// <![CDATA[ // <![CDATA[ // &lt;![CDATA[ var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([&#39;_setAccount&#39;, &#39;UA-857684-6&#39;]); _gaq.push([&#39;_trackPageview&#39;]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(&#39;script&#39;); ga.type = &#39;text/javascript&#39;; ga.async = true; ga.src = (&#39;https:&#39; == document.location.protocol ? &#39;https://ssl&#39; : &#39;http://www&#39;) + &#39;.google-analytics.com/ga.js&#39;; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(&#39;script&#39;)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); // ]]&gt; // ]]> // ]]> Halliburton is being blamedContinue reading “BP Oil spill and cement quality – is it only a Halliburton contractor problem?”
Category Archives: Risk
Ahead of President Obama India visit- India signs IAEA treaty to limit nuclear accident liability to operators
The Indian nuclear power equipment market is estimated (October 2010) at 175 Billion $ and both GE and Westinghouse are very interested in supplying nuclear power equipment. Worrying potential US suppliers, Indian lawmakers in August had passed a law that might have made equipment suppliers liable for 80 years in case there was an accident and faulty equipment was to blame. Obviously the memories of Bhopal don’t fade and a nuclear leak like Chernobyl would be catastrophic in densely populated India.
[Note: This post is from October 27, 2010 and was edited for formatting on May 22, 2021]
Selling loans as a product: US Mortgage market and India Microfinance
If you are not a banker it’s difficult to visualize loans as a product that everyone is pressured to sell on the banking side of the transaction. This insight came up during a discussion with some friends involved in pioneering microfinance in India.
[Note: This post from October 25, 2010 was updated on May 31, 2021 for formatting issues.]
Robo-signing foreclosure mess – applying auto assembly Taylor logic to services?
Fredrick Taylor famously did “time and motion” studies to improve productivity in the automobile industry. The American auto worker, pressured to produce more – did always honestly give a bolt the number of turns required. We seem to not understand how or if Taylor’s principles apply to the service economy. It now turns out thatContinue reading “Robo-signing foreclosure mess – applying auto assembly Taylor logic to services?”
Google to build off-shore wind energy transmission lines
Google’s foray into promoting the building of off-shore transmission lines for wind energy farms off the US East Coast is a great idea. Googe does this with a 37.5% stake (alongwith Good Energies and Marubeni Corporation ) in the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) project of Trans-Elect .Trans-Elect is the implementing organization for AWC.
[ Note this post is from October 12, 2010 and is updated for formatting on May 19, 2021
Re-thinking Medical Insurance Business as an Electricity Business- executing healthcare reform
// <![CDATA[ var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-857684-6']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); // ]]> What's similar between the utility and electricity business and the healthcare insuranceContinue reading “Re-thinking Medical Insurance Business as an Electricity Business- executing healthcare reform”
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it ” does not apply to Infrastructure renewal policy for gas pipes, bridges
// <![CDATA[ // <![CDATA[ // &lt;![CDATA[ var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([&#39;_setAccount&#39;, &#39;UA-857684-6&#39;]); _gaq.push([&#39;_trackPageview&#39;]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(&#39;script&#39;); ga.type = &#39;text/javascript&#39;; ga.async = true; ga.src = (&#39;https:&#39; == document.location.protocol ? &#39;https://ssl&#39; : &#39;http://www&#39;) + &#39;.google-analytics.com/ga.js&#39;; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(&#39;script&#39;)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); // ]]&gt; // ]]> // ]]> We are all carefulContinue reading ““If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it ” does not apply to Infrastructure renewal policy for gas pipes, bridges”
Let’s be fair to the BP report for recognizing B2B and Supply Chain control and oversight
The media coverage of the BP report highlights the blame game between BP and its subcontractors. But to be fair to the BP report there is a part in the full BP report (Section 6 Part 5 page 185 of 192) that spells out what BP and the offshore oil drilling industry might like toContinue reading “Let’s be fair to the BP report for recognizing B2B and Supply Chain control and oversight”
B2B contact and verification by patients may be the solution to Medicare Fraud
The 60 minutes story on Medicare fraud (September 2010) highlights a service verification problem that could be potentially tackled by B2B contact and verification. Medicare fraudsters’ modus operandi is to get a list of Medicare patients and just bill Medicare for fictitious supplies to patients. One preposterous example is of a retired Judge who wasContinue reading “B2B contact and verification by patients may be the solution to Medicare Fraud”
Housing market woes reflect slow jobs and underlyng slow income as US home based call center outsourcing takes off
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-857684-6']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); With the stock market barely above 10,000 pundits are pointing to the 27.2% decline in existingContinue reading “Housing market woes reflect slow jobs and underlyng slow income as US home based call center outsourcing takes off”