meek-investor

Ramamritham must be sacked - plain and simple. He is usually just a nuisance and a pain in the posterior, but otherwise a good man. But recently he has crossed the barrier and is now a genuine danger. He must be read the riot act and told to go. I am referring to his contortions and nonsensical behaviour in the Vodafone case. For those not familiar with this saga - here's a short summary. Some years ago Vodafone bought a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar. Vodafone's Dutch company bought the shares from Hutchison Telecom which is a Hong Kong company. Neither the buyer, nor the seller was an  Indian company although the shares they bought were of a company whose operations are in India. Under ordinary tax laws in most countries in the world, including India, the place where the selling company is and the buying company is dictates where tax would be paid on the gains from the sale of shares (in this case neither was in India). This should have been a straightforward matter. But Ramamr...

Every organisation worth its salt has a vision and mission statement. Often crafted by expensive consultants. Those that can't differentiate between the two, have a single statement that's both a vision and a mission. Those who profess to know the difference, have two statements. They are often held in reverential awe. I suggest they must be binned as unadulterated claptrap. Firstly these motherhood statements have virtually no meaning. Take these examples "To experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public" - Sony " To help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential"- Microsoft "Ford Motor Company is focused on creating a strong business that builds great products that contribute to a better world "- Ford Can anybody decipher what they mean other than Mom and Apple Pie ? Some are laughable . Take these for example "To be the company that best understands and satisfies the prod...

The Business is downloading some serious funny this week as we stuff our network with more special guests than you can shake a router at. Don't worry, we've got major capacity so things won't slow down or freeze. We'll be delivering rich live content at speeds that would melt your cable or DSL connection. Linking-up with us this week are: Karl Hess: Curly headed taco truck enthusiast from Los Angeles; knows how to wear a sweater; makes hilarious jokes - http://karlhesscomedy.com/ Josh Androsky: One of the clowns behind Hamclown: Los Angeles comedy hotspot; Occupies Wall Street; makes hilarious jokes. - http:// joshandrosky.tumblr.com/ Dan Crane: Known to the planet as Björn Türqoue, air guitar second-place legend and master of world ceremonies; Knows some dudes at Wheat Thins; makes hilarious jokes. - http://www.dancrane.com/ Site/Home.html Stephanie Tolev: Toronto's own; in a sketch group called Ladystache and also attempting to grow one as well; m...

The secret’s in the sauce this week, as all the regulars are back in town and ready to go TOWANDA on this show!!! We are also fully prepared to BBQ a wife batterer (SPOILER ALERT). Luckily the guests we have this week are the best kind of gentlemen, and the only thing g etting killed will be YOU, the audience. The Business is always open for Nato Green. This most beloved guest can be seen in SuperPAC, a run of shows at the Hemlock Tavern every Monday night through May 7th, before his live CD recording May 8th at the New Parish in Oakland. The East Bay Express has called him “erudite and acerbic”. He’s like a prawn wrapped in bacon FOR YOUR MIND. (Of course that’s a fresh, wild prawn and home cured bacon) We also welcome hard workin comic Juan Medina, who grinds like he’s at a middle school dance. You can catch him Live at Deluxe, at the SF Comedy Cellar and on-air with Mutiny Radio. He also put his arm around John Waters once and has a picture to prove it. You...

Public fancy has generally degraded into thoughtless inanity , right ? The silly antics of some starlet, whose only discernible feature is the shape of her nose, is what whole nations are riveted with. I mean, if some hundreds of millions can listen to a character called Justin Bieber, you can pretty much conclude that dumbing down of a whole species has occurred. In such a world, what chance do you think a heavy, macabre, 30 minute video has ? Set in a bleak part of Africa. With a grim, sad, awful story. Not much you would gather. I would have gambled everything that  a grand total of 28 people would watch this video. Well, I would have been dead wrong and would have lost miserably. Kony 2012 is the name of this video. It was uploaded onto You Tube on 5 March. A small matter of 80 million people have seen it in 2 weeks. Its about child soldiers in Uganda. Its about a monster called Joseph Kony and a horrible organisation called Lords Resistance Army in Uganda. It specialises in...

It is a common mistake to equate marketing with advertising. Marketing is not just advertising, although that's one important component. Decades ago, a marketing guru defined the 4Ps of marketing - Product, price, place and promotion. In countries like India, its often distribution (place) that is the key to a business success. Getting your product to every one of the 5 million or so outlets is a monumental task, but is often the key to success. Nobody does this better than Coca Cola. I am hardly the first person to marvel at Coke's distribution capability all around the world. Melinda Gates, for example, did it in one of the TED talks - What non profits can learn from Coca Cola . It was a brave talk - the not for profit sector often derides and holds in contempt the corporate sector. But you can't run away from the lessons that Melinda Gates draws from Coke. Consider this The place is Dhanushkodi, almost the very tip of India - well past Rameshwaram. Its virtually an aband...

The Business is happy to welcome the hilarious Josh Gondelman to the show this week. Josh hails from Boston, but currently lives in New York City. For such a sweet and lovable former preschool teacher, he knows a surprising amount about gangsta rap. He won first prize in the initial Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta, and has performed at festivals such as SF Sketchfest, Laugh Your Asheville Off, and the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. His debut CD is called "Everything's The Best," and was produced by Rooftop Comedy. You can follow his consistently stellar Twitter work at twitter.com/joshgondelman. As if that weren't enough East Coast flavor, we've also got comedian Emily Fleming visiting from New York. And we're also happy to welcome back Kaseem Bentley, local favorite and insult comic extraordinaire. The San Jose Mercury News called him a "comic to watch," and Chris Garcia once called him "the last King of Scotland." Y...

The title is borrowed from Don McLean’s famous song American Pie – the day music died. On Friday, cricket died, at least for me.  Of all sports, cricket stands unique. For it’s not just a sport. It’s a way of life. It’s where (at least in theory)  gentlemen rule . Where fair play reins supreme. Where there is class abundantly in display. Where you simply don’t do something, that’s “not cricket”. That era is long gone of course. Modern day cricket more resembles a gladiatorial contest, where anything goes. But even in the modern day Colosseum, one man stood apart. He stood for the old way of cricket.  The way cricket was played through most of its history. And he proved that you could do that and still be immensely successful. But alas, he has now decided to hang up his boots. It was coming, perhaps even a long time coming. But still, when it came, something of cricket died for me. He was the last of the gentlemen left standing on the cricket field. Soft spoken and humble...

Reunited and it feels so good! Since all The Business regulars are gonna be back at the mic this week, we called in some of our favorites and are planning to laugh through mouthfuls of burrito right along with you. David Gborie (@thegissilent) is a member of Sylvan P roductions, a team of comedians pulling themselves up by their bootstraps...ALL THE WAY TO THE STARS! His hustle and grind take him all over the Bay and beyond. We know he’s gonna be the talk of the town at the upcoming Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, OR. We’re happy to have him here, as it’s hard to tear him away from one of the 4,329,438 shows that Sylvan is currently producing. Joe Nguyen is just your everyday Vietnamese Jew raised in Georgia. His jokes are well crafted and clever, his delivery is inviting and affable--so much so that he won the 2009 Russian River Comedy Competition. We are happy he had time to stop by, as he’s just here for a visit. This former local has relocated to the g...

In virtually every country in the world, the government fixes minimum wages that must be paid to workers. In India it is a state subject and each state fixes minimum wages. Seems a very sensible move. After all the poor unskilled worker has no bargaining power [unlike coders :) ] and the power equation between employer and employee is heavily tilted in favour of the employer. A decent civilised society must ensure that workers are not exploited with wages that condemn them to subhuman existence. Seems a straightforward case, right ? It turns out to be not so right, after all. The biggest problem with the Minimum Wage is that in reality it has become the ceiling and not the floor. Whole industries have abandoned having any remuneration policies at all and simply have adopted the Minimum Wage as their policy. In fact the largest number of legally employed people in the country are probably on Minimum Wage. Construction labour, Security guards, cleaners, and virtually every form of unskil...

Newspapers across the US are shedding large downtown buildings in favor of more modest facilities, often away from the center of cities. The downsizing is the consequence of reduced need for office space following staff cuts, changes in production technologies that reduce space requirements, and the outsourcing many printing and distribution activities. Examples include: The Miami Herald has sold its bayfront building and the 14 acres around it for $236 million and is planning to relocate elsewhere next in 2013. It will use the proceeds to pay down debt and pension liabilities. The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram has sold its home for the past 90 years and will be moving to new offices this spring   The Boulder Daily Camera in Boulder, CO, sold its downtown facilities for $9 million and is moving to facilities outside the center of town. The Tribune & Georgian in St. Mary’s, GA, shed its former building by donating it to United Way of Camden Country in February to be used for work sp...