Prospero Blog: July 2011

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Sovereign Debt - what happens next?

Here's some excellent historical context on the present sovereign woes and what is likely to happen next. Gloomy conclusion:

Europe is facing defaults—several, probably. The euro zone can survive them if it moves aggressively to prepare for them. But the longer it pretends that defaults aren't inevitable, the more likely it is to face another period of financial chaos and hardship.

A separate point, but I don't think any magazine is better at summarising complex issues in brief plain words than The Economist. This column is a classic of the art.

Motivation again

A video in the brilliant RSA Animate series gives some surprising ideas on motivation.

Ironic Graphs

How not to do a pie chart

Sunday, 3 July 2011

Terry Tate Office Linebacker

Staff motivation and discipline are always challenging issues. This company seems to have it sorted in quite an unconventional way.

Misleading Excel

We all know how Excel spreadsheets can go wrong. Here’s an argument that misuse of Excel led not only to climate change, but also to the financial crisis.
Be very careful out there when you’re handling spreadsheets!

Cicero on the economic crisis

Timeless wisdom from the master of Roman oratory

“The budget should be balanced,
the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced,
the arrogance of officialdom
should be tempered and controlled,
and the assistance to foreign lands
should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.
People must again learn to work,
instead of living on public assistance.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero 63 BC

Blog entry

This is the first post on the Prospero blog. I'll be using it to comment on anything that I think might be of interest to readers of this site, whether it's on finance, economics, business or anything else that takes my fancy.

Comments and links are very welcome.

Steve Lloyd