A nation of sellouts?
The News Review:
- A nation of sellouts?
- Preliminary plans that would turn out more North Carolina-trained…
- Property-Casualty Slides Into A Down Cycle
- Nigeria: SMEDAN, NBTI Map Out Strategies to Develop SMEs
- Giants passed on Casey because he didn’t fit at China Basin
- Nix hopes to nail down 2nd base job with Rockies
A nation of sellouts?
Toronto Star – Feb 24, 2008
Translation: When it comes to business, we’re a nation of sellouts. We’d like to let the CPRP, which is to release in June its recommendations on making Canada more globally competitive, in on a little secret. Home-grown companies worldwide do not grow up to become globally competitive when they get bought out at an early stage and folded into U. , European or Asian multinationals. The central premise of the CPRP, which has received 122 submissions to date from business, cultural and labour organizations, is that Canadian companies must become far more globally aggressive, conquering markets in the emerging economic superpowers of China, India, Russia and Brazil, among others from which Canadian firms are sadly AWOL. But no amount of tax breaks, subsidies, R&D grants, freedom from bureaucratic red tape and other standbys of Chamber of Commerce special pleading will propel Acme Widget of Richmond Hill into the global marketplace if its owners decide to sell out to foreign interests before Acme Widget achieves the critical mass of Canadian Business Top 100 or Fortune 500 company.
Preliminary plans that would turn out more North Carolina-trained…
News & Observer – Feb 24, 2008
Increasing the number of medical school graduates, and extending medical education to new sites, might mean that more newly minted doctors would take up and remain at posts in rural and poor areas. There, residents’ health problems are often acute, and physicians have been hard to attract. Having more home-grown and home-trained physicians could help. All this, however, requires careful, realistic analysis by university higher-ups and by the legislature before final plans are approved and money appropriated. Filling unmet medical needs isn’t as simple as opening the doctor-training tap wider. Advocates of expansion must show that this is an effective way to address growth and the underserved areas. At Chapel Hill, medical school officials are thinking about adding 70 students to each entering class.
Property-Casualty Slides Into A Down Cycle
Hartford Courant – Feb 24, 2008
Various commercial lines of insurance can be affected, too. Workers’ compensation insurance, for instance, is based on the size of an employer’s payroll, so layoffs, pay cuts and job freezes eat away at premium volume. Even so, analysts believe that some insurers, such as Connecticut’s home-grown companies, are taking sensible steps to remain prosperous. These steps include adding or overhauling products, expanding distribution by adding agents and increasing marketing efforts. The cyclical downturn isn’t raising the specter of major layoffs at Hartford’s property-casualty insurers. In fact, The Hartford said that it expects “modest employment growth” in Connecticut this year. About 13,000 of the company’s 31,000 employees are in the state.
Nigeria: SMEDAN, NBTI Map Out Strategies to Develop SMEs
AllAfrica.com – Feb 24, 2008
It has been observed that countries that blaze the trail in the area of technological development do not only invest in quality research and development (R & D), but also promote the concept of incubation centres to allow their scientists and engineers brood on their peculiar challenges and then come up with home-grown solutions. GA_googleFillSlot(”AllAfrica_Story_Inset”); The strategy is to pool resources together; to explore each others areas of strength towards making it easier for SMEs to develop, and also for the country to achieve the millennium development goal of job creation and poverty reduction. In a speech during the session, the director-general of SMEDAN, Mrs. Adelaja said, "you have your own area of strength, we have ours too. But there is need for synergy and I strongly believe that our example will be worthy of emulation.
Giants passed on Casey because he didn’t fit at China Basin
San Francisco Chronicle – Feb 24, 2008
The team has plenty of character in Omar Vizquel, Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Kevin Frandsen, Dave Roberts and Matt Cain, just to name a few. Their problem isn’t fire and brimstone – it’s power. Unless someone comes along with the potential to hit 25-30 homers, the Giants have every right to give their home-grown prospects a chance to succeed – especially Ortmeier, who has shown flashes of power in the past. A platoon with Rich Aurilia would be ridiculous, at least at the start; both the Giants and Ortmeier need to know if he’s an everyday player. (Peter Magowan is correct, by the way; you don’t shrink the right-field wall or alter the dimensions because the team suddenly lacks power. The ballpark is perfect as it is, the best in the game. )Casey wound up signing with Boston, where he’ll play mostly as a reserve behind Kevin Youkilis and, undoubtedly, become an instant fan favorite.
Nix hopes to nail down 2nd base job with Rockies
Colorado Springs Gazette – Feb 24, 2008
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I can remember, so it’s exciting,” he said. “The opportunity is exciting. Nix, who arrived in Tucson 10 days before the first practice, is focused on what he can do to be a part of a team that is known for promoting their home-grown talent. “I think the primary goal is just to make the team,” he said. “This game is a ride and it’s long, you know. You have to take it one day at a time. Right now the focus is just coming here, doing my best, playing my best and give myself an opportunity to make the team.