Business, Lee Iacocca

In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, products, and profits. People come first. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two.

- Lee Iacocca (1924- )

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I constantly ask myself what the most important aspect in business is; Is it strategy, marketing, human resources or skill? Other than that, there are cultural significance, brand power and quality- which are also essential requirements to running a successful business. However, nowadays, I find myself appreciating the importance of human resources more- what do you think?

'Dr. Copper' Has Raised Doubts About Recovery

'Dr. Copper' Has Raised Doubts About Recovery

Published: Tuesday, 12 Mar 2013 | 1:24 PM ET
By: Jeff Cox
CNBC.com Senior Writer

Both the stock market rally and economic recovery are missing what historically has been a key element - a house call from "Dr. Copper."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100546529

NYT: U.S. May Back Refinance Plan for Mortgages

U.S. May Back Refinance Plan for Mortgages
By SHAILA DEWAN and LOUISE STORY
Published: August 24, 2011

The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing.

WSJ: What's Wrong With America's Job Engine?

ECONOMY JULY 27, 2011
What's Wrong With America's Job Engine?
Wary Companies Rely on Temps, Part-Timers, Hire Overseas
By DAVID WESSEL

Over the past 10 years:

• The U.S. economy's output of goods and services has expanded 19%.
• Nonfinancial corporate profits have risen 85%.
• The labor force has grown by 10.1 million.
• But the number of private-sector jobs has fallen by nearly two million.
• And the percentage of American adults at work has dropped to 58.2%, a low not seen since 1983.

WSJ: Moody's Gives Banks Greek Debt Warning

BUSINESS JULY 5, 2011, 1:01 P.M. ET
Moody's Gives Banks Greek Debt Warning

By MARGOT PATRICK

LONDON—Banks rolling over some of their Greek debt into new instruments may have to take impairment charges, Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday, in another setback for efforts to involve private bondholders in a new international bailout.

WSJ: Fed Darkens Its Outlook but Plans No Changes

ECONOMY JUNE 23, 2011
WSJ: Fed Darkens Its Outlook but Plans No Changes
By JON HILSENRATH And VALERIE BAUERLEIN

Federal Reserve officials see the U.S. economy settling into a disappointingly weak recovery this year and next, and say they have done all they are prepared to do to spur growth for now.

WSJ: Fed Sees Recovery Lagging

ECONOMY|JUNE 7, 2011
Fed Sees Recovery Lagging
Bernanke Says Growth Slower Than Expected, Monetary Policy Isn't 'Panacea'

By JON HILSENRATH

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a relatively glum view of the U.S. economy, acknowledging that it is growing more slowly than the Fed had expected, but predicted improvement later this year.

NYT: In Europe, Rifts Widen Over Greece

In Europe, Rifts Widen Over Greece

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: May 23, 2011

LONDON — Fissures among Europe’s currency partners are becoming even deeper and more widespread than was previously evident, raising new doubts about whether the group can resolve the regional debt crisis that has simmered for more than a year.

WSJ: Moody's Cuts Rating of Four Major Australian Banks

BUSINESS|MAY 18, 2011, 5:20 A.M. ET
Moody's Cuts Rating of Four Major Australian Banks

By GEOFFREY ROGOW And CYNTHIA KOONS

SYDNEY—In a blow to the Australian banking industry, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the debt ratings of the country's four largest banks, citing their dependence on global lending markets.

WSJ: U.S. Economic Growth Slows

ECONOMY|APRIL 28, 2011, 4:57 P.M. ET
U.S. Economic Growth Slows

By CONOR DOUGHERTY

Economic growth stumbled in the first quarter, but most economists see it as a passing phase caused by a combination of bad weather and surging prices.

WSJ: Asia Central Banks Intervene As Currencies Climb

ASIA BUSINESS|APRIL 20, 2011, 6:43 A.M. ET
Asia Central Banks Intervene As Currencies Climb

By MARTIN VAUGHAN

Agence
France-Presse
/Getty Images

SINGAPORE—Central banks in South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia intervened Wednesday to slow a surge in their currencies in a broad Asian rally that carried the Singapore and Australian dollars to fresh highs against the U.S. currency.

WSJ: Economists See Growth Accelerating Later in Year

ECONOMY|APRIL 11, 2011
Economists See Growth Accelerating Later in Year

By PHIL IZZO

The U.S. economic recovery is expected to gain momentum over the rest of the year, despite a sharp pullback in growth during the just-finished first quarter, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

WSJ: ECB Raises Interest Rates

ECONOMY|APRIL 7, 2011, 5:15 P.M. ET
ECB Raises Interest Rates

By BRIAN BLACKSTONE

FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the first time in nearly three years Thursday, but sought to reassure investors that it won't embark on a rapid-fire series of increases that could disrupt fragile economies in parts of the euro bloc.

WSJ: German Banks May Add To Capital

BUSINESS|APRIL 6, 2011
German Banks May Add To Capital

By LAURA STEVENS, DANA CIMILLUCA and EYK HENNING

FRANKFURT—Germany's largest commercial banks—Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG—are expected to seek shareholder approval to raise billions of euros in capital, in the latest sign that Europe's banks are seeking to shore up their balance sheets in anticipation of a tougher regulatory environment.

WSJ: RBI's Gokarn: High Inflation Can't Be New Normal

ECONOMY|APRIL 5, 2011, 5:12 A.M. ET
RBI's Gokarn: High Inflation Can't Be New Normal

By SOURAV MISHRA, BIJOU GEORGE and SUBHADIP SIRCAR

MUMBAI—India cannot risk accepting high inflation as the "new normal," nor can the central bank be a bystander, a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India said Tuesday.

WSJ: IMF Chief: 'Black Swans' Still Haunt Global Finance

BUSINESS|APRIL 4, 2011, 8:46 P.M. ET
IMF Chief: 'Black Swans' Still Haunt Global Finance

By IAN TALLEY

WASHINGTON—The global economic recovery is still fragile, uneven and "beset by great uncertainty," the head of the International Monetary Fund said late Monday.

WSJ: U.S. Libor Probe Includes BofA, Citi, UBS

BUSINESS|MARCH 18, 2011
U.S. Libor Probe Includes BofA, Citi, UBS

By DAVID ENRICH, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP And JEAN EAGLESHAM

As U.S. regulators home in on at least three banks in a probe of manipulation of a key benchmark rate, investigators face challenges proving wrongdoing because banks report and obtain borrowing costs in an opaque process that leaves a scant evidence trail, according to people familiar with the situation.

WSJ: Spain Ramps Up Job Efforts

ECONOMY|MARCH 17, 2011
Spain Ramps Up Job Efforts

By JONATHAN HOUSE and DANIEL DE LA PUENTE

MADRID—Spain is redoubling its efforts to lower the country's chronically high unemployment rate and labor costs this month, under intense pressure from the European Union and international investors.

WSJ: Fed Leaves Policy Unchanged Amid Global Shocks

ECONOMY|MARCH 15, 2011, 3:12 P.M. ET
Fed Leaves Policy Unchanged Amid Global Shocks

By LUCA DI LEO And JEFFREY SPARSHOTT

The Federal Reserve kept its easy-money policies intact as markets reeled from a series of global shocks that could upset a firming U.S. recovery, which Fed officials indicated was just starting to take hold.

WSJ: Moody's Downgrades Spain

EUROPE BUSINESS NEWS | MARCH 10, 2011, 3:57 A.M. ET
Moody's Downgrades Spain

By EVA SZALAY And TERENCE ROTH

LONDON—Moody's Investor Service Inc. on Thursday downgraded Spanish government debt to Aa2 with a negative outlook from Aa1 previously, triggering sharp declines for the euro and European bond prices in early European trading.