How to Turn a Financial Crisis into a Business Opportunity - Forbes

Believe it or not, when we founded our US business seven years ago, banks were thought of as boring, ‘the 1%’ referred to low-fat milk, and Wall Street was a place young graduates lined up to work, not occupy.

We arrived from London in that three-year window between the beginning of the end of the dotcom bust and the end of the beginning of the mortgage meltdown. Three halcyon years of rampant securitization, cheap credit and ‘Flip This House’ marathons on A&E. We had no idea what was about to hit us.

Since then we’ve sat inside an MBS hedge fund while $2 billion of redemptions walked out the door. I got to personally witness the flash crash from the desktop of one of our high frequency trading clients. Most interestingly, we were tasked with re-launching the legitimate market making arm of a little-known firm called Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. I remember joking at one point about the old commercial: “Come for the Pizza, Stay for the Fun”. Only in our case it was come for the opportunity, stay for the apocalypse.

Yet during this turbulent period we managed to grow the company into a major player in financial PR and open successful offices in New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Sydney, in addition to our London headquarters. Many people assume this success was due to the fact banks “needed” communications support during the crisis. In fact the opposite was the case. For the past four years, the absolute last thing banks felt like doing was communicating. Some merged or were acquired, many went out of business, almost all went to ground.

As far as I can tell we succeeded for three reasons, which I present as tips for anyone looking to build a business in the depth of an economic calamity:

Keep calm and carry on – American judge and author, Jacob Braude once said: “Always behave like a duck: keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.” For the past four years one thing our clients have needed around them more than anything has been level heads. Whether directly in crisis mode or simply responding to the hyperbole of the Street, our financial services clients did not need one more reason to freak out. By offering them dispassionate and worthwhile advice we were able to keep them calm and keep them coming back. At the same time we were paddling like the devil under the surface! Networking like crazy and an aggressive sales strategy, considered unbecoming by many PR agencies, ensured it was our competitors that felt the recession and not us.

Add value – Analysts in our industry refer to what happened in the stock and housing markets as a “correction”. Overvalued assets reset sharply back to more appropriate levels. Though it’s not often spoken about in these terms, I believe the same thing happened in the world of service providers. After years of unwarranted price inflation, if your services weren’t worth the money, they would be scaled back or cut altogether.

Measure everything – Public relations has always gotten a bad rap as a fuzzy science that is difficult to measure. Not a great place to be if, as above, you’re trying to demonstrate value-add in the middle of the worst economic crunch in living memory. So right when most firms retrenched we invested in a new proprietary technology offering which would help our clients measure their reputation in real time. For those unaware of Pearson’s law it states: “That which is measured, improves. And that which is measured and reported improves exponentially.” By focusing so ruthlessly on measurement and reporting we probably made our lives harder, but we also made our clients’ campaigns more successful and our relationships with them a little stronger.

Contrary to expectations, our success over the past five years has built in spite of, not because of, banks willingness to communicate. As financial institutions, find their voice and begin to flex their muscles once again, it will be interesting to see just how far this business will go.

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This American Lie: Turning Crisis into Opportunity - Businessweek

Earlier this month, the public radio program “This American Life” made headlines when it retracted an episode of its hour-long show. In doing so, it revealed how a healthy dose of transparency can transform crisis into opportunity.

jplcreative.com. Added by Susan Cort on March 28, 2012

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Eurozone crisis “a once in a lifetime opportunity” - Qatar banker - ArabianBusiness.com

By Shane McGinley Wednesday, 21 March 2012 11:39 AM

"The eurozone crisis is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

The crisis in the eurozone is “a once in a lifetime opportunity” for Gulf investors to snap up trophy assets for knockdown prices, a leading Qatari banker told Arabian Business.

As the euro continued to dip and European stocks fell on Tuesday as a result of concerns of a slowdown in China’s economy, a leading Qatari bank official said the challenging economic situation in Europe offered great opportunities for his customers.

“I think [the eurozone crisis] is a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy high quality assets at reasonable prices,” George Nasra, managing director of International Bank of Qatar (IBQ), told Arabian Business in an interview in Doha.

“In view of the significant excess capital in Qatar, we expect some of this will go overseas and that is what has been happening… It is a logical step in diversifying their resources and revenue for the future. I think they are buying at the right time and price,” added Nasra, who was ranked number 32 in the Arabian Business Qatar Power List 2012.

Qatar was recently named the world’s richest country per capita and is eager to diversity its massive oil and gas reserves into lucrative markets such as Europe.

Some of the diverse portfolio of trophy assets it has snapped up include France’s Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, Harrods’s department store in London and stakes in German carmaker Porsche, Swiss lender Credit Suisse and real estate in Cyprus.

One of the hardest hit eurozone countries was Greece, but Nasra said his clients have veered away from investments in the Mediterranean nation: “They looked at Greece and were in negotiations but nothing important materialised. Favourites continue to be the UK, France and Switzerland.”

His sentiments echo those late last year by French investment bank Societe Generale, which said there were a lot of opportunities for Gulf investors to benefit from the ongoing crisis in Europe.

“For those who are liquid, there are opportunities… One way to benefit from Europe is that valuations of a lot of corporations are very low. Whether they are much too low compared to their net worth? We believe so and, as such, there are some opportunities,” Daniel Truchi, global CEO of Societe Generale Private Banking said while on a visit to Dubai to meet regional clients in October.

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The Circle furore: opportunity comes knocking in a crisis - WA today

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Euro Debt Crisis Could Cripple U.S. Business Travel

The economic climate abroad has potentially severe ramifications to U.S. business travel as owners lose interest in European business opportunities.

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According to a new report by the Global Business Travel Association Foundation (GBTA), if the European debt crisis deteriorates any further it could have a significantly damaging impact on U.S. business travel, which in turn could greatly impede the economic recovery in the States that’s just now seeing progress.

The U.S. business travel industry has seen considerable gains over the past three years, which Michael W. McCormick, executive director and COO of the GBTA, attributes to the growth of outbound international travel. Last year alone saw business travel spending up 7.6 percent to $251.9 billion.

However, the current economic condition in Europe could cause business travel from the U.S. to Europe to pull back, resulting in a possible slump for top-line growth that's been fueled by "putting people on the road to find new business opportunities." Not to mention the Euro slid to a one-month low earlier this week after Moody's Investors Service put several European financial firms up for review, spelling bad news for the European banking system, as well as outbound international travel.

“There’s a strong correlation between business travel growth as a leading indicator for the overall health of the economy and for employment figures here in the U.S.,” McCormick says. “If there’s not a speedy resolution to the European debt crisis, then what we could see is a domino effect that could reach across the waters and start to have a deep effect on the economy in the U.S.”

How deep of an effect? The GBTA’s report paints three possible scenarios:

Baseline/Current Scenario: The situation in Europe reaches a point of moderate stability, with continued growth in U.S. business travel reaching $263.5 and $277.3 billion in 2012 and 2013, respectively.Moderate Scenario: A drawn-out crisis causes business travel to plateau and eventually decline by $40 billion or 7 percent between 2012 and 2013.Severe Scenario: Far-reaching defaults, bank failures, and possibly a dissolved European Union would cause a sharp plummet in business travel spending by as much as $88 billion or 16 percent between 2012 and 2013.

With the frangible European crisis far from being resolved, McCormick fears a “very concerning environment” is on the immediate horizon. “Right now we’re seeing a 25 percent chance of moving to a moderate scenario and a 10 percent chance of moving to a more severe scenario–those are, unfortunately, very significant odds,” he says.

Despite the ubiquitous headlines that depict a less than favorable view of the crisis abroad, not everyone in the business travel industry is worried just yet. “Clearly clients are concerned with what trends might exist and what might be happening with the European crisis, but we haven’t had anyone say they want to modify their travel program in any way,” says Brian Hace, vice president of client service for business travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel. “There are still enough unknowns about the European crisis that there isn’t an immediate need to react.”

Should the GBTA’s predictions become a reality, Hace goes on to cite previous setbacks in the business travel industry, such as the Sept. 11 attacks and the 2010 volcanic ash eruptions in Iceland, as prime examples of how the system has been able to calibrate itself even in moments of crisis. “I think as an industry we have an infrastructure of people and talent to address whatever the need might be on behalf our client, whether it’s an immediate security situation or a more long-term economic situation,” he says.

Although the GBTA’s findings do indeed portray quite the extreme worst-case scenario, McCormick’s urge for business owners and travel agents to err on the side of caution is justifiable given the volatile economic climate in Europe. He says, “We certainly don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but it's one of the those situations now where we have to watch it very closely because it could have a very dramatic impact on business travel and business in general.”

KC Ifeanyi is a freelance contributor for Inc.com and Fast Co.Create and has worked as writer, editor, and social media manager for Fortune Small Business, Time, Inc. Content Solutions, and Howcast. He lives in Brooklyn. @kcifeanyi

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Euro Debt Crisis Could Cripple U.S. Business Travel

The economic climate abroad has potentially severe ramifications to U.S. business travel as owners lose interest in European business opportunities.

Shutterstock

posinitiator();resizeFrame();

According to a new report by the Global Business Travel Association Foundation (GBTA), if the European debt crisis deteriorates any further it could have a significantly damaging impact on U.S. business travel, which in turn could greatly impede the economic recovery in the States that’s just now seeing progress.

The U.S. business travel industry has seen considerable gains over the past three years, which Michael W. McCormick, executive director and COO of the GBTA, attributes to the growth of outbound international travel. Last year alone saw business travel spending up 7.6 percent to $251.9 billion.

However, the current economic condition in Europe could cause business travel from the U.S. to Europe to pull back, resulting in a possible slump for top-line growth that's been fueled by "putting people on the road to find new business opportunities." Not to mention the Euro slid to a one-month low earlier this week after Moody's Investors Service put several European financial firms up for review, spelling bad news for the European banking system, as well as outbound international travel.

“There’s a strong correlation between business travel growth as a leading indicator for the overall health of the economy and for employment figures here in the U.S.,” McCormick says. “If there’s not a speedy resolution to the European debt crisis, then what we could see is a domino effect that could reach across the waters and start to have a deep effect on the economy in the U.S.”

How deep of an effect? The GBTA’s report paints three possible scenarios:

Baseline/Current Scenario: The situation in Europe reaches a point of moderate stability, with continued growth in U.S. business travel reaching $263.5 and $277.3 billion in 2012 and 2013, respectively.Moderate Scenario: A drawn-out crisis causes business travel to plateau and eventually decline by $40 billion or 7 percent between 2012 and 2013.Severe Scenario: Far-reaching defaults, bank failures, and possibly a dissolved European Union would cause a sharp plummet in business travel spending by as much as $88 billion or 16 percent between 2012 and 2013.

With the frangible European crisis far from being resolved, McCormick fears a “very concerning environment” is on the immediate horizon. “Right now we’re seeing a 25 percent chance of moving to a moderate scenario and a 10 percent chance of moving to a more severe scenario–those are, unfortunately, very significant odds,” he says.

Despite the ubiquitous headlines that depict a less than favorable view of the crisis abroad, not everyone in the business travel industry is worried just yet. “Clearly clients are concerned with what trends might exist and what might be happening with the European crisis, but we haven’t had anyone say they want to modify their travel program in any way,” says Brian Hace, vice president of client service for business travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel. “There are still enough unknowns about the European crisis that there isn’t an immediate need to react.”

Should the GBTA’s predictions become a reality, Hace goes on to cite previous setbacks in the business travel industry, such as the Sept. 11 attacks and the 2010 volcanic ash eruptions in Iceland, as prime examples of how the system has been able to calibrate itself even in moments of crisis. “I think as an industry we have an infrastructure of people and talent to address whatever the need might be on behalf our client, whether it’s an immediate security situation or a more long-term economic situation,” he says.

Although the GBTA’s findings do indeed portray quite the extreme worst-case scenario, McCormick’s urge for business owners and travel agents to err on the side of caution is justifiable given the volatile economic climate in Europe. He says, “We certainly don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but it's one of the those situations now where we have to watch it very closely because it could have a very dramatic impact on business travel and business in general.”

KC Ifeanyi is a freelance contributor for Inc.com and Fast Co.Create and has worked as writer, editor, and social media manager for Fortune Small Business, Time, Inc. Content Solutions, and Howcast. He lives in Brooklyn. @kcifeanyi

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Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - Chicago Tribune

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg; editing by Luke Baker/Anna Willard)

View the original article here

Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - msnbc.com

BRUSSELS — Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

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Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Asian Bosses See Europe Crisis as Opportunity - CNBC

Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Cristian Baitg | Photographer's Choice | Getty Images

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option — giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - YAHOO!

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg; editing by Luke Baker/Anna Willard)

View the original article here

Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - Chicago Tribune

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg; editing by Luke Baker/Anna Willard)

View the original article here

Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - msnbc.com

BRUSSELS — Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

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Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

View the original article here

Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - Chicago Tribune

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg; editing by Luke Baker/Anna Willard)

View the original article here