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Arise Sir Fred, the Queen of England said in 2004 after tapping the kneeling Fred Goodwin lightly on the shoulder with her sword. This archaic ceremony is the conferring of knighthood by the Queen of England. If you are a citizen of the UK or one of its dominions then you can call yourself  "Sir". Fred Goodwin was the CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland in its boom years. An unknown, middling bank in Scotland (where's that for Gods sake), he took it to become one of the largest banks in the world. First the acquisition of Natwest, a big British bank much bigger than RBS. And then the mega takeover of ABN Amro, just as the financial crisis was unfolding. The bank was growing wildly through mega acquisitions and was cheered on by all and sundry - the shareholders, the market and even the government, including Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister of the UK. Hence the knighthood. Sir Fred could do no wrong. Of course the party couldn't last. It came crashing down with the

Sup LA? How you been, girl? See you missed us real bad. Well, dry those eyes Shygirl because The Business LA is back Friday February 10th at 8pm! We're starting this year off right: a month and ten days after it started! Helping us usher in this year of Dragons and Me zo-Apocalyptic Mysteries is none other than Kyle Kinane and Louis Katz! Tickets are $10 at the door BUT... They are only $8 online with NO SERVICE FEE! GET TICKETS HERE: http://nerdmeltla.com/ tickets/ index.php?event_id=151 The show is at 8pm at Meldown Comic's Nerdist Theater in Hollywood. As you may remember, we had a rendezvous with Kyle Kinane way back in of 2011, but he caught the Demon Flu and disappeared into a fever dream of Dorrito farts. But we're cashing in our rain-check (Kinane-check, if you will) and using hand sanitizer to ensure he'll come give you the laughfluenza (ok, I'll stop). You should know take the time to know Kinnae if you don't but here is a starti

Surprise! Sheng Wang is on The Business this week. Fresh off a weekend of dominant performances at Sketchfest, Sheng Wang returns to The Business this week. You may have seen him at the Punch Line, at Kevin Allison's RISK! storytelling show, or in line at Arinell's Pizza. Mr. Wang is a native of Houston, Texas, but came of comedy age in the Bay. His Comedy Central half-hour special premiered last year, and he's also appeared on Live At Gotham and toured with the Comedians of Comedy. He's a frequent guest to the Business, where he has also exhibited his photography. Is there anything this dude can't do? We've also got Chris Garcia, Caitlin Gill, Sean Keane, and Bucky Sinister rounding out the lineup. Admission is still five dollars, and you can bring in your own burrito if you like - I'm pretty sure Sheng will be bringing in his.

Newbies have to be broken in. If you throw them at the deep end, they'll simply die of shock. This blogger has a substantially inflated opinion of himself and proclaims expertise in matters that he knows precious little about. But even he readily admits to being a complete newbie in one matter . And he was very privileged to be broken into the said field by two acknowledged experts.It must be clarified right here that this blogger has not indulged in this activity for some 30 years and therefore approached it with some trepidation. They were very kind. They chose the shallow end of the pool for the first dip of the toe. Apparently this specimen which I was introduced to is not "typical".  But was sufficient to give a good general idea. They prefaced the experience, by a good nourishment of the body (otherwise called lunch) in preparation for nourishment of the mind. As it started, they very helpfully explained who was who. I was advised that the sum total of people in the

Remember the old book series " Coffee Tea or Me " - well readers of this blog are probably too young to remember it. Maybe now its time for Coffee, Wine or me ! Why does a coffee chain want to serve alcohol ? Starbucks wants to try out having wine and beer on its menu in a few outlets in Seattle and Portland. At first sight it seems an odd combination. Why would Starbucks want to do that ?? The problem, as always, is growth. Starbucks hit a rough patch, if you remember, in 2008 which prompted the founder Howard Schultz to retake the reins as CEO. Currently it is doing well. Revenues in 2011 grew 9.3%. But how do you keep on growing the revenues. After all, how much more coffee can you stimulate your patrons to have. You  can push the "eats", but that's a limited range. They are trying to enhance that with an offering of " premium foods" - whatever that means. And now alcohol. But is Starbucks a bar ? No serious drinker will go to Starbucks for a pint o

Today, I am finally in my forties using the lunar calendar. I would like take this opportunity to wish all my friends and relatives a prosperous and healthy year of the dragon. Huat Ah!

It must have happened to you too. Standing in a long checkout line in an Indian "supermarket". Rajalakshmi , in front of you, has 742 items to bill. You wait patiently (as if you can do anything else). The bloke behind you is poking at your spine as he wills you to advance. Rajalakshmi is intently watching the  amount totalling up on the display. It now stands at Rs 3742.50. After 18.5 minutes when all the 742 items have been billed (and not one second before), she digs into her purse and comes out with three fat wads of Sodexho coupons. All in denominations of Rs 5. And then proceeds to count them out laboriously. Being mathematically challenged, each time, she comes up with a different answer. 14 minutes later she discovers that she is Rs 5 short in coupons. She then proceeds to dig in to packed bags, go to the bottom, remove an item and ask the checkout guy to deduct that from the bill. She is now Rs 7 excess. She wants change back. He refuses ........You can do precious l

I say Tobe-Nato, you say Tobe-Nahto. Well, you're wrong, because it's Nato! As in Nato Green, doing a hot six minutes at The Business this Wednesday, along with Joe "Smokey Joe" Tobin doing an extended feature set. This show was certified 96% fresh on Rotten Tobe-Natos, a nd the National Weather Service issued a Tobe-Nato warning for most of Northern California! Are we mixing up our puns? Maybe! Joe Tobin is a writer, comedian, and Flyers enthusiast. He performs at comedy clubs all over the land, and he's received critical acclaim for his work with The Joe Tobin Orchestra. He's never booed Santa Claus at a sporting event, but he would understand if you did. Nato Green is a co-founder of Laughter Against The Machine, the creator of Iron Comic, and was recently voted San Francisco's Foodiest Dad! We've also got Chris Thayer, Caitlin Gill, Sean Keane, and fresh off a sold-out tour of Los Angeles, Chris Garcia! As always, admission is just

Down and out is one of the worst moments in life. It comes to everybody at some time or the other, save for the blessed few that God has chosen to spare. It comes to businesses, it comes to sports teams, it comes to people, it comes to you and me. The Indian cricket team is in that situation now. British Petroleum and Lehman Brothers faced it not so long ago. To many in Greece or Portugal, it might be that way at this moment. It all appears bleak. There is much darkness and little light. Even the air seems suffocating. The world seems to be an approximation of Hell. This is the moment when strength of character shows out and is sorely needed. The strength to struggle and stand up despite the ferocious battering. Perhaps with a few more ingredients that might help enlarge the glimmer of light, such as it is. Hope , of course. If you look at it,  Pandora did humanity a service, releasing all the evils, but also releasing Hope. For an utopian world with no evil, but also no hope, does not

I had been approached my some budding entrepreneurs to invest in their business ideas. Most idea lack substance or sustainability and do not appeal to me. All investors have their own key factors that trigger their interest and I would like to share my point of view on starting a business. My view is very simplistic but it work for me: Identify the business (Part 1) - Select a business that is not too competitive or common. E.g. starting a hardware shop would have a better chance of success than a handphone shop in the neighbourhood centre. Everyone is familiar with HP but not many know about hardware tools and equipments. In short, if it is too easy or simple, others would have done it. - Select a trade that you will be better than others. E.g. those in the the hardware trade do not attract top talents. If you above average, you already have an edge. (no insult meant to those in hardware trade)  - Select a trade that you have specialize knowledge. If you don't have it, learn it by

U.S. newspapers are increasing their use of co-opetition practices, that is, cooperating with competitors to reduce costs, create synergies, or reduce risk in new markets. Such activities are permissible if they are not designed to create cartels or control prices for advertising or circulation. The latest example occurred this week when the Boston Herald announced an agreement with the Boston Globe for its competitor to print and deliver the Herald . The move creates cost savings for the Herald by allow it to cut printing, trucks, and delivery personnel, while simultaneously creating production and distribution economies and an additional revenue stream for the Globe --a win-win for both companies. Such service agreements do not violate antitrust laws because the papers remain independent, set their own prices, and create their own content. If papers were to engage in such actions they would have to apply for an antitrust exemption under the Newspaper Preservation Act (see John C

The Business welcomes two first-time guests to the show, and welcomes two new Businessmen to our regular lineup. Or should we say - BusinessWOMEN. Well, a Businessman and a Businesswoman - Caitlin Gill and Chris Thayer! And our two guests are Clare O'Kane and George Chen. Clare O'Kane is a rising comedian and actress making her way on the scene. She often performs with the infamous Sylvan Collective, and has acted at the Edinburgh Festival. She starred in the film "Bloodrape" as "Evelyn," and IMDB credits her as a Researcher for "An Audience With Elton John," a TV special produced when she was eight years old. George Chen is a Bay Area bred writer and musician. His credits for talking at you include Porchlight Storytelling Series and the Living Room Salon at SF MOMA. He organized a comedy show on a bus and in a comic book store. He's writing this while watching a Species marathon. Chris and Caitlin have performed on The Business

How would you feel if you fell asleep on Thursday night and woke up on Saturday morning. No No; you didn't oversleep like crazy. Somebody moved the clocks. This is exactly what happened on 30th December if you were a Samoan - actually there was no 30th December. The world magically went from 29th to 31st. The reality behind the magic is quite prosaic. Samoa simply decided to come "this" side of the International Date line from "that". The international date line is an arbitrary line that dictates where the easternmost and westernmost part of the world is. As you can see from the picture below it is not a straight line at all - quite arbitrary. If you fancy  such things, you could have celebrated New Year's day in Tonga ; hopped across on a short plane ride to Samoa on the west of the line and celebrated New Year's day again. Alas, no longer. Samoa does such things. Sometime ago they moved from driving on the right of the road to the left of the road - ch

There is endemic corruption that beggars belief. There is a highly educated, superb English speaking elite and large masses of illiterate poor. There is insurgency and terrorism around the edges. There is organised loot of the country's finances with a few getting extremely rich and the lot remaining dirt poor. Misguided subsidies are ruining the state finances. There is a thriving film industry that churns our the second largest number of movies in the world and provides opium to the masses. No this is not India. Welcome to Nigeria. Nigeria is an oil producing country. You would expect that to be a huge blessing, right ? Wrong. It has proved to be a curse. Nigeria is suffering from an unsustainable petroleum subsidy burden. So unsustainable that this week it announced abolition of the subsidy. Predictably there will be chaos on the streets as large scale protests have commenced. The petroleum subsidy case in Nigeria is a textbook case of how pathetic government policies can ruin a

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! As we charge into 2012, great and mighty changes approach from all directions. Come meet them head on with us this Wednesday for the first Business of the new year. Joining us this week will be visiting comedian Matt Kirshen and Business regul ar Caitlin Gill! You may have also seen Matt on Last Comic Standing, The World Stands Up, Ferguson or Fallon. You may have. But have you seen one of his many solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival? You may have. But have you seen him bring his wit to our stage? No, you have not. Well, here is your chance. There is good reason Caitlin Gill is a Business favorite, having graced our stage many, many times. She's funny and smart and you love her. We do too. In fact, we're thinking of just absorbing her into the organization outright... ...BTW, this will be the last Business featuring original businessman Alex Koll for quite a while, so get your fill of him at this show. It'll h

To many, the year gone by was a bad year. Natural disasters took their toll - the earthquakes in Japan & New Zealand, the floods in Thailand, Brazil and the Philippines,  Irene slapped the US earlier in the year, and just as the year was slipping by, Thane kicked Tamil Nadu. Unemployment remained rampant in the developed world ; there is nothing more demoralising than losing your job and not having a hope of getting another one. Large parts of Europe are in crisis. Austerity measures are hurting badly, especially in Greece, and now Italy. Inflation has hurt people in China and India and growth slowing down in both countries is ominous. The Arab world had a new spring, but winter seems to have set in somewhat prematurely.  You could be forgiven for ushering in the new year in a somewhat sombre mood. But there is every reason to look forward with hope. Adversity often brings the best in man. We can find strength that we did not even know we possessed. The Euro zone will hold together