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Beware the Ides of March… Indeed, it has been a highly combative week with all kinds of accusations being thrown around. The biggest story shaking the financial community was a resignation letter printed in the The New York Times, written by Greg Smith, former executive director of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). Mr. Smith denounced the firm for its culture of greed and confided his colleagues regularly refer to clients as “muppets”. Yikes! Shares in Goldman sunk by $4 and the firm rallied to defend its culture and its client relations.
So what’s a muppet to do? In his letter, Mr. Smith points out that “if clients don’t trust you, they will eventually stop doing business with you. It doesn’t matter how smart you are.” Indeed, trust and reputation are everything. But it’s a two-way street. So whether you fancy yourself a Miss Piggy type (loud, proud and self-confident) or more like Prairie Dawn (kind, innocent and optimistic), check out our tips for building a great rapport with your advisor. (And by the way, ‘muppets’ personality tests really do exist…)
But why write a letter when you can shoot a video… If you’ve ever been to Vegas, baby, you are familiar with Steve Wynn, the billionaire casino tycoon and founder of Wynn Resorts (NSQ:WYNN). Mr. Wynn is having a public brawl with his business partner, Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, over, uh, ethics, in their gambling operations. In the latest mud-slinging move, Mr. Okada issued a 15 minute video attack on Mr. Wynn, published here on the website of his private company, Universal Entertainment Corporation. Talk about match play.
Meanwhile, the world of social media was ruffled… when Yahoo (NSQ:YHOO) took a shot at Facebook with a patent suit claiming that 10 of its patents have been infringed upon and it wants licensing fees. It could be good timing - Facebook will likely want to settle any controversy quickly before its IPO. And how about a little déjà vu…back when Google (NSQ:GOOG) went public, Yahoo successfully scored hundreds of millions of dollars in a similar patent suit settlement.
But back in Canada, life was literally harmonious this week… We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to our readers and supporters for making our first book, It’s Your Money, Honey, a bestseller. We feel truly blessed and had a great time talking about the book – and money, marriage and motherhood - on The Marilyn Denis Show this week (check it out here!). Big thanks and hugs to all who have supported us in this journey!
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