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What Is Investment Banking? See the Top Investment Banks
Learn about the best investment banks across the world.
By Jared Nigro September 25, 2019 Find a Bank
It's been 11 years since the financial crisis of 2008, when top investment banks on Wall Street went into disarray. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Bear Stearns was acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co., and a generation of finance grads found themselves pining for work in their chosen field. But now it's 2019, and strict Obama-era measures like the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act have kept an eye on Wall Street. The result? Top companies like Goldman Sachs are thriving as financial advisors for corporations and governments, even while some of the country's most-promising millennials are pursuing careers in tech instead of finance.
Keep reading to find out what's really going on in the investment banking world today and decide if you should "invest" in this career path.
Investment Banking in a Nutshell
What Do Investment Bankers Do?
The Role of Investment Banks and Their Services
What Are the Top Investment Banks?
Prepare For Stress: Entering a Career in Investment Banking
Investment Banking in 2019 and Beyond
Remember how academic advisors in college told you what classes you needed to take in order to graduate? That's a similar kind of relationship investment bankers have with their clients, with potentially millions of dollars riding on following the advisors' advice.
Investment bankers help companies, governments and other entities that need assistance with large, complicated financial transactions and advice on risk management for debt and equity securities, equity research, asset management, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offers — aka, "going public" — and stock placement, among other services. This might seem complicated because the industry is full of Harvard graduates, but it's actually pretty straightforward.
"Investment banking is a method of controlling the flow of money," Robert Johnson, Professor of Finance at Heider College of Business, Creighton University, said. "The goal of investment banking is channeling cash from investors looking for returns into the hands of entrepreneurs and business builders who are long on ideas, but short on cash. Investment bankers raise money from investors, by selling securities, and then transfer that money to people who need cash to start businesses, expand businesses, run cities or bring other costly projects to reality."
Investment banks play a key role in American economics, especially in the corporate finance world, where they save their client companies and governments a lot of money. Say a hugely successful family-run dog food company is bursting at the seams with net revenue and wants to go public and make an IPO, which lets outside investors invest in the company by purchasing stock. The company might not know how to handle such a massive and potentially risky situation because its main focus has been on, well… dog food. No sweat! This is where an investment banker like Goldman Sachs swings in and helps out by making recommendations — on share prices, for example — based on their to-the-minute interpretation of the market.
Why would this family business trust a Wall Street investment banker? Because the company has a lot of potential for growth and employees who depend on the company's success to keep their families happy and healthy.
Beyond IPO's, investment bankers offer many more services:
Companies need money, and investment bankers help them gain it through the process of underwriting. Underwriting is the act of raising capital for a company by selling its stocks or bonds to investors. The three types of underwriting are:
First Commitment: The investment bank buys all of a company's stock and then resells it at a higher price. The underwriter assumes the risk — if the stock doesn't sell, the investment bank is left holding the bag.
Best Efforts: The investment bank agrees to sell as much of the company's issue as it can, but it has no financial or legal liability in the event the stock doesn't sell.
All-or-None: The investment bank and the company agree that unless the whole issue of stock can be sold at a predetermined offering price, the deal is kaput and the underwriter is out of luck.
This is the process of combining two entities. It's a vital service for investment bankers because it requires them to use their networks and relationships to target opportunities and negotiate for their client.
The investment bank can work on either the "buy" or "sell" side of the deal. The buying side wants to buy the other business for the lowest price possible, whereas the selling side wants to sell for the highest price possible.
There are multiple types of mergers:
Horizontal Merger: A merger between competitors that sell the same product type, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Vertical Merger: A merger between two companies that work within different parts of a product's supply chain, such as Petco combining with that aforesaid dog food company.
Congeneric Merger: A merger between two businesses that service the same base of consumers in differing ways, like a baby stroller and car seat company merging to dominate the "new parent" market.
Market-Extension Merger: A merger between two companies that sell the same product but in different markets.
Product-Extension Merger: A merger between two companies that sell related products within the same market.
Conglomeration: A merger between two companies with no common areas of business.
Here are the steps involved in an M&A, as listed by the Corporate Finance Institute:
Create an acquisition strategy.
Define the acquisition criteria.
Find a target.
Plan the acquisition.
Value and evaluate the target.
Distribute a letter of intent from and negotiate on behalf of the buyer.
Conduct due diligence to reveal risks.
Seal the deal with a purchase and sales contract.
Secure financing for the deal.
Implement the transaction.
Sales and Trading
This is the part of investment banking that is full of smiles and handshakes, as well as cut-throat ambition. The sales and trading division of an investment bank assists with the buying and selling of equities like stocks, mutual funds, hedge funds and pension funds. This is all about the big money.
This is the division of investment banks that do the research on all securities in a transaction — in other words, provide the "coverage" that helps their clients make sound decisions.
This is the managing of investments for all clients and investors through a wide range of investing styles.
Competition is fierce among top-tier investment banks as they try to outpace one another with relationships, deals and offers.
The world's largest global investment banks are known as the "bulge bracket," a term that originated from the list of banks on a prospectus, which is a formal summary of a proposed project that is sent out to prospective investors. The banks are listed in order of the size of the role they played in the deal, with the major players listed in larger, bolder type that takes more space — hence the "bulge."
Bulge-bracket institutions offer some of the most innovative and cutting-edge financial products. Not to mention, they are the primary dealers of U.S. Treasurys. Many of these investment banks own or are affiliated with consumer and commercial banks.
The Top 25 Investment Banks
Investment Bank Revenue Market Cap Employees
JPMorgan Chase & Co. $109.029 billion 373.91 billion 254,983
Bank of America Merrill Lynch $91.9 billion 278.08 billion 209,000
Wells Fargo & Company $86.4 billion 217.38 billion 262,800
Citigroup $72.9 billion 156.52 billion 200,000
HSBC $53.780 billion 155.36 billion 237,685
BNP Paribas SA $46.812 billion 49.995 billion 202,624
Morgan Stanley $$40.107 billion 73.12 billion 59,513
Goldman Sachs $36.616 billion 77.89 billion 36,600
Credit Suisse Group AG $34.275 billion 33.58 billion 46,360
Mizuho Financial $34.202 billion 39.82 billion 254,983
Royal Bank of Canada $32.289 billion 112.21 billion 84,087
Barclays $28.212 billion 31.65 billion 83,500
Deutsche Bank $27.882 billion 17.07 billion 90,866
UBS $25.1 billion 44.39 billion 66,922
Bank of Montreal $21.685 billion 46.20 billion 45,454
BlackRock $14.198 billion 67.05 billion 160,000
Nomura Holdings, Inc. $7.55 billion 15.70 billion 27,864
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial $3.672 billion 64.129 billion 144,000
Jefferies LLC $3.183 billion 6.04 billion 4,700
Lazard $2.755 billion 5.00 billion 3,074
Evercore Inc. 2.083 billion 362.10 million 1,700
Houlihan Lokey $963 million 3.08 billion 1,354
Moelis & Company $885.8 million 2.09 billion 583
Piper Jaffray $784.4 million 1.10 billion 1,262
China CITIC Bank $293.779 million 35.41 billion 10,000+
The Cream of the Crop
Here's more in-depth coverage of some of the most prestigious investment banks:
1. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
This is a mastodon of financial institutions. Coming from a long history of M&As, the company currently has $2.6 trillion in assets. It's made up of two parts: JPMorgan and Chase. JPMorgan covers the investment banking side whereas Chase is a business and commercial bank. The company as a whole employs over 250,000 people throughout 100 markets.
Total Net Revenue: $109.03 billion for the 2018 fiscal year
Known Services: Investment banking, including financial advisory, capital raising and risk management; consumer and community banking; commercial banking; financial transaction processing; asset and wealth management
Earnings per Share: $9 in 2018
2. Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is a household name, and as its 150th birthday approaches, it's stronger than ever. Even though Goldman Sachs had a role in the financial crisis of 2007-08, it's one of the most prestigious investment banks out there with just under $932 billion in assets as of 2018.
Anyone interested in becoming a U.S. Treasury secretary or White House advisor would be well advised to consider starting out at Goldman Sachs. The history and connections run deep here.
Total Net Revenue: $36.62 billion for the 2018 fiscal year
Known Services: Financial advisory and underwriting; institutional investor services; investment management; lending and investing portfolios; online consumer banking through Marcus
Earnings per Share: $25.27 in 2018
3. Morgan Stanley
This company has assets of over $853 billion and employs nearly 60,000 people worldwide. Morgan Stanley opened its doors on Wall Street in 1935 and handled $1.1 billion in public offerings and placement that year. Service to communities is one of the company's major global commitments, with 1.67 million service hours volunteered by its employees. Although Morgan Stanley was a recipient of government funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the firm has turned things around.
Total Net Revenue: $40.11 billion for 2018
Known Services: M&As, capital raising, IPOs, wealth management and brokerage services
Earnings per Share: $4.73 in 2018
4. Bank of America Corporation
In 2008, the investment bank company Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America. It operates in nearly 40 countries with major centers in Hong Kong, London and New York. Bank of America has total assets of $2.4 trillion, making it the second-largest U.S. bank.
Total Net Revenue: $91.9 billion for 2018
Known Services: M&As, lending, trading, risk management, debt and equity offerings
5. Citigroup
Citigroup has come a long way since it was founded over 200 years ago as the City Bank of New York. Today, Citi's focus on facilitating growth and economic progress has morphed it into one of the world's most prestigious financial institutions. With nearly $2 trillion in assets, it's also one of the largest.
Total Net Income: $72.9 billion for 2018
Known Services: Asset protection, lending, payment processing, capital markets
Ultimately, investment banks carry out similar services. It's the investment-banker-to-client relationship that carries a lot of weight. This makes finding the right investment banker tough, but it makes being an investment banker even more challenging.
Investment banking is a good fit for someone who loves building relationships with clients, meeting fast deadlines, burning the midnight oil and earning a substantial salary.
Hours and Pay
Get ready to work an average of 70 hours or more per week when starting off as junior investment banker. The good news is you can make $98,000 plus bonuses in your first year, and a managing director could take home $230,000.
What Do I Need To Know About Working as an Investment Banker?
Make no mistake, this career requires constant energy and focus.
"For those seeking to work as investment banking professionals, having a client-oriented focus is paramount," noted Ben Harrison, founder of the private capital market software company Deal Cloud. "M&A advisors and bankers are trusted to represent sellers and buyers throughout the transaction process, which can take months or years, so it's critical that they have a fundamental knowledge of the end markets and operating models of the companies they serve. They also need pipeline management and due diligence tools and technologies that will keep them organized and on deadline. In pursuit of the most ideal client outcomes, these professionals must be strong relationship managers, skilled financial engineers and trusted advisors all at once."
Carlos Abadi, managing director of Decision Boundaries and a 30-year investment banking veteran, offers this advice to young people considering a career in this field:
1. "Do it only if you love (and are good at) finance. Post-Great Recession, the sky is not the limit in terms of compensation any longer."
2. "Consider working for an independent firm only if both you and the firm itself have an innovation edge. It is very rewarding to beat the bulge-bracket firms but it's only going to happen if you have something significantly better to offer the client. Remember that the household-name firms are safe choices and that no corporate CFO is going to lose their job for hiring one of them."
3. "Even if you choose to work for a bulge-bracket or bank-affiliated firm, keep in mind that you are going to be working in a contracting industry in terms of headcount. Here, the pace of technological innovation will hit from two different directions. First, larger investment banks are increasingly relying on technology which can produce anything from a deal closing schedule to an AI-enabled credit analysis. Secondly, the unregulated fintech insurgents, although not yet meaningful in the investment banking field, are certain to start nibbling at the incumbents' market share with a compelling value proposition or, at least, cap their (already lackluster) growth opportunities."
Sound like a dream career? If so, the next step is to get a competitive education.
Keep Reading: How To Set Career and Financial Goals You'll Actually Achieve
The Best Degree To Become an Investment Banker
A viable candidate for any bulge-bracket investment bank should have a finance or business degree and an MBA. Although many of the best schools tend to be in and around New York and London, you have plenty of options.
EFinancialCareers reviewed its resume database to determine what percentage of MBAs landed in what it calls "front office" jobs such as M&A, capital markets, sales and trading and equity research. The study weighted the most prestigious investment banks — JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America — most heavily and adjusted results to account for differences in enrollment between small and large schools. Here are the rankings:
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University
The Columbia Business School at Columbia University
The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago
The Business School at Harvard University
The Graduate School of Business at Stanford University
The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon
The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College
The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
The School of Management at Yale University
IESE Business School, University of Navarra
The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia
The Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley
The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
These competitive schools have close ties to the top investment banks, so landing an interview at a bulge-bracket firm could be as easy as schmoozing at an alumni mixer.
As with every industry, schools have to update and adapt to the growing technological advances. For investment bankers, the evolution of automation has changed the industry and the day-to-day requirements for investment bankers.
The Evolution of Automation and Technology in Investment Banking
Because the job of an investment banker requires so many interpersonal skills and keen judgement, it is hard to imagine this career being replaced by a machine. That said, the investment banking industry has seen automation slowly take over. In the words of Saijel Kishan, Hugh Son and Mira Rojanasakul, writing for Bloomberg Businessweek: "Traders, prepare to adapt."
Front office jobs like research analyst, money manager and trader are all vulnerable to disruption at the hands of automation. For example, in 2011, Morgan Stanley created an app designed to share real-time information with investors And Goldman Sachs automated some of the routine tasks associated with preparing for IPOs. With deal databases and algorithms that match buyers and sellers, the investment banking technological revolution is in full swing. Perhaps this is why the industry sees more promising minds jumping over to tech companies instead of banking.
Check Out: Skip Silicon Valley — You Can Find High-Paying Tech Jobs in These 20 Cities
As vital as investment banking is to the world economy, it is not without major complications. Financial scandals and a societal distrust in the "too big to fail" banks have spurred strict government regulations and a dropping interest in finance careers. Yet, institutions like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase still have the pulse and authority over much of the global market. Whether for a company's financial investments, career opportunities or personal banking, investment banks offer the most precise and competitive services and have shown they can handle even the most turbulent of times.
Keep reading to find out how these banks are quietly running the American economy.
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Jared Nigro is a writer based in Los Angeles who has worked for many socioeconomic and environmental foundations like the Dan & Susan Gottlieb Foundation as well as Inside Out Writers.
Last updated: Sept. 25, 2019
Editorial Note: This content is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the bank advertiser, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.
Jared Nigro
Jared Nigro is from Pittsburgh, which is obvious by the way he gravitates toward cheese at parties. He is a comedy writer from The Groundlings Sunday Company, Upright Citizens Brigade and has his own digital show on Comedy Central called "Broken People." When he isn't being funny, he's reading books on debt and finance and listening to his favorite finance podcast, ChooseFI.
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Natacha Du Pont De Bie is no ordinary tourist. She'll trek for hours or even days in search of a good lunch. Her obsession with food is such that, while others are lying comatose on the beach or cycling up mountains, she'll be down at the local market, elbow deep in produce, grilling people on where to find the best indigenous restaurants and cafes and jotting down recipes. She is a self-proclaimed food tourist – she can't think of a better way to experience a country and its culture than through its cuisine. And the more obscure the better. So when Natacha found out that there was only one cookbook on Lao cuisine by the late king's chef, she promptly decided that the challenge of hunting down recipes and discovering a new gastronomy was just too tempting. "Ant Egg Soup" is the result of her adventures in Laos, the stories of the people she met, the places she visited and, of course, the food she tasted: drinking raw turkey blood with herbs in a tribal village, cooking Paradise chicken in a little guest house by the Kung Si waterfalls and sampling fried cricket during the Festival of the Golden Stupa. Funny and refreshing, fascinating and enlightening, "Ant Egg Soup" will awaken the senses while redefining the art of travelling and eating abroad.


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Like many members of the Fortune 100, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) hires hundreds of people a month. This month, however, three have something unique in common. They are entering the company's Re-Empower Program, which aims to bring back into the workforce those who put their careers on hold.
The 16-week paid "returnship" is open to people who've been out of the workforce for at least two years. They may have taken a career break to raise a family, care for elderly parents or go back to school. UTC, which makes products for the aerospace, defense and building industries and is headquartered in Farmington, Conn., started its initiative last year. Eighteen of the 22 people who completed the program were hired on either a full-time or contract basis. The program is open to anyone, but some participants have been former UTC employees.
"We are always looking for ways to attract experienced talent," said Shanda Hinton, global diversity talent attraction leader at UTC. "This is an unexplored talent pool."
More employers are paying attention to it now, however. Thirty-eight corporate programs were launched in the United States between 2016 and 2018—roughly 13 a year. That's up from one in 2013 and three in 2014, according to iRelaunch, a Boston-based firm that helps companies set up the returnship initiatives. The company said there are about 90 global corporate programs, although it hasn't been involved in all of them.
Apple and investment manager The Vanguard Group announced this month that they would start re-entry initiatives.
Such arrangements are flourishing due to their success rates, the tight labor market and companies' attempts to diversify their workforces.
Returnship programs were largely started by Wall Street firms. Early adopters included Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase. In 2015, iRelaunch joined forces with the Society of Women Engineers to encourage technology firms to establish returnship programs. The conversion rate from internship to full-time employment in the tech sector averaged 85 percent over the last two years, according to iRelaunch.
"We see the proliferation [of returnships] continuing because of the stellar hiring results these programs are producing," said Carol Fishman Cohen, chair and co-founder of iRelaunch. "They are even more attractive when you are in a full labor environment."
The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in December, up slightly from 3.7 percent in November. Talent is getting harder to keep. Last year, an estimated 42 million people voluntarily quit their jobs, up 11 percent from 2017, according to the Work Institute, a Franklin, Tenn.-based consulting firm. The institute predicts that, if the trend continues, the number will jump 14 percent to 48 million by 2020, or 1 in 3 workers.
To replace those workers, companies launch returnship programs to draw in applicants who may want to come back to work but have been out of the office for some time. Women who have halted their careers are a huge pool of untapped talent. There are 2.6 million women who are not in the workforce, hold bachelor's degrees, are between ages 25 and 54, and have children under age 18. Eighty percent of those women are interested in returning to work, according to Cohen. She added that 93 percent of the people who attend iRelaunch's conferences are women.
Yet, even in a tight labor market, recruiters often overlook individuals with career gaps.
"You get 100 applicants, and often those with a career break go to the bottom of the pile or off to the side. Either consciously or unconsciously, there are biases," Hinton said. "We are missing out on a source of talent. "
Initiatives like Re-Empower can help eliminate such biases, experts said. Details vary between company programs, although the basic structure is similar. Typical programs require applicants to have been out of work for around two years and to have several years of work experience. Those selected are paid to work between 12 and 16 weeks; a few programs last from only eight weeks to as much as six months. Participants are usually assigned a mentor and a buddy to help steer them through the experience. Members of the same returnship class join regular meetings, often virtual, to learn about various workplace issues and exchange information about their experiences.
That extra support is key to making the programs successful.
"A huge reason people never even attempt to come back to work is that their skills aren't up-to-date," said Jennifer P. Howland, pathways program executive at IBM, which launched its Tech Re-Entry Program in 2016. She said that participants are each assigned a mentor who, along with the managers, can identify gaps in individuals' skills and recommend ways to close them. "It is critical they work with the mentor," she added.
Seventy individuals have participated in IBM's program since it started, and 92 percent of them were recommended as hires. Not all of them were hired, and some did not accept the positions they were offered, Howland said.
Selecting the right positions for program participants is also vital, especially in fast-changing industries like technology, where skills quickly become outdated. For example, Hind said that software development isn't the best arena for those re-entering the workforce because the specialty is constantly transforming. Areas like product engineering and project management are a better fit.
Finding managers committed to the project is paramount. "These [re-entering] individuals take a little more hand-holding," said Bobbie Davis, director of talent enablement at Mastercard, which piloted its program in 2017. Davis said that many of the candidates have been out of the workplace for a while, and returning is a significant change in their lives. "They are going to need to be more closely monitored."
Last year, Mastercard welcomed 31 individuals into its program, up from eight in 2017. This year, the company plans to include more than 50 people. It hired six of the eight individuals in its first class and more than half of those from the second year, although that may increase. She hopes the conversion rate to full-time hires will reach 75 percent. There will always be individuals who don't fit with the company or decide they'd rather not accept a position. "I know we will never be 100 percent," she said. "[But] it is still a new program, and it has given us a pipeline into a diverse workforce."
This article provided by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
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5 ways (not) to lose followers on social media
By Rosie Hilder published 23 October 18
Here's how to avoid annoying your followers on social media.
The world of social media is a fickle one. Even if you're lucky/dedicated enough to amass a million followers on Instagram, you'll still need to work hard to keep from losing those followers once you've got them.
To find out the worst social media sins, those ones that have you reaching for the Unfollow button, we asked our readers on Twitter and Facebook what annoys them the most about brands and other creatives on social media.
How to network successfully
We also, rather unscientifically, asked around our office to see what gets design journalists' and art editors' backs up online. Here's what you shouldn't do if you want to keep your hard-earned followers...
01. Talk politics
When they start promoting political views. Stick to what you're known for, not with what you think you know.October 13, 2018
Various people mentioned this as a big no-no, which is interesting seeing as some big brands, such as Nike, have used politics in their campaigns recently. Nike's decision to use outcast American football player Colin Kaepernick in its campaign with the slogan 'Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything' led to admiration from some, and outrage from others (for more on this, take a look at our article on divisive ad campaigns).
The thing is, Nike is big enough that it doesn't matter if a few thousand people decide to burn its trainers or boycott it. But if you're not Nike, steer clear of politics, even if you're pretty sure a lot of your audience agrees with you.
02. Post irrelevant content
If your account primarily shows your illustrations, then it's fine for you to also show your followers glimpses of your everyday life. In fact, it's a good idea. But if you suddenly go on a five-post rant about your latest car, or decide to share every minute of your day, documenting every meal consumed, for example, then you're playing with fire. This leads nicely to our next point.
03. Post too often
Posting more than 5 times a day honestly...I get it you make Kewl stuff..I get it...you like saying kewl. Chill fam. 🤦🏿♂October 15, 2018
There's nothing more annoying than opening an app to find it flooded with posts from one account. We don't want to see all the images of your holiday drip fed to us one at a time over a period of hours. Nor do we want to see images of the same bag from 100 different angles across 10 different posts.
How often should you post? That depends on how much you have to say, but according to Social Report, you should post three to five times a day on Twitter, once or twice a day on Facebook and Instagram, once a day on LinkedIn, and three times on Pinterest.
Most of all, you should try not to post just for the sake of it. Post because you have something you want to share with your audience, or else you run the risk of boring people with 'filler' content.
You should also be wary of posting exactly the same thing across platforms, as people may get irritated by seeing the same thing several times. Try and tailor your message for each platform.
04. Try to be too cool
Several people also mentioned their pet hate as brands trying to be too 'millennial' or 'cool' by using slang, or overusing the same phrases – one Twitter user, Krissy, gave the example of using 'Fri-yay' every week.
Frankly, we don't know what you kids are talking about, we ❤ Fri-yays.
Seriously, though, if you wouldn't use a phrase or word in real life, you should avoid it on social media. We also agree with the commenter above who said you should aim for originality and creativity in your posts. Think about it: if you can't be creative on social media, why would someone hire you to be creative elsewhere?
05. Use too many hashtags
We've all #seen this one. #allthetime
Brands that overuse hashtags in their main posts, so you can barely read what they're trying to say are #annoying.
There's also the ones that post about 50 hashtags under the main post, or in the comments. This seems a little needy. #sorrynotsorry
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Rosie Hilder
Rosie Hilder is the deputy editor of Creative Bloq. Before joining the CB team in 2018, she worked on a range of print titles, including Time Out Buenos Aires, Computer Arts, 3D World, Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. Her interests lie in branding and illustration, tech and sexism, and plenty more in-between.
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World is a fascinating place, and those who haven't traveled have only lived uneventful lives. My enthusiasm for travel and adventure has taken me through backpacking in the Himalayas, to paragliding in the Alps, hostel hopping in Europe to creating India's largest marketplace for adventure activities with over 4000 adventures provided by more than 350 operators across 5 countries. Through my experiences in traveling and adventure across ten countries and most especially in India got me thinking about how I could fill in the gap between travelers and tour operators and improve the adventure scenario. On a backpacking trip in Himachal Pradesh with my father, I got stuck for 2 days in an outlandish village called Mojhi. On returning, I registered a domain with the same name 5 years ago without a clear cut plan. The seed was sown.
While Kayaking in Rishikesh last year, I saw a couple who were eagerly looking for Rafting options. Even after a long online search on their phones, they couldn't find precise and reliable information regarding the pricing, duration and the operators available. Personally speaking to the operators was a tedious task, and that too didn't help them in finding the best one. That is when I realized I could set up a platform with simple, reliable and comprehensive information for first timers to explore a sport or seasoned adventurers to find the right tour operator.
The 200 billion dollar global adventure travel industry held for us huge opportunities and we were up for it at the right time. I planted the idea into my IIM buddy Viswanath's brain who also shared the same zeal for adventure. Soon we formed a team bringing Naveen's Operational Expetise and Bhavpreet's coding skills and began our research into the market. We started to address all the pain points in the online travel market where close to 70% of people searched for adventure travel on the internet. We basically found two sides to the story.
The tour operator market was highly segmented. Most operators didn't have an online platform to reach out to customers, the operators had to be on field and there was no one to attend to the customer queries and most had no form of online payment gateway. This disability of the operators is what we wanted to address.
On the other end of the spectrum lie our travelers who sitting in their houses could not find which operator offered what services, at what price and with what quality. It was now clear what defined the Online travel industry – "Convenience". And that is where www.Mojhi.com could make the difference.
How we plugged the leak?
We started off creating a vast collection of pages which offered detailed information about a particular adventure and brought into the same page all the different operators that offered that adventure. On these pages, the customer can compare information from multiple operators side by side regarding the rates, the duration and itinerary. The resulting competition among the operators ensures they maintain their pricing- fair and quality- top notch. Clients who need custom packages could give us their preferences and the operators at the target location would be notified and they customize the tour accordingly. We also have a platform on the website where the client can directly chat with the operators who can give them a clear picture about the ground reality. This solution now addresses all the problems and the customer can make an informed decision very conveniently and also make a payment right away on the website. The operator is then automatically notified of all the details.
Why we are the most successful adventure marketplace in India?
Providing every alternative with relevant information to users, giving them the freedom and flexibility to choose which adventure and operator they want to pick is key to the mojhi.com's model. Transparency regarding all the details of the operator makes mojhi.com reliable and this explains our ever loyal customer base. We have a credible amount of foreign travellers booking through our website for which we are ever ready with 24/7 customer support and payment options through PayPal. We also have the easiest and the most effective adventure consultant tool on the website which helps you find, compare and book your next adventure.
We currently operate in 4 countries: Nepal, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Tanzania and will be expanding our reach to 15 countries by the end of the year. For all the right reasons, we are growing at 20% month after month and have grossed over $30,000 in GMV for March 2016. We have users from US, UK, India, Japan and 10 other countries. Every single traveler from anywhere on the planet wanting to experience any form of adventure anywhere in the world should go through mojhi.com – That's our ultimate vision!


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Established in 1999, the international Children's Health Study is a large-scale, multi-year survey designed to formally document the positive effects Juice Plus+ (a fruit and vegetable concentrate) has on the health and well-being of families who take it.
The Children's Health Study is simple. For every parent, grandparent, or other adult that signs up as a Juice Plus+ customer, the study provides Juice Plus+ Orchard Blend and Juice Plus+ Garden Blend free to a child, teenager, or college student for up to three years. At various intervals — after 4-8 months and then at the end of each year — adult participants are asked to fill out a voluntary survey to determine whether (and how) their families' health habits have changed as a result of taking Juice Plus+.
For more information on the Children's Health Study or to see the survey results, please visit the Children's Health Study on the Juice Plus+ website.


Susanne Ås Sivborg was appointed Director General at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, PRV, in 2008 by the Swedish government. Prior to this she has held various globally leading positions in the private sector in the field of intellectual property for large international companies such as Electrolux and Astra Zeneca.
Susanne is a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the Royal Institute ofTechnology and she is a qualified European Patent Attorney. She is a member of the Board of KTH,The Royal Institute of Technology, Arbetsgivarverket, the Swedish Agency for Government Employers and FMV, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration.


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Mercer issued a report, "Bold Ideas for Mending the Long Term Savings Gap," which addresses ways to improve the $70 trillion global retirement savings deficit. One suggestion is to give individuals access to smart tools, default options and advice that can help them increase their financial literacy and achieve success.Read more >
A Look at Proposals to Shore Up Social Security
With the asset reserves of Social Security trust funds expected to become depleted by 2034, Congress must act to deliver a solution that ensures the retirement benefits of Americans for the decades to come. The road there, however, would ultimately be a heated debate regarding whether to solve this deficit through major tax increases, large benefits cuts or some varied combination of the two. The Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College recently analyzed two recent proposals which the CRR believes serve as useful "book ends" that should be considered by the public and stake holders in the retirement-planning industry.Read more >
U.S. Falls Three Places in the Natixis Global Retirement Index
Among the 43 countries in the Natixis Global Retirement Index, the U.S. fell three places to No. 17 and achieved an overall score of 72%. U.S. retirees' perceived quality of life decreased in 2016. While the U.S. maintained its No. 7 ranking in health, its highest ranking in the sub-indices, the U.S. ranked 30th in life expectancy, suggesting that what Americans spend on health care may not be yielding the same return on investment as in other countries.Read more >
Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,215,000. This is 8.3% above the revised May estimate of 1,122,000 and is 2.1% above the June 2016 rate of 1,190,000. Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 849,000; this is 6.3% above the revised May figure of 799,000. The June rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 359,000.
Sponsored message from Natixis
Helping Make Retirement More Personal
82% of plan participants surveyed, would like their personal values reflected in their investments. Now there's a solution that meets this demand: Natixis Sustainable Future Funds, the industry's first ESG-driven target date funds.Read more >
Wednesday, the Dow was up 66.02 points (0.31%) at 21,640.75, the NASDAQ gained 40.74 points (0.64%) to finish at 6,385.04, and the S&P 500 increased 13.22 points (0.54%) to 2,473.83. The Russell 2000 climbed 14.16 points (0.99%) to 1,441.77, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 140.97 points (0.55%) higher at 25,728.68.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 3/32, increasing its yield to 2.269%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was up 1/32, decreasing its yield to 2.849%.
Lawmakers Request Guidance for Auto-Portability of Retirement Savings
In a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and other lawmakers requested that the DOL issue an advisory opinion or other appropriate guidance regarding application of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to auto-portability of retirement savings.Read more >
Another House Committee Considers Fiduciary Reforms
The Affordable Retirement Advice for Savers Act seeks to repeal the fiduciary rule and clarify what should and should not be considered fiduciary advice in the retirement planning context.Read more >
Investor Habits Differ Across Generations
Nearly half of individual investors (49%) reported they have yet to reevaluate their investment approach in the midst of a shifting economic landscape, according to a recent report by The Dreyfus Corporation, a company of BNY Mellon. However, younger investors are more likely than older ones to reevaluate their investing approach and to seek professional assistance.Read more >
ON THIS DATE: In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Virginia. In 1881, Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull, a fugitive since the Battle of the Little Big Horn, surrendered to federal troops. In 1917, the draft lottery in World War I began. In 1942, the first detachment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, (WACS) began basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler failed. The bomb exploded at Hitler's Rastenburg headquarters. Hitler was only wounded. In 1944, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term of office at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. became the first men to walk on the moon. In 1976, America's Viking I robot spacecraft made a successful landing on Mars.
SURVEY SAYS: With all the ways we can get news now, newspapers are struggling to sell print editions. This week, I'd like to know, do you subscribe to the print edition of your local newspaper, and if you could only read one section, which one would it be? You may respond to this week's survey by 6 p.m. Pacific time today.Read more >
Share the news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along and tell your friend/association they can sign up for their own copy.Read more >


Apple has launched two new iPhones-iPhone XS and iPhone XS at its #AppleEvent held at its Cupertino headquarters in California on 12th September. The company with a market capitalisation of $1 trillionalso unveiled a relatively affordable iPhone it named iPhone XR. So, if you missed the event, here are some of the key announcements.
The #AppleEvent is incomplete without the unveiling of a new iPhone and they launched three new main versions of the iPhone this year: the iPhone XS (ten-ess), XS Max and a third phone-iPhone XR. In the past, Apple has released its new iPhone alongside a "Plus" model — since the Max is "bigger than Plus size," Apple's calling it something different.
With a 6.5-inch "Super Retina" OLED display, the iPhone XS Max is a giant. It's got a giant-sized price tag to match: The iPhone XS Max starts at $1,099, with 64 GB of storage, and goes all the way up to $1,499 with 512 GB of storage. The iPhone XS directly replaces last year's iPhone X at the now standard iPhone price of $999 to start. The screen size stays at 5.8 inches, and the phone in general looks very similar to last year's model.
Remember the iPhone 5C? It was a low-cost, colourful version of the iPhone 5S that used slightly less expensive materials to produce a very nice, less expensive phone. The iPhone XR is a bit similar to that.
That LCD bit is important because it's part of why the XR costs $250 less than the XS. A big part of the absurdly high price tag of the $1,000 iPhone X that launched last year was the OLED screen. The same thing applies to this year's iPhone XS and XS Max, which also have OLED screens.
It loses 3D Touch — perhaps another measure of the LCD screen — and only has one of the two 12 megapixel cameras found on the back of the iPhone XS and XS Max. But it has one incredible feature that neither the XS or the XS Max has: It comes in yellow.
The iPhone XR launches a bit later than the XS and XS Max: It's scheduled to arrive in stores on October 26, with pre-orders starting the prior Friday, October 19. The iPhone XR starts at $750 with 64 GB of storage and goes all the way up to $900 for 256 GB of storage.
Better still: It'll get the update to Watch OS 5 when the new software arrives next week before the Series 4 is even available.


It seems like Edgar Allen Beem would like to take us back in his time transporter to 1967 to shop classrooms where balding guys in lab coats with ties tucked into their shirts held sway over captive groups of "tech" boys and nicely made up ladies dazzled girls in home economics, teaching them such arts as the perfect pot roast. In the process he almost cozies up to Paul LePage, but in the end settles for the gracious home-ec teacher with the kindly voice and warm cookies, Ms. Mitchell.
Wake up Ed, and look around, it's 2010. That "outsourced industrial arts" program you refer to must be the Portland Arts and Technology High School, where your home-town Yarmouth students along with high-schoolers from 20 other communities take more than 22 classes in trades that do include business, finance, investment and human services. Business owners from plumbing firms and high-end fashion design studios advise, lecture and interact directly with students at PATHS. On a daily basis students leave campus to intern in schools, hospitals and child-care centers. Many of our students spend more hours interning in area businesses than do area college students, and certainly get more real-world experience than do students in many "community service" projects at their sending schools. PATHS students leave with job-ready skills, some with college credit that they earned while enrolled in high school. Do I detect a whiff of patchouli oil somewhere? Trade in your tie-dyed shirt Ed, for a laptop computer and business card.


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'House Party' Star Christopher "Kid" Reid Endorses Film's Reboot
Kid 'n Play's Christopher Reid encouraged fans to go see the new 'House Party' movie, which hit theaters on January 13.
The House Party reboot received a stamp of approval from Christopher "Kid" Reid, one of the original film's stars.
Reid joked about his cameo in the new House Party while speaking to a TMZ paparazzo. The Kid 'n Play member urged fans to go see the movie and explained why he appreciated the remake.
"I think it's always great to have a new perspective on it," he said. "The original House Party came out over 30 years ago and it has its place in cinematic lore. And I don't think that's gonna change, but I think it's nice to get a fresh, young perspective on a classic. I'm very satisfied with what they did."
Warner Bros. Pictures released the House Party remake on January 13. The movie tells the story of two aspiring promoters who throw a party at LeBron James' mansion. James and his longtime business partner Maverick Carter produced the reboot.
Calmatic, who won a Grammy for his work on Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" video, directed the film. Earlier this month, the director defended the decision to remake a beloved movie.
"I wanna see House Party 10 years from now," Calmatic said. "It ain't that deep. Trust me, I've heard every possible complaint about remaking the classics and all that type of s###. But it's not that deep. This movie is for this new generation."
House Party is in theaters now.
Posted in NewsTagged Christopher Reid, Hip-Hop News, House Party, Kid n Play, Kid-N-Play


Remember that your children will also experience flow.
If you interrupt them while they're playing Rock Band or drawing or spinning on a tire swing, you might be disturbing a profound experience. So interrupt gently, when you must. Treat them with the respect you would treat anyone who might be in the midst of a transcendental moment.


As any hiring manager can tell you, a good portion of job seekers include a catalog of their favorite pastimes on their resume. Hobbies and interests, the thinking goes, help candidates show their personality. But keep in mind that employers are more interested in your professional qualifications than your love of travel. When it comes to your resume, hobbies and interests often just take up space and steal attention from your skills and experience.
That's not the stick-to-itiveness we had in mind.
We can't wait for this year's holiday gift exchange.
An applicant who has her "act" together.
You'll collect zero interest from us.
We're wondering about your last interest.
Yes, but how much do you know about this job?
Can you see yourself working here?


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Ius Commune Research School
Maastricht University - University of Leuven - University of Utrecht - University of Amsterdam
Home The School Activities Researchers PhD Research Ius Commune Prize
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PHD RESEARCH IN THE SCHOOL
THE INDIVIDUAL TRAINING PROGRAMME
CURRENT PHD RESEARCH
PHD DEFENCES
The principle of fixation: a drawbridge between private law and bankruptcy law
PhD student: Mrs B. Kramer
Promotor: Prof A.F. Salomons
Duration: 1/9/2019 - 31/8/2025
Research question and problem description The main research question is: How can the principle of fixation (fixatiebeginsel) be interpreted and applied so that it does justice to the objective of bankruptcy and corresponds to other private law subsystems? This study focuses on the principle of fixation, which is regarded as one of the main principles of Dutch bankruptcy law. The fixation of the legal position of all those involved in the estate is instrumental to the objective of bankruptcy, which is to liquidate the assets for the benefit of all creditors. An initial analysis of case law and literature shows that little has been written about the content, scope and function of the principle of fixation. At the same time, the consequences of the declaration of bankruptcy for the legal position of the creditors are not unambiguous and may differ according to the creditors type of right or the type of claim as well as other circumstances. This is problematic for several reasons. Firstly, because the bankruptcy trustee or judge who has to establish or rule on the legal position of the creditors is faced with the question of what specific factors or criteria are relevant to determine that legal position. Secondly, because a lack of clarity and transparency in this respect leads to legal uncertainty and arbitrariness. Thirdly, because the determination of the creditors legal position affects the extent to which the objective of bankruptcy will be achieved and the extent to which that determination corresponds to other subsystems of private law, in particular the law of property and the law of obligations. Whilst the principle of fixation is not unambiguous, it is often referred to in order to justify a particular outcome; it is a placeholder for a test to be carried out on questions affecting the legal position of creditors. This study takes a three-pronged test as its starting point: 1. Does the determination contribute to an equitable distribution of assets? 2. Does the determination respect creditors' rights? 3. Is the determination compatible with the main rules and principles of general private law? In practice, a simplified assessment mechanism is needed which, in most cases, can provide an adequate answer to the question of which claims or rights a given creditor has in bankruptcy. The questions this study aims to answer are whether such a mechanism can be found in the principle of fixation which does justice to the objective of bankruptcy and corresponds to other private law subsystems governing the legal position of creditors outside bankruptcy and, if not, whether any other mechanism or adaptation of that mechanism would be appropriate. Purpose and relevance of the research The purpose of the research is threefold. 1. It aims to contribute to the debate on the meaning and purpose of bankruptcy as a concept and fixation/determination of the legal position of creditors in particular. 2. This concerns not only the effects of fixation on the objective of bankruptcy, but also its impact on other private law subsystems. In other words, the research intends to shed light on the interaction and coherence between the law of bankruptcy on the one hand and the law of property and the law of obligations on the other. 3. Finally, this study aims to contribute to the way in which the principle of fixation is to be interpreted and applied in order to solve practical problems in the field of fixation, as clarity and transparency in this area promote legal certainty and reduce arbitrariness. The study is descriptive for the part where it identifies the consequences of fixation. The study is evaluative for the part where it reveals the friction between fixation and the objective of bankruptcy and between fixation and other subsystems of private law. The research is normative for the part where a statement is formed as to the extent to which these frictions can be resolved or reduced. The research is of fundamental importance both socially and academically because it not only aims to make a normative statement on the way in which the principle of fixation as the 'main principle of the Dutch Bankruptcy Act' is to be interpreted and applied, but also because it touches upon the debate about the (outdated) objective of bankruptcy law and thus, depending on the conclusions, upon the debate about the need for a reform of bankruptcy law. The Dutch debate can be informed by the debate that is taking place abroad and vice versa.
PhD Projects by Programme
Ius Commune and Private Law
Contract Law and Law of Obligations in General
Transnational Environmental Law
Legal Persons in Europe
Fiscal Problems in the Internal Market
Foundations and Principles of Civil Procedure in Europe
Constitutional Processes: The Interaction between the National and the European Dimension
Judicial Protection and Law Enforcement: the Interaction between the National and European Dimension
Integration, Differentiation and Flexibility: New Perspectives on EU Law and Policy
Constitutional Processes in the Global Legal Order
Ius Commune and Public Law
The Ius Commune Research School unites legal scholars of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Maastricht University, the University of Utrecht and the University of Amsterdam. The Maastrichts Institute for Transnational Legal Reserach (METRO) hosts the secretariat of the School. © 1996-2023 Ius Commune Research School
Remarks, inqueiries and suggestions are most welcome at marjo.mullers@maastrichtuniversity.nl


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Weekly Newsletter: October 20, 2008
Hawaii Program "Crowded Out" by Rising Costs
Late last week, state officials in Hawaii announced a rapid end to a child universal health care program that had only been established earlier this year. The program, dubbed Keiki Care, was intended to provide coverage to children from families above the Medicaid eligibility threshold—which in Hawaii stands at 300% of the federal poverty level, or more than $73,000 for a family of four.
Despite a six-month waiting period incorporated into the program at the Governor's insistence, state officials found that families were dropping private coverage in order to obtain health insurance through the government program, which featured co-pay levels—$7 per physician visit—lower than many private plans. As one official noted, "People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free."
Some conservatives may not be surprised by this development, and note that Hawaii's experience should give policy-makers looking to expand public programs significant pause. Not only does expanding access to public programs for families making over $75,000 increase government spending, but below-market co-payment levels will only encourage individuals to over-consume health care, exacerbating the acceleration of health care costs plaguing the current system. At a time when the federal government faces Medicare obligations alone of nearly $86 trillion, conservatives may believe that the failed Hawaii experiment should remind lawmakers why the Democrat leadership's call expand the SCHIP program to families making more than $80,000 per year will be neither cheap nor sustainable.
Read the Associated Press story here.
Medicaid Fraud Will Not Be Addressed by Bailout
Last month, the New York Times highlighted the case of Staten Island University Hospital, an institution with a history of questionable billing practices—and now one of the largest fraud settlements against a single hospital. This week the hospital agreed to return nearly $90 million to respond to claims of overbilling government programs as a result of two whistle-blower lawsuits and actions by federal prosecutors. The lawsuits and charges alleged among other things that the hospital deliberately inflated bed and patient counts in order to obtain reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid, and come after the hospital had reached two previous settlements—one in 1999 resulting in $45 million in Medicaid
repayments, and another in 2005 resulting in $76.5 returned to Medicaid—with state authorities regarding fraudulent billing activity.
Many conservatives may not be surprised by these repeated instances of fraud and graft within the program, given that a former New York state Medicaid investigator estimated that 40% of all Medicaid payments were fraudulent or questionable in nature. However, this episode may only strengthen conservative concerns that a proposed "temporary" increase in federal Medicaid matching funds (HR 5268) would do nothing to combat this fraud and abuse before spending additional federal dollars. Indeed, given that a single hospital has settled more than $200 million in fraud claims, some conservatives may wonder whether, if the Medicaid program had appropriate anti-fraud efforts in place, an additional $10-15 billion "bailout" for states would even be needed at all.
Also on Medicaid, last week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the first annual Medicaid actuarial report, which included long-term projections for Medicaid spending. According to the report, Medicaid spending is scheduled to double in the next nine years, reaching nearly $674 billion in both state and federal spending by 2017 and consuming a rising share of both national GDP and the federal budget. Many conservatives may view these figures as further evidence of the need for comprehensive entitlement reform to slow the skyrocketing growth in health costs, and believe that a temporary bailout would be counter-productive to the program's long-term stability.
Read the article here. The CMS 2008 Actuarial Report on Medicaid is available here.
The RSC has prepared a one-pager highlighting the need for comprehensive Medicaid reform based on examples from several states; the document can be found here.
Medicare Forces People to Accept Costly Benefits
Earlier this month, several individuals filed a ground-breaking lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services and the Social Security Administration. The suit would force both agencies to develop a process to allow individuals to renounce their eligibility for Medicare Part A, which governs hospital care. Under current regulations, while Part B (outpatient and physician care) and Part D (prescription drug coverage) are optional programs, individuals cannot waive participation in Medicare Part A once they apply for Social Security benefits. The plaintiffs' proposed remedy echoes legislation (H.R. 7148) recently introduced by RSC Member Sam Johnson, which would grant individuals an explicit right to opt-out of Medicare should they choose to provide for their health care without relying on public funding.
Many conservatives may question the absurdity of the government's position—spending taxpayer dollars to defend itself against individuals who want to forfeit their right to Medicare benefits, which would only save taxpayers money. At a time when Medicare faces unfunded obligations totaling $86 trillion, many conservatives may believe that the government's time and money would be much better spent finding solutions to America's entitlement obligations, rather than forcing individuals to accept benefits they don't want—and costing taxpayers billions in the process.
Author chrisjacobsPosted on October 20, 2008 March 12, 2019 Categories Coverage, Medicaid and SCHIP, Medicare, RegulationsTags Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Cost-sharing, Crowd out, Department of Health and Human Services, Entitlement reform, Government spending, Hawaii, Keiki Care, Medicare, Medicare actuary, Sam Johnson, SCHIP, Social Security Administration, Weekly Newsletter


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David Taylor, P&G's Former CEO & Chairman
Published December 26, 2022 by Nina Pearl in
David Taylor served as P&G's Chairman & CEO from 2015 to 2022—having worked at P&G for more than 40 years. Throughout his career, David held leadership roles within both operations and marketing, managing P&G manufacturing sites, and eventually leading various consumer brands across North America, Europe, and Asia. David reinvigorated P&G's growth during his tenure, returning it to sustainable, balanced growth and value creation by simplifying the company's management structure and empowering business leaders to drive operational excellence in their specific areas of responsibility. David also led the company during the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving both worker safety and supply chain resiliency. It goes without saying that David is among one of the great modern CEOs of P&G, steering the company through a trying time, and demonstrating the purpose, values, and principles that continue to make P&G not just the sustaining, successful business we know it to be, but also a culture of some of the best people in the business. You'll enjoy this candid conversation covering not just the highlights of David's storied career, but the reflections on his learnings along the way.
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© P&G Alumni 2023


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text:
Sanders' Truckstop and Beer Cans On The Moon
One of the sad guarantees of this puzzling reissue of a puzzling phase in the anti-career of one of the great agent-provocateurs of American 1960s counterculture, Ed Sanders, is that if you are a fan of his seminal work with those masters of proto-punk black comedy, the Fugs, then you might be put off or let down by Ed Sanders, country troubadour. Here's what happened as near as I can figure it.
After the dissolution of the glorious Fugs (THE preeminent New York band, before the Velvet Underground), Ed Sanders was offered a solo record deal with Warner Bros. Records. After snatching it up, he decided, in the thick of psychedelic-hippy-counterculture, to head back to the country — and not get his head together. Yep, he headed out to the country, most likely metaphorically, and discovered that it fucking sucked. It was boring, the fresh air was overrated, and the people who lived there were close-minded, ignorant squares. What to do, what to do…Sanders didn't ponder for too long. He cut a fucking country album that mercilessly mocked every bedrock foundation that the American heartland is built on. With an atonal, nasal warble and/or Dylan-like sing talk over surprisingly authentic country instrumentation, Sanders viciously tore into middle America and good country folk with twisted parables laden with equal degrees of surreality and stoned "fuck the squares" guffaws/freak power celebrations.
To me that sounds like a fucking winning premise, but the performances are lackluster. Sounding like a deranged Dylan circa New Morning, bad Frank Zappa, or even bizarrely, Ray "The Streak" Stevens, I can't believe that this is the same Ed Sanders who was working on THE definitive piece of Charles Manson new journalism reportage, The Family, in the Tropicana Hotel at pretty much the same time.
That brings us to the more country rockin' Beer Cans on the Moon. Sanders re-entered the marketplace with a tighter band and a more rollicking set of roadhouse-worthy tunes that are less self-consciously twangy than Truckstop. Not only that, but Sanders even toned down his delightful cruelty, expanding his subject matter to straight-up celebrations of the counterculture ("Rock and Roll People" and "Nonviolent Direct Action") and environmentalism ("Pity the Bird"). But, then there are smack-downs of Henry Kissinger ("Henry Kissinger") and a suburban household that in fact houses an S&M cult — so it ain't all love beads here, bucko.
It's not as much of a concept album — the material is tighter, and the songwriting is stronger than on the looser, sloppier Truckstop — it's really just a matter of what side of Sanders you're in the mood for (sloppiness and tightness is not a value judgment here, just a note), but the whole thing is just lackluster and the production is a little light. Beercans has not aged very well — either that or the songs were never strong enough in the first place to really resonate three decades later. It's an amusing curio and an occasionally fascinating documentary of the restless creativity of one of the more interesting, but sadly fucking overlooked, characters who came out of 1960s New York. It's just that these platters ain't that fun to listen to.
Recommended for Fugs completists only. Neophytes should begin elsewhere.
Collectors' Choice Music: www.ccmusic.com
Holy Modal Rounders
Ray Stevens
Sanders Truckstop/Beer Cans On The Moon
Donald Currie
Sex and Mayhem, Part 1. Review by Matt Cibula.
TAB the Band
Long Weekend (North Street). Review by Jen Cray.
Lilli Lewis
Americana (Louisiana Red Hot). Review by Bob Pomeroy.
Mike Ness
Cheating at Solitaire (Time Bomb). Review by James Mann
Andre Herman-Dune
Taglich Brot (Shrimper). Review by Matthew Moyer.
Michael Schenker Group
Be Aware of Scorpions (SPV). Review by David Lee Beowulf.
The Deadlines
Fashion Over Function (Tooth & Nail). Review by Daniel L. Mitchell.
Christian Mistress
Agony & Opium (20 Buck Spin). Review by Matthew Moyer.
Live For Now! (GMM). Review by Nathan T. Birk.
Trump Comes to Nashville
Nashville songwriter and author Doug Hoekstra dares to venture to see Donald Trump.
Fred Eaglesmith and the Flying Squirrels
Live in Santa Cruz — Ralph's Last Show (Signature Sounds/A Major Label). Review by David Whited.
Aterciopelados
Caribe Atomico (BMG). Review by Randy Luna


Pose and say cheese! Are you ready for your close up? ?
Go out into the world to the city and the country you'll find beauty all around.
Time to let your light shine! Who doesn't love long exposures?
You can never go wrong anywhere in Southern California. There are always amazing things to capture.
Adventure out and seeing the beauty all around is one of the greatest things ever! Capturing the moments with the lens makes everything worth it in the end.


Before we enter our ticket to Universal Studio, we could see the Universal Studio Globe outside. Apalagi, amek gambar laaa.. Thank God there are still not many people at the time we arrive. So bnyk snap/action we take with the globe (tp xleh post sume.kang korang muntah plak tgk bakat camwhoring ktorg :P) Kind of funny when the word Universal was turn to the other side and we both waiting for the right moment to get the exact word. Haha.
The moment we enter Universal Studio, we've been welcomed by colorful lights (even it was daylight) and amazing building, or may I say props :P Hollywood is the main entrance after you slot in your ticket. We have been welcomed by the giant panda, Po. Oh Gosh, he's so adorable! Garrr!!!
Then, nampak plak Marilyn Monroe. There are few special characters along the way and they keep on coming but not all characters available all day. Macam Madagascar characters only appears at certain period of time.
Therefore, I become the Studio Guide representative.
They have like so called broadway-style area around this Hollywood park. So many merchandise around this area but we are not so interested to go in. The other park looks more interesting but we are in between of two choices, on our right is Sci-Fi City and our left is New York park.
The first few hours, Hubby hold the studio guide and lead me through the Universal Studio. Honestly, I didn't hear what exactly he talks about cause my eyes keeps looking the whole park. You could imagine my eyes was almost popped out and my mouth was widely open. Yes. Like that. So basically, he's actually do the decision which one goes first and we heads to New York park (Big SORRY love. Too excited over the place. Haha). So while writing this, if I am really cautious/awake at time, I would go to Madagascar first. New York and Madagascar? Are you kidding? Mesti la Alex and the gang! Haha.
Well, as we walk through the New York park, we come across to first attraction which is 'Lights, Camera, Action! by Steven Spielberg' We have no idea what it is all about but what the heck, masuk je. Tiket pon da bayar. Ngeh2. Unfortunately, no camera allowed.
It's actually a stage scene by the famous producer. It was a setting at the deck near the bay and there's a tv showing an anchor reporting a hurricane going to attack the area. We are told to stand in front of the deck and hold to the rail. The scene started with a rain pouring down, strong wind and thunderstorm. Then things get worst when the house started to crack, the boat rocking and fire comes out. We feel the heats from the burn and honestly there is a fire!
Things starts shaking and suddenly the house collapse making a splash to us and yes, we get wet but not soaked :P Then windows cracked and out of know where, there's a ship heading towards our standing rail. All of us steps a back afraid it hits us and everyone screams! But of course it's didn't come to hit us. Haha. Damn, it was so close and it is real!
It was 10 minutes show and it is so impressive. Had fun on the very first act :) Then out of the the studio, we came across a hat store and we had a try on their hats.
Oleh sebab itu, kt cube lagi satu. Hehe.


A while back I purchased a 20 F Phoenix Under Quilt from Hammock Gear. Once it arrived on my door step, I had a few questions about the product so I got in touch with Adam from Hammock Gear (for all the details involved, check out my First Look review). In the end, Adam sent me another under quilt to try out and to replace my initial under quilt with. So, in this post I want to point out some of the differences between the 2 under quilts, as well as offer a few of my thoughts on the new under quilt.
Disclaimer: Adam from Hammock Gear sent this new Under Quilt to me as a possible exchange for my initial Under Quilt (which I paid fully for with my own monies). Even though he used the newer SevenD materials on this Under Quilt, Adam did not charge me any extra money for the UQ. As well, I agreed to do this review on the new Under Quilt as part of the agreement. In the end, I will only keep one and return the second one.
I decided to keep the newer UQ that Adam had sent me, however, I did send it back and Adam added an extra oz of down giving me a total of 2 oz overfill (10 oz total). He also removed the smaller diameter shock cord and replaced it with the thicker diameter cord which I like better. After it was all said and done, the new UQ weighs in at 15.6 oz, which does include the shock cord suspension and the 2 biners.
I am very happy with this UQ, and am even happier with the service that Adam & Jenny have provided. I could not have asked for any better service. There were a few bumps along the way, but that didn't stop them from making me one happy camper!
So, a big thanks to Adam & Jenny at Hammock Gear! Hopefully I will fill my closet with more of your awesome gear!


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Welcome to Pleasant Grove Family Dentistry, your experienced, friendly dental team in Texarkana. We offer a wide array of treatment options for the whole family all in one welcoming, state-of-the-art dental office. Whether it's been six months or six years since you visited the dentist, it's time to call our team to schedule a checkup. We pride ourselves on offering quality care and partnering with our patients to develop treatment plans that exceed even the highest expectations. That all starts when you schedule your first preventive dentistry appointment with our team. We'll carefully examine your smile, clean your teeth, and sit down one on one to create a personalized plan for your ongoing oral health care. In addition to general and preventive care, we offer a wide array of cosmetic and restorative treatment options. We also offer same day appointments, whenever possible, for those patients experiencing dental emergencies.


Ever wondered why innovation is so important for creating and sustaining markets that lead to progress in healthcare? Or how to integrate innovation into your business strategy while still meeting commercial priorities? Galen/Atlantica specializes in creating models for product development, value recognition, and healthcare access in order to help companies keep pace with evolving scientific and business realities. Come hear case studies spanning drug development, evaluation, and use in the neuroscience to see how we can improve patient outcomes.
Matt Diver's career spans service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa, investment banker in the technology sector, and a manager at Boston Consulting Group. He holds a business degree from UC Berkeley and a master's in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School. He co-founded Galen/Atlantica in 2015 after serving as a partner at Tapestry Networks, where he led collaborations of senior executives of the pharmaceutical industry, government agencies, civil society, and key opinion leaders to advance responsive and sustainable healthcare innovation.


It's no secret that basically everyone in the wedding industry is quivering with excitement about the upcoming royal wedding between Prince Harry and Megan Markle, especially since she's going to be the first American princess. We've been watching the news since they were engaged in November 2017 and can't wait to see the images from their wedding which will no doubt be amazingly stylish. My partner Vanessa (of Storybook Weddings & Events) and I were inspired to recreate that luxurious romance in a royal wedding styled shoot with a modern twist. We chose jewel tones of emerald green, deep purple, navy blue and magenta with gold accents to showcase the bold, richness that speaks of royalty. The location for the shoot was Green Valley Ranch Resort, a luxe property off-the-Strip that features an amazing staircase, lush greenery and a pathway surrounded by rows of juniper tress. Our floral and decor designer Flourish crafted a glamorous long tablescape featuring emerald velvet linens from La Tavola, gold candelabras, blush and magenta florals, rentals from Epic Event Rentals and hand-lettered menus from calligrapher EGletters.
The day started out with a Vegas anomaly of pouring rain and cold temperatures! We waited out the storms, dried off our decor and were left with a overcast sky and dewey look – perfect to recreate that sense of England. Our princess donned a super couture, ultra modern Christopher Paunil gown from Grey Peal Bridal Gallery. Amelia C & Co kept her look classic, chic and clean (just like Megan herself) with natural makeup, an up-do and a crown from RomanticARTLife. Her bouquet was a simple white piece created to resemble the classic white bouquets of royal weddings, including Kate's understated lily-of-the-valley bouquet. Our prince looked dapper in a wine colored tuxedo from Tuxedo Junction – a modern twist on the traditional black tie look. The royal newlyweds posed by the ceremony site at the property's grand staircase and also kissed on the balcony, a classic must-have royal wedding shot as the couple is introduced to the adoring public.
This royal-imagined wedding was truly epic and I couldn't have been happier with the results! Our amazing team of creatives really came together to craft modern, glamorous and luxurious photoshoot that delves into the world of the royalty. I'm proper chuffed to see the actual royal wedding which I'm sure will be ace. (Alright, I know I'm American but you can't blame me for being excited!) Cheers, mates.
Drop dead, out of this world, totally and completely gorgeous! Some days I can't even believe I get to live this life and do this thing with such amazing creative peers! Thanks for letting us be part of this absolutely stunning shoot!!
Haha! I know how you feel Amelia – I feel the same! Thank you for your kindness and your incredible team and their talent!
Stunning! The colors are gorgeous and every photo is better than the last. So beautiful.
You are the sweetest Tracey! Thanks!


The KASAGIP Help Program (KHP) is the main assistance and referral program of the Trust. The program outlines the range of assistance and support to be made available to the beneficiaries.
The program identifies the beneficiaries, matches them with potential sponsors, makes follow ups and intervenes when potential problems or issues arise.


Dauphine Jones Bass, 88, passed away on November 2, 2018, after a brief illness. Dauphine was born on September 14, 1930 in Carson, Mississippi to Elaine McPhail Jones and Floyd Elmer Jones. The second of eight children, Dauphine grew up on her parents' farm where her primary job was helping her mother take care of her younger brothers and sisters. According to her sister, Patricia, she had such a strong love of learning that her father would at times hide her books so that she would complete her chores.
After graduating as Valedictorian of Carson High School in 1948, Dauphine attended Copiah-Lincoln Junior College and The University of Southern Mississippi. Upon graduating from Southern, she completed post-graduate studies in Library Science at Louisiana State University. Dauphine then taught English and served as librarian at Osyka High School in Osyka, Mississippi, and as Assistant Librarian at Hinds Junior College, before accepting a position as Librarian and English Teacher at Brandon High School in 1952. While at Brandon, she was reintroduced to Brandon's Head Coach, Wade Bass, who she had met briefly while at Southern. Dauphine and Wade fell in love, and were married on June 3, 1956 at Dublin Baptist Church near Carson. Dauphine and Wade were married for over 60 years before his death in 2016.
Dauphine left Brandon High School in 1960 to help Wade establish his new State Farm Insurance Agency. Until Wade's retirement from State Farm in 1997, Dauphine worked with her husband in every aspect of running their agency. Wade said many times that he would never have been able to establish the business without her support and counsel.
Dauphine and Wade loved to travel. Early in their marriage, they purchased their first pop-up camper, later replaced by travel trailers and motor homes. Over the years, they traveled to every state in the country, often accompanied by their sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. Some of their family's fondest memories are of camping trips with Mimi and Papaw.
Dauphine's unwavering faith in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior was the foundation of her life. She was a woman of prayer, with a knowledge of Scripture that would rival that of many ministers. She had a familiar, personal relationship with God that was a source of comfort and strength to her family. When her son, Don, asked her one time if she had ever seen Jesus, she told him that, while she had not seen Him, she knew the sound of His voice.
Known as "Mimi" to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Dauphine loved to share stories about their activities with her friends. In her later years, she became a volleyball "expert," as she followed intently the seasons of the Brandon High School Volleyball team on which her granddaughters, Kate and Jayne, play.
In addition to her work and family activities, Dauphine was a Bible Study leader and Sunday School teacher. After many years of active service at First Baptist Church Brandon, she became a charter member of Brandon Baptist Church where she was a member of The Margaret Ross Class. She was also an avid gardener who loved working in her yard. A self-taught knitter, her blankets became valued possessions to her family and friends.
In addition to her beloved husband, Wade, Dauphine is preceded in death by her grandson, Philip Wade Bass; daughter-in-law, Martha Ware Bass; sister, Myrle Jones Brown; and brothers William Jones, Buster Jones, and Bruce Jones. She is survived by her sons Wade Davis (David) Bass, IV and wife, Jayne of Dallas, Texas, and Don Lewis Bass and wife, Angela of Brandon; her grandchildren, Nancy Bass Ferry and husband, Richard of Dallas, Fr. Wade Williams Bass of Dallas, James Lewis Bass of Shreveport, Louisiana, Henry Philip Bass of Lincoln, Nebraska, Mary Grace Bass, Katherine Paige Bass, Jayne Hayes Bass, all of Brandon, and great-grandchildren Richard Davis Ferry and Veronica Jayne Ferry. She is also survived by sisters Patricia Baggett of Fort Myers, Florida, Maggie Prewitt of Atlanta, Georgia, and brother, Charles Jones of Pearl, Mississippi.
The family would like to thank Dr. Scott Gibson for his loving care of Dauphine in the latter years of her life.
Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on Monday, November 5th at Ott & Lee Funeral Home in Brandon, MS, and from 9:30 to 11:00 am on Tuesday, November 6th at Brandon Baptist Church in Brandon, MS. A funeral service celebrating her life will be held on Tuesday, November 6th at 11:00 am at Brandon Baptist Church with Dr. Clarence Cooper officiating. Burial will follow the service at Brandon Memorial Gardens in Brandon, MS.
Gifts in memory of Dauphine's life may be sent to Brandon Baptist Church Building Fund at 100 Brandon Baptist Drive, Brandon, MS 39042.


The Vamos A Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta has called Tucson home the last seven years. Every year we bring in at least four teams from the Mexican Winter League or Liga Mexicana del Pacífico. That league is "major league baseball" in Mexico. Teams that have participated over the years are from Hermosillo, Obregon, Mexicali, Mazatlán, Culiacan, Los Mochis, and Navojoa.
The Mexican Baseball Fiesta is seeking sponsors to underwrite tickets to send underprivileged children and their families, and/or Southern Arizona teachers an upcoming game.
Once a sponsor chooses a group to underwrite, they can either deliver the tickets to the school of their choice themselves or the Mexican Baseball Fiesta staff will deliver them on their behalf. Our current plans include providing tickets to the schools in the TUSD, Sunnyside, Vail, Flowing Wells, Amphi, and Nogales school districts. The Mexican Baseball Fiesta will be held at Kino Stadium on October 4 – 7.
For more information or do sign up, contact Mike Feder by phone (520) 954-8803, e-mail at mike@mexicanbaseballfiesta.com OR Francisco Gomez by phone at (520) 460-5750, e-mail at francisco@mexicanbaseballfiesta.com.