Investment Strategies

In an August 30th story in Conde Nast Portfolio entitled, “Hedge Funds: Good Activists?” the author Yves Smith explains strategies behind hedge funds and uses references from a report written by Assistant Professor Nicole Boyson and Associate Professor of Finance and Insurance Robert Mooradian at Northeastern University. “The first paper by [Boyson and Mooradian], finds that hedge fund agitation leads to improvement in cash flows and operating performance,” the author denotes.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/hedgefundsgood.htm

The Future of Sarbanes-Oxley

Sarbanes-Oxley has been in existance for five years now and the August 27th story in Forbes explains where its been and where it's going. The guidelines have not only taken effect in the U.S. but in foreign countries too. Sanjay Anand, chairman of the Sarbanes-Oxley Institute, an independent consulting group, has spent 80% to 90% of his time consulting in a foreign country in 2006.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/documents/AsSeenIn-Forbes.pdf

Retail Corruption in India?

Professor Ravi Ramamurti, Director of the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern University, is featured in the August 26th story in The Times of India entitled, “Retail graft has gone wholesale” by Pallavi Srivastava. The reporter writes that the retail industry is thriving in India but in fact, there is an ongoing corruption problem between companies wanting to gain a competitive advantage and bureaucrats and politicians. Ravi explains that India is ahead of many developing countries but still has a ways to go. “India has a long way to go before our institutions are truly professional and independent, or the average public official's salary is high enough to make corruption unappealing," says Professor Ramamurti. "Keeping in mind that most corrupt officials earn many times their salary through corruption, it will take a huge pay increase (or moral awakening) to wean them off corruption." Ravi further adds that with economic growth within India, the corruption has moved from small 'retail corruption' to larger 'wholesale corruption.’ On the flipside, in certain industries, there is lack of a monopoly that has led to the decrease of corruption and the consumer is king.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/retailgraft.htm

Different Types of Millionaires

In an August 26th article in Palm Beach Daily News, Harlan Platt, professor of finance at Northeastern University explains two different types of millionaires, one without debt and one without.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/managingyour.htm

Greeting Cards

Cerebral Itch's greeting cards are featured in this nwsource article. Instead of cards with sincerity, their cards come with a different kind of humor.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/cerebralitchgreeting.htm

Wii Sales Surpassing XBox 360 Sales

In an August 23rd article in sci-techtoday.com, sales for the Wii have surpassed the XBox 360 sales in a little less than an year. The Wii is the fastest selling game console. According to Ted Pollack, president of San Francisco-based EE Fund Management, there are several factors that led to it's success. "The revolutionary controller was obviously an important part of the buzz surrounding the Wii -- being the first worldwide-recognized gaming input device to utilize accelerometers," he said. "Beyond the buzz, the controller has delivered being an effective and fun input device."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/wiisales.htm

The Price of Growth

In an August 21st article in Advertising Age entitled “The High Price of Rapid Growth,” by Erik Sherman, the reporter explores the issues that can be associated with rapid growth within a company, as well as the costs and consequences of expanding too rapidly. If growth is too rapid, the company will not have the man power and as a result, the customer experience can suffer which can hurt the brand image of the company. Andrew Rohm, assistant professor of marketing at Northeastern University College of Business Administration, believes that focusing on the customer is essential. "The mistake some companies make is to pay lip service to the brand or the experience," said Professor Rohm. “It's also easy to lose track of the experience that consumers expect -- and even to assume it to be one thing when it is actually another.”

If you would like to read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/highprice.htm