani

Biggest Holders of US Government Debt !!!

As the US government spends an unprecedented amount of money to fix the nation's economy, there is an equally great need to raise the cash to pay for it. This is accomplished through borrowing, whereby ‘US Treasury’ sells Treasury securities of varying maturity.

For investors, the government bills, notes and bonds are considered a safe financial product because they have a guaranteed rate of return, based on faith in future US tax revenues. The government has been partially funding operations via Treasury securities for decades. This borrowing adds to the national debt, which is now above $11 trillion and is rising every day. Much of that debt is held by private sector, but about 40 percent is held by public entities, including parts of the government. Here's who owns the most.

1. Federal Reserve & Intragovernmental Holdings- $4.806 trillion
2. Mutual Funds- $769.1 billion
3. China- $739.6 billion
4. Japan- $634.8 billion
5. State & Local Governments- $522.7 billion
6. Pension Funds- $456.4 billion
7. Other Investors- $413.2 billion
8. Oil Exporters- $186.3 billion
9. Caribbean Banking Centres- $176.6 billion
10. Brazil- $133.5 billion
11. Insurance Companies- $126.4 billion
12. United Kingdom- $ 124.2billion
13. Russia- $119.3billion
14. Luxembourg -$87.2billion
15. US Depository Institutions- $107.3billion

I believe even if 5% holdings of all these entities enters the stock market of this world the volatility of the market will try to smoothen up and it would bring comfort and confidence to the financial market. Every entity being futuristic is still ready to hold and borrow more and more debt from an economy which is said to be the sole cause for this recession.

Ref.- CNBC

Credits - Manik Gursahani

Citigroup: Crisis along with Shake-up

Citigroup, is changing its way significantly. Gary Crittenden as the new Chief Financial Officer, is being made responsible to manage all its underperforming and toxic assets. Crittenden has earned the confidence of the financial community. It is a welcome relief for the firm as they want to release these assets as soon as possible.Gary Crittenden along with Vikram Pandit wants to live with the dream to restore the third-largest U.S. Bank even after $38.5 billion in losses over five quarters.

Citigroup is also involved in some financial gymnastics to raise its sunken share price. Citigroup is planning a reverse stock split-equivalent of giving $10 billion to its investors in exchange for split. This lead to a short term rally in the share price of Citigroup since the beleaguered company is earning profits in the first two months of this year. To my view this won’t make a significant change in its fundamental outlook for the company. In financial terms a reverse stock split reduces the number of shares outstanding and therefore the share prices also increases proportionately. This financial housecleaning will also help in the bailout plan to go smoothly.

Credits : Manik Gursahani

G for "Greed" or "Generosity"... !!!

Gone are the days when in business, the letter G denoted "Greed". After crisis, people of Europe, Japan and prominently USA are disgusted with these greedy corporations. As if they no more believe in the brands, they trusted before. Now no more, they follow brands blindly. Common man believes that the greediness of these brands and corporations led to downfall of their economy.

So what to do, to win back the trust of the common man!

I guess, corporations need to understand that in today's business arena, there is no room for greed.
To succeed, the letter G should be replaced to "Generosity"!

A corporation need to be more customer responsive, ethical and value driven. Brands need to crush their arrogance and should communicate their "Generosity" through Public Relation (PR)campaigns, Corporate Social Responsible (CSR) Activities and by providing more value to customers through their products and services.

Thus, it introduces new form of marketing, as "Generosity Marketing".

Trendwatching.com discusses this concept and explains how could corporations and brands can have long term success, and can be a step ahead from their greedy competitors.

G for "Greed" or "Generosity"... !!!

Gone are the days when in business, the letter G denoted "Greed". After crisis, people of Europe, Japan and prominently USA are disgusted with these greedy corporations. As if they no more believe in the brands, they trusted before. Now no more, they follow brands blindly. Common man believes that the greediness of these brands and corporations led to downfall of their economy.

So what to do, to win back the trust of the common man!

I guess, corporations need to understand that in today's business arena, there is no room for greed.
To succeed, the letter G should be replaced to "Generosity"!

A corporation need to be more customer responsive, ethical and value driven. Brands need to crush their arrogance and should communicate their "Generosity" through Public Relation (PR)campaigns, Corporate Social Responsible (CSR) Activities and by providing more value to customers through their products and services.

Thus, it introduces new form of marketing, as "Generosity Marketing".

Trendwatching.com discusses this concept and explains how could corporations and brands can have long term success, and can be a step ahead from their greedy competitors.

Recession... A Boon !!!

I am fed up listening to teachers, industry, media etc. talking only about recession and its negative impact of economy. But I always believe that there are always two sides of the coin. Let there be some positivity in the environment.

So what are the advantages of recession?
Are there any?
Shouldn't they be discussed?

Few I could think of, are as follows:

1) Recession led to drop in inflation. That's a really good news!

2) Students getting jobs in this time frame, will have great future ahead. Companies are really selective in hiring students and only the best will be recruited. Earlier when companies were on a hiring spree, It was about, "Survival of the fittest". But now, "Survival of the best". And I found, students preparing themselves extremely hard, to become the best.

3) All the "Whales" of the business have been struck badly by recession. Thus, companies with better operational strategies, better management, and better marketing would only succeed, even they being a "Fish". Now the playing field is leveled.

4) Its good time to do an MBA! Those who were planning to do it, but couldn’t get time out of their jobs, should get an MBA right now. Reason? In their job, their would be no increment in salary,and chances of being kicked out. Pass these 2 recessionary years, in an MBA college, and come back with flourishing salaries again.

5) Home Loan interest rates have reduced. Buy a house !!!

6)…

7)…

8)…

Its an open forum friends! Suggest few other advantages of recession, or criticize those pointed out.
I want this list to be as long as the disadvantages of recession.

Be a step ahead, think positive, think out of the box, and think… think… think…!!!

Recession... A Boon !!!

I am fed up listening to teachers, industry, media etc. talking only about recession and its negative impact of economy. But I always believe that there are always two sides of the coin. Let there be some positivity in the environment.

So what are the advantages of recession?
Are there any?
Shouldn't they be discussed?

Few I could think of, are as follows:

1) Recession led to drop in inflation. That's a really good news!

2) Students getting jobs in this time frame, will have great future ahead. Companies are really selective in hiring students and only the best will be recruited. Earlier when companies were on a hiring spree, It was about, "Survival of the fittest". But now, "Survival of the best". And I found, students preparing themselves extremely hard, to become the best.

3) All the "Whales" of the business have been struck badly by recession. Thus, companies with better operational strategies, better management, and better marketing would only succeed, even they being a "Fish". Now the playing field is leveled.

4) Its good time to do an MBA! Those who were planning to do it, but couldn’t get time out of their jobs, should get an MBA right now. Reason? In their job, their would be no increment in salary,and chances of being kicked out. Pass these 2 recessionary years, in an MBA college, and come back with flourishing salaries again.

5) Home Loan interest rates have reduced. Buy a house !!!

6)…

7)…

8)…

Its an open forum friends! Suggest few other advantages of recession, or criticize those pointed out.
I want this list to be as long as the disadvantages of recession.

Be a step ahead, think positive, think out of the box, and think… think… think…!!!