The first clandestine gathering of my Secret League of Extraordinary Risk Gentlemen was just conducted, however only Rick Nason was able to make it for lunch. The future of risk management as you know it is subject to change without notice. (And thanks for lunch, Rick.)
What is that expression about no publicity is bad publicity? Giant Tiger, a discount retailer in Canada erred when it marketed Playboy branded underwear (thongs and bras) in its back-to-school flyer. Although the ad was aimed at the back-to-college crowd, some parent complained, Tiger Brand apologized and here we are writing and reading about Giant Tiger. I suspect these are the same parents who complained last week about the Katy Perry/Elmo video. Reputation risk or good marketing?
Toronto has long believed it was the Centre of the Universe. Well, in risk management circles, perhaps now it is. Last week the Department of Finance Canada announced the creation of the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services or GRi. It will be an “independent, not-for-profit entity with a board of directors and an advisory research council comprised of senior leaders from industry, regulators and the academic community.” Additionally “GRi will perform five key functions: (i) developing leading-edge thinking; and practical, policy-relevant applied research in the area of financial risk management; (ii) providing consulting and advisory services to governments, regulators and…
The Globe and Mail is conducting a survey today asking respondents if they ever cheated on a test. At the time this post was published, only 45% of people said Yes. (Really!) I find it very hard to believe that the answer isn’t 99%. I am no cheater but it’s pretty likely sometime in grade school you scribbled an acronym you couldn’t remember or a word you couldn’t spell on a desk before the test; I bet in third grade you looked over at a neighbour’s sheet once. For those self-righteous 55% of folks who claim they never cheated on a test, I bet more than…
I reference a post by Beaumont Vance once where he suggests all risk managers should introduce themselves as fortune tellers as cocktail parties. In this recent blog post from Riskview, the author points out: Criticisms of risk managers for not anticipating some emerging future are overdone. When a major unexpected loss happens, everyone missed it. Risk managers do not have any special magic ball. The future is just as dim to us as to everyone else. Have a read at Risk Managers do not know the Future any Better than Anyone Else.
Sometimes I am puzzled. I look around and see lots of people who are all basically made from the same genetic material as me, yet why is it that some of my genetic cousins are insane? (I apologize for casting aspersions on all people with genuine mental health issues so let me cast my aspersion on Pierre Curzi specifically.) This fool, ce mangeur de hot-dogs and the Quebec opposition language critic, is trying to stir up the poutine by suggesting that the Government of Canada uses its control over the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club to keep Francophone players off the…
I had a chance to see Myron Scholes speak in Toronto yesterday. Scholes: from Black-and fame. The option guy. That Nobel Prize guy. (A Canadian by the way!) Before I completed my undergrad in Finance, I studied a lot of nerd stuff in high school: physics, organic chemistry, math. In those fields you learn about guys like Galileo, Avogadro, Fibonacci. They all had one thing in common: they were all around before I was born. (And spoke Italian.) When I started learning about finance, I immediately adopted the same thinking for the names I read in the text books: Modigliani,…
The house league page on Richmond Hill Phoenix Baseball Club’s website reads “House League is a recreational level of baseball for players of all skill levels and experiences… The focus at this level is to promote sportsmanship, fun and greater enjoyment of baseball.” Well as the song says two out of three aint bad. Over the weekend I witnessed one of the vilest displays of sportsmanship, courtesy of the League and the convenor of the peewee division & Secretary of the League, Olympia Pappas-O’Brien. Team Orange showed up on Phoenix Day – the last day of the season – expecting…
With news coming out of Quebec City that billionaires are trying to get the Government of Canada to foot the bill for a new area (one that might lure the Nordiques back and be part of a future Olympic bid), this week’s story in the New York Times is very timely. Ken Belson’s story describes how publically funded stadia rarely turn a profit and often leave the taxpayers footing the bill. What’s more, some stadia that have been demolished or no longer have a pro sports team and still carry debt. For example, the Kingdome in Seattle was built in 1976, demolished…
This story in today’s Globe and Mail kills me. I guess it’s true what they say about death and taxes. If you were looking at the financial data from Toronto-based funeral company, Arbor, you might think that people were dropping dead left and right in Canada recently. Is swine flu claiming lives? Are Leaf fans finally jumping off the Bloor Viaduct realizing their team has no chance of making the playoffs let alone win a Stanley Cup (ever)? It seems the company reported a 242% increase in preneed funeral contacts. (Preneed is a funny term by the way sort of…
