Word: firm
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...City of London just a few months ago that they should take a 20% pay cut to work one day less per week, they would have likely mocked the idea as a French socialist plot to undermine the British economy. But when the U.K. arm of accounting firm KPMG recently asked its staff if they would be willing to reduce their workweek - and thereby save jobs - in the event that business dried up, an overwhelming 85% signed on. About 200 employees in the tax division have already shifted to a four-day week, says spokesman Gavin Houlgate, who claims...
...very happy with the approach of Jet Airways." Something similar happened in France last month when the French oil company Total announced the closure of two refineries, with the loss of 550 jobs. The move provoked a furious public outcry including denunciations from two government ministers, and the firm quickly backtracked, saying it had been a "communication error." For companies receiving government bailout money, the pressure is even more intense: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has told Renault and Peugeot that the price for receiving subsidies during the crisis is that the auto makers cannot cut jobs in France...
Because the goal remains valid. Meers (a former managing director at Goldman Sachs) and Strober (managing director of a private-equity firm in Silicon Valley) do an admirable job of building a case that a 50-50 marriage helps both partners. "We are two working moms who believe that everyone wins when men are full parents and women have full careers. When both parents pay the bills and care for kids, this life is possible--we know from experience...
...Schwarzman, unlike several Wall Street kingpins at his party, remains gainfully employed. His pay at Blackstone dropped to $350,000 in 2008 from $180 million the year before, but he'll manage. The failure of a hedge fund run by Carlyle Group, another big private-equity firm, played a bit part in the March 2008 minipanic that brought down Bear Stearns, but Carlyle as a whole is still chugging along. Private equity may not be thriving, but it is at least still standing. (See 25 people to blame for the financial crisis...
...comes the hangover. Funds launched in 2005 and 2006, which invested most of their capital at the market peak, will struggle ever to turn a profit. But research firm Preqin reports that of $2.5 trillion in private-equity assets worldwide at the end of 2008, $1 trillion was "dry powder" - cash that hadn't been invested. There are lots of cheap companies out there, and private-equity firms with cash on hand will surely hit a few home runs with investments made in the coming years...