A.E. Feldman Blog

UBS has written off more bad debt from the subprime crisis than any other bank – a whopping $37 billion. In the wake of these writedowns… and just two days before a shareholders’ meeting where the bank sought permission to once again shore up its balance sheet… UBS published a 50-page report on its writedowns [...]

Government initiatives are focusing on energy utilization as a national security concern as well an environmental concern. But according to industry experts, energy is primarily a bottom line issue. Today, firms are beginning to take a closer look at their data centers to determine how much energy they consume…and how much they can save by [...]

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are wielding increasing influence and driving growth strategies. That’s according to a new study conducted by Ernst & Young and CFO Research Services. The research finds that senior management expects CFOs to focus on strategic issues, such as evaluating new products, provide leading indicators on business performance and driving M&A opportunities, [...]

Intellectual property litigation is hot… and getting hotter. Last year there were an unprecedented number of international patent filings, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WIPO receives on average more than 400 Patent Cooperation Treaty applications every day, according to Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General. In total, a record 156,100 applications were filed [...]

Investment in America’s infrastructure is a hot topic in Washington and on Wall Street. Politicians and investors alike are feverishly pushing for new methods in which the federal government can finance infrastructure more effectively, with a combination of public and private capital. Already, investors around the world are seeking out opportunities in infrastructure. As a [...]

Firms are bolstering their ranks, betting on growth in Latin America. The commodity boom in the region is driving investment opportunities from private equity to infrastructure. Brazil’s currency, the real, recently hit a nine-year high, climbing 0.3% to 1.6577 per dollar, according to Bloomberg. The Colombian peso has jumped more than 17% over the last [...]

Credit market turmoil is taking a big toll on balance sheets. Meanwhile, leading banks continue to shore up their risk management teams in the wake of the subprime meltdown. Executive recruiting firm, A.E. Feldman, says that firms are adding risk management jobs. Top banks are on the hunt for senior-level risk managers who have been [...]

Demand for experienced accountants is surging. Despite economic concerns, the accounting industry added nearly 30,000 new jobs in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to AccountingWeb.com. Among the reasons for the growing need for accountants is an increase in corporate governance regulations and heightened focus on risk. Moreover, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [...]

Finding and retaining talent is the top concern for firms in the U.S., according to a new joint survey conducted by Deloitte and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS). In fact, the survey shows that a shortage of skilled and talented workers has even surpassed rising health care costs as the most [...]

Despite market volatility and the lingering credit crunch, hedge fund managers are still prospering. Many hedge fund investment professionals saw their compensation soar by a staggering 50% in 2007, according to Alpha Magazine’s second annual hedge fund compensation report. Alpha Magazine also finds that some managers profited enormously form the collapse of [...]