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Showing posts from January, 2009

What is the hoola balloo about?

For the past two days the TV and cable channels have talked about Obama and his upcoming inauguration . I could not see what the big deal was. CNN, MS NBC , FOX and all the networks devoted countless hours to this event. NPR started a broadcast about the inauguration and the crowds, that had gathered at 5 am. I still could not bring myself to get caught up in the moment. At about 11:30am I left my office and went home. I turned on the TV lit a fire and started to watch CNN. All the dignitaries were called by name, the past Presidents introduced and then President Bush and Vice President Cheney were introduced. And then the moment that the whole world had waited for came. The moment Associate Justice John Roberts congratulated Mr. President, tears came to my eyes. I called my Dad and we shared a special moment. It has happened in America. You are finally judged by the content of your character and not the color of your skin. America our moment has come. I guess that is what all this h

Microfinance: Investing in Human Potential

Lenders providing relatively small loans have helped more than 59 million of the world’s poorest people improve their communities. 1  This unusual combination of philanthropy and investing remedies economic disparities in underserved areas and as a new branch of socially responsible investing, it can generate competitive returns. Microfinancing is more than an investing buzzword. With more than $33 billion in total assets, 2  microfinance institutions (MFI) have become a potent force worldwide. MFIs are also creating an emerging asset class of microfinance investment vehicles such as certificates of deposit from community development banks, equity and debt funds, or loans to MFIs. To be sure, microfinance has been around since the Marshall Plan, but it received renewed attention in the mid-1970s through the innovative microcredit projects of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. In its entirety, microfinance encompasses the full range of banking services for the p