Recommended Reading

The Pitching for Startup Course – A guide to presenting winning pitches for your business plans

8 mins read Since that fateful day in 2006 when we first became victims of Ken’s infamous elevator pitch plank run (as in pirate ship, Blackbeard, et. all) I have spent time on both sides of the table. I have tried to internalize as much of what Ken taught me as possible by doing what he asked us to do, by pitching, by teaching others to pitch and by helping some of the really great companies from my market get the word out. I did that as a presenter, as a mentor, an investor, a banker and a judge.

US Credit Rating Downgrade: Impact on financial and commodities markets

7 mins read In the long term, if other rating agencies follow suit and challenge credit worthiness of the US, popular opinion suggests that the status of the dollar as the primary reserve currency will come under a fresh challenge. The actual likelihood of this happening is low and no one does a better job of presenting this argument than Professor Pettis at China Watch.

In the short run while US regulators have stated that there will be no regulatory capital impact on holding US treasuries, European and Asian regulators still have to issue an opinion on this event. The most likely reaction given what will happen on Monday is that ECB, Bank of Japan and a host of other regulators are likely to toe the line to avoid further roiling markets and increasing capital requirements for domestic banks