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Robert Salomon submits: In a post several days ago (see Yuan Revaluation, Euro Weakness, and the US Recovery), I suggested that while I believe that the yuan ought to be revalued vis-a-vis the dollar, the crisis in Europe would likely put any such plans on hold. I wrote,…although I agree that China needs to address the yuan-dollar peg, a gradual revaluation to competitive levels is probably the best outcome for the global economy. A sudden rise in the value of the yuan could come with painful near-term adjustments that derail the currently fragile global recovery.Complete Story »

Robert Salomon submits: The most recent issue of The Economist ran a wonderful survey of innovation in emerging markets (see Special Report on Innovation in Emerging Markets). The collection of articles discusses how innovation is helping developing countries catch up with their developed country counterparts, and how emerging market multinationals, through internal innovation and acquisition, are becoming formidable global competitors.Developing countries are becoming hotbeds of business innovation in much the same way as Japan did from the 1950s onwards. They are coming up with new products and services that are dramatically cheaper than their Western equivalents: $3,000 cars, $300 computers and $30 mobile phones that provide nationwide service for just 2 cents a minute. They are reinventing systems of production and distribution, and they are experimenting with entirely new business models.Complete Story »

Robert Salomon submits: I have written much about the perils and pitfalls of acquisitions (see Why M&A Deals Go Bad, Acquisitions: A Great Shareholder Ripoff?, or DaimlerChrysler Post Mortem). So in the interest of fairness I thought I would share a story of a deal that seems to have provided value to the acquirer. In an article that appeared in today’s New York Times, Ashlee Vance details how HP (HPQ) was able to derive value from its acquisition of EDS (EDS) (see HP’s Bet Seems a Winner). Consistent with what I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it is in the integration phase where deals are either won or lost, …and HP seems to have been able to generate both cost saving and revenue enhancement synergies through this deal.Complete Story »

Robert Salomon submits: Given my interest in the history and development of universities and colleges, I found today’s article about private college enrollments interesting, though not entirely unexpected (see Enrollment to Drop at a Third of Private Colleges). According to Bloomberg: Almost a third of U.S. private colleges expect freshman enrollment to decline in the 2009-2010 school year as families struggle to pay bills and hold down debt, according to a survey.Complete Story »

Robert Salomon submits: In January I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2009: Q1) that “major” bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” bankruptcies in 2009. According to Bankruptcydata.com, there have been 156 “major” filings thus far in 2009. Assuming that bankruptcies are equally distributed throughout the year, this puts us on pace for 312 bankruptcies. That is tracking well shy of my prediction. In fact, bankruptcies were down significantly from Q1 to Q2, as there were 90 bankruptcies in the first quarter but only 66 in the second.Complete Story »