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By Dr Nicholas Gruen
You may not know it but around 20% of the home loan market has just collapsed - the securitisation market. The banks are moving into the space and, as a result, rationing credit elsewhere. Below the fold is an op ed in the Age about it. It introduces a theme you'll probably be seeing a little more of from me.
In a paper I published in 1997 (I think it was) I argued that while competitive neutrality was a good thing, it was possible to have too much of it - at least where it stopped us making the best possible use of the specific qualities of the public sector. But an alternative and in many cases ultimately more compelling principle is the desirability of making gains through trade. There are some things the public sector does better than the private sector, and it should be able to do them - prudently and within appropriate institutional frameworks. This column outlines one. I will outline some others if and when I get the time.
No matter how you look at it, our future will be built on a skilled workforce.
At a time when employers are finding it increasingly difficult to source the skills they need to get the economy moving, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to invest in the dramatic upskilling of our workforce to defend ourselves against, and benefit from, the emerging economic giants to our north.
We have the advantage of being first movers, we already have the tertiary eduction structures in place, but our neighbours are investing massively in improving their education market, and we should be looking at moving further up the value chain to retain competitive advantage.
What is very important is that the prosperity we are enjoying now was built on the educational achievements of our predecessors. For the economy to prosper we need to ensure that those who are going into the workforce have first had access to excellent schooling, so they are ready to take on the challenges and learn throughout their lives.
Who comes first, the customer or the shareholder?
We all knew it was coming.
The buy-out of St George bank has been imminent since it acquired its banking license and listed on the ASX back in 1992. That's a long time coming by anyone's measure, and certainly Westpac is far from the first suitor. NAB and the ANZ have sauntered past previously but the timing wasn't right, and let's face it, what's really going to make this deal work is golden girl Gail Kelly.
But that's precisely what has me worried. With Kelly in the wings, this deal is not only likely to work, it's likely to be smoother than the vast majority of banking takeovers, not only because she brought into Westpac an intimate understanding of her former employer, but also because she's just so damn good at making one plus one add up to three.
The globally integrated economy requires fresh thinking and innovative approaches to managing change.
In today's globally integrated economy, CEOs are bombarded by change -- can they handle it? According to IBM's 2008 Global CEO Study of 1,130 CEOs, which was conducted face-to-face in 40 countries, CEOs are battling to keep up with the pace of change.
CEOs reported a surprising level of optimism about change as an opportunity to build new competitive advantage. In fact, 83 percent of surveyed CEOs expect substantial change in the future, an increase of 28 percent in just two years.
Yet, while CEOs see change ahead, their ability to effectively manage change is increasing at a far slower pace. CEOs rate their ability to manage change 22 percentage points lower than their expected need for it, a ‘change gap' that has nearly tripled since 2006. The study reveals that CEOs were specific about where the most important change will occur - within their own customer base as two classes of customers emerged: the ‘information omnivore' and the ‘socially-minded' customer.
