The Hot Air Balloon Edition

Today’s edition opens with a report that the pilot of a downed hot air balloon had problems with drunk driving and was it the Russians who attacked the Democratic party’s computers? 

A disgraced trader says banking hasn’t changed while Kevin Roberts explains women – badly. Women may or may not (probably not) get a fair shake from the media while Massachusetts ends previous salary inquiries to help women make more money. Finally, the feds are cracking down on debt collection practices.

Have a great day!!

James Pilant

Pilot of downed balloon had drunk driving convictions

The pilot killed along with 15 other people in the crash of a hot air balloon in central Texas on Saturday had numerous convictions for drunk driving and at least one drug-related charge dating back to 1990, according to online records.

The balloon, flown by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides chief pilot and owner Alfred “Skip” Nichols, hit a power line, setting its basket on fire, and plummeted into a pasture near Lockhart, about 30 miles (50 km) south of the state capital Austin, killing all aboard.

Did Russia attack the Democrats to de-stabilize politics in the United States? 

The Kremlin says it had zero involvement in the hacking of Democratic Party emails while U.S. officials say the hack originated in Russia. We may never know who is right, but one thing is for sure – Russia had motive, capability and form.

Seen through Kremlin eyes, Moscow would only be doing what it feels the United States has been doing to it for years anyway – interfering in a geopolitical rival’s domestic politics in an attempt to destabilize and shape events.

Rogue Trader Says Banking Hasn’t Changed

I asked him if behaviour in banking had changed since he was found guilty in 2012 of two counts of fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison.

“No, certainly not,” he answered.

“I think the young people I’ve spoken to, former colleagues I have spoken to, are still struggling with the same issues, the same conflicts, the same pressures to achieve no matter what.

“And this goes back to the structure of the industry. People are required to take risk to generate profit, because yields in the industry are consistently compressed.

Kevin Roberts Disciplined over the following remarks!!!

In the interview, published on Friday, Mr Roberts said the “debate is all over” about gender diversity in the advertising industry.

He goes on to say that rather than holding ambitions to progress into the higher echelons of management, many women – and men – simply want to be happy and “do great work”.

He adds: “…they are going: ‘Actually guys, you’re missing the point, you don’t understand: I’m way happier than you.’ Their ambition is not a vertical ambition, it’s this intrinsic, circular ambition to be happy.

“So they say: ‘We are not judging ourselves by those standards that you idiotic dinosaur-like men judge yourself by’. I don’t think [the lack of women in leadership roles] is a problem.

“I’m just not worried about it because they are very happy, they’re very successful, and doing great work. I can’t talk about sexual discrimination because we’ve never had that problem, thank goodness.”

Is there media bias toward female leaders? 

Researchers at Kellogg business school in Illinois found that companies which appoint female chief executives and receive a lot of media attention see a decline in their share price.

Companies that appoint female bosses and don’t receive a lot of attention are more likely to see a rise in their share price.

How deeply do the British want the Chinese involved in nuclear reactors in England? 

Under the existing terms of the £18bn project, a Chinese company is to finance a third of the new Hinkley Point C reactors and may later build a Chinese-designed nuclear power station in Essex.

So what’s the difference between a French company and a Chinese one when it comes to the UK’s critical infrastructure?

How you answer that question depends on your assessment of China and its intentions.

This is a fiendishly difficult calculation.

Massachusetts bans employers from asking about previous salaries

The law takes a step that is completely unique: it prohibits employers from asking prospective hires about their salary histories until after they make a job offer that includes compensation, unless the applicants voluntarily disclose the information. No other state has such a ban in place.

Many employers require applicants to give them a salary history at the outset or during the initial steps of the hiring process, usually to determine how much they should be paid and whether the employer can afford their salary. But this disadvantages women, who, thanks to a variety of factorsthat can include outright discrimination, make less than men on average. Women make less than men in their first jobs even when education and field are taken into consideration, and they are also penalized in salary negotiations, while men get an advantage. If the next employer bases a salary on the previous one a woman was earning, that discrimination will only be furthered.

Debt Collectors Face Federal Regulations

Debt collectors, either in-house or third-party entities in the business of trying to get people to pay up debts that they owe for things like student loans or medical bills, have become notorious for their often harassing tactics. Consumers have complained of debt collectors calling them endlessly while threatening violence, lying, and using profane language in trying to cajole them into paying, sometimes for debts they don’t even owe.

But on Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the watchdog created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, released new proposed rules to rein in the industry, the first time a federal regulator is cracking down on the industry in nearly four decades. It wants to limit how many times a collector can contact a consumer, require them to have better information about the debts they try to collect, and make it easier for consumers to fight debts they say they don’t actually owe.