Monday, November 26, 2007

For profit vs. non-profit

The battle between OLPC and the Classmate PC is a fascinating proxy for the debate of business vs. charity to aid in development.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Sovereign Wealth World: Financial Page: The New Yorker

As always, James Surowiecki finds exactly the right words to sum up a current trend (in this case, the rise of sovereign funds.)

But it’s a problem of our own making. The reason that sovereign wealth funds are so flush with cash is all the dollars we spend on oil and Asian consumer goods. If we want to consume far beyond our means, then, one way or another we’re going to end up selling off assets to pay for it.

Sovereign Wealth World: Financial Page: The New Yorker

For Geert

it is not my favorite Catherine Wheel song, but it is the one I've grooving to as I complete G7II

Friday, November 16, 2007

AMD sells 8.1 pct stake to Mideast firm - Yahoo! News

Up until now, sovereign funds have been investing mainly in PE-types of investments...ports, real estate, huge infrastructure and so on.

But pretty soon, all those countries holding mountains of US dollars will begin to look for other assets in which to invest.

Enter the tech sector.

Looks like AMD is getting ahead of the curve. But what will be more interesting is when sovereign funds get into the local VC game.

AMD sells 8.1 pct stake to Mideast firm - Yahoo! News