It seems clear that the era of ESG and corporate wokeism is closing.
Continue readingBusiness
Business issues and decision making.
And in fashion news, we turn to stress testing financial institutions
Does anyone else get the feeling that regulators and supervisors of financial institutions such as insurers, banks and pension funds merely follow the fashion?
Continue readingAnnuities on the march
The corporate defined benefit pension plan of the past is a rare beast in Australia these days. Most large employers have been winding these plans down for decades and there are not many left.
Continue readingAre HR departments necessary?
Ask Google to respond to that query and it returns, in short, Yes.
Any number of articles will appear as to why it is a good idea to have an HR department. Reasons against an HR department are fewer and harder to find. Until now.
Continue readingWhat’s in a name?
Shakespeare wrote some pithy lines in the 17th century about names. You’ll find those lines in Romeo and Juliet. In essence he contended that calling a rose something else would not make it smell any less sweet.
Continue readingThe doddering, the unhinged, the Messiahs and the frantically busy hotel manager at the WEF
The World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland has just wound up its 2023 meeting. What a joy it is to behold the WEF meetings.
Continue readingInvestment advice for 2023
I don’t normally give equity investment advice without being paid. But here’s a freebie. In 2023, strong cashflow, low debt, low inventory, high dividend is your target. Good luck.
Trouble with definitions
If you can’t define what a woman is, how can you define “gender pay gap”?
I’m going to hazard a guess here: those acquaintances of yours who claim that there is a gender pay gap in Australia will be unable to define a woman when asked. You try it out for yourself.
There are two ways of defining gender pay gap. One is correct and the other isn’t. The incorrect way is to add up total earnings of men and women separately then divide by the total number of men and women respectively and compare the two answers. They will be different. That allows the unscrupulous and the unthinking to cry “gender pay gap!” very loudly. Just like how today’s story in The Age reports.
However, the above calculations merely represent average earnings of men and women. Nothing can be inferred about whether men and women are paid equally by looking at averages.
The correct way to test for a gender pay gap is to look at pay for equivalent work. Then you will find that Australian business does not pay different rates for men vs women.
Wow! Solar has overtaken coal in energy generation in winter in Australia- read all about it in the @FinancialReview
So shouts the headline in today’s edition of the Australian Financial Review.
Big news, right? I was interested and so I read on.
Continue readingCEO employment prospects for middle aged white straight men are on the up
I’m in a sunny mood today as I have become convinced that my employment prospects as a business CEO are on the rise. In the event that I should need to come out of retirement and get back in the workforce, perhaps because the expense of keeping a wooden ocean going yacht has gone beyond eye watering levels, then I can see opportunities opening up aplenty. The reason is simple. Boards of directors appoint CEOs. Boards also sack CEOs. Boards are increasingly fearful of sacking a CEO who happens to belong to a protected species. Middle aged, white straight men are not a protected species. Everyone else is. So, the obvious conclusion is: appoint someone who, if they turn out to be hopeless, we can sack! Times are good, even for hopeless middle aged white straight men!
Australian Actuary 