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Kim Jung-Un’s Nuclear About Face

First of all, credit where credit's due: Kudos to American President Donald Trump for luring Kim Jung-Un out of his bunker and into the daylight. Threats from Washington almost certainly encouraged Kim to venture outside of North Korea for meetings with both his Chinese counterparts and South Korean leaders. Moreover, Kim's diplomatic dance card is poised for yet another first - a meeting with President Trump himself. A smiling Kim is now making all kinds of peaceful-sounding initiatives, including suggesting signing an agreement to officially end the Korean War and promising the "denuclearization [...]

By |2018-10-16T12:33:04-04:00May 17th, 2018|International|0 Comments
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Contingency Planning Among Brinksmanship

The escalating tension between the United States and North Korea demonstrates the need for strong contingency planning by corporate security professionals potentially in the line of fire between the two nations. The bellicose rhetoric and brinksmanship is on full tilt, with neither side willing to publicly blink or pull in its claws. That leaves those on the Korean peninsula, in Guam, and throughout Asia looking to the skies and watching for either a US preemptive strike or a North Korean missile attack. Personnel security is the obvious first concern, but there are also supply chain issues [...]

By |2018-05-31T12:52:14-04:00August 11th, 2017|International|0 Comments
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US Business and the Gulf’s Shunning of Qatar

Despite facing sanctions from several of its neighbors, Qatar is continuing business as usual, with only minor disruptions. The situation has heightened geopolitical tensions in an already anxious region, but has not significantly impacted businesses in either Qatar or the region. The tiny and extremely wealthy country has already taken action to counter the sanctions and to ensure uninterrupted commerce. The situation is in flux, however, and US businesses need to monitor events closely. A second round of sanctions could seriously jeopardize American operations, as could retaliation by Qatar. Any escalation of the conflict would likely [...]

By |2018-04-28T21:44:59-04:00July 10th, 2017|International|0 Comments
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IT and its Impact on Airline Operations

On Saturday 27th May 2017, as many travellers were beginning their journey to enjoy some spring sunshine over the bank holiday weekend, British Airways experienced a catastrophic failure of their IT systems leading to a virtual grounding of the national carrier. This resulted in over 700 cancelled flights during one of the busiest holiday periods of the year. Background A Business Impact Assessment identifies all discrete self-contained systems such as your email platform and assesses how it’s loss would affect the business as a whole. Systems whose loss or compromise would immediately stop the company’s ability [...]

By |2018-04-28T21:38:00-04:00June 19th, 2017|Technology|0 Comments
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There’s Still Gold In Emerging Markets

The central market in Paramaribo is vibrant and exciting. Walking from stall to stall, I feel invigorated by the innovation and the dedication of the sellers, and slightly woozy from myriad olfactory and visual stimuli. It’s a place where you can buy the uniquely Surinamese version of roti in one stall before sidling up to a seller next door hawking aphrodisiacs from the bois bande tree, or visiting the stand across the way with a dazzling selection of papaya, mango, and dragon fruit. For buyers, it’s a smorgasbord of enticement. It’s often tempting to buy one [...]

By |2018-04-28T21:04:50-04:00May 30th, 2017|Financial|0 Comments
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Bitcoin ETFs: Down, But Not Out

Oh, SEC, you may have won the bitcoin battle, but it seems you may not win the war. On March 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission dealt a blow to those who were betting on the approval of Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. In the weeks prior to the SEC’s decision, the price of the cyber-currency had climbed as high as $1,300 in anticipation of the commission approving the Winklevoss brothers’ fund. Immediately after the SEC slapped down the proposed ETF, the price dropped from $1,287.60 [...]

By |2018-04-28T20:33:22-04:00March 20th, 2017|Financial|0 Comments
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