Tag Archives: crisis

Crisis support during short seller attack

CRISIS SUPPORT

Our client, a listed global agri-business, was accused of dubious accounting practices by an infamous US short seller.

His previous high-profile targets included a company called Sinai Forest, (with high-profile investors including the legendary hedge fund manager John Paulson) whose shares lost so much value during the reputation crisis that the company ceased trading, leaving only the short seller with a valuable upside.

The Gong team were first ‘to the scene’ when the story was about to break in London. The Financial Times called us with their story and we sprang into action. Our recommended strategy was to retaliate forcefully to refute the false claims, rather than hunker down and try to ‘ride out’ the storm.

After an intensive period of media coverage and speculation and consistent presentation of the facts by the client, it emerged stronger from the crisis with its reputation as a business force for good not only intact, but strengthened by its high profile sustainability ‘next’ practices.

How to fix the broken science of economics once and for all

 

Isabelle Alenus-Crosby

Many authors have written about the failure of economic theory but best-selling financial author, George Cooper, has come up with an original solution on how to fix both economic theory and the economies of the world. He has done this by taking the key ideas from the greatest scientific revolutions in history to re-imagine how our economies really work in the first place.

By illustrating how both our economic theories and our economic policies can be fixed, Cooper is setting out to present a simple idea that has the power to revolutionise how we think about our economies and how our governments set their policies – he calls the idea the circulatory growth model in his new book Money, Blood and Revolution.

The circulatory growth model recognises that capitalism has a tendency towards wealth and income polarisation and explains how this problem can be addressed. For example the model makes it immediately obvious how policies designed to promote borrowing lead directly to lower economic growth, higher income inequality and, in the end, to higher government deficits.

Cooper takes his readers on a journey through the history and philosophy of scientific progress. He compares the confused state of economics today to the confusion which dogged astronomy, medicine, biology and geology prior to their respective revolutions. In doing this he builds a persuasive case that economics is long overdue its very own scientific revolution.

The circulatory growth model has some surprising implications. It shows, for example, why some countries have prospered while others have failed. It also shows why government spending and taxation are necessary for economic growth.  

These conclusions fly in the face of today’s accepted mainstream economic ideas, which press always for smaller governments and lower taxation.