Holly A. Bell

Hold the ‘Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich’ In The Post-Recession Developed World

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By Holly A. Bell By now we have all accepted that we live in a global community. Globalization means we have to think about competition in all areas on a global basis including education, tax structures, and legal environments. Businesses are competing globally for locations, employees, and customers. While there has been a lot of …

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Guest Article: ‘Nudge’ Theory at Work in the Adult Playground

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The rise of the adult playground (via http://www.scenereleases.eu) Glossy exercise machines are cropping up in parks, near the brightly-coloured swings and slides for children. It’s the latest bit of government “nudge theory”, writes Sophie Robehmed. Kids heading down the slide headfirst, babies talking gobbledygook in the sandpit and a golden retriever bounding…  

Sweden: The Supply-Side, Anti-Keyensian Approach To Economic Recovery

3 Comments / Economy, Global Economy, Politics / By

Does Sweden Have The Right Model? By Holly A. Bell While the economies of the U.S. and most of Europe have continued to struggle under Keynesian style stimulus, Sweden has taken the opposite approach enacting supply side tax and spending cuts. The result? Over the last two years (2010 to 2011) Sweden’s real GDP growth …

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Is Enron’s Accounting Method About To Become The Standard For All Businesses?

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By Holly A. Bell Remember Enron? Apparently the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) don’t. While the Enron scandal had multiple layers of both illegal and unethical behavior, at the heart of it all was Jeff Skilling’s insistence on using mark-to-market accounting techniques. This was not standard accounting practice, …

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5 Reasons to Dislike Numbered Lists (Especially in Business Articles)

2 Comments / Business, Humor / By

By Holly A. Bell Like I do most mornings I started my day by going to a popular website that is supposed to bring together some of the best business articles on the web. The front page alone had 6 articles containing lists of allegedly important information you need to know. Among them: “7 Easy …

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From The Economist: Nudge nudge, think think: The use of behavioural economics in public policy shows promise

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“‘FREAKONOMICS” was the book that made the public believe the dismal science has something interesting to say about how people act in the real world. But “Nudge” was the one that got policy wonks excited. The book, first published in 2008, is about the potential for behavioural economics to improve the effectiveness of government. Behavioural …

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From Seeking Alpha: Why Gold Doesn’t Hedge Inflation

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On Gold As An Inflation Hedge “A recurring theme gold [(GLD)(IAU)] speculators use to justify their positions, is that gold, over time, works as an inflation hedge. This argument has severe problems. Over the very long term, gold can indeed act as an inflation hedge. But as with any other asset, it matters greatly at …

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Guest Article: Should the U.S. Reset Economic Relations With Russia?

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Obama must reset relations with Russia along economic lines (via The Christian Science Monitor) By Frances G. Burwell and Svante Cornell posted April 4, 2012 at 8:55 am EDT Washington As Vladimir Putin prepares for his May inauguration and return to the Russian presidency, the United States must design a new relationship with this often …

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