http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/98474–men-s-shoes-the-case-for-spending-800

Men’s dress shoes have not changed styles for almost 300 years, and the probably won’t be fluctuating much in the next 100. 19th century black lace-ups were seen at 2012 Louis Vuitton fall collection paired with futuristic shining leather dress shirts. Similar shoes have been seen at Salvatore Ferragamo, and Giorgio Armani fashion shows. Tim Little, owner of British footwear brand Genson states, when asked about whether the 19th century style shoes were still in fashion, “The toe-cap oxford, the loafer, the wingtip brogue, the plain-fronted five-eyelet Derby—they are all very, very classic.”

It gets interesting when shoe companies based in Northamptonshire, England have come up with a technique called Goodyear welding, where shoes can be resoled without losing shape, thus allowing a pair of these Northamptonshire shoes to last well longer than 15 years.

The point is: If the shoe you spend $800 dollars on can be resoled over and over again despite normal wear and tear, and age like fine wine over time, this $800 isn’t a gamble, it is good use of your business knowledge. Now tell your wife or mom you’re spending $800 dollars on a pair of Northamptonshire shoes that never breaks or go out of fashion.

How do these look?

Get used tom looking at these, you’ll have them for the rest of your life

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44423519/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/t/us-falls-th-global-competitiveness-survey-shows/#.UKG3waX3B8c

Jobs, jobs, jobs. America needs them.

It’s a story that’s been heard before: US’s deficit has dragged it down the list of the world’s most competitive economies. With the upcoming election nearing, what does the public do? Surely their faith in Obama has suppressed, making Romney’s eligibility to win look a whole lot better now. This intrinsic lack of faith for the US economy contributes to its tumble down the list.

This Geneva based forum announces the list based on economic data and the survey of 15,000 business executives.

This recent bad news for the Obama campaign, as the forum cited “a number of escalating weaknesses such as rising government debt and declining public faith in political leaders and corporate ethics.” As well, a recent survey of 142 nations showed a clear disapproval in Obama’s economic policies and actions. These surveys give President Obama something to work for for his country, and certainly something to improve upon this upcoming term, should he win. If he is unable to prove that he can fix the economy and narrow the debt, Romney may seem like a more worthy opponent for Obama. Change is what the Americans want, and Obama needs to deliver.

What will Obama change to gain back his vote? Can Romney defeat him with his campaign?

Other countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan, and Britain rounded out the top ten as Switzerland took the top spot, with Singapore, Sweden and Finland following. Germany took sixth spot right behind USA. While the US slipped down the list, emerging economies gained traction, with China in 26th place, and Brazil, India, and Russia in the 53rd, 56th, and 66th places respectively.

All in all, citizens of the US must be looking to improve their situation and hold their own against superpowers of the world, and these rankings may cause some Americans to reconsider who deserves their vote in the upcoming election.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19199683

LIBOR is an acronym for London Interbank Offered Rate, a global rate that is used by banks when setting a financial deal with other banks, a measure of trust that banks have in each other as well. The LIBOR rate is set by removing the top and bottom rates submitted by various banks, and taking the average percentage of the remaining rates.

Since the rate is taken from the average of the remainders, traders from their respective banks schemed to influence the rates in their favour, by getting their colleagues to raise or lower the rate for their benefit.

In addition to the corruption of the traders, Barclays has undermined banks’ mutual trust by trying to shake off media attention of the bank itself being in trouble. In the financial crisis of 2007, Barclay’s rate was much higher than some other banks, prompting opinions of the declination of the bank. So following much controversy, Barclays began to submit much lower rates (shown by the graph in the article) in order to avoid attention and appear to be a healthy bank. This corruption is an explicit example of their lack of care for their stakeholders and their ethical responsibilities.