Section : Business and Finance

Dare to Deliver: A Depression

It is no secret that the world is in the midst of an economic downturn. World markets have fallen near 30 percent in the last year and the brunt of these losses has occurred within the past six months. This market spiral has had significant impact on the financial standing of the University of Alberta, due to the fact that the university endowments are heavily invested in equities and bonds. Current projections indicate that University of Alberta endowments will have fallen in more than $100 million in value, while interest earnings will be less than half the original projected earnings. This financial hurdle is due to hit the university financial board and faculty deans in the upcoming fiscal year, with the current fiscal year ending on March 31^st, 2009. The impact of the endowment deficit will be felt by staff and students as early as fall of 2009.

Creative Capitalism

In a recent speech at Davos, Bill Gates made the announcement that he would be conceding some of his full time obligations at Microsoft to pursue his philanthropic efforts. Namely, he would be ambitiously charging forward in his work and development with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates used this speech not only as an informational vehicle, but also to challenge companies to engage in "creative captialism", to earn profit while aiding the Third World. Gates suggested that capitalism has been the driving force of the political and economic superpowers of the world, past and present. Although it may be hard to remember the benefits of Locke's philosophy in today's economic uncertainty, we must now turn to the billions that capitalism has left out.