Monthly Archives: June 2009

Ikea said Tuesday that it was suspending further investment in Russia, apparently because of pervasive corruption and demands for bribes.

The announcement came after a rare statement by Ikea’s 83-year-old founder in a radio interview that Ikea had decided not to solve problems by slipping money under the table.

Kudos to Ikea for standing up and going public with how corrupt Russia is, but they should not be surprised, and they should have known better than invest money and time in Russia. Russia is run mafia style and people on the inside and who live there can easily tell you that there is little difference between the Russian mafia and the Russian government. I refuse to invest one penny in that country and this article is yet another reason to stay far away from its corrupt ways.

Here is the link: Russian Corruption

I found this speech by the CEO of Conoco Phillips to be practical, level-headed and spot on. Here is one point that I thought was important:

“Fortunately for all of us, we benefit from a massive, efficient and highly successful energy infrastructure. It is based on fossil fuels. Building it required 150 years, trillions of dollars in investments, and generations of work – by untold millions of people. They drilled wells, and constructed oil and gas pipelines, fleets of tankers, coal mines and electric power plants. Their work transformed society, created affluence, and improved our quality of life. Replacing this energy foundation would take an unimaginable effort. It could not be done quickly, despite the desire to do so. There simply is not enough investment capital, skilled labor and materials available. And much of the technology needed is still being developed. So building sufficient capacity to replace fossil fuels will take – who knows, decades, perhaps even a century.”

and this point too:

“Further, government must resist the “raise taxes” mentality. Our industry already pays a U.S. income tax rate of over 40%, compared to less than 27% for all manufacturing. Last year, ConocoPhillips paid $13 billion in income taxes, $5 billion in other taxes, and several billion in royalties to government. The Administration’s proposed 2010 budget contains tax provisions that will reduce our ability to invest in increasing production. This would cause greater oil and gas imports, higher fuel prices, and reduced competitiveness. It could also cost many of the 6 million direct and indirect jobs supported by our industry.”

Here is the link:

Conoco CEO speech