TJ7006_MISCELLANY_JKT 11/9/06 13:29 Page 1 SPINE 19MM C M Y K Stockmarkets: the best and worst of times Here are just some of the things that are to be Investment formulas found in this business miscellany: Private equity Hedge funds The world’s biggest firms Bubbles that burst Big firms, big facts Oil reserves and prices Behind the corporate name Gold facts A Business Miscellany A Business Miscellany America’s biggest bankruptcies Diamond and platinum facts A Business Miscellany Selling off state assets Behind the currency name How many billion spam e-mails are sent each day? Business blunders Some money superlatives Big bucks Offshore attractions What business blunders did Ford and Hoover commit? The world’s most valuable brands Notes and coins in circulation Which are the world’s most valuable brands? The world’s most admired companies The life of $ and £ notes Where is business corruption perceived to be worst? Britain’s most admired companies The changing world economy What companies say about themselves Leading exporters How much do the best paid US hedge fund managers earn? Games directors play Sending money home Who was the first woman to get a US patent? Business friendliness Interest rates Who said “Business is a combination of war and sport”? Business competitiveness Corporate tax rates Business start-ups and failures What companies pay in tax How did Motorola and Yahoo get their names? Corruption: business perceptions What individuals pay in tax And how do you avoid seven years of bad sex in Germany? Entrepreneurial activity Great business books Business costs Latin that lawyers like to use Full of facts and figures about all aspects of business, the Days lost in strikes and lockouts Brand names that entered the language Biggest business employers second edition of this business miscellany gives the answers Business jargon International pay comparisons Top grossing films of all time to all the above questions and many, many more. For anyone What CEOs get paid Top business schools who needs proof that you can combine business with Leading Wall Street traders’ salaries From PCs to PDAs pleasure, here it is. City of London bonuses Chip power Investment bankers’ pay Computer processing costs Best paid hedge fund managers in the US The impact of software piracy A world of lawyers Spam and e-mail The number of accountants Pod facts Women in business Internet suffixes Spending on advertising Internet growth ISBN-10 1 86197 866 9 Some famous advertising slogans Blogs away ISBN-13 978 186197 866 0 Some business giants of the past Telephony Philanthropy The corporate highlife The richest people Inventors and inventions Bad boys – and something fishy Business etiquette ‘I never did a day’s work in my life, it was all fun’ Leading management thinkers Jacket design: Slabmedia.net Thomas Edison Continued on back flap... £9.99 Business Miscellany OTHER ECONOMIST BOOKS Guide to Analysing Companies Guide to Business Modelling Guide to Business Planning Guide to Economic Indicators Guide to the European Union Guide to Financial Markets Guide to Investment Strategy Guide to Management Ideas Numbers Guide Style Guide Dictionary of Business Dictionary of Economics International Dictionary of Finance Brands and Branding Business Consulting Business Strategy China’s Stockmarket Economics Future of Technology Globalisation Headhunters and How to Use Them Mapping the Markets The City Wall Street Essential Director Essential Economics Essential Investment Essential Negotiation Pocket World in Figures Business Miscellany THE ECONOMIST IN ASSOCIATION WITH PROFILE BOOKS LTD Published by Profile Books Ltd 3A Exmouth House, Pine Street, London EC1R 0JH www.profilebooks.com Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Ltd 2005, 2006 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. The greatest care has been taken in compiling this book. However, no responsibility can be accepted by the publishers or compilers for the accuracy of the information presented. Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not necessarily coincide with the editorial views of The Economist Newspaper. Designed by Sue Lamble and BRILL Typeset by MacGuru Ltd [email protected] Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays, Bungay, Suffolk A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-10: 1 86197 866 9 ISBN-13: 978 1 86197 866 0 Contents When firms started 2 Oldest family firms 3 Oldest newspapers still in circulation 4 The business pressc 5 The world’s biggest firms 6 America’s biggest firms 8 Big firms, big facts 9 Behind the corporate name 10 America’s biggest bankruptcieso 17 Selling off state assets 18 Business blunders 19 Big bucks 27 The world’s most valuable brands 28 The world’s most admired ncompanies 32 Britain’s most admired companies 33 What companies say about themselves 34 Games directors play 38 Business friendliness 41 How competitive?t 42 Easy money? 43 Business cycles 44 Business start-ups and failures 45 Corruption: business perceptions 46 Business ratiose 48 Entrepreneurial activity 50 Business costs 51 The changing workforce 52 Days lost in strikes and lockoutsn 54 Labour union strength 55 Changes in working hours 56 Biggest business employers 57 International pay comparisons 58 What CEOs get paidt 59 US chief executive pay 60 Leading Wall Street traders’ salaries 61 City of London bonuses 61 Investment bankers’ pays 62 Best paid hedge fund managers in the US 63 A world of lawyers 64 The number of accountants 65 Women in business 66 Tall buildings 68 Big shopping mallsc 69 Spending on advertising 70 Some famous advertising slogans 72 Some business giants of the past 74 Some management styles 83 Philanthropyo 84 The richest people 86 Central bankers since 1900 88 In their own words 90 Bad boys – and something fishy 97 Leading management thinkersn 106 The oldest stock exchanges 125 Leading stockmarkets 126 Some stockmarket indices explained 128 Stockmarket performance 132 Stockmarkets: the best and worstt of times 136 Clocking the stockmarkets 140 Investment formulas 142 Private equity 145 Hedge fundse 146 Bonds 148 Bubbles that burst 150 Oil reserves and prices 155 Gold reserves and prices 156 Gold factsn 157 Rich producers 158 Diamond and platinum facts 159 Behind the currency name 160 Some money superlatives 164 Offshore attractionst 169 Notes and coins in circulation 170 Euros printed 171 The life of $ and £ notes 171 Exchange rates 172 Exchange rate pegss 173 viii Contributors Contributors Many people contributed to this book, as follows. Sarah Dallas, Cities Guide editor of Economist.com: “Business etiquette”. Tim Hindle, former management editor of The Economist: “Leading management thinkers”, “Great business books” and “Business jargon”. Bob Tricker, author of Essential Director: “Games directors play”. Alexander Walsh, a freelance writer and researcher: “What companies say about themselves” and “Some business giants of the past”. Jonathan Williams and Katie Eagleton of the British Museum: “Some money superlatives”. Simon Wright, a member of Economist.com’s Global Agenda team: “Behind the corporate name”, “Business blunders”, “Some famous advertising slogans”, “Bubbles that burst”, “Bad boys – and something fishy”, “In their own words”, “Behind the currency name” and “Inventors and inventions”. All other material was researched and compiled by Carol Howard, head of The Economist research department, Rishad Jonuschat and Christopher Wilson, with help from Andrea Burgess and Conrad Heine, all of whom work at The Economist. Business is really more agreeable than pleasure; it ‘‘interests the whole mind … more deeply. But it does not look as though it did Walter Bagehot, journalist, author and, from 1861’’ to 1877, editor of The Economist 2 When firms started Year Firm Activity Country 578 Kongo Gumi Construction Japan 1288 Stora Enso Paper Finland When firms started 1385 Antinori Wine and olive oil Italy 1526 Fabbrica D’Armi Pietro Beretta Firearms Italy 1623 Zildjian Cymbal makers Turkey 1630 Kikkoman Soy sauce Japan 1630 Sumitomo Conglomerate Japan 1639 Hugel & Fils Wine France 1642 James Lock Hatters UK 1672 C. Hoare & Co Banking UK 1698 Berry Bros & Rudd Wine merchants UK 1734 Taittinger Champagne France 1739 William Clark Linens UK 1748 Villeroy & Boch Tableware Germany 1759 Wedgwood China UK 1761 Faber-Castell Pencils Germany 1783 Waterford Glassware Ireland 1786 Molson Brewing Canada 1802 Du Pont Chemicals US 1853 Levi Strauss Clothing US 1860 Anheuser-Busch Beer US 1862 Bacardi Rum Cuba 1867 Standard Oil Oil US 1886 Coca-Cola Soft drinks US 1892 General Electric Electrical equipment US 1896 Barclays Banking US 1901 US Steel Steel US 1903 Ford Motor Automotive US 1909 BP (originally Anglo-Persian Oil) Oil UK 1916 BMW Motor engineering Germany 1946 Sony Consumer electronics Japan 1955 McDonald’s first restaurant Fast food US 1962 Wal-Mart’s first store Retailing US 1971 Starbucks Coffee shops US 1975 Microsoft Software US 1977 Apple Computer Computers US 1998 Google Internet US Sources: Company websites; Centuries of Success by William T. O’Hara; Family Business magazine 3 Oldest family firms Year Company Business Country est. 578 Kongo Gumi Construction Japan Oldest family