Money Money Money in (English) Football
With the business end of the various European domestic seasons coming up, the summer transfer window lies in wait just around the corner. From the impending implementation of UEFA’s financial fair play regulation to the new crop of billionaires backing clubs all around the continent, this transfer window is shaping up to be one of the most ridiculous ever. While Manchester United and Manchester City battle through what United manager Alex Ferguson has deemed “squeaky bum time”, the chairman of the top English clubs are preparing their own kind of financial assault on the European theatre. In preparation for the impending summer onslaught, here are two of the most egregious offenders in the English top flight. Bought by the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Abu Dhabi United Group in August of 2008, Manchester City has become a name...
Read More
American Universities Abroad
Did you know that our very ownWhartonSchoolhas been setting up a branch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? A number of top American universities, including NYU, MIT, Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, and Northwestern, and already set up or in the process of setting up branches in either the UAE orQatar. Why would these universities set up branches abroad? I can think of three reasons: money, prestige, and student interest. According to the New York Times, NYU received a $50 million Emirati donation and then planned its establishment of a branch in the UAE. I have no doubt that the rest of the schools on the list above also received generous donations from the UAE orQatarin return for setting up branches abroad. Additionally, I don’t think it makes monetary sense not to set up branches abroad because the revenue from...
Read More
Kofi Annan, Syria, and the World
United Nations envoy Kofi Annan has been active in talking with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad about bringing an end to the hostilities between Syrian forces and the protesters; the result was a proposed peace agreement in which the Syrian government would prevent its troops from going into any cities and withdraw heavy weapons from urban areas. The date for the peace agreement set by United Nations is supposed to be April 10, although UN peacekeeping forces are expected to arrive in Syria before that date. However, Kofi Annan reported to the UN Security Council that the Syrian government had yet to make any progress towards a ceasefire. The Syrian government has made partial concessions in regards to UN peacekeeping involvement, but “commitment is also expected from the opposition”, according to the Syrian representative to the UN. Western powers,...
Read More
