British Prime Minister to Meet with Obama

Washington (CNN) — Prime Minister David Cameron makes his first White House visit as Britain’s leader Tuesday.

There will be a number of difficult issues on the agenda, ranging from Afghanistan to the early release from prison of the Libyan convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie airplane bombing that killed 270 people.

But Cameron and Obama also have much in common, although they represent different parts of the political spectrum.

Economy

Senate could extend jobless benefits, Times says

The US Senate is expected to break a stalemate today over extending unemployment benefits for millions of out-of-work Americans, The New York Times is reporting.

The debate has been stalled since June, with Democrats being one vote short of Senate approval.

Today Carte Goodwin is scheduled to be sworn in to succeed Robert C. Byrd, the Democratic Senator from West Virginia who died last month. Along with the support of Senators Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe, both Maine Republicans, Senate Democrats believe they have the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster of the measure, The Times is reporting.

Business

Bank bonus tax cost Goldman Sachs $600m

Alistair Darling’s one-off bank bonus tax cost Goldman Sachs $600m (£395m), the Wall Street bank said today as it revealed that its wage and bonus bill reached $9.2bn in the first half of the year – $235,000 per employee.

The firm also took a $550m hit from its record-breaking settlement with the securities and exchange commission over its Abacus collateralised debt obligation, which Goldman admitted had contained some misleading sales material.

Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chairman and chief executive, acknowledged that activity had dropped off in the second quarter of the year, a trend that has been reported by other US investment banks.

Environment

Oil giant falls short on spills

Exxonmobile failed to meet its target to reduce oil spills in 2009, according to its annual Corporate Responsibility Report.

The number of non-marine spills from the company’s operations was 241 over the year, up from 211 in 2008. Its environmental framework required it reduce the number of spills in the course of the year.

The report says the company, which is the world’s largest oil producers, has introduced a number of measures to redress the failure, the majority of which transfer responsibility to staff. It highlights the need to reduce human error, increase training and inspections.

In 2003, reporter Jayson Blair made national headlines for his lack of ethical reporting.  He had covered stories for the New York Times, ranging from the D.C. sniper case to the rescue of Jessica Lynch.  Unfortunately, he had both plagiarized and fabricated details of many of the stories he had written.

In instances like these we see how a young man rose to the top very quickly and was perhaps given more opportunity than he had earned.  This begs one to question the speed of promotion in organizations.  John Maxwell, leadership guru, often says, “Talent may take you to the top, but character will keep you there.” In instances like this and in circumstances such as the fall of Enron, we’ll find that statement to be true.

We’d love your feedback on this issue of corporate business ethics.

• What are the benefits of requiring character training and mentoring for new employees?
• Should there be checks and balances in place for promotion to ensure that character is being assessed as well as talent?
• If talent can take you to the top but then cause the downfall of your company once you are there, how does one safeguard from that?

We’d love your feedback as we discuss things that matter with people who care.

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Photo Credit: Applied Corporate Governance

Iran Test Fires Most Advanced Missiles

Iran reported Monday that it successfully test-fired its most advanced and powerful medium-range missiles as part of war games it said were intended to deter the country’s enemies.

Toll Hits 100 in Philippine Flooding

MANILA — The death toll from a storm that ravaged the Philippines over the weekend reached at least 100 on Monday, with many more deaths expected and thousands of Filipinos still trapped in their homes by floodwaters.

NATIONAL DEFENSE

New NATO Chief Says America’s Allies Stand Firm Against Taliban

In his first major speech in the United States, the new head of NATO is expected to respond Monday, to President Obama’s concerns that the United States is doing the lion’s share of the fighting in Afghanistan. In prepared remarks, Anders Fogh Rasmussen acknowledges more resources are needed to fight the battle against the Taliban. However, he is expected ask the United States to stop downplaying efforts by America’s allies.

BUSINESS

STOCKS NEWS US-M&A activity lifts index futures

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, following three days of losses, as merger and acquisition activity and the last days of the third quarter encouraged investors.

HEALTH

Health ‘Reform’ Is Income Redistribution

While many Americans are upset by ObamaCare’s $1 trillion price tag, Congress is contemplating other changes with little analysis or debate. These changes would create a massively unfair form of income redistribution and create incentives for many not to buy health insurance at all.