Gangnam Fail: A White Guy on K-Wave's Success
I am verily annoyed by an FT op-ed by neoconservative stalwart Christopher Caldwell that so happens to be the most-read article in the opinion section at the moment, so please indulge me in starting…
Showing posts with the label Marketing
Park Geun-hye's Lump of Coal for Chaebol Haters
When it comes to showing the West how things differ in Asian nations, I suppose nothing quite beats electing a military dictator's daughter to power via freely contested polls. But that of course…
F1 in Hickville: The United States Grand Prix
Yee-haw! Y'all jus' be wonderin' 'bout how F1 landed in Texus thus weekund! The news agency Reuters is usually very reliable--especially when it comes to financial news. However, I …
China's Growth Slowdown is Utterly Unsurprising
Nobody is immune to economic slowdowns, and it was perhaps only a matter of China encountered such an episode. To paraphrase my erstwhile LSE IDEAS colleague Martin Jacques, when China rules the worl…
Unionization, Or Why American Carriers Stink
[NOTE: This post won't win me any points with the Barack Obama / Dean Baker / union apologist crowd, but this blog couldn't care less about parochial US concerns. This is the international p…
Perestroika 2012? Cuba's Zany Capitalist Transition
The reforms that Mikhail Gorbachev introduced in the Soviet Union a quarter of a century ago or so ultimately put its demise into motion. Authoritarian regimes have thus been wary every since of foll…
Hedonism in Retreat: FT 'How to Spend It' Now Free
[ After many months going without one, dear readers I bring you an honest-to-goodness weekend feature. ] The Financial Times has always been regarded as an excellent source of business news, hence i…
Lamborghini Aventador, US-Subsidized Supercar
Now for one of my occasional Robb Report impersonations--albeit with an IPE twist. (We've got style, baby.) In 1998, Lamborghini became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Audi AG, which in turn is a …
Goin' Down: Those Crappy US Airlines, Cruise Lines
For those of you who remember your high school literature, Charon in Dante Alighieri's Inferno was the ferryman of Hades who transported the souls of the dead across the river Styx on a journey …
Apple & Samsung: Who's Got Whom by the Balls?
[NOTE: For those who don't get the title, play this AC/DC song .] There are two broad debates going on regarding the current dominance of Samsung in the consumer electronics space. First we hav…
Comrade Bob Mugabe and the Dictator Fun Club
I'm a bit tardy here (apologies), but better late than never. Name the chicken restaurant chain and I've probably patronized it before: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chick Fil A, Kenny Rogers Roas…
Indian Retail: Mom & Pop 1, Wal-Mart 0
It's somewhat unimaginable for those in Britain for the corner store to politically outmaneuver the likes of mighty retailing giant Tesco, or for those in America to have the Kwik-E-Mart outfox …
Honest Jian's Used Cars: China's Next Auto Market
In 2009, China ended the United States nearly century-long reign as the world's largest auto market. But, we probably should add a qualifier--that's the new car market. Also, although the C…
Three Cheers for Asian Innovation
I just wanted to point you in the direction of an interesting competition the Wall Street Journal is tracking that places the spotlight on Asian innovation. With perhaps the exception of the Japane…
Steve Jobs Didn't Save America; Nor Will Innovation
Owning neither an iPad, iPhone, MacBook nor whatever iGadget the Apple Corporation is flogging at the current time, I am not really a fanboy of the Cupertino concern. That said, I must admit that Ste…
Luxury, or Where Moammar Meets Smith and Marx
Blogging is often inspired by odd things. This post, for instance, came to me while reading about how Moammar Gathafi (it is spelled thusly on his passport) was a big fan of the FT's How To Spe…