OPPENHEIMER: Latinoamérica y el ‘fin del capitalismo’ (El Nuevo Herald)

Lo más triste de las declaraciones del presidente saliente de Uruguay, José Mujica, sugiriendo que el capitalismo mundial está agonizando no es que lo haya dicho en momentos en que la bolsa de New York alcanzaba su récord histórico, sino el hecho de que se trate de una idea que está siendo repetida constantemente por varios presidentes latinoamericanos como si se tratara de una verdad incuestionable.

Casi no pasa un día sin que el presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, y sus colegas de Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua y otros países no proclamen — algunos más explícitamente que otros — el “fin del capitalismo”. El ex gobernante cubano Fidel Castro viene anunciando la inminente muerte del capitalismo desde principios de la década de 1960.

Mujica, que termina su mandato el domingo, fue citado por la agencia de noticias oficial cubana Prensa Latina el 22 de febrero diciendo, en una entrevista al diario mexicano La Jornada, que el capitalismo “está agotado”. En rigor, la cita textual de Mujica al periódico decía que el capitalismo “parece haber dado todo de sí” y que “lo lógico es que sea reemplazado por el socialismo democrático”.

El problema es que, aunque no hay duda de que el capitalismo tiene sus defectos, muchos presidentes latinoamericanos están sentados de brazos cruzados esperando su muerte. Mientras tanto, China, India, Vietnam y varios países asiáticos vienen creciendo y reduciendo la pobreza a pasos agigantados desde que empezaron a apostarle al capitalismo en la década de 1980.

Quizás alguien debería regalarle a varios presidentes latinoamericanos una copia enmarcada de un reciente artículo sobre el valor de mercado de Apple. Lo deberían colgar en sus despachos presidenciales, para empezar a entender lo que está pasando en el mundo.

Apple alcanzó un valor récord de $710,000 millones el 10 de febrero. Para ponerlo en perspectiva, Apple vale más que todo el producto bruto interno de Argentina ($610,000 millones), Venezuela ($483,000 millones), Colombia ($378,000 millones), Chile ($ 277,000 millones) o Perú ($203,000 millones), según cifras del Banco Mundial.

Los presidentes de Ecuador, Uruguay y Bolivia deberían ser los primeros en tomar nota. Apple vale siete veces más que toda la economía de Ecuador ($94,000 millones), doce veces más que la de Uruguay ($55,000 millones), y veintitrés veces más que la de Bolivia ($30,000 millones).

Si estos datos no alcanzan para convencer a varios presidentes latinoamericanos de que estamos viviendo en un nuevo mundo, en que los avances tecnológicos se cotizan cada vez más y las exportaciones de las materias primas latinoamericanas cada vez menos, hay varios otros ejemplos en las noticias recientes que son igualmente ilustrativos.

Uber, una empresa fundada hace cuatro años que creó una aplicación para teléfonos inteligentes conectada a un servicio de taxis particulares, ha alcanzado un valor de mercado de $41,200 millones. Esto equivale a más que el total de las exportaciones de petróleo anuales de México.

WhatsApp, la aplicación de mensajería instantánea para teléfonos inteligentes iniciada por dos jóvenes de veintitantos años, fue vendida el año pasado por $19,000 millones. Eso es casi veinte veces el valor total de las exportaciones de vino de Chile.

Lamentablemente, mientras siguen esperando el fin del capitalismo, varios países latinoamericanos dependen cada vez más de sus exportaciones de materias primas y manufacturas básicas, y no invierten — como los asiáticos — en mejorar la calidad de su educación, la innovación, la ciencia y la tecnología.

Los países latinoamericanos invierten solo un 0.8 por ciento de su producto bruto en investigación y desarrollo de nuevos productos, en comparación con el promedio mundial de 2.1 por ciento, según datos del Banco Mundial. Lo que es más triste aún, los países latinoamericanos han aumentando su dependencia de las materias primas, y reducido sus exportaciones de productos de alta tecnología.

Según cifras citadas el 13 de febrero por la directora de la Comisión Económica de las Naciones Unidas para América Latina (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena, las exportaciones latinoamericanas de productos de alta tecnología han disminuido de casi 20 por ciento de sus exportaciones totales en el año 2000 a aproximadamente 10 por ciento en la actualidad.

Mi opinión: El capitalismo tiene muchas cosas que pueden y deben mejorarse para hacerlo más ecuánime, pero los presidentes latinoamericanos deberían dejar de hablar babosadas sobre el inexorable fin del sistema y ponerse a trabajar — como los países asiáticos — para ser más competitivos en la economía global que tenemos.

En lugar de hablar boberías sobre el “fin del capitalismo”, deberían estar hablando sobre la necesidad de mejorar los niveles educativos y la innovación, para exportar productos cada vez más sofisticados. Sus actuales vaticinios sobre el apocalipsis del capitalismo no hacen más que generar complacencia, pasividad, menor crecimiento y mayor pobreza.

Andrés Oppenheimer es columnista del Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald. Fue miembro del equipo ganador del Premio Pulitzer, y ha recibido el Premio Ortega y Gasset, Premio Rey de España y el Emmy.

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/opinion-es/opin-col-blogs/andres-oppenheimer-es/article11143241.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/opinion-es/opin-col-blogs/andres-oppenheimer-es/article11143241.html#storylink=cpy

Letter to the President from 3 Mayors of South Florida

Who Won the Greek Showdown in Europe? (BusinessWeek)

(Bloomberg) -- “Complete” surrender by the Greeks. “Major victory” for the eurocrats.

To those who have followed Greece’s financial crisis for five years, there wasn’t much doubt who won the latest round Friday when the region’s finance ministers struck a deal to keep the bailout on track.

Even German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said he didn’t “want to make it more difficult for them,” concluded Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will have a “difficult” time selling the agreement at home. That’s because Tsipras’s populist rhetoric of ending austerity was overpowered by the united front he faced.

A “complete political surrender to the world of reality” was how Erik Nielsen, London-based global chief economist of UniCredit Bank AG, put it. Societe Generale SA and Berenberg Bank both labeled it a “u-turn” by Tsipras, who won election Jan. 25 promising an end to budget cutting.

“If the deal holds, it would be a major victory of common sense over populism,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg in London, who cut his probability of Greece leaving the euro area to 25 percent from 35 percent. “The taming of Tsipras would show that Europe’s ‘tough love’ approach is working.”

While Tsipras says skirting national insolvency meant “we won a battle, but not the war,” economists say he may not have managed even that. That’s because the basics of the existing aid deal he fought against are still intact.

Greek Concessions

At last week’s meeting, Greece signed up to all the conditions of its current package and to continued international oversight, ditching plans to win back control of its purse strings so it could raise wages and pensions.

“The combination of pressure on the banking sector and on state cash flows has forced the bulk of the concessions to come on their side,” said Malcolm Barr, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in London.

There were some concessions. Tsipras now gets a chance to draw up a list of reform ideas rather than have them forced upon him. The fiscal target for this year was also made less specific, giving him potentially some extra cash to throw around at home.

Those tweaks left Commerzbank AG chief economist Joerg Kraemer suggesting while donor nations may have gotten their way, they are ultimately likely to back down on explicit requirements, allowing Tsipras some face-saving room to maneuver.

“Nominally, at least, the creditors have won, but reality is likely to be different,” said Kraemer.

Investors boosted European debt as the fear of contagion from Greece dissipated. Italian five-year bond yields and Portuguese 10-year rates both fell to record lows following the deal.

“Europe has drawn the line in the sand - and markets had absolutely no problem with that,” said Nielsen of UniCredit.

To contact the reporters on this story: Simon Kennedy in London atskennedy4@bloomberg.net; Jennifer Ryan in London at jryan13@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O’Brien atfobrien@bloomberg.net James Hertling, Kevin Costelloe

Toyota Spurns CarPlay, Android Auto (PCMagazine)

The world's largest car maker will keep control of its center displays to itself, thank you very much.

Toyota won't be integrating Apple's CarPlay or Google's Android Auto into its vehicles anytime soon, according to a New York Times report.

"We may all eventually wind up there, but right now we prefer to use our in-house proprietary platforms for those kinds of functions," John Hanson, the national manager of Toyota's advanced technology communications, told the newspaper.

Toyota's wariness of CarPlay in particular is not new. Last March, the car makerteased drivers when it posted an entry on its official U.K. blog announcing plans to bring CarPlay to its vehicles by 2015, and then quickly backtracked on the promise.

While many car makers are eagerly rolling out cars with dashboard infotainment systems capable of running the new automotive platforms from Apple and Google, others are taking things more slowly.

Toyota, the largest car manufacturer in the world, is the whale in the group by taking a wait-and-see approach. Fiat Chrysler is another company that isn't going all-in on CarPlay and Android Auto, according to the Times, though the car maker is signed up to support the two in-vehicle systems.

"We're confident that our systems deliver a good experience for our customers. But we're not standing still either," Chrysler spokesman Eric Mayne was quoted as saying by the paper, which said a "bit of lament" was detectable in his statement.

The Times noted that some car makers are apprehensive about CarPlay and Android Auto because the two platforms go a lot further than current dashboard systems which link to iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth in a limited fashion. The new software does a lot more than just manage music lists or make calls from your smartphone—it "allow[s] for Google's or Apple's operating system to essentially take over the center screen and certain buttons within the car."

That means iOS and Android can now be allowed to run navigation, maps, traffic updates, and other core tasks provided by in-vehicle systems. The Times report indicates that some car companies are wary about giving over that kind of control to a pair of Silicon Valley giants which could possibly become rivals in the coming years.

Though nothing's official, rumors are swirling that Mountain View and Cupertino harbor their own auto manufacturing ambitions. To wit, Google has been working on a self-driving car for several years and Apple has reportedly formed a 200-strong team to develop an electric vehicle (EV) of its own.

5 Things You Should Never Wear to a Job Interview (Salary.com)

Don't Let Your Wardrobe Ruin Your Chance of Getting Hired

First Impressions Matter 

 

You’ve made enough of an impression with your resume and job experience to get an interview, and in that first seven seconds when you walk through the door, research suggests the person on the other side of the table is going to size you up.

And as we all know, first impressions matter. A lot.

What you wear – and, perhaps more importantly, what you choose not to wear to that job interview – could make all the difference in whether you get your foot in the door. “The person should not notice your clothes,” Barry Drexler, an interview coach with Expertinterview.com, said in a recent interview. “They should notice you in your clothes.”

5. Pass the Sniff Test

A wise father once said after getting a whiff of his son’s cheap cologne, “It’s cheaper to take a bath.”

Avoiding a strong smelling cologne or perfume might just be the key to keeping yourself in contention for a job. “Body odor is certainly offensive, but a strong cologne or perfume can also be offensive,” Drexler said. “You don’t want to wear anything overpowering. You don’t want people to be distracted by your perfume or cologne.”

If the smell remains in the office even after you’ve left, it can leave a lingering doubt in the mind of the manager about whether you’re the right fit for the job. And if it comes down to you and one other equally qualified candidate, do you really want the tiebreaker to be your pungent aroma?

“There are a million things that could go wrong with perfume or cologne,” Drexler said. “You could remind them of an old boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s best not to wear anything. It can only hurt you. It won’t help you.

4. Putting Your Best Feet Forward

Want to show you’re a polished candidate? Throw some polish on your shoes, it could just help you get a foot hold on that new job.

Along with avoiding scuffed up loafers, you definitely want to leave flip flops and sneakers in your shoe bin.

“Foot wear needs to be impeccable and polished and needs to match your interview,” Drexler said. “If it’s corporate finance, you might want to have old fashioned wing tips. You want to air on the more formal, than less formal.”

Even if you know a company boasts casual attire for its employees, slipping into something more comfortable for an interview is a step in the wrong direction. “You’re a candidate. You’re not an employee yet,” Drexler said. “They’re not going to fault you for being overdressed.”

For women, open toe shoes can be a nail in the coffin and if you want to wear a heel, keep it on the down low.

3. Don't Reveal Too Much

You wore that low-cut blouse to a dinner party and the raves kept coming. But wearing anything too revealing to a job interview can expose you – and not in a good way.

“If you’re a woman and you’re interviewing with a woman, you don’t want to be too showy,” Drexler said. “How you dress should be targeted to who you’re interviewing with and what type of job you are trying to get.”

Jobs in finance and academics call for a more conservative approach. “You have to tailor it toward the person who is doing the interview,” he said. “You really have to gear your dress to the type of job.”

There are times when it’s OK to be a little more daring. For example, if it’s a sales job you’re after and getting someone’s attention is important. “You can be slightly more provocative,” Drexler said. “After all, that’s what sells.”

2. Don't Be Too Flashy

A green jacket may be something you strive for at the Masters, but when it comes to what to wear to an interview, avoid flashy colors and out-of-date styles for suits and jackets.

“You should have a suit,” Drexler said. “In certain parts of country you can get away with slacks and jacket, but you have to invest in quality clothes that fit you well.”

Poorly tailored clothing that comes easily untucked sends a message to the interviewer that you lack detail and that you don’t care enough about yourself to care about the job you’ll be asked to do.

“You need well-tailored, impeccable clothes,” Drexler said. “They will judge you on that.”

Accessories can be just as important. If it’s a job in finances or high-end products, you may want to wear a shirt that requires cufflinks. If it’s a job in the fashion industry, the clothes, shoes and accessories have to be trendy.

Depending on the type of job, it may be just as important to tone it down. “Don’t show up in a $1,000 suit, if the job pays $40,000 per year,” Drexler said. “You don’t want to be too trendy for a back office type job. That’s off-putting.”

1. Don't Hang by a Thread

Those black slacks that you bought three years ago still fit well, but time has taken its toll on the stitching. Should you wear it anyway? Frayed? The answer is a resounding no.

“You don’t want to look like your clothes came out of the back of the closet,” Drexler said. “You don’t want to wear clothes that are frayed, old or clothes that don’t match the job.”

For women, all that glitters is not gold when it comes to jewelry. Keep it simple and avoid things like heirloom brooches and gaudy belt buckles.

“You shouldn’t wear anything that will distract the interviewer,” Drexler said. “They’re going to judge you by the clothes you wear so they have to be impeccable.”

Remember, it could be all over in seven seconds.

Get the Interview, Dress the Part, Then Negotiate

In addition to helping out with your fashion choices on job interviews, Salary.com can help you get paid fairly what you do.

The first thing you should do is research, so you're able to come to the table armed with the knowledge of what your job is worth. Use our free Salary Wizard below to find out what's a fair salary for your position. You can enter your location, education level, years of experience and more to find out an appropriate salary range before you negotiate.

Good luck.

2015: Año del 50 Aniversario de CAMACOL

CAMACOL is 50 years old in 2015. Birthday party is scheduled for September...We will keep you informed...

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