申城 致·爱

上海在我的印象留在旧上海的小调中——灯红酒绿十里洋场,糜烂的生活,微醺的醉意,夜生香的糜图……繁华满眼,谁能体会上海真正的味道。近日重温王安忆的《长恨歌》,思绪又被带去那久远的年代,繁华的海上旧梦已如明日黄花,但写出来,忆起来又叫我等小辈很是神往。在那神往中又参杂了遗憾,只因未生逢那个时代。来到上海的第二天,在南京路的步行街上溜达,出门在外,总是难免念家,想起雪天里的中央大街,有些黯然。我喜欢南京路的感觉,随意地闲逛,走到头,就是外滩,到了上海的那些天,天气总是阴沉沉的,空气潮湿,呼吸一口仿佛有一半的水分留了下来……淡淡的雾气,笼罩在黄浦江上,是我喜欢的那种美丽。也许是白天,江边的游人不是很多,我回头看见那一片的外滩建筑,默默地矗立在那里,有些古旧的味道。宽宽的江面不断有游船和运输船经过,划开一道道水痕,再无踪迹。是什么时候对外滩海关钟的声音喜欢起来?应该是看《婉君》的时候,那时电视里演到北京就是故宫的屋顶和鸽哨的声音,演到上海就是海关钟沉厚悠远的当,当……     

城市核心区的商业地产 看起来也不美

近日,DTZ戴德梁行的一季度报告显示,金融海啸的冲击,以及对未来经济走势不确定性的担忧,个人消费性支出受到明显控制,零售业自然首当其冲受到影响,营业额下降,市场竞争压力加大,很多零售商放缓了扩张的脚步,推迟了开新店的计划,转而把更多精力专注于已有店面的经营管理,以期能增强店铺营业收入的稳定性和资金流转的灵活性。零售业的放缓发展,使得新项目的招商工作进展困难,尤其是定位为高档购物中心的项目,由于其主要租户为国际奢侈品牌,受其收缩开店计划的影响更大,招租工作难度大大提高,增长了招租时间,以至开业时间数度推迟。而对于以营业收入抽成作为租金收入的百货项目来讲,影响则相对较小。     

光辉的七月

七月的天阳光灿烂,七月的地葱绿繁茂,七月的云多彩斑斓,七月的水奔腾激荡。呵,七月!为何这般光彩照人?为何这样鼓舞人心?在那灾难深重的长夜,腥风血雨,哀鸿遍野,民不聊生,是七月的风雷荡涤着污泥浊水,是     

三年搞改革,十年做结论

在顺德采访,我们一直在思考,一场改革,是怎样发生的,改革的设计者是谁,他们当初是怎么想的,其中经历了什么,这些都是我想了解的,一场改革,涉及到多少方的利益,有多少人涉及其中,改革的历史,绝不是几句领导高瞻远瞩,从胜利走向胜利就可以概括得了的。所以,我想寻找到改革方案的设计者,想重返改革现场。于是,我们找到了顺德区常委、大良镇委书记马洪胜。走进马洪胜的办公室,一个身穿灰色T恤,书卷气十足的中年人,正在收拾办公桌,     

平视

站稳脚跟,挺直胸膛,面朝前方,调整好焦距,再放出明亮的眼光,看到红的,就说红,看到黑,就说黑;俊美的,热情赞扬;丑陋的,嗤之以鼻;是英雄,献上鲜花;是小人,拒绝合流。我们平视世界、平视现实、平视自己。面对权贵、富翁、被炒红了的名人,假如我们就踮起脚尖,仰起脸,眼睛眯成细细的缝,哈哈地讪笑     

此处燃情,小心灼伤——肯尼亚、坦桑尼亚野性之旅

当夜色阑珊,站在窗台,仔细回味,体验这片神奇土地上火一般的激情,你的心灵会像天空般纯净……而当繁华落尽,你会知道,平凡是最后的荡气回肠。一望无际的大草原上,金合欢树傲然独立,成千上万的斑马和角马悠闲食草,猎豹极速飞奔猎杀,大象和长颈鹿成群优雅踱步,火烈鸟展开双翅,红色     

没有“后5．12时代”

按照媒体庸俗的命名方式,任何一个宏大的事件,很快都会进入后时代,在一个缺乏感动甚至基本感受能力的社会里,任何一种稍微激烈一点的情绪都很容易消逝,从而变成一场乏味的表演。但在2008年,一些事情发生,顺带着引发了一连串的反应,最关键的是,突然之间,所有这些情绪都集中汇入一条洪流,我们发现,已经很难走出这个日子——2008年5月12日。因此带来的一系列变化,好也罢,坏也罢,现在,不会有人盼望后5.12时代。作为一个群体形象,这一次,地产人无论是在行动还是言语上,其反应都是及时迅速且有力度的,某种程度上,重新树立起一个乐施好善且能担当的新的社会形象;而在相当长时间内,与重建家园密切相关的行业,地产人将育更多的时间将自己放大给更多的人看——或者更好,或者更坏!更关键的是,此次震灾或将引领地产界一场新的思想变革:品位、尊贵、风格、文化,这一切毕竟是建立在什么样的基础上,地产的本质是什么?5.12时代,或者是一个新的起点。     

南非，东部以南 花间道快行

行游南非,有许多的必到点:约堡、金伯利、比勒陀利亚、种族隔离博物馆、索维托、太阳城、克鲁格国家公园、开普敦、豪特港、好望角、罗宾岛等,这些,在南非的中部、西部、北部和南部。连接lost city和开普敦的一段太阳之路,我走了两次。对南非的印象加深,实际上分三步走,先是曼德拉的根据地索维托,可以感觉着纯粹的黑人气质,再是开普敦,城市里有显著的欧洲细节种种,最后是好望角,每次到达这世界的尽头,快乐与惊喜都止步于此。我算是走马观花的旅行记忆里,南非是极具活力的,快乐的贫民窟,快乐的黑人音乐,快乐的欧化城市。2008年5月,我参加了一次中国旅游行业     

地摊归来，草根化的全新创业实练

[前语]地摊是创业的前奏。地摊与商铺的区别只在于我们不用交租金。摆地摊不会没面子,同样我们也叫老板。在重庆地摊联盟的网站上,这样的标语是地摊族的心声。都市迷离的夜色里,行人归家的路途中,越来越多的地摊,重新出现在城市最生动的画面上。在上世纪80年代,地摊曾被认为是没面子的生意——甚至称不上生意,只是就业无门者被迫的谋生手段。而现在的地摊族,则心怀自豪与坦然,他们用地摊推广产品,积累资金,用地摊的形式完成创业最初的起步过程,他们甚至把结成地摊联盟作为时兴。当地摊重新归来,改变的,不只是产品与特色,更是对于创业、对于生意的观念。     

Ireland爱尔兰:不一样的休闲“慢”游

巴土在蜿蜒的绿色中轻捷地穿行。没有开始,也没有结束的绿色,绿树下掩映着色彩明艳的小屋,懒懒的羊儿是草地上软软的棉团,白云低缓,绿色盎然,浓郁的咖啡,迷情的风笛、热情奔放的踢踏舞,这是爱尔兰。像撒落在大西洋中的翡翠,这么安宁明媚,不经意就在取景框中留下一个童话般的图案。     

How to obtain venture capital

What do venture capitalists look for when evaluating proposals? What do they want in return? And how can you increase the likelihood that yours is one of the rare proposals that gets funded?     

Massive transfers of resources

What lies behind the call for massive transfers of resources from the rich to the poor countries? What proposals for such transfers have been made? Do these proposals represent an application of Keynesianism to the problems of international development and, if so, is this application legitimate?     

Commission proposals on budgetary and financial reform

In a speech to the European Parliament on 18th February 1987 the Commission President Delors publicly announced the Commission’s proposals for a fundamental reorganization of the system of financing the Community and of Community budgetary policy.1 What is the background of these proposals? How can they be assessed?     

Ethical Standards for Stockbrokers: Fiduciary or Suitability?

What are the ethical obligations of the sellers of financial products to their customers? Stockbrokers in the U.S. have a legal and ethical requirement to recommend only “suitable” investments to their customers. This is a fairly weak standard. Currently, there are proposals to raise the standard to a fiduciary one in which the recommendations would have to be in the best interests of the clients. Brokers sell solutions to financial problems. Similar to an auto mechanic or a doctor, the product often consists of both the professional advice and its implementation. There are numerous conflicts of interest between brokerage firms and their customers in that the products that pay the highest commissions may not be the best ones for the customers. The societal perspective adds complications, however. Society depends on modern financial markets to raise capital for productive enterprises and to spread risk. Issuers of financial products need distribution channels for their products just like the producers of any other products. Commissions create powerful incentives for the distribution channels, but at the same time produce conflicts of interest—a type of ethical pollution. Just as our society tolerates some pollution as a byproduct of other useful activities, it may be useful to tolerate some of these financial conflicts of interest. The nature of the relationship should govern the ethical standard. Those selling advice, regardless of how they label themselves, should adhere to a best-interest fiduciary standard. More limited relationships should be limited to the mandate involved in the relationship.     

Are EU Non-Reciprocal Trade Preferences Passé?

A substantial body of opinion argues that, at best, trade preferences for developing countries have had little or no trade stimulating effect. This paper argues that this view fails to distinguish between the effects of EU and US preferences and, in the case of EU preferences, can be rejected on the basis of recent empirical evidence. The implications of the Appellate Body ruling on EU special preferences and the Commission's proposals for the reform of the rules of origin are then examined. The paper concludes with an examination of proposals to increase the effectiveness of the GSP+.     

The Case for 'Weaker' Leadership

This article argues that the pendulum in the debate on leadership has now swung too far in the direction of the "tyranny of opinion" and that this has increased the chances of wrong decisions being taken. But if this is so, what are the practical means by which diversity and conflict can be channelled into the decision-making process. After discussing a wide range of research, the author describes his own preferred technique of formally using a devil's advocate to test proposals for change – but without setting out alternative proposals.     

A regional social plan for developing countries

The existence of constraints affecting the social services in developing countries is only too obvious. Neither donor nor recipient countries have yet paid sufficient attention to this sphere in the context of development policy. Practicable planning proposals are therefore put forward in the following article for the two sectors of health and education.     

The requirements for EC merger control

The need for a uniform European system to control mergers seems ever more urgent as the advent of the European internal market draws closer. What proposals and approaches already exist for European competition law? How should they be assessed?