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Fortune Global 500: the world's largest corporations

Soure: Fortune

Royal Dutch Shell tops the Fortune Global 500, ending Wal-Mart's two-year winning streak. See the full list of the world's largest corporations, including detailed company profiles and contact information.

Fortune is shelved on the first floor of the library.  It is also available electronically to current London Business School staff, students and faculty from Business Source Complete which can be found on the A-Z list of library databases via Portal.

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World Press Freedom Index 2011-2012

Source: Reporters Without Borders

Extract taken from publication web page

“This year’s index sees many changes in the rankings, changes that reflect a year that was incredibly rich in developments, especially in the Arab world,” Reporters Without Borders said today as it released its 10th annual press freedom index. “Many media paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements. Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes. The past year also highlighted the leading role played by netizens in producing and disseminating news.

“Crackdown was the word of the year in 2011. Never has freedom of information been so closely associated with democracy. Never have journalists, through their reporting, vexed the enemies of freedom so much. Never have acts of censorship and physical attacks on journalists seemed so numerous. The equation is simple: the absence or suppression of civil liberties leads necessarily to the suppression of media freedom. Dictatorships fear and ban information, especially when it may undermine them…….

Within the European Union, the index reflects a continuation of the very marked distinction between countries such as Finland and Netherlands that have always had a good evaluation and countries such as Bulgaria (80th), Greece (70th) and Italy (61st) that fail to address the issue of their media freedom violations, above all because of a lack of political will. There was little progress from France, which went from 44th to 38th, or from Spain (39th) and Romania (47th). Media freedom is a challenge that needs addressing more than ever in the Balkans, which want to join the European Union but are suffering the negative effects of the economic crisis.

Click here to read the full report

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2012 Index of Economic Freedom

Source: Heritage Foundation

Extract from Press Release

Economic freedom declined worldwide in 2011 as many countries attempted -- without success -- to spend their way out of recession, according to the 18th annual Index of Economic Freedom, released today by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.  The average economic freedom score for the 2012 Index stands at 59.5 (on a scale in which 100 represents the ideal), down two-tenths of a point from 2011.

Hong Kong and Singapore finished first and second in the rankings for the 18th straight year. Australia and New Zealand ranked third and fourth, and Switzerland fifth. Canada finished sixth, slipping almost a full point and falling out of the group of “free” economies into the “mostly free” category.

Greece’s Index score declined the most, plunging nearly five points to 55.4. This put it in the middle of the pack of “mostly unfree” economies. Many of Greece’s European neighbors also suffered from exploding government budgets; 37 of the 43 European countries ranked in the Index lost ground in the spending category.

The Index also studies economic freedom on a regional basis. In 2011, only the Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific regions advanced. The other regions -- South and Central America/Caribbean, Europe, Middle-East North Africa and North America -- all declined

The Index measures economic freedom in 10 specific categories: labor freedom, business freedom, trade freedom, fiscal freedom, government spending, monetary freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights and freedom from corruption. Scores in these categories are averaged to create an overall score

Click here to read full report (pre-registration required)

Click to here for country rankings, data, and interactive features

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Global Economic Crime Survey 2011

Source: PwC

PwC's sixth global economic crime survey examines the causes and effects of fraud worldwide, focusing on the growing threat of cybercrime. This year’s survey was completed by 3,877 respondents from 78 countries, making it one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of economic crime available to businesses.

The report is divided into two sections:

• Cybercrime: Its impact on organisations, their awareness of the crime and what they are doing to combat the risks.
• Fraud, the fraudster and the defrauded: The types of fraud committed, how they are detected, who is committing them and what the repercussions are

Key Findings from the report:

• 34% of respondents experienced economic crime in the last 12 months (13% increase from 2009
• Almost 1 in 10 who reported fraud suffered losses of more than US$5 million
• Cybercrime now ranks as one of the top four economic crimes
• Reputational damage resulting from cybercrime is the biggest fear for 40% of respondents
• 40% of respondents don’t have the capability to detect and prevent cybercrime
• 56% of respondents said the most serious fraud was an ‘inside job’
• Senior Executives made up almost half of the respondents who didn’t know if their organisation had suffered a fraud

Click here to read the full report

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The Power 100, 2011

Smirnoff has retained its position as the world’s leading alcoholic drinks brand according to the latest Power 100, the annual survey of the world’s leading drinks brands published by brand valuation and strategy consultancy Intangible Business. 

For this year’s survey nearly 10,000 brands in the spirits and wine sectors were researched. A panel of leading experts ranked each selected brand according to share of market, future growth, premium price position, awareness, relevance, heritage and brand perception.

Highlights from this year’s ranking:

Johnnie Walker remains the world’s leading whisky brand, despite slipping one place to number three in The Power 100, keeping it ahead in the whisky sector from Jack Daniel’s (6 overall), Chivas Regal (8 overall), Ballantine’s (10 overall) and Dewar’s (up two places to 14 overall).

Biggest climbers include Gallo’s E&J brandy, which climbs 16 places to number 48; Italian liqueur Disaronno, up 14 places to number 84, and Bombay Sapphire up 11 places to number 41

The biggest faller this year is Cointreau which drops 16 despite a slight increase in volume sales. The fall was due largely to the brand score falling 5% and the better performance of other featured brands. 

Pernod Ricard’s leading wine brand, Jacob’s Creek, also suffered this year – falling ten places - as a consequence of both declining brand score and volume sales which were among the greatest of wine brands featured.

There are only two new brands in this year’s ranking, Italian bitters brand Ramazzotti Amaro,  re-enters the top 100 this year having fallen out last year and Larios, the best-selling gin in Spain, enters The Power 100 for the first time at No.98.

The Power 100 2011 report is available for download from http://www.drinkspowerbrands.com/.

Photo from Creative Commons: Flicker: ilmungo  

The World's Billionaires

With a net worth up to $18.5 billion in a year, Telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has takes the number one spot on the Forbes annual Worlds Billionaires ranking.   This year’s billionaires have an average net worth of $3.5 billion, up $500 million from 2010. Of those billionaires on last year's list, only 12% saw their fortunes decline.

Americans account for 40% of the world's billionaires, down from 45% a year ago, commending 38% of the collective $3.6 trillion net worth of the world's richest, down from 44% a year ago.

Asia made big gains; the region added 104 moguls and now has just 14 fewer than Europe, thanks to several large public offerings and swelling stock markets.  For the first time China (including Hong Kong) has the most billionaires outside the US with 89 including Li Shufu, whose automaker, Geely, announced plans to buy Swedish brand Volvo from Ford in December. Russia has 62 billionaires, 28 of them returnees who had fallen off last year's list amid a meltdown in commodities. Finland and Pakistan both welcomed their first billionaires

To create the ranking of the world's richest people, more than 40 reporters in 13 countries spent the better part of a year valuing the assets of 1,011 billionaires. Included in the tally are stakes in publicly traded and privately held companies, real estate, paintings, gems, yachts and planes, plus hoards of cash. Privately held companies are valued by coupling estimates of revenues or profits to valuation metrics for similar public companies

To read the full article and view the rankings click here

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100 Best Companies to Work For - 2011

Fortune magazine have just released their annual ranking of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. 

Fortune partners with the Great Place to Work Institute to conducted an extensive employee survey across corporate America.  Two thirds of a participating company's score is based on the results of the Institute's Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sample of employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about management's credibility, job satisfaction, and camaraderie.

The other third of the scoring is based on the company's responses to the Institute's Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefit programs, and a series of open-ended questions about hiring practices, internal communication, training, recognition programs, and diversity efforts.

No 1 - SAS
This year SAS take the number one spot for a second year running. The software firm has an impressive list of benefits including: on-site healthcare, high quality childcare at $410 per month, summer camp for kids, car cleaning, a beauty salon, and more.

No 2 - Boston Consulting Group
Up from last year’s number 8, the consulting giant managed to avoided layoffs in the downturn and hired its largest class of recruits ever in 2010. The firm not only offers generous pay but it also has a commitment to social work: Its Social Impact Practice Network (SIPN) offers a chance to work with the U.N. World Food Program and Save the Children. Last year BCG pulled its consultants off client projects to provide on-the-ground support in Haiti after the earthquake.

No 3 - Wegmans Food Markets
This customer-friendly supermarket chain cares about the well-being of its workers, too. This year, 11,000 employees took part in a challenge to eat five cups of fruit and vegetables a day and walk up to 10,000 steps a day for eight weeks.  Another 8,000 took advantage of health screenings that included a flu shot and H1N1 vaccine -- all covered by Wegmans.

Click here to see the full list

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2010 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index

 

A report by Deloitte’s Global Manufacturing Industry group and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness. 2010 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index is based on the responses of more than 400 chief executive officers and senior manufacturing executives worldwide to a survey conducted in late 2009 and early 2010. It also draws on select interviews with key manufacturing decision makers.
The report indicates that access to talented workers capable of supporting innovation is the key factor driving global competitiveness at manufacturing companies — well ahead of ‘classic’ factors typically associated with competitive manufacturing, such as labor, materials, and energy.

 The report identified the emergence of a new group of leaders in the manufacturing competitive index over the next five years. These include Mexico, Poland, and Thailand — countries not always considered alongside longer-standing, up-and-comers like Brazil and Russia. Not unexpectedly, Asian giants like China, India, and the Republic of Korea are projected to dominate the index in five years, as they do now. Further, dominant manufacturing super powers of the late 20th century — the United States, Japan, and Germany — are expected to become less competitive over the next five years.

 Read the full report

 

2010 Corruption Perceptions Index

This year's Corruption Perceptions Index shows that nearly three quarters of the 178 countries included in the index, scored below five, on a scale from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). These results indicate a serious corruption problem.

Transparency International (TI) defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. This definition encompasses corrupt practices in both the public and private sectors. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries according to perception of corruption in the public sector. The CPI is an aggregate indicator that combines different sources of information about corruption, making it possible to compare countries.

The 2010 CPI captures information about the administrative and political aspects of corruption. Broadly speaking, the surveys and assessments used to compile the index include questions relating to bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public sector anti-corruption efforts.

Perceptions are used because corruption – whether frequency or amount – is to a great extent a hidden activity that is difficult to measure. Over time, perceptions have proved to be a reliable estimate of corruption. Measuring scandals, investigations or prosecutions, while offering ‘non-perception’ data, reflect less on the prevalence of corruption in a country and more on other factors, such as freedom of the press or the efficiency of the judicial system. TI considers it of critical importance to measure both corruption and integrity, and to do so in the public and private sectors at global, national and local levels. The CPI is therefore one of many TI measurement tools that serve the fight against corruption.

This years index finds Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are tied at the top of the list with a score of 9.3, followed closely by Finland and Sweden at 9.2. At the bottom is Somalia with a score of 1.1, slightly trailing Myanmar and Afghanistan at 1.4 and Iraq at 1.5.  Notable among decliners over the past year are some of the countries most affected by a financial crisis precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits. Among those improving in the past year, the general absence of OECD states underlines the fact that all nations need to bolster their good governance mechanisms.

The message is clear: across the globe, transparency and accountability are critical to restoring trust and turning back the tide of corruption. Without them, global policy solutions too many global crises are at risk.

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2010 Green Ranking

NEWSWEEK have just published their second annual Green Rankings. The goal was to assess each company’s actual environmental footprint and management of that footprint (including policies and strategies), along with its reputation among environmental experts.

The ranking consists of two lists: the US 500 which includes the largest publicly traded US companies; and the Global 100 list (new this year) includes the largest publicly traded companies based in developing and emerging markets Companies on each list are ranked by their overall Green Score which is derived from three component scores: the Environmental Impact Score (EIS), the Green Policies Score (GPS), and the Reputation Survey Score (RSS). Click here for full methodology.

This year Dell has taken the number 1 spot. In 2008, the company announced it would reduce its total emissions by 40% by 2015. It is well on the way to achieving that goal. Many of Dell's efforts are also focused on reducing the environmental impact of its products at all stages of their life cycles, from design to disposal. The company's laptops and desktops are now built to use 25% less energy than comparable systems made in 2005. Dell also has one of the tech industry's most comprehensive recycling programs taking back all of its products for free, they even take back competitors' products for free with the purchase of new Dell computers or peripherals. Consumers can also mail back old equipment, Dell will pick up items at their homes, or they can drop them off at more than 2,000 Goodwill or 1,500 Staples locations.

IBM take second place because of it’s strong program for reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions and the fact that it also offers products and consulting services to help clients make their businesses greener. The company's newest venture, its Sustainability Management System technology, aims to help clients operate their commercial buildings more efficiently. The company has also participated in a pilot program to reduce Stockholm's traffic congestion, which resulted in a 14% drop in emissions from road traffic in the inner city. IBM is working with London, Singapore, and Brisbane to address their traffic-management and congestion challenges.

Click here to see the full ranking.

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Automaker Rankings 2010

This report from the Union of Concerned Scientists evaluates the environmental performance of the major automakers in the United State. The study puts companies’ green-marketing state¬ments to the test by using government data to measure the environmental performance of each of the eight best-selling (“Top Eight”) automakers’ product offerings. Focusing on model year 2008 (MY2008)—the latest year for which final data are available — the overall ranking of each manufacturer is determined by averaging its global warming score with its smog score, thus creating a combined score that weights global warming emissions and smog-forming emissions equally at 50%.  In addition to gauging manufacturers’ overall perfor¬mance, this study also assesses their performance within a range of vehicle classes. And it evaluates the effectiveness of specific automotive technologies currently being mar¬keted for their green merits. Finally, we offer suggestions as to how each manufacturer can make authentic environ¬mental improvements in its fleet

This year, Honda just holds on to its title of green¬est automaker. Honda finished with an overall score of 86, reflecting a fleet 14% cleaner than that of the top eight manufacturers combined. Toyota and Hyundai each finished with 87. Volkswagen came in fourth place (90), followed by Nissan (93), Ford (108), General Motors (109) and Chrysler (113). The analysis is based on model year 2008 data, the latest available.

The three Detroit automakers have consistently placed at the bottom of UCS’s Automaker Rankings analyses. Of the three companies, Ford has generally been the best, though this year only one point separates it from General Motors. General Motors’ next to last place ranking was due to its continued focus on inefficient vehicles with lacklustre smog performance. Surprisingly, average smog emissions of GM’s hybrids were worse than the combined average of all eight manufacturers’ model year 2008 vehicles—hybrid and nonhybrid

Click here for the full report

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2009 Themed Index: The global Attraction Attendance Report

The TEA/AECOM Attraction Attendance Report identifies the top commercial theme parks and waterparks around the world and reflects their performance for the previous year. Global attendance data are broken down by geographic region, by chain and by type of venue. Published annually the report is produced jointly by the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) and the Economics practice at AECOM, formerly Economics Research Associates (ERA)

Taken together, the numbers this year reflect an industry that is stable at its core and well equipped to survive, recover and continue its expansion into new markets as the world economy recovers. Surveying the globe, North America remains the epicenter of the amusement business with 12 of the top-25 attended parks in the world. Shifting east, although affected by the global downturn, Asia continues to be the foremost emerging market and promises strong growth well into the future. “China and key markets in Asia have a significant.

Selected findings from the report

• 185.6 million - total theme park attendance for top 25 worldwide parks, a decline of 0.2% from 2008
• 121.4 million - total visits to the top 20 parks in North America, a decline of 1.1% from 2008.  Since 2005, attendance to the top 20 parks in North America has grown by 2.8%.
• 57.3 million - attendance for the top 20 European parks, level with 2008 numbers. Total attendance for top 20 parks has grown by 7.3% since 2005.
• 65.5 million - total visits to the top 10 Asian parks down 3.5% from 2008.For the new top 15 Asian parks, total attendance was 77.6 million in 2009, a decline of 2.9% compared to 2008.
• 12.3 million - attendance to top 10 parks in Mexico and Latin America up 1.3% from 2008.
• 20.7 million - top 20 worldwide waterparks attendance in 2009 –  an increase of 2.1% from 2008.

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World University Rankings 2010-2011

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-11 were developed in concert with a new data provider, Thomson Reuters, with input from more than 50 leading figures in the sector from 15 countries across every continent, and through 10 months of extensive consultation.

The rankings of the top universities across the globe employ 13 separate performance indicators designed to capture the full range of university activities, from teaching to research to knowledge transfer. These 13 elements are brought together into five headline categories, which are:

Teaching — the learning environment (worth 30% of the overall ranking score)
Research — volume, income and reputation (worth 30%)
Citations — research influence (worth 32.5%)
Industry income — innovation (worth 2.5%)
International mix — staff and students (worth 5%).

The overall top 200 ranking and the six tables showing the top 50 institutions by subject were based on criteria and weightings that were carefully selected after extensive consultation.

This year sees the US eclipses all other countries taking seven of the top 10 spots, more than half the top 50 places (27) and has a total of 72 institutions in the top 200 table. It has more than twice as many universities represented in the top 200 as its nearest rival, the UK, which has 29.

Click here for the Top 200

Click here for Analysis

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European Economic Sustainability Index

Launched on the eve of the European Council meeting, this European Economic Sustainability Index (EESI) has been designed by Fabian Zuleeg to enable a comparison of the long term economic sustainability of EU Member States. The index is constructed using six domains: deficits, national debt, growth, competitiveness, governance & corruption and cost of ageing. Each EU country is simultaneously assessed according to each criterion and then ranked against each other.

Selected findings from the report: 

At the top of the ranking are the Scandinavian EU Member States with Estonia as the only New Member State (NMS) in the top group. Northern/central European countries also perform well.

Greece not only comes out bottom, it actually is very close to being the worst performing economy across all six domains of the index. Italy also has significant long-term economic sustainability problems and Portugal is also performing badly. Spain is clearly under threat. As is Ireland, but it is doing significantly better than the lowest performers.

While outperforming the problem countries of the Euro-zone, the NMSs which have required IMF/EU assistance, Hungary, Latvia and Romania, also cluster at the bottom of the ranking. There appears to be no clear relationship between Euro-zone membership and the position in the EESI, indicating that long-term underlying structural factors are more important. While this does not allow a final assessment of the Stability and Growth Pact, it certainly indicates that the SGP is no guarantor for good public finances or long-term growth performance.

Click here for the full report

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100 Top Hedge Funds

A smaller but stronger hedge-fund industry has emerged from the financial crisis according to Barron’s annual Top 100 Hedge Fund ranking. Each of the 100 funds posted averaged annual returns of 10% or better for the past three tumultuous years.  Since the financial crisis erupted in late 2008, an estimated 2,000 of them have gone out of business, taking their number down to about 9,000. Hedge-fund assets hit a trough of $1.33 trillion by the end of the first quarter of 2009, down from a mid-2008 peak of $1.93 trillion.

This year’s selection process has been particularly stringent for funds of hedge funds. Not only has their performance been sub-par: They've returned an annualized 8.2% over the past 20 years, versus 12.24% for single-manager hedge funds, according to fund-tracker Hedge Fund Research. As a result, their ranks have been thinned by about 20%, to 2,117 in the past two years; their assets have fallen by 29% to $570 billion.

John Paulson is this year’s winner. His Paulson Credit Opportunities Fund finished with a three-year compound annual return of 122.92%. Paulson, whose New York firm now runs more than $32 billion, also had two other funds in the Top 100, Paulson Advantage and Paulson International (up 20.23%).

In at No. 2 is Balestra Capital Partners, a global macro fund whose three-year compound annual return comes to 65.63%. After two stellar years in mostly down markets, the fund, run by James Melcher, didn't quite catch 2009's turnaround, gaining just 4.22%. Still, Melcher's three-year performance is impressive.

In third is mathematics Ph.D. and portfolio manager James Simons, who retired at the start of this year. His Medallion Fund, a computer-driven quantitative trading vehicle that's part of Renaissance Technologies, posted an average annual average increase of 62.80% for the three-year period.

Click here for video of author/compiler of the list Jack Willoughby discussing the rankings and the hedge fund industry in its current state.

The full ranking is available in the latest edition of Barron’s magazine (24th May 2010) which can be found in the newspaper area on the first floor of the library.

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The Forbes Global 2000

The Forbes Global 2000 are the biggest, most powerful listed companies in the world. Forbes' ranking of the world's biggest companies use an equal weighting of sales, profits, assets and market value to rank companies according to size. This year's list reveals the dynamism of global business. The rankings span 62 countries, with the US (515 members) and Japan (210 members) still dominating the list, but with a combined 33 fewer entries.

This year, the following countries gained the most ground: mainland China (113 members), India (56 members) and Canada (62 members). Even Oman and Lebanon are now Global 2000 members. Also gaining a significant presence on this year’s list are corporations from Ireland, South Africa and Sweden. In total the Global 2000 companies now account for $30 trillion in revenues, $1.4 trillion in profits, $124 trillion in assets and $31 trillion in market value. All metrics are down from last year, except for market value, which rose 61%.

An analysis of the Global 2000 shows that despite the turmoil in the financial sector, banks still dominate, with 308 companies in the 2000 line-up, thanks mainly to their asset totals. The oil and gas industry, with 115 companies, scores high in sales, profits and stock-market value, yet these sectors were not the leaders in growth over the past year. Insurance companies (up 27%) led all sectors in sales growth, while the leaders in profit growth were drugs and biotech firms (up 20%). This year's top five:

1 JPMorgan Chase   
2 General Electric  
3 Bank of America   
4 ExxonMobil
5 ICBC 

Click here for the full list

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2010 Fortune 500

Fortune magazine have just released its annual ranking of the top 500 US companies by revenue.  Overall, total net income for companies on the list grew 350% for the year; this is the second-largest gain in the list’s 56 years. But total revenue fell by 8.7% for the year, the largest percentage decline since 1983. 

This year sees Wal-Mart knock Exxon Mobil from the top slot to rule the Fortune 500 once again.  Last year’s number one, oil giant Exxon Mobil, now in second place, took a gamble on the domestic natural gas market late last year buying Texas-based XTO Energy for $41 billion. But refining and exploration remain its backbone. Holding on to the number 3 spot is Chevron. With prices for crude oil and natural gas off sharply from their recent highs, revenue at the oil giant tumbled 37%, from $265 billion to $167 billion. The good news: production of oil and gas jumped 7%, thanks in part to a 57% success rate on its exploratory drilling.

Apple moved up 15 spots in the rankings to take the 56th largest company by revenues. Apple's 2009 revenues of approximately $36.5 billion, up 12.5% from 2008, were enough to place it one spot ahead of Disney, which features Apple CEO Steve Jobs as its largest individual shareholder.  Apple also ranked 26th in the most profitable but still ranks behind HP (ranked 10th overall) and Dell (ranked 38th overall), in the "Computers, Office Equipment" industry rankings.  Apple also scored highly in several other categories, including taking the top spot in shareholder returns over the past five years with an average return of 45.6%.

In the Internet Services and Retailing industry, Amazon came in first (ranked 100 overall), Google second (ranked 102 overall), and Liberty Media third (ranked 227 overall).

Click here to see the full list of America's largest corporations.

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The Forbes Fictional 15

Global markets are rapidly recovering from the 2008 financial crisis, and so are the fortunes of the fictitious. There are six new characters on the 2010 edition of Fictional 15, Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of fiction's richest, with an average net worth of $7.3 billion. In aggregate, the nine returning members are worth $79.8 billion, up 9% since last year.  Topping the list this year is newcomer Carlisle Cullen, patriarch of the Cullen coven of vampires in the Twilight series of novels. Cullen, age 370, has accumulated a fortune of $34.1 billion.  Low-key and undead, Cullen has spent recent years posing as a mortal doctor in a small town in Washington State.

Also new to this year's list is the British railroad tycoon Sir Topham Hatt ($2 billion) made famous by television's Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends. Sir Topham Hatt boasts the world's largest collection of vintage steam engines, which are the main mode of transport on Sodor, the island off the coast of Britain where he owns almost every square inch of property.  Pride of his collection: a blue London, Brighton and South Coast Railway tank engine called Toby and a 4-6-2 LNER A1 called Gordon.

Uncle Sam is the highest profile drop-off this year. The frontiersman and former US Army recruitment officer had the largest net worth swing in Fictional 15 history, from an estimate of "infinite" last year to less than a billion today.  Fictional 15 perennials Scrooge McDuck ($33.5 billion) and Jed Clampett ($7.2 billion) had banner years, reflecting surging gold and oil prices respectively. Only Richie Rich ($11.5 billion) and Thurston Howell III ($2.1) billion have seen their fortunes decline over the past year.

To qualify for the Fictional 15, Forbes requires that candidates be an authored fictional creation. They must star in a specific narrative work or series of works. And they must be known, both within their fictional universe and by their audience, for being rich.  Net worth estimates are based on an analysis of the fictional character's source material, and valued against known real-world commodity and share price movements. In the case of privately held fictional concerns, we sought to identify comparable fictional public companies. All prices are as of market close, April 12, 2010.

Click here to see the full list

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Daniel Y Go

The World's Billionaires

Telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu with a net worth up $18.5 billion makes it to the number one spot on Forbes Magazine’s 24th ranking of the world’s richest people.  This year the World's Billionaires have an average net worth of $3.5 billion, up $500 million in 12 months. Globally, there are 1,011 ten-figure titans, up from 793 a year ago but still shy of the record 1,125 in 2008. Of those billionaires on last year's list, only 12% saw their fortunes decline.

US billionaires still dominate the ranking but their grip is slipping. Americans account for 40% of the world's billionaires, down from 45% a year ago.  Of the 97 new members of the list, only 16% are from the US.  By contrast, Asia made big gains. The region added 104 moguls and now has just 14 fewer than Europe, thanks to several large public offerings and swelling stock markets.

The new billionaires include American Isaac Perlmutter, who sold Marvel Entertainment to Disney for $4 billion last December. The Spider-Man mogul netted nearly $900 million in cash and 20 million shares of Disney in the transaction.  Also new to the ranking: 27 billionaires from China, including Li Shufu, whose automaker, Geely, announced plans to buy Swedish brand Volvo from Ford in December. The deal is expected to close in March 2010.   Finland and Pakistan both welcomed their first billionaires.

For the first time China (including Hong Kong) has the most billionaires outside the US with 89.  Russia has 62 billionaires, 28 of them returnees who had fallen off last year's list amid a meltdown in commodities. Total returnees to the list this year: 164.

Click here for the article and full rankings

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Darren Hester

Banking Banana Skins 2010

This annual survey produced by the CSFI (Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation) and sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, puts together a league table of potential sources of risks to banks and ranks them by severity.  The survey was carried out in November and December 2009, and received 443 responses from individuals in 49 countries. The questionnaire was in three parts. In the first, respondents were asked to describe, in their own words, their main concerns about the financial system over the next 2-3 years. In the second, they were asked to rate a list of potential risks, or Banana Skins, selected by a CSFI/PwC panel, both by severity and whether they were rising, steady or falling. In the third, they were asked to rate the preparedness of financial institutions to handle the risks they identified. 

The number one concern identified by this year’s survey is that of Political interference. The recent financial crisis saw many Governments stepping in to rescue their banks from collapse. This has resulted in the industry becoming deeply politicised, a development which respondents to the survey find the greatest source of risk for the banking sector.  Political interference is problematic because it distorts commercial judgement, creates moral hazard and raises uncertainty about how and when financial support will be removed.

The top five risks (with last years position):

1 Political interference (-)
2 Credit risk (2)
3 Too much regulation (8)
4 Macro-economic trends (5)
5 Liquidity 

The full report can be downloaded from the PricewaterhouseCooper’s website

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Amanda Rudkin

The World’s Most Innovative Companies 2010

Even in these tough times, surprising and extraordinary efforts are under way in businesses across the globe. From politics to technology, energy, and transportation; from marketing to retail, health care, and design, each company on the following pages illustrates the power and potential of innovative ideas and creative execution.

With 400 million users worldwide, Facebook move from last year’s number 15 up to take the number one spot. The social networking site contains 2 billion photos, 14 million videos, and has enabled users to drag their identities and networks with them to 15,000 Web sites a month through Facebook Connect. As a result, Facebook has become the platform of choice for major brands, political candidates and social causes.  In September, Facebook became cash-flow positive for the first time.

At number 2 Google, the Internet's most popular search engine.  After releasing the Nexus One (Google Phone) and snaring mobile-ad firm AdMob, Google announced that it had doubled its mobile audience in 2009, to 25 million searchers; in total, it commands 86% of the mobile-search market. Meanwhile, YouTube began streaming authorized TV clips, shows, and movies from ABC, BBC, MGM, and others, and splitting ad dollars with their owners. Then, there was Google Wave, a marriage of social networking, writing, and photo sharing designed to replace email.

New in at No. 50 is Twitter.  Year-over-year traffic has grown more than 400%; with virtually every major company opening an account; valuation is roughly $1 billion. Yet it remains to be seen whether Twitter can win back the buzz and the traffic from popular third-party apps, such as TweetDeck and Echofon. In October, Twitter got $25 million for inking deals with Microsoft (Bing) and Google to add live tweets to search results-enough, reportedly, to make the company profitable.

Click here to see the full list

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Gasboyben

Global Powers of the Consumer Products Industry

Deloitte have released their 3rd annual Global Powers of the consumer products industry. The report identifies the 250 largest consumer products companies around the world based on publicly available data from the companies’ fiscal year 2008.  It also provides an outlook for the global economy; an analysis of market capitalization in the industry and a discussion of major trends affecting consumer product companies.

Selected highlights:

The performance of the Top 250 reflects the impact of the global economic downturn with many companies posting lower revenue and earnings then the previous year.  More than a third (88 of the 250) experienced declining sales.  A much larger number of these companies were unprofitable compared with 2008.  Of the 222 companies that disclosed their profit/loss figures, 48 operated at a loss. 

The economic concentration of the Top 10 fell to 26.3%. To some extent this can be attributed to the makeup of the leader board. Six of these companies are manufacturers of electronic products which still continue to suffer from falling prices and weak demand.

Although the ten largest companies’ combined sales grew more slowly compared with the Top 250, they were in fact more profitable. Composite net profit margin was 6.0% versus 4.8% for the entire group.

European consumer products manufacturers are the largest companies, with average 2008 sales of more than $13.5 billion. Amongst these companies, UK companies led the way with 9.6% sales growth, up from 7.9% the previous year. 

The US continued to dominate the Top 250 with 92 companies, or 34.8% of the total, accounting for 35.9% of total sales. 

Click here to read the full report

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The Most Respected Companies

Barron’s have just released the results of their sixth annual survey of ‘The Most Respected Companies’.  This year's survey, conducted with the help of Beta Research, elicited responses from 70 investors across the country.  Participants were asked to select one of four statements for each company: Highly Respect, Respect, Respect Somewhat or Don't Respect. A point value was assigned to each response, with the highest accorded to Highly Respect, and a mean score was tabulated for each. In the case of ties, the higher ranking went to the company with the most Highly Respect votes. The managers also were asked to rank the factors they consider in determining respect for corporations.

This year sees Apple take the number one spot.  Among the newcomers to this year's list -- and returnees after absences from the rankings -- were several mining and metals producers, and banks. Drug and utility stocks, in contrast, were represented disproportionately among the companies dropped. Stocks tossed out included Eli Lilly and Endesa (ELE.Spain), while new names included Goldman Sachs, No. 30; Rio Tinto, No. 70, and Daimler, No. 48. This year's survey also included six more non-U.S. companies than the 2009 poll, a reflection of the sharp stock-market gains realized last year by many foreign companies, especially those, such as Brazilian miner Vale (VALE), No. 72, and Russian gas producer Rosneft (ROSN.Russia), No. 98, based in emerging markets.

• Apple (No. 4 last year)
• Johnson & Johnson (1)
• Procter & Gamble (3)
• IBM (14)
• Berkshire Hathaway (2)
• Toyota (8)
• McDonald's (7)
• Google (23)
• Cisco Systems (10)
• Amazon (no ranking last year)

Toyota which ranked No. 6 this year, up from No. 8, long has had a stellar reputation among both money managers and consumers. The company's shocking move this month to recall several models for safety concerns came too late for most respondents to address in their surveys. In interviews in recent days, money managers were divided on how well they thought Toyota was handling the problem. But nearly all thought the company's safety problems would hit them hard in next year's Most Respected survey.

Click here to read the full article

The full ranking can be found in the latest edition of Barron’s (15/02/2010) which can be found in the Newspaper area located on the first floor of the Taunton Centre Library.

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Andrea Vascellari

100 Best Companies to Work For

Fortune magazine have just released their annual ranking of the 100 Best Companies to Work For.   An extensive employee survey was carried out throughout corporate America. Of some 1,500 firms that were contacted, 407 companies participated in this year's survey. Nearly 100,000 employees at those companies responded to a 57-question survey created by the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research and consulting firm. Most of the company's score (two-thirds) is based on the results of the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about the management's credibility, job satisfaction and camaraderie. The other third of the scoring is based on the company's responses to the Institute's Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about demographic makeup, and pay and benefit programs, as well as a series of open-ended questions about the company's management philosophy, methods of internal communications, opportunities, compensation practices, and diversity efforts, etc.

This year’s ranking sees the number one slot taken by tech powerhouse SAS (up from number 20 last year). The company has an impressive list of benefits including: high-quality child care at $410 a month; 90% coverage of the health insurance premium; unlimited sick days; a medical centre (at no cost to employees); a free 66,000-square-foot fitness centre and natatorium; a lending library; and a summer camp for children.

The investment adviser Edward Jones retains the number 2 spot having successfully weathered the recession without closing one of its 12,615 offices or laying off a single employee (the British division was sold in October). Salaries were frozen, but profit sharing continued.

Wegmans Food Markets rated one of the best groceries in the nation, and a former No. 1 on the list (in 2005), move up to the number 3 slot. The company has never had a layoff in its 94-year history. More than 4,000 employees, 11% of the workforce, have been here more than 15 years.

Click here to see the full ranking

Picture from Creative Commons: Flickr: Lumaxart

Cities Outlook 2010

With GDP falling by 6%, the severity of the downturn over the last six quarters means that the after-effects will be long-lasting. Not only has unemployment risen sharply to nearly 8%, many of the sectors worst affected are those that have been the cornerstone of many cities’ economies – retail, financial services, and construction. As the UK starts to emerge from the deepest recession in decades the latest Cities Outlook finds that recovery will be uneven.
 
Selected Findings:
 
Despite the recession, cities remain the backbone of the UK’s economy. Major cities in particular have the potential to reinforce their position, and generate jobs and growth as the global economy recovers.
 
London and the four largest city regions – Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester – accounted for 36% of the population in 2008, but 39% of 2008 jobs in England. Thirty-seven percent of GB knowledge-intensive businesses were clustered in London and just three major cities, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol in 2008
 
Already-robust city economies like Brighton are more likely to grow stronger, leaving others like Doncaster further behind.  This raises tough questions about how they can carve out a future that's economically sustainable.
 
Five big hitters:  The turnaround of our largest cities will be critical to the national recovery.  More than one in three jobs (39%) in England is based in just five cities - Greater London and the City Regions of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool.
 
Five to watch: Brighton, Milton Keynes, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh have the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed.  They have strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship, highly educated workforces and large shares of knowledge-intensive jobs.
 
Click here to read the full report

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The 50 Best Careers of 2010

For this year's list, US News examined job growth projections for 2008 to 2018 from the US Labour Department. Occupations were identified that promised new jobs at an above-average rate over the next decade or so, as well as those that provide an above-average median income. A list of 50 jobs across five categories were selected:

Science and Technology
In this field, jobs range from network architect to meteorologist. This category includes the fastest-growing occupation of biomedical engineer with a 72% growth rate that far outstrips the 10% average across careers. Many careers that focus on the environment—from water supply to waste management are also seeing strong growth. And as American consumers and companies make technology a more critical part of their daily routines, careers in IT are expanding

Healthcare
The healthcare industry continues to offer some of the best opportunities for employment. Aside from better known careers such as registered nurse or veterinarian, there are slightly more under-the-radar careers that require less schooling, such as X-ray technician, lab technician, or physical therapist assistant. There are also promising occupations at the intersection of healthcare and education: school psychologist and medical and public-health social worker.

Business and Finance
There are plenty of promising jobs in the business and finance fields, although the opportunities have shifted slightly due to the economic shake-up. Consumers continue to seek the advice and experience of personal financial advisers, while investment banks, insurance companies, and fund management firms increasingly rely on the work of financial analysts, who gauge the performance, health, and value of companies in which a firm may want to invest. There are less well-known careers here, too, including cost estimator, a job critical to companies that need to price out projects before they start, and logistician.

Education and Civic
The need for special-education teachers will be so profound that above-average growth is expected in the preschool to elementary school years, as well as for middle school, and also secondary school years. Fire fighting is also expected to grow through 2018 and is likely to be about 19% which is above the average for all occupations

Creative and Service
This category is a bit of a hotchpotch of careers as many of the jobs listed here were hard to categorize. US News have called them "service" jobs and this category includes everything from pilots to plumbers.

Click here to see the full list

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Lumaxart

Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs 2010

The January issue of Management Today presents its seventh annual survey of Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs.  The MT Top 100 are ranked using the following  criteria: 1) asset wealth, which is identified from their holdings in private or public companies, share sales, dividends and salaries; 2) Percentage growth in turnover over the past five years (or less if figures do not go back that far);  3) Percentage growth in jobs created in the past five years. This is designed to highlight the important role of the Top 100 entrepreneurs as the leading job creators in the private sector. Finally, MT add up the figures for the entrepreneurs' ranking in, respectively, the wealth, turnover and employment columns.

Looking at two of the key measures of performance - growth in turnover and employment - it is heartening to report that the MT100 turnover has grown from £11.2bn to £24.9bn, a healthy 122% rise, which naturally means more economic activity spreading round the UK.  More importantly perhaps, their total headcount has risen in five years by over 48,000 to 137,914. This represents a 53% rise and shows that in the crucial area of productivity, the entrepreneurs making the list are right on top of their game. They are getting more work out of their staff, with turnover growing at more than twice the rate of employment growth.

This years ranking sees another decline in the female headcount with just eight women included this year. It was nine in 2009 and a record 29 in 2008. But the women nclude are of outstanding quality - Natalie Massenet, for example, who founded online clothing boutique Net-a-porter.com in 2000 makes it to number three, the highest recorded position for a female entrepreneur since the Top 100 began. One other aspect worthy of note is that 2010 is the year of grey power, with a whopping 58 of our entrepreneurs aged 60 or above, and no fewer than 11 aged 70 or over. Commentators who claim that the recession has hit the younger generation hardest may have a point.

Click here to see the full list

Interested in reading more? Management today is available online to current London Business School staff, students and faculty from Business Source complete and Factiva (check Article finder for date ranges) . The library also holds the hardcopy version going back to 1966.

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: mrgarris0n

The 200 top-performing CEOs in the world

  This is the first global ranking of CEOs based on company performance during their time in office. While this is the only place to access the top 200 list, the top 50 list will be published in the Harvard Business Review (Jan-Feb 2010) and is also available on the HBR's website.

Created by three INSEAD professors, the ranking is based on a global data set of some 2,000 CEOs of 48 nationalities and from companies in 33 countries. CEOs from companies in the S&P Global 1200 and S&P BRIC 40 lists since 1997 were measured on three metrics during their tenure: industry-adjusted total shareholder return (TSR); country-adjusted TSR; and change in market capitalisation. They were then ranked on each metric to form a combined rank.

The ranking reveals several surprises. One is that high-performance is fairly spread out across both countries and industries. No particular context has a monopoly on exceptional performance. The results drive home how important it is to use objective, long-term measures to assess CEOs and to inform succession planning.

See the table: http://knowledge.insead.edu/top-200-CEOs-091218.cfm

Picture: Creative Commons:Flickr: jaaron

The Power 100

Now in its fourth year, The Power 100, produced by IntangibleBusiness, highlights the key issues and trends in the spirits and wine industry. Nearly 10,000 brands in the spirits and wine sectors were researched for this ranking.  A panel of eight leading experts in the drinks industry independently ranked each selected brand to derive a list of the 100 most powerful spirits and wine brands in the world. Power is defined by a brand’s ability to generate value for its owner. The global recession is obviously the major issue of 2009 and beyond.

Highlights from the report:

This year all brands in the top 10 held their positions, increasing their total score by an average of 4%.  The report argues that there are a number of elements contributing to this trend. Consumers are experiencing an aversion to risk, reverting to the safe havens of the big, established brands rather than experimenting with new, unproven alternatives. Brand owners, too, are focusing on maintaining and growing the positions of their flagship brands.

The Top Ten

1. Smirnoff
2. Johnnie Walker
3. Bacardi
4. Martini Vermouth
5. Hennessy
6. Absolut
7. Jack Daniels
8. Chivas Regal
9. Baileys
10. Ballantines

This year the vodka market has surpassed all expectations. Led by Smirnoff, Absolut and others including Grey Goose, Stolichnaya, Skyy and Finlandia, this underlines vodka’s power in the market, fuelled by powerful branding, its versatility as a cocktail and mixer ingredient, its alignment with sophisticated marketing programmes and its capture of a still buoyant US market which may come under threat as the recession takes hold.  Johnnie Walker dominates its category. With an impressive increase in volumes coupled with a 2% improvement in its brand score, Johnnie Walker increased its total score by 6% in 2009. Being under the same ownership as Smirnoff, with Diageo, Johnnie Walker is in a privileged position within a company that appears able to do no wrong.

Click here to see the full ranking

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Fernando Ariotti

Deloitte Technology Fast 50

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is an annual ranking of the UK’s 50 fastest-growing technology companies based on percentage revenue growth over five years. Deloitte launched the programme over a decade ago to celebrate the world-class achievements of the UK technology sector. The Technology Fast 50 awards are all about revenue growth driven by leading intellectual property, and are a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.  This year digital service companies are thriving as the Web continues its advance into every aspect of modern life. They have overtaken software companies dominated last year’s ranking. In this year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50, internet companies take 21 of the top 50 slots.

This year’s winner is Distribution Technology, a company that provides financial planning and sales technology to financial institutions such as banks and insurers, large IFAs, and Distributors.  The Reading-based company has achieved a staggering 18,225% growth rate. Founded in 2003, Distribution Technology supplies a range of financial software products that enable qualified advisors to pinpoint key products and cross-sell others to customers faster, more efficiently and more compliantly.

In second place, Heart Internet Ltd has seen a spectacular annual growth rate of 8548% over the last five years.  Based in the Midlands, the company provides hosting and domain name registration to individuals, SMEs and resellers, with the latter making up about 50% of its customer base. Heart is currently responsible for more than 400,000 domains and employs 40 people.

Third on the list is ApaTech, a London-based orthobiologics company which has seen rapid expansion in the last eighteen months drive the business to a five-year growth rate of 8318%
The company was spun out of Queen Mary, University of London research into synthetic bone graft technology in the 1990’s, which generated a variety of commercially-viable IP.

Companies must fit the following criteria:

• It must have been in business for a minimum of five years;
• It must be considered a technology company, which is defined as: producing technology; manufacturing technology-related products; be technology intensive, or use unique technology to solve problems
• The company must devote a high percentage of effort to technology R&D;
• The parent company must be UK-owned with its headquarters in UK (subsidiaries of multinational organisations do not qualify);
• Operating revenues must be at least £34,000 (50,000 Euros) for financial year 2004 and £540,000 (800,000 Euros) for financial year 2008.

Click here to see the full list

Photo from Creative Commons: Flicr: TDR1

The Forbes 400

America's super rich are getting poorer according to the latest ranking from Forbes magazine. The collective net worth of The Forbes 400 (the annual tally of the nation's richest people) fell $300 billion over the last 12 months from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion.  Faltering capital markets and real estate prices are largely to blame, along with divorce and fraud, pushing the fortunes of 314 members down and driving 32 plutocrats off the rankings.

This year membership to this exclusive list was made easier as the price of admission dropped $350 million, from $1.3 billion last year to $950 million this year, paving the way for 19 new members and 19 returnees.

The 10 richest Americans lost a combined $39.2 billion in the past 12 months, a 14% decline.  America's richest man Bill Gates saw his net worth decline by $7 billion. Warren Buffett, America's second-richest was hurt the most, dropping $10 billion from his personal balance sheet as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell 20% in 12 months. He is now worth $40 billion.  Other that have lost out include Kirk Kerkorian casino mogul. Shares of his gambling giant MGM Mirage have fallen 90% from their October 2007 high.  Enterprise Rent-A-Car founder Jack C. Taylor also saw his fortune drop by $7 billion in a year as the travel industry slows and private-company valuations fall.  The biggest gainer is banker Andrew Beal, who tripled his net worth to $4.5 billion buying up cheap loans and assets as the markets crumbled last fall.

Newcomers to the list include Marvel Entertainment chief Isaac Perlmutter, whose net worth soared to $1.55 billion after Disney agreed to buy the superhero outfit in August for $4 billion in cash and stock. Charles Zegar, co-founder of Bloomberg LP debuted at number 371 with $1 billion.  Among those returning is venture capitalist Michael Moritz, who rode Amazon's purchase of online shoe retailer Zappos and surging Google stock back onto the list.

Click here to see the full list

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: rutty

Best Global Brands 2009

Interbrand, in conjunction with Business Week, have just realised the results of their annual ranking the Best Global Brands 2009.  The 10 top brands are Coca-Cola; IBM; Microsoft; GE; Nokia; McDonalds; Google; Toyota; Intel; and Disney. The largest risers in brand value are Google (25%); Amazon.com (22%); Zara (14%); Nestlé (13%); and Apple (12%); and the largest decliners are Morgan Stanley (-26%); American Express (-32%); Harley-Davidson (-43%); Citi (-49%) and UBS (-50%).

Coca-Cola retains the number one spot, successfully maintaining its diversified portfolio in more than 200 countries. Last year it launched more than 700 products around the world.

With revenue is at an all-time high, IBM stay at the number two spot. It received the most US patents (more than 4,000) for the 16th year in a row, investing heavily in innovation as it continues its progression from a hardware provider to a software and services solutions brand. It is the market leader, with expanded presence in more than 170 countries and approximately 65% of revenue generated outside of the US.

The financial services market has seen major changes over the past year due to the recent financial crisis.  Interbrand has identified three brands that are growing their market position and leadership status.

• Barclays is emerging out of the crisis stronger than many of its peers. It appears that the company made a good decision not to take government money in December and the sale of BGI enabled the firm to stay liquid and benefit from new opportunities. Barclays has done a good job integrating Lehman’s US operations.

• Credit Suisse is moving up the ranks. The firm did not require government funds and is one of the key beneficiaries of the reshuffling of the marketplace. In the private banking space, Credit Suisse has profited from the weakening of its main rival UBS, while, at the same time, increasing its market share and leadership status. The Credit Suisse brand is positioned as a key pillar of the newly restacked financial services sector.

• With the acquisition of Abbey National, Santander has become a top international bank. The group’s next strategic move is to establish the brand in the US retail-banking market; the recent Sovereign Bank investment is the first step towards building a renewed U.S. presence. Santander is aiming to become one of the world’s top two or three largest banks.

Click here to see the full ranking

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: ThiagoMartins

2009 Inc. 500

This year’s Inc. 500, unveiled in the September issue of Inc. magazine reported aggregate revenue of $18.4 billion, up significantly from last year’s $13.7 billion. The companies on this year’s list are also responsible for creating more than 55,000 jobs since their founding; making the Inc. 500 perhaps the best example of the impact private, fast-growing companies can have on the overall US economy. The largest company on the list, flat-panel-TV maker Vizio, broke the $2 billion revenue mark.

This year’s ranking measured revenue growth from 2005 through 2008. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of 2005, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they had to be US.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent, not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. The minimum revenue required for 2005 is $200,000; the minimum for 2008 is $2 million.

Highlights from this year’s rankings:

• Insurance was by far the fastest-growing industry, with an average growth rate of 6,195%. Other strong performers include Logistics & Transportation (2,487%) and Food & Beverage (2,153%).

• Government Services are the top employer with 6,895 jobs, followed by Telecommunications (6,338), Health (5,803), IT Services (5,179), and Energy (4,559).

• IT Services boasted the most companies on this year’s list with 57, followed by Government Services (50), Advertising & Marketing (48), Consumer Products & Services (44), and Health (43).

• The top woman-owned company is P3S (No. 17 overall). The company provide IT network security and physical security services, mostly to the Defence Department. Owner, Mary Ellen Trevino, recorded revenue of $13.5 million in 2008 and a three-year growth rate of 5,898%.

• The top five industries by total revenue include Consumer Products & Services ($3.1 billion), Energy ($2.5 billion), Government Services ($1.9 billion), Advertising & Marketing ($1.3 billion), and Real Estate ($1.2 billion).

Complete results of the Inc. 500, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found on Inc.com.

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Powerhouse Museum

The Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100

This report from Crone, in collaboration with Intangible Business, explores the unique relationship between nonprofit brand image and financial performance.  The Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100, is the first public ranking in the United States to value nonprofit organizations by more than financial standing alone. The ranking was compiled using sources such as the “Forbes 200 Largest Nonprofits,” the “Nonprofit Times Top 100” and the “Chronicle of Philanthropy Top 100,” to identify the largest nonprofits.  Additional filters were then applied to determine the final list. This included: tax status: 501(c)(3); organizations dedicated to providing social, environmental and/or animal-related services; US.-based organizations but with an international scope; and organizations with national or international audiences and not limited to specific regions of the US.

The power of a brand is an essential and often-underestimated measure of organizational success.  US businesses have long understood the importance of brand, but in the non-profit sector, this factor can be overlooked. This is no surprise as the concept of a “brand” is traditionally been associated with business and the sale of commercial goods, rather than with charities. But, in a sector where more than 1.5 million organizations are competing for resources a solid brand identity is essential. It can set expectations, gains attention, fosters relationships and ultimately helps ensure long term survival.  In most cases, nonprofits raise revenue on the basis of the “promise” of helping their cause, an implicit trust that is embodied by the brand. Therefore the nonprofit brand plays a significant role in generating future revenue. What it stands for should be absolutely clear, with no compromise. Valuing brands gives organizations a license to demonstrate to companies and other partners that there is an established and justified cost to aligning with nonprofits. A compelling brand is an invaluable tool in the arsenal to generate critical funds, secure rewarding corporate and government partnerships and appeal to consumers, employees and volunteers.

The full report and rankings can be downloaded from the Crone website (pre-registration is required)

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Forbes Magazine - 2009 Celebrity 100

In a year filled with humbling bank failures and violent stock market swings, the earning power of the 2009 Celebrity 100 remained remarkably resilient. The cumulative earnings of the 2009 list totalled $4.1 billion, up slightly from last year's $4 billion haul. The annual Celebrity 100 list from Forbes magazine is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility (exposure in print, television, radio and online). Earnings estimates are based on income from films, television shows, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures. Sources include Billboard, Pollstar, Adams Media Research, Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen BookScan, Nielsen Media Research and SNL Kagan. Fame is calculated using Web hits on Google Blog Search, TV/radio mentions on LexisNexis, overall press mentions on Factiva and the number of times a celebrity's image appeared on the cover of 25 consumer magazines.

This year’s list sees actress Angelina Jolie take the number one spot. Thanks to the release of several blockbuster movies and an endless sea of media attention. Oprah Winfrey drops to No. 2 on the list but pocketed $275 million in the last year, making her the list's top earner.  Early next year, the self-made billionaire will roll out the lifestyle-themed Oprah Winfrey Network in partnership with Discovery Communications. Rounding out the top five on the list are: No. 3 pop icon Madonna ($110 million) whose Hard Candy album tour became the top-grossing international tour of 2008, bringing in $280 million on 58 concerts in 17 countries: No. 4 singer Beyoncé Knowles ($87 million); and No. 5 golfer Tiger Woods ($110 million).

The complete list can be sorted by rank, name, pay, news rank, web rank, and TV rank

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr:Darren Hester

100 Most Creative People in Business

Fast Company magazine have released their list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. The magazine searched for dazzling new thinkers and rising stars, avoiding people that were profiled in the recent past.  It emphasizes those whose creativity addresses a larger issue -- from the future of our energy infrastructure to the evolution of philanthropy to next-generation media and entertainment. Online profiles of all 100 are available online. 

At the number one spot is Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive, whose first Apple blockbuster was the iMac. This machine could not have been a more radical departure from the ubiquitous beige-box PC: a desktop computer in bright candy colours with a see-through shell showing its inner machinery. The iMac became the top-selling computer in the United States.

Coming in second is Melinda Gates, co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Her influence over the world's largest foundation is enormous, championing not only big-picture, tech-oriented solutions to improve health and education over the long term but also more modest steps to help the poorest of the poor such as distributing condoms. The foundation's latest surprise is funding health and education messages to be integrated into Viacom TV programming.

At number three is Shai Agassi, CEO of Better Place, a venture-backed company that aims to reduce global dependency on oil through the creation of a market-based transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles. His vision for the future includes battery-powered cars made by Renault-Nissan, a network of charging stations, and cell-phone-like pricing schemes.

Click here to see the full list

Picture from Creative Commons: Flickr: Cynergist

Quality of Living Global City Rankings 2009

Mercer has just published the results of their annual Quality of Living global city rankings. Once again Europe’s cities dominate the world’s top 10 with Vienna rated with the best quality of living worldwide, moving up one place in the rankings following improvements in Austria’s political and social environment. The rest of the top 10 for Europe are dominated by German and Swiss cities, most of them retaining last year’s ranking and scores. Zurich, in second place, is followed by Geneva (3), Dusseldorf (6), Munich (7), Frankfurt (8) and Bern (9).
 
Other highlights

Dublin ranks 25th of 215 (in top 12%) in the Mercer 2009 Quality of Living Global City rankings, ahead of several major cities including Paris (33rd), London (38th), and Barcelona (42nd). 

Auckland (4) in New Zealand retains its position as the highest ranking city for quality of living in the region. Sydney in Australia follows at 10 and Wellington in New Zealand at 12

Dubai (77) in the United Arab Emirates and Port Louis in Mauritius (82) are the region’s cities with the best quality of living

Cape Town in South Africa, previously the city in the region with the best quality of living, has dropped substantially in this year's ratings (from 80 to 87 in 2009). This move follows violent riots in South Africa's main cities in 2008.

Mercer’s Quality of Living ranking covers 215 cities and is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments.  Living conditions are analysed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories:

• Political and social environment
• Economic environment
• Socio-cultural environment
• Health and sanitation
• Schools and education
• Public services and transportation
• Recreation
• Consumer goods
• Housing
• Natural environment;

The scores attributed to each factor allow for city-to-city comparisons to be made. The result is a Quality of Living Index which compares the relative differences between any two locations.

The full rankings are available from Mercer’s website

Picture from Creative commons: Flickr: Talayehs 

2009 BrandZ Top 100 Ranking

In a year of global economic turmoil, when every key financial indicator plummeted, the value of the top 100 brands increased by 2% to $2 trillion according to the latest annual BrandZ ranking. This demonstrates not only the resiliency of brands but also shows the importance of brand equity to a company’s market value. The annual ranking produced by Millward Brown Optimor identifies the world's most valuable brands by measuring their dollar value.  The valuation which is based on the intrinsic value of the brand is derived from its ability to generate demand. Financial data is sourced from Bloomberg, analyst reports, Datamonitor industry reports, and company filings with regulatory bodies. Financial models are then prepared for each brand that link brand perceptions to company revenues, earnings, and ultimately shareholder and brand value. The valuation process for The BrandZ Top 100 includes:

Branded Earnings: What proportion of a company’s earnings is generated “under the banner of the brand”?

Brand Contribution: How much of these branded earnings are generated due to the brand’s close bond with its customers?

Brand Multiple: What is the growth potential of the brand driven earnings?

Highlights:

• Nine of the top 10 brands from last year remain in the top 10.
• Google is number one with a value of $100 bn, Microsoft is number two at $76.2 bn, and Coca-Cola enters the top three for the first time at $67.6 bn.
• 85 remain from last year’s listing. Of those that have dropped out of the ranking, nine were from categories particularly hard-hit by the economic storm: cars, financial institutions, and insurance.  
• Even the luxury category has gained in brand value by 10%, affirming the deep and enduring claim that well-crafted items and brand heritage have on our imaginations and wallets.
• Customers are adjusting their coping strategies, while remaining determined to purchase brands that contribute to the pleasure, quality, purpose, and security of their lives.

The ranking can be downloaded from the Millward Brown Optimor website

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The World's Billionaires 2009

According to Forbes magazine it's been a difficult year for the richest people in the world! Last year there were 1,125 billionaires, this year only 793 people were rich enough to make the annual ranking, that’s a 30% decline from a year ago. Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year's ranking, 373 fell off the list (355 from declining fortunes and 18 who died). There are 38 newcomers, plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.

Collectively the net worth of those on the list is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from a year ago. Their average net worth fell 23% to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003. Bill Gates regained the number one spot but lost $18 billion on the way. Warren Buffett, last year's No. 1, also saw his fortune decline by $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell nearly 50% in 12 months. The biggest loser this year, by dollars, was last year's biggest gainer.  India's Anil Ambani lost $32 billion, 76% of his fortune, as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Worldwide, 80 out of the 355 drop-offs from last year's list had fortunes derived from finance or investments. Those who increased their fortunes did so by catering to budget-conscious consumers such as Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai.  Newcomers to the list include: Mexican Joaquín Guzmán Loera, one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to the US.; Wang Chuanfu of China, whose company BYD Co. began selling electric cars in December; and American John Paul Dejoria, for his Paul Mitchell shampoos and Patrón Tequila.

Click here to see the full list

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The World's Most Innovative Companies 2009

 What do: Lego, Hewlett-Packard, Nike and Amazon have in common?
They are all in the Fast Company's March 20098 Special Issue of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies."
Thirty three of the companies on last years list did not make this year's, you can also find out how they have beed doing.
To read more go to the fast Company website, browse the magazine in our Library or read the March issue of Fast Company online via Business Source Complete.

Just type Fast Company and click on the radio button: publications.

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Japan's 40 Richest

Forbes magazine have just published their latest rich list covering Japan’s 40 richest. This year retail tycoon Tadashi Yanai, whose discount clothing chain Uniqlo has added $1.4 billion to his wealth to elevate him to the No. 1 spot from No.6 in last year's ranking. He is now worth $6.1 billion, becoming the fifth person in as many years to take the top spot. Japan's 40 Richest are now worth a combined $69.5 billion, down from $89.9 billion in May, when Forbes published the 2008 rankings. Even the soaring yen, which recently hit a 13-year high against the US dollar, couldn't pull up these dollar-based fortunes.

Twenty-eight of the 40 richest lost money, including everyone in the top 10, excluding Tadashi Yanai. Nintendo's  Hiroshi Yamauchi, whose net worth fell by $3.3 billion, slipped from first to third place. Kazuo Okada, who founded pachiko and slots company Aruze, and Yasumitsu Shigeta, who runs telecom provider Hikari Tsushin, have both lost half their fortunes since our last rankings. Another 13 list members declined 25% or more.  The year's richest newcomer is Internet entrepreneur Yoshikazu Tanaka. He debuted his social networking site Gree on Mothers Market for small high-growth stocks in December. The stock is trading at two-thirds above the listing price, with a higher market cap than rival Mixi, run by Kenji Kasahara, who just makes the ranking at No. 40 with a net worth of $480 million. Also joining the list are the Tada brothers, who share a stake in discount drug chain Sundrug, and Hirokazu Sugiura, founder of Sugi Pharmacy

Unlike other the Forbes billionaires' rankings, which highlight individual fortunes, Japan's top 40 includes numerous family fortunes. The list was compiled using shareholder and financial information obtained from the families and individuals themselves, stock exchanges and analysts. Stock prices and exchange rates were locked in on Feb. 6. Private companies were valued based on comparison with prevailing price-to-earnings or other financial ratios.

The full list is available from the Forbes website

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The 25 Fastest-Growing Technology Companies in America

Forbes magazine have just published the results of their annual 25 Fastest-Growing Technology Companies in America ranking. This year sees 13 companies making their debuts including Apple which earned almost $5 billion on $33 billion in sales in its latest 12 months. The fastest-growing company, based on five-year annualized sales growth is Illumina a company specialising in tools for analyzing the genes of humans, animals and plants. This company has more than doubled its revenues each year for the past five years. 

Last year's Fast Tech stocks weathered Wall Street's storm somewhat better than the overall market, with stocks falling 30% over the past 12 months, whilst the Nasdaq 100 Technology Sector Index and the S&P 500 each suffered losses of 39%. This marks the sixth consecutive year that each new group of Fast Tech companies outperformed the market in the subsequent 12 months.

To make the list, companies must have latest 12-month revenues of $25 million or more, annualized sales gains of at least 10% over the past five years and be profitable over the past 12 months. In addition, Forbes requires a Thomson IBES long-term consensus profit forecast of at least 10%, annualized.

Last year, Forbes introduced the Fast 15; a group of companies that may not have met all the stringent requirements of the main list, but appear to be on track to break into the top ranks at some future date. This year, the screening criteria for this second group of stocks was further tightened; these companies must now meet all the criteria of the Fast 25, except Forbes screen them on the basis of three-year sales growth rather than five-year.  Top of this year’s Fast 15 is OSI Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company specializing in drugs for cancer, diabetes and obesity. Over the last year, the company has registered earnings of $121 million on $365 million in net revenue. On average, OSI has more than doubled its revenues in each of the past three years.

Click here to view the full list and company profiles

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Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work 2009

To pick the 100 Best Companies to Work for, Fortune partners with Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America.  More than 81,000 employees from 353 companies responded to a 57-question survey. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees. The remaining third is based on Fortune’s Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about demographics, pay, and benefits, and open-ended questions on philosophy, communication, etc.  Any company that is at least seven years old with more than 1,000 U.S. employees is eligible.

This year’s winner is NetApp, who ranked no. 14 in the 2008 ranking.  Employee enthusiasm and an egalitarian culture is what helped move NetApp to the No. 1 spot. Benefits include: five paid days for volunteer work, $11,390 adoption aid, and autism coverage -- used by 43 employees since 2006 at a cost of $242,452. The company has gained market share during the slump, hasn't had layoffs, and has more than $2 billion in cash on hand to help it ride out the global financial crisis. The financial-services firm Edward Jones made the No 2 spot, despite the fact that the stock market collapse reduced partner distributions and bonuses. Up from No 11 last year, the Boston Consulting Group made the No 3 spot.  An emphasis on employee development, a collaborative culture, extensive training, and progressive benefits contributed to the strong performance of this company for the fourth year in a row.

To see the full list click here

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Deloitte Technology Fast 500 ranking and CEO survey

The Deloitte Technology Fast 500 program ranks the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in regions around the world. It includes all areas of technology – from Internet to life sciences, from computers to semiconductors – and covers both public and private companies. The 2008 winners showed substantial growth amidst global economic turmoil. This year, ILI Technology Corp. led the way in the Asia Pacific region with a remarkable 93,757.52 percent growth. This region saw average growth rates of 707 percent – the highest point since the program began in 2002. Growth rates of the top five firms have more than doubled over 2007 figures.

The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region showed a decrease in average growth rates over the prior year with the top 500 growing by 1,297 percent in 2008 compared to a record-breaking 1,443 percent last year, which is still impressive in this turbulent economy. This year the top five companies for this region covered an interesting mix of sectors including software, media/entertainment and biotech/pharmaceutical/medical equipment. France mustered the greatest number of fast-growing technology companies in this year’s ranking, followed closely by the UK, which also claimed 2008’s fastest growing EMEA company Thunderhead. Smaller countries such as the Republic of Ireland and the Czech Republic also made impressive strides.

Growth percentages for the 2008 Technology Fast 500 companies in North American ranged from 242 percent to 138,762 percent. The overall average growth of the Fast 500 companies was 3,043 percent, the highest since 2004 when Google topped the list, and up from 1,823 percent in 2007. The top five companies’ average growth rate was 90,540 percent. Hughes Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGH) led in this region with a revenue growth rate over five years of 138,762 percent, moving from revenues of US$699,000 in 2003 to US$970,648,000 in 2007 for its first appearance on Deloitte’s Fast 500 ranking.

The full rankings are available from the Deloitte website

Lighting the way: Fast 500 Asia Pacific 2008 Ranking CEO Survey

2008 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA Ranking and CEO Survey

Annual list of the fastest-growing companies in North America

Beyond Borders: The Global Innovation 1000: Booz & Company study of corporate R&D spending

  This year’s annual Booz & Company study of corporate R&D spending reveals, for the first time, where in the world the money is being spent - and why.

As business becomes increasingly global, corporate innovation strategies are becoming more global as well: Multinational companies are spending a significant - and growing - share of their research and development money outside the countries in which they are headquartered. Booz & Company’s annual Global Innovation 1000 study found that in 2007, the top 80 U.S. corporate R&D spenders deployed an estimated US$80.1 billion of their $146 billion R&D funds overseas. The top 50 European companies spent $51.4 billion of their $117 billion total outside the continent. In Japan, the top 43 Japanese firms exported $40.4 billion of their total $71.6 billion to other countries.

At first glance, observers might think that this represents a loss of jobs, intellectual power, and influence for the home countries of these companies. But innovation spending seems to flow in both directions at once. Even as the companies based in the U.S. performed $80.1 billion worth of R&D in other countries, companies headquartered elsewhere poured $42.6 billion into R&D conducted in the U.S. (See Exhibit 1.) In fact, 40 percent of the money spent on R&D in the U.S. is spent by companies headquartered elsewhere. The total amount of R&D spending in the U.S. is 2.7 times as great as in Japan, whereas the spending generated by companies headquartered in the U.S. is only two times as great. Moreover, companies that invest wisely in a multinational innovation footprint are gaining far better returns on their R&D investment than companies that exclusively keep their laboratories at home — or that fragment them across a wide variety of locations.

The study found that the Global Innovation 1000 companies are spending an average of 55 percent of their innovation dollars outside their home country, demonstrating how international the practice of innovation has become over the past several decades. All the biggest companies are now multinational, and their R&D footprints reflect the need to succeed in the global economy — to compete against nimble and fast-growing local and international operators, win share in unfamiliar new markets, understand the customers in those markets, recruit talented scientists and engineers, and capture the best ideas from around the world. Fully 91 percent of this year’s Global Innovation 1000 already conduct innovation activities outside the countries in which they are headquartered.

To read more click here.

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TOP 100 GLOBAL MARKETERS

Ad Age have published the results of their 22nd-annual top 100 global marketers ranking. The Top100 is collated from media lists covering 86 countries provided by monitoring services such as Nielsen and TNS. Rankings provided by country listed as many as 500 advertisers to as few as 10. In all cases, the Ad Age DataCenter aggregated spending by parent company. For example, ASDA spending in the UK is attributed to Wal-Mart Stores for the Top 100 ranking. Data reported by brand were similarly summed by parent advertiser (for example Wrigley is included in Marsfor).  Media lists per country were by gross ad rates. Advertising Age adjusted some markets’ gross media expenditures to reflect a market’s global media volume among all countries. A Top 100 marketer had to have reported media spending this year on at least three continents to qualify as “global”regardless of headquarters.

This year’s list sees General Motors drop to No. 4, behind perennial leaders Procter & Gamble Co. and Unilever, as well as newly elevated L’Oréal.  In 2007, General Motors was the only one of the top 10 to cut ad spending by 0.9% to $3.3 billion. Just 21 of the Top 100 spent less in 2007 than in the previous year. The Top 100 as a whole spent $107.64 billion on measured media, an increase of 8% from 2006. US spending was down 0.1% to $46.61 billion. (The high growth rate for spending outside the US was partly due to appreciation of foreign currencies against the downtrodden dollar; the Euro, for instance, was up 9.3% in 2007.) The Top 100 spent 43.3% of their measured-media budgets in the US in 2007. In part, that reflects that the US is the home market for 48 of the Top 100, up from 46 last year. Another 14 companies in the ranking are based in Japan, followed by Germany (10), France (9), the UK (6) and Korea (4).

Part 1: Top ad spenders (15 pages; PDF)

Part 2: Multinational agencies and their global assignments (49 pages; PDF)

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The Forbes Fictional 15

This year's edition of the Forbes Fictional 15, the annual listing of fiction's richest, features significant turnover and turmoil. More than half of last year's members fell off the list, and those who remain are poorer on average. Last year you would have needed at least $1.3 billion to get on the list, this year you only need $800 million!

Economic turmoil has introduced a new member of the Fictional 15 to the top spot: Uncle Sam, the 232-year-old former frontiersman and U.S. Army recruitment officer. This American icon is enjoying a second act on Wall Street, thanks to his contrarian strategy of investing exclusively in companies on the brink of bankruptcy. His infinite net worth can be attributed to his crafty purchase of the US Mint in 1792.

Last year's richest fictional character, Scrooge McDuck, fell to second place, with a net worth of $29.1 billion. Third place Richie Rich wasn't as lucky. "The richest kid in the world" saw his net worth tumble from $16.1 billion to $12.3 billion thanks to ill-timed investments in Web 2.0 start-ups. But despite these setbacks, Rich continues to make splashy charitable donations, including airdropping cans of foie gras onto starving Kurdish villages and leaving $1 million tips for waitresses.

To see the full list click here

Britain's top 100 entrepreneurs 2009

The January issue of Management today publishes the results of their 6th annual ranking of Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs.  Compiled by Philip Beresford, the man behind the Sunday Times Rich List (and a former MT editor), the list celebrates the visionary leaders who have beaten the odds to build world-class companies, creating jobs and wealth for Britain in the process.

The UK's finest entrepreneurs have been classified according to three criteria: their personal asset wealth; their percentage turnover growth in the last five years, and their percentage headcount growth during the same period (plus a series of tests to ensure a good geographic spread, gender split and so on).

This year's roll of honour is headed by Dr Mike Lynch, the boss of Cambridge-based software group Autonomy, who along with many of the Top 100 managed to boost profits this year despite the deteriorating economic conditions. Overall, the Top 100 have seen their average turnover almost triple to £19.1m, while their total headcount has increased to nearly 90,000 during the same period - encouraging figures as the UK looks to pull itself out of recession.  Elsewhere, industrial firms are also strongly represented, accounting for 40 of the top 100 - hi-tech manufacturing continues to be an area in which Britain excels. And the number of Asian entrepreneurs is also up again.

Click here to read the full story and see the rankings

2008 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA Ranking and CEO Survey

Deloitte have just released the results of their annual Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA Ranking and CEO Survey. The survey acknowledges and profiles the top 500 technology companies – public and private - with the winners ranked according to their revenue performance over the last five years. This year the top five companies had an interesting mix of sectors with software, media/entertainment and biotech/pharmaceutical/medical equipment each represented.  France has the greatest number of fast-growing technology companies in this year’s ranking, followed closely by the UK. Smaller countries such as the Republic of Ireland and the Czech Republic also made impressive strides. 

The overall winner is Thunderhead from the UK, which had an extraordinary five-year revenue growth rate of 28,558%. Thunderhead’s main product Thunderhead NOW enables business users to own the end-to-end process of creating and maintaining customer communications. Their software also helps clients increase customer engagement, improving customer satisfaction, loyalty and revenue. As a result, Thunderhead NOW provides significant return on investment.

The full report is available for download from the Deliotte website

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Britain's Most Admired Companies Awards 2008

The December issue of Management today includes the results of the 15th ‘Britain's Most Admired Companies’ awards.  Theses annual awards offer a unique insight into the components of corporate reputation by identifying key factors critical to business success. The awards are based on the results of a peer review survey using a company's most clued-up critics: its competitors. The survey, conducted by the Nottingham Business School, includes more than 200 companies from 24 industry sectors. Analysts at leading City investment firms are also polled. Respondents rate the other companies in their own sector on each of nine performance criteria (see belwo) on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very poor, 10 being excellent).

1. Quality of management; 2. Financial soundness; 3. Quality of goods and services; 4. Ability to attract, develop & retain top talent; 5. Value as a long-term investment; 6. Capacity to innovate; 7. Quality of marketing; 8. Community & environmental responsibility; 9. Use of corporate assets.

This year sees the dramatic shifts in the economic climate reflected in the biggest shake up of the ranking for years. There are five new entrants in the top 10 with public transport group Stagecoach moving up a staggering 81 places to take sixth place. Moving equally rapidly in the opposite direction, there is a whole raft of traditional stalwarts taking a serious tumble down the league table.

This year’s winner drinks company Diageo have succeeded in building up a portfolio of premium labels including Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Guinness. This focus on the top end of the market has helped them take a shrewd path through the growing controversy over health issues and worries about irresponsible alcohol sales. In second place this year is precious metal specialists Johnson Matthey, the world’s leading suppliers of automotive catalytic converters..

To see the full list click here

Alternatively, the December issue of Management today can be found in the journals collection located in the library basement