Lorenzana: Dressed to Distract

I saw the news the first time it appeared: a Citibank female employee filing a suit against her former company because she was fired due to her attractiveness.

I was amused...

I have heard of similar stories here in our local scene, and the most that was done was tell off the female subordinate to dress up - and appropriately. Very much unlike Ms Lorenzana's case of getting fired.

Anyway, I saw this news article, about two weeks ago today, and I am quite interested on how it was related here by the author.

What could be our supposed 'ace' turns out to be a bad card after all. Or is it?

Read on...
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Dressed to distract

by Maureen Dowd

It's hard to feel sorry for a woman who frets about being too beautiful.

Ordinarily in life, extraordinary good looks are an advantage for men and women - and even babies. Not only do babies gaze longer at more comely adult faces, research tells us, but parents may gaze longer at more comely babies.

So it was unusual when a knockout in New York, Ms Debrahlee Lorenzana, a 33-year-old single mother, filed a suit against Citigroup, claiming that she was fired in August from the Citibank branch at the Chrysler Centre for looking too sexy.

"Plaintiff was advised that as a result of the shape of her figure," her lawsuit reads, "such clothes were purportedly 'too distracting' for her male colleagues and supervisors to bear".

The media have had a field day. Last week's Village Voice cover profile of Ms Lorenzana - who grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to New York when she was 21 - raved about the bank officer's charms: "At five-foot-six and 125 pounds, (167cm and 57kg) with soft eyes and flawless bronze skin, she is J Lo curves meets Jessica Simpson rack meets Audrey Hepburn elegance."

Television and tabloids ran pictures, taken by a photographer who works with her lawyer, showing Ms Lorenzana in the pencil skirts, turtlenecks, tailored jackets and stilettos that she says made her bosses at the bank concentrate on the wrong kind of figures.

"She has to manage her wardrobe so these men can manage their libidos?" said her lawyer Jack Tuckner, adding that her bosses acted as immaturely as the boys on Wayne's World.

As she prepared to appear on the Monday morning shows, Ms Lorenzana recalled that her supervisors obsessed over what she was wearing "saying things are too tight, you cannot wear turtlenecks. Well, guess what? When you say my pants are too tight when they're not, then you must have been staring at me.

"The reality is, I'm a size 32 DD. I'm very skinny, and then I have curves. So, of course, on my body, the turtleneck is going to make it more noticeable. But I'm not showing cleavage. We wear jackets."

She said a co-worker who shopped with her and bought the same styles and designer brands never got in trouble, and neither did some tellers who wore low-cut tops, snug pants and hot boots.

"I said: 'You are discriminating against me because of my body type'," she said with a slight accent and a breathy voice. "This is genetic. What am I supposed to do?"

Citigroup didn't return calls for comment on Friday. Ms Lorenzana's lawsuit says that her bosses told her that her female colleagues could wear what they liked because their "general unattractiveness rendered moot their sartorial choices".

Her well-tailored clothes, on the other hand, emphasised what her lawyer calls her "hour-glass figure".


An opposite reaction

This case has caused such fascination because usually it's the other way around.

Attractive professors get better evaluations from their students, according to one study. A 2005 analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis confirmed what seems apparent, from presidential races to executive boardrooms: Good-looking people and tall people get a "beauty premium" - an extra 5 per cent an hour - while there is a "plainness penalty" of 9 per cent in wages.

A study that looked at men's height as teenagers and their salaries later found they made US$789 ($1,115) more a year for every extra inch of height. Meanwhile, obese women tend to get substantially lower wages than women of average weight.

Although people laugh at the idea of a babe in the office being as maddening as Tantalus' out-of-reach fruit, women do get penalised this way sometimes.

A male friend once told me he was looking for an unattractive personal assistant so he wouldn't be tempted. And when I was hiring a Grace Kelly blonde as a researcher a few years ago, a male colleague asked me not to because it would be "too distracting" to him; two girlfriends cautioned me not to because it would be depressing - and therefore, distracting - for me to work with someone so good looking. (It wasn't.)

"Sometimes, honestly, I wish I didn't look the way I did," Ms Lorenzana says, "because people judge you right away. Other women have their guards up, they automatically categorise you as being conceited. I have to work three times as hard to prove that I earned this through my hard work.

"My life has been hard my entire life. People have this misconception that, 'Oh, you do well in your life because of your looks.' No, I am harassed." The New York Times


The writer is a New York Times columnist who won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1999.



From TODAY, Commentary - Monday, 07-June-2010
Dressed to distract
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Oil prices drop after US inventory data

Posted: 02 July 2009 0417 hrs

An attendant fills a car with petrol at a service station.

NEW YORK: Oil prices fell on Wednesday after bouncing above 71 dollars as markets reacted to a mixed report on US petroleum inventories.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery fell 58 cents from Tuesday's closing price to 69.31 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for August delivery lost 51 cents to 68.79 dollars per barrel.

The US Department of Energy said in its weekly report that American crude oil reserves tumbled 3.7 million barrels in the week ending June 26, the fourth weekly drop in a row.

The market had expected a lighter decline of 2.1 million barrels.

But the department also reported growing domestic inventories of key refined products gasoline and distillates.

Gasoline or petrol stocks rose 2.3 million barrels, and distillates, which include diesel and heating duel, increased by 2.9 million barrels last week.

"Product demand is simply awful. Products built more than expected, and the expectations were already bearish," said Hussein Allidina of Morgan Stanley Research.

Prices had dropped Tuesday from eight-month peaks above 73 dollars after new data showed a plunge in American consumer confidence.

In the second quarter of 2009, oil had jumped dramatically - by 40 percent, or more than 20 dollars - on rising confidence that the global slump is easing.

Barclays Capital said in a report on Wednesday that oil prices cannot be sustained below 70 dollars into the medium term.

"We see prices as being likely to stay largely within the 65-75 dollars range in the current quarter, with brief forays possible either side of that range, and have adjusted price forecasts to reflect that core view," it said.

The market remains concerned by tensions in key crude producer Nigeria.

Nigerian rebels on Monday announced a new raid against a Shell oil facility and said they had killed at least 20 soldiers in a gun battle, a claim denied by the security forces.

While a Shell spokesman confirmed the raid and said it had caused a loss of production, Nigeria's combined police and army joint task force (JTF) denied there had been any clash with the rebels.

The Niger Delta has since 2006 been rocked by violence by armed groups who say they are fighting for a greater share of the region's oil wealth for the local population. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Market jitters send investors rushing to dollar

Posted: 01 July 2009 0607 hrs

A currency exchange worker holds a handful of euro notes in London.

NEW YORK: The US dollar gained against its main rivals on Tuesday as financial market jitters stemming from weak economic data sent investors flocking to the world's main safe-haven currency.

The euro dipped to 1.4032 dollars at 2100 GMT compared to 1.4088 dollars late on Monday.

The dollar meanwhile rose to 96.30 yen compared to 96.04 yen on Monday.

The Conference Board, a business research group, said US consumer confidence sank in June as households worried about the prolonged recession and vanishing jobs.

The index retreated to 49.3 points in June from a revised 54.8 in May, an eight-month high.

Most analysts expected a much stronger reading of 55.3 points in the 100-point index.

As a result of the disappointing data, dealers on currency markets moved away from currencies considered risky like the euro and bought up ones seen as safer like the dollar, the yen and the Swiss franc, analysts said.

Stocks fell and the dollar rose on the report, which dented hopes for a quick recovery from the recession.

The data showed Americans appear to be having a harder time finding employment, said David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff.

This "portends yet another month of rising unemployment when Thursday's data roll out," he added.

Some said the dollar benefited from inflows ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend, which begins on Friday.

"Judging from the price action, it appears that the consumer confidence report provided players with an opportunity to take profit on short dollar positions as the greenback had clearly become oversold amidst illiquid, pre-holiday trading conditions," said Michael Woolfolk at Bank of New York Mellon.

Investors were also awaiting new reports from the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday and the release of US monthly employment data the same day.

The ECB is expected to keep interest rates at a record low of 1.0 percent despite an appeal from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to lower the main rate even further to nearly zero.

In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.0858 Swiss francs after 1.0823 on Monday.

The pound was at 1.6459 dollars after 1.6568. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Oil prices slide on sagging US consumer confidence

Posted: 01 July 2009 0408 hrs

A driver transfers gasoline into an underground tank at a gas station in San Anselmo, California.

NEW YORK: Oil prices sank from eight-month peaks on Tuesday after new data signalled a plunge in consumer confidence in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, tumbled 1.60 dollars from Monday's closing price to 69.89 dollars per barrel, after earlier touching 73.38 - a level unseen since October.

London's Brent North Sea crude for August delivery fell 1.69 dollars to 69.30 dollars a barrel, having earlier surged as high as 73.50.

Consumer confidence in the United States - the world's biggest energy consuming nation - sank in June as households worried about the prolonged recession and vanishing jobs, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.

The news pushed the dollar higher against the euro on currency markets as investors flocked to buy the world's main safe-haven currency and moved away from risky currencies.

A stronger US currency makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for buyers holding weaker currencies, which in turn tends to dampen demand and pull the market lower.

"The rising dollar affected the crude oil prices," said Mike Fitzpatrick of MF Global.

Oil prices have increased dramatically - by 40 percent or more than 20 dollars - in the second quarter on gaining confidence that the global slump is easing. It had closed at 49.66 dollars on March 31, which was the last day of the first quarter.

The Conference Board, a US business research group, said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index retreated to 49.3 points in June from a revised 54.8 in May, an eight-month high. Most analysts expected a much stronger reading of 55.3 points.

This dashed hopes for a recovery soon from the recession that began in December 2007.

"Once again we've seen the green shoots arguments shot down," said analyst David Fineberg at financial spread-betting firm CMC Markets in London.

"This shift in outlook is also hammering oil prices - crude is back below 70 dollars a barrel - so in summary, falling consumer demand is painting a rather bleak picture."

Traders also digested data showing that Britain's recession-battered economy shrank at its fastest pace in more than 50 years during the first quarter of 2009 amid the worst global slowdown in decades.

British gross domestic product contracted 2.4 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the final quarter of 2008.

Oil had plunged from record peaks of more than 147 dollars in July 2008 to 32 dollars in December as a global downturn slashed energy demand, but the market has clawed back ground on hopes of "green shoots" of recovery.

The continuing turmoil in Nigeria is also weighing on the oil market, traders said.

On Monday, Nigerian rebels had announced a new raid against a Shell oil facility and said they had killed at least 20 soldiers in a gun battle, a claim denied by the security forces.

The raid was just the latest in a series that have targeted Shell facilities this month and which have continued despite last Thursday's offer from President Umaru Yar'Adua of an amnesty for the militants. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Oil prices climb above US$70 on Nigeria violence

Posted: 26 June 2009 0533 hrs

A man fills his car with petrol at a service station

NEW YORK - Oil prices rose back above 70 dollars Thursday as renewed violence in key crude producer Nigeria and a forecast of a higher price range sparked buying.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, jumped 1.45 dollars to 70.12 dollars a barrel.

London's Brent North Sea crude for August rose 1.45 dollars to 69.78 dollars.

"The news from Nigeria (about) more attacks on oil facilities and the fact that two refineries are now shut down are supporting the market," said Andy Lipow, President at Lipow Oil Associates.

"The market has lived with Nigeria's supply disruption now for three years," he said.

Nigerian rebels on Thursday said they carried out a pre-dawn attack against Royal Dutch Shell facilities in a warning to Russia not to invest in the country's oil and gas industry.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said the attack was to coincide with a visit to Nigeria by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during which major energy investment deals were struck.

The attack on the Bille-Krakrama pipeline, which feeds the key Bonny export terminal in southern Rivers State, was carried out shortly after midnight Thursday.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua meanwhile on Thursday gave militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta 60 days to accept an amnesty offer in a bid to halt attacks on international oil companies.

MEND, the main militant group in the oil-rich southern Nigeria, stages regular attacks on oil installations as part of its campaign for a fairer share of oil wealth for locals in the Delta region.

Nigeria's oil production has been cut by a quarter over the past three years because of the attacks.

Crude oil futures plunged from record high points of more than 147 dollars in July 2008 to about 32 dollars in December as the economic downturn ravaged energy demand but the market has since clawed back ground on recovery hopes.

Oil prices had lost ground over the past week amid signs of a broader consolidation in the 65-75 dollar range, analysts at Barclays Capital said in a note to clients.

"Accompanying the transition in the macroeconomic backdrop, the oil market is, in our view, moving towards a transition period of very gradually improving demand, falling inventories, and prices closer to the desired range of key producers, which we would place in the 75-85 dollars region," the report said.

"While the current phase of market rebalancing might need to reach a more advanced stage before prices can comfortably move into producers' desired range, that move, in our view, is set to happen sometime through the year, with the broad trend for prices likely remaining to the upside."

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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US dollar lifted by data, moves by Swiss bank

Posted: 19 June 2009 0545 hrs

NEW YORK: The US dollar recouped early losses and swung higher against the other main currencies on Thursday as the market outlook shifted on a surprisingly strong report on US leading economic indicators.

An announcement by the Swiss National Bank that it would take "firm action" to prevent franc appreciation prompted reports of intervention in the currency markets, which appeared to help the US unit, traders said.

At 2100 GMT, the euro was trading at 1.3901 dollars, from 1.3943 dollars in New York late on Wednesday. At one point, the euro broke above 1.40 dollars but then fell back.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose to 96.55 yen from 95.71 yen on Wednesday.

The dollar got some early support as "weak equity markets overseas enticed traders to seek the safe-haven benefits of the dollar," said Bob Kozak at Alaron Trading.

But the greenback later appeared to benefit from better-than-expected economic news, offering support to notion of a recovery taking root in the United States.

The Conference Board said its May index of leading economic indicators, a measure of economic conditions in the coming months, rose 1.2 percent from April, beating forecasts for 1.0 percent.

The index, which had been on a downward trend since hitting a peak in July 2007, "has risen sharply in the past two months amid widespread strengths among its components," the Conference Board said.

"Two consecutive months now of strong gains in the leading indicators is the strongest evidence to date supporting the 'green shoots' rally," said Michael Woolfolk at Bank of New York Mellon.

Other reports showed a stronger-than-expected reading on a Philadelphia Federal Reserve survey on regional manufacturing and a report roughly in line with expectations on weekly jobless claims, but which offered hints that some of the unemployed were finding jobs.

Meanwhile the market mulled the Swiss National Bank announcement to keep interest rates unchanged but to work to dampen appreciation of the Swiss franc. This prompted some speculation of currency market intervention.

The Swiss authorities "said they will take 'firm action' to prevent franc appreciation as they are an export dependent country," said Mary Ann Hurley at DA Davidson & Co.

This could help the dollar since some traders are "using the Swiss franc as a proxy for the euro," said Brown Brothers Harriman analysts.

The analysts said the British pound was hurt by "much weaker than expected retail sales and the largest drop in business lending in nine years."

In late New York trade, the dollar stood 1.0861 Swiss francs after 1.0795 on Wednesday.

The pound was at 1.6331 dollars from 1.6401. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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US dollar weak on growing risk appetite

Posted: 12 June 2009 0608 hrs

A euro coin and a US dollar bill.

NEW YORK: The US dollar weakened against other major currencies on Thursday as fresh data on American retail sales and jobless claims kept economic recovery hopes alive, pushing investors away from the safe-haven greenback.

The euro, viewed by the market as a riskier currency, rose to 1.4106 dollars in New York trading at around 2100 GMT from 1.3978 dollars on Wednesday.

The dollar also fell against the Japanese currency, to 97.60 yen from 98.12 yen.

Traders said appetite for risk increased amid growing signs the United States could recover late this year.

The US government said on Thursday that retail sales rose in May for the first time in three months and in line with market expectations while new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week for the fourth consecutive week.

The data came "on top of a number of recent economic releases that are reinforcing speculation that the worst of the global recession is over," said Andy Douglass of PNC Bank.

"Just as the safety of US Treasuries were sought and the US dollar was bought as the recession deepened, it is now being sold as investors are more willing to invest in 'riskier' assets," he said.

The biggest beneficiaries of the move out of US dollars on Thursday were the British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand currencies, Douglass said.

Michael Woolfolk of the Bank of New York Mellon said dollar sentiment dampened on the back of mostly better than expected US economic data and a "successful" 30-year US Treasury auction on Thursday .

They "reduced risk aversion and bolstered carry trades away from the safe-haven greenback," he said.

Bond yields fell after the strong demand for the 30-year bonds but remain at relatively high levels that have pushed up home mortgage rates.

"Strong demand at the Treasury's auction of 30-year bonds Thursday is pushing yields lower, but a substantial further decline is needed to maintain the recent stabilization in home sales and further chances for economic recovery," said Ryan Sweet at Moody's Economy.com.

Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading, cautioned against reading too much on the US retail sales data, saying the positive number was chalked up on the back of higher gasoline prices.

"In general, the takeaway from the retail sales number is that consumer demand appears to have stabilised but so far shows few signs of pick up," he said.

"Furthermore, the troubling rise in gasoline prices will no doubt affect disposable income going forward and could dampen demand in the months to come," he said. "Overall eco data was inconclusive."

The dollar also fell Thursday to 1.0701 Swiss francs from 1.0807 a day earlier.

The pound rose to 1.6588 dollars from 1.6360 dollars. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Oil prices dip on jump in US crude reserves

Posted: 04 June 2009 0404 hrs

A view of the Tawke oil field and plant that is linked with the Jihan Turkish pipeline in Zakho, 400km north of Baghdad.

NEW YORK: Oil prices plunged on Wednesday from seven-month highs after a surprise jump in American crude reserves that indicated weaker-than-expected demand, and a US dollar rebound.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, sank 2.43 dollars from Tuesday's close to 66.12 dollars per barrel. The contract had surged to 69.05 Tuesday.

London Brent North Sea crude for July delivery tumbled 2.29 dollars to 65.88.

Prices dipped as a result of the dollar's rebound after sinking to new lows and a surge in oil inventories in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer.

The US Department of Energy announced on Wednesday that American crude oil inventories leapt 2.9 million barrels in the week ending May 29 to reach 366 million barrels. Most analysts had expected a 1.7-million-barrel drop.

"Continued demand destruction continues to make for a bearish big picture, underscoring that recent price gains were not underpinned by market fundamentals," said Antoine Halff, deputy head of research for Newedge.

The higher stocks were attributed to rebounding imports.

"The low imports over the last few weeks were - as we said over the last few weeks - not the result of a lack of crude but were rather the result of refiners not buying because their stocks were ample," said Hussein Allidina of Morgan Stanley Research.

"The outlook for oil prices may have just taken a significant turn for the worse," warned Nic Brown of Natixis, analyzing the new US inventory levels.

Brown said that both US and Chinese strategic oil reserve levels were close to, if not completely, full.

This week, oil has punched seven-month peaks on the back of a weakening US currency, which makes dollar-priced oil cheaper for holders of stronger currencies and in turn stimulates demand and pushing up prices.

Meanwhile the market was also affected by reports that some members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were not adhering to agreed output cuts.

"We did get some reports about OPEC output going up for the first time in several months," MF Global analyst John Kilduff said on Tuesday.

OPEC, which pumps 40 percent of world oil, cut its production target three times late last year to stabilise prices, which tumbled from record highs above 147 dollars in July to 32.40 dollars in December.

The group, which last week decided to keep output unchanged amid signs of economic recovery and higher crude prices, seeks to influence prices by setting an output quota, with members given individual production targets.

The Saudi cabinet said on Monday that it sees 75 to 80 dollars a barrel as a fair price for crude. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is the de facto head of the OPEC oil producers' group. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Dollar wobbles as euro lifted by economic outlook

Posted: 29 May 2009 0557 hrs

NEW YORK - The dollar traded mixed while the euro gained ground Thursday as signs of improving economic conditions prompted renewed risk appetite among investors.

At 2100 GMT, the European single currency was quoted at 1.3943 dollars, up from 1.3868 dollars late Wednesday.

The dollar rose to 96.77 yen from 95.28 yen.

Joel Kruger at Forex Capital Markets said the US dollar was "under pressure on the back of stable equity prices and very good euro demand."

The dollar weakened after data showed an unexpectedly strong 1.9 percent increase in US durable goods new orders in April and new US unemployment claims fell to 623,000 in the past week, a better reading than forecasted by most analysts.

"The dollar has not been trading at a championship level lately with it hitting lows not seen since last fall against most major currencies over the past few days," PNC Bank analysts said.

"Ironically it is the positive tone surrounding recent US releases -- another way of saying data has stopped getting worse -- which has investors chasing higher yields elsewhere."

Euro buying was boosted after a European Union survey showed business and consumer confidence in the eurozone rose in May for the second consecutive month following an almost two-year slide.

"The confidence data suggest that both businesses and consumers are becoming more upbeat over recovery prospects following the major stimulative action and banking support measures that have been enacted both by central banks and governments," said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer.

"Sharply lower inflation is also clearly supporting consumer sentiment, although the upside is being limited by heightened and still rising unemployment fears."

The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator for the 16-nation bloc rose 2.1 points from April to 69.3 points. Last month, the figure was 67.2 points, a rise of 2.5, its first advance since May 2007.

In late New York trade, the dollar slipped to 1.0838 Swiss francs from 1.0890 late Wednesday.

The pound fell to 1.5943 dollars from 1.5984. - AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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What makes a good CEO?

 It’s the dogged but diffident leader who will succeed

DAVID BROOKS, xtra@mediacorp.com.sg

SHOULD CEOs read novels?

The question seems to answer itself. After all, CEOs work with people all day. Novel-reading should give them greater psychological insight, a feel for human relationships, a greater sensitivity toward their own emotional chords.

Sadly, though, most of the recent research suggests that these are not the most important talents for a person who is trying to run a company. Steven Kaplan, Mark Klebanov and Morten Sorensen recently completed a study called Which CEO Characteristics and Abilities Matter?

They relied on detailed personality assessments of 316 CEOs and measured their companies’ performances. They found that strong people skills correlate loosely or not at all with being a good CEO. Traits like being a good listener, a good team builder, an enthusiastic colleague, a great communicator do not seem to be very important when it comes to leading successful companies.

What mattered, it turned out, were execution and organisational skills. The traits that correlated most powerfully with success were attention to detail, persistence, efficiency, analytic thoroughness and the ability to work long hours.

In other words, warm, flexible, team-oriented and empathetic people are less likely to thrive as CEOs. Organised, dogged, anal-retentive and slightly boring people are more likely to thrive.

These results are consistent with a lot of work that’s been done over the past few decades. In 2001, Jim Collins published a best-selling study called Good to Great.

He found that the best CEOs were not the flamboyant visionaries. They were humble, self-effacing, diligent and resolute souls who found one thing they were really good at and did it over and over again.

That same year Murray Barrick, Michael Mount and Timothy Judge surveyed a century’s worth of research into business leadership. They, too, found that extroversion, agreeableness and openness to new experience did not correlate well with CEO success. Instead, what mattered was emotional stability and, most of all, conscientiousness — which means being dependable, making plans and following through on them.

All this work is a reminder that, while it’s important to be a sensitive, well-rounded person for the sake of your inner fulfilment, the market doesn’t really care. The market wants you to fill an organisational role.

The market seems to want CEOs to offer a clear direction for their companies. There’s a tension between being resolute and being flexible. The research suggests it’s more important to be resolute, even at the cost of some flexibility.

The second thing the market seems to want from leaders is a relentless and somewhat mind-numbing commitment to incremental efficiency gains.

Charismatic CEOs and politicians always want the exciting new breakthrough — whether it is the SUV or a revolutionary new car. The methodical executives at successful companies just make the same old four-door sedan, but they make it better and better.

These sorts of dogged but diffident traits do not correlate well with education levels. CEOs with law or MBA degrees do not perform better than CEOs with college degrees. These traits do not correlate with salary or compensation packages. Nor do they correlate with fame and recognition. On the contrary, a study by Ulrike Malmendier and Geoffrey Tate found that CEOs get less effective as they become more famous and receive more awards.

What these traits do add up to is a certain ideal personality type. The CEOs that are most likely to succeed are humble, diffident, relentless and a bit uni-dimensional. They are often not the most exciting people to be around.

For this reason, people in the literary, academic and media worlds rarely understand business. It is nearly impossible to think of a novel that accurately portrays business success. That’s because the virtues writers tend to admire — those involving self-expression and self-exploration — are not the ones that lead to corporate excellence.

For the same reason, business and politics do not blend well. Business leaders tend to perform poorly in Washington, while political leaders possess precisely those talents — charisma, charm, personal skills — that are of such limited value when it comes to corporate execution.

Fortunately, America is a big place. Literary culture has thrived in Boston, New York and on campuses. Political culture has thrived in Washington. Until recently, corporate culture has been free to thrive in such unlikely places as Bentonville, Omaha and Redmond.

Of course, that’s changing. We now have an administration freely interposing itself in the management culture of industry after industry. It won’t be the regulations that will be costly, but the revolution in values. When Washington is a profit centre, CEOs are forced to adopt the traits of politicians. That is the insidious way that other nations have lost their competitive edge. THE NEW YORK TIMES

WEEKENDXTRA

From TODAYOnline.com, Business – Weekend, 23/24-May-2009

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Oil prices fall after spike above US$62

Posted: 22 May 2009 0432 hrs

Oil pipelines

NEW YORK: Oil prices retreated on Thursday, in line with global equities, as investors cashed in profits ahead of a US holiday weekend from a rally that had pushed prices beyond 62 dollars per barrel.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, fell 99 cents from Wednesday's close to 61.05 dollars a barrel.

London's Brent North Sea crude for July delivery shed 66 cents to settle at 59.93 dollars per barrel.

Traders were prudent after weaker-than-expected unemployment data clouded the outlook for economy recovery in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer. Some market players were getting an early start on the Memorial Day weekend that includes a holiday on Monday.

"With the market as overbought as it currently is, a breather before an important holiday weekend is probably in order," said Mike Fitzpatrick of MF Global.

He said that the market was digesting a Labour Department report on Thursday which underscored concerns that rising unemployment could derail recovery.

The department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits fell to 631,000 in the past week, slightly worse than expected by most analysts.

Continuing claims for jobless benefits rose by 75,000, pushing the insured unemployment rate to 5.0 percent, the highest level since December 1982.

Fitzpatrick said that the current oil price rally was more "an expression of hope, rather than a reflection of reality."

New York crude oil had rocketed to six-month highs of 62.26 dollars on Wednesday after data showed a fall in key US oil inventories.

US crude reserves tumbled 2.1 million barrels in the week ending May 15, far more than market expectations for a 700,000 barrel drop.

This indicated that energy demand was holding firm despite a deep recession in the United States, the world's biggest economy and the largest oil consumer.

Oil hit record highs above 147 dollars last July before the global financial crisis accelerated in the final months of 2008, pushing the world economy into recession.

Analysts at Barclays Capital see firmer oil prices ahead.

"While daily fluctuations within this newfound trading range are likely to persist, the momentum in prices is broadly higher, and we expect further price upside through the remainder of the year, as global oil balances turn constructive," they said in a note to clients. - AFP/de

From channelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Oil prices bounce above $60 in New York

AFP - Wednesday, May 20

Oil rigs extract petroleum in the Los Angeles area community of Culver City, California. Oil prices jumped to a six-month high above 60 dollars on Tuesday on growing signs of economic recovery amid concerns about unrest in African crude producer Nigeria, traders said.

LONDON (AFP) - - Oil prices jumped to a six-month high above 60 dollars Tuesday on growing signs of economic recovery amid concerns about unrest in African crude producer Nigeria, traders said.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rallied to 60.48 dollars a barrel -- a level last seen on November 10. The contract later stood at 59.90 dollars, up 87 cents from Monday's close.

Brent North Sea crude for July delivery touched a six-month high of 59.65 dollars a barrel before pulling back to 59.05 dollars, up 58 cents from Monday.

"Gains in the stock market increased optimism that the global economy is recovering," said BetOnMarkets analyst David Evans.

Global equity markets posted fresh gains Tuesday on hopes that the global economy is through the worst of its slump, setting the stage for a pick-up in energy demand, dealers said.

In early afternoon stock market trading in Europe, Frankfurt rallied 2.03 percent, Paris gained 0.82 percent and London climbed 0.61 percent.

In Asia, Hong Kong added 3.06 percent, Tokyo put on 2.78 percent, Seoul advanced 2.99 percent, Sydney added 2.19 percent and Taipei gained 1.18 percent.

Oil jumped by around two and a half dollars on Monday as traders tracked prospects of a global economic recovery, rising shares on Wall Street and developments in Nigera.

New York share prices shot higher Monday after better-than-expected earnings from home improvement retailer Lowe's helped reinforce hopes for a recovery in the United States.

A strong US economy is a key growth engine for the world because it is a major export market for many countries -- and is the biggest energy consuming nation on the planet.

Prices were also boosted by rising violence in oil exporter Nigeria, where the country's main armed group said it had ordered a blockade of key shipping channels in a bid to inflict further damage on the energy industry. Nigeria's military has urged oil firms to ignore the threat.

"Fresh violence in Nigeria helped to support prices," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov. "Militants there claimed to have sabotaged two pipelines, while threatening more supply disruptions."

Unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta region has reduced Nigeria's daily output to 1.76 million barrels compared with 2.6 million barrels in January 2006.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

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70-80 good price for oil: French economy minister

AFP - Sunday, May 10

RIYADH (AFP) - - French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said Saturday that it would be good if oil prices settled at between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel.

"We want less volatility, more predictability," Lagarde said ahead of talks on Sunday with oil giant Saudi Arabia's petroleum minister Ali Naimi.

"Most people would agree that anywhere between 70 and 80 dollars would be good," she said.

Lagarde was on a 24 hour visit to the Saudi capital for discussions on a range of bilateral economic issues, including promoting France's high-speed rail expertise for the multi-billion-dollar Mecca-Medina rail project, and fashioning cooperation on nuclear power technology.

Lagarde said that Saudi King Abdullah and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had earlier agreed to seek mechanisms to stabilize oil prices, after last year's climb to nearly 150 dollars a barrel and subsequent plunge to just 30 dollars.

However, she said, the possible mechanisms for that still need to be explored.

Oil prices topped 58 dollars a barrel in New York trading Friday, the highest since mid-November.

Lagarde, who will meet King Abdullah and other top economic officials Sunday, said she will also encourage Saudi Arabia to follow up on its pledge to contribute to the expanded capital of the IMF.

This follows the G20 agreement in London at the beginning of April to triple the IMF's funds to 750 billion dollars.

"We all have to contribute more," she said, noting that most of the G20 members had yet to confirm their contributions.

"In London all of us, including the Saudis, signed a commitment, so we have to deliver."

Lagarde said she would also discuss with her Saudi counterparts updating the French-Saudi tax treaty to address issues that had arisen since the treaty was first signed some 20 years ago.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

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