Sunday, March 09, 2003
Stock Market Volatility
(based on 'Whipsawed by Wall Street' in BusinessWeek, Mar 10, 2003)
Stock markets have become very volatile lately - the number of days when overall market indices gain or loose full percentage points is at all time highs. Following factors can partly explain this:
a) Buy-and-hold investors (including retail investors), a market-stabilizing force, are on sidelines and hair-trigger traders are becoming more active
b) Computerized tools allow professionals to trade stocks in big volumes continuously
c) Accounting changes result in un-predictable corporate results
d) Round-the-clock global markets pressurize investors and traders to 'act first, think later'
e) Risks of terrorism and war add to uncertainty
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Sunday, March 02, 2003
Entrepreneurship of Korean-Americans
(based on 'For Korean Banks, Truly a Golden State' in Business Week, Feb 17, 2003)
Korean Americans are the most entrepreneurial of US ethnic groups, with 1 business for every 8 people (according to Nov 2001 SBA report). Although they account for just 0.4% of the U.S. population, they control 11% of the nation's grocery stores and as much as a third of its dry cleaners. A number of Korean-American banks have been operational since 1974 to provide services such as loans, letters of credit, money transfers and investment services to these small businesses and wealthy South Koreans. A few banks operating in this 'not-so-well-understood niche' are Hanmi Financial, Pacific Union, Nara Bancorp, Center Financial and Wilshire State Bank. Strong community ties are the biggest differentiators for these banks. To some extent, Korean-American banks are very similar (and equally profitable) as the banks serving other ethnic groups such as Hispanics.
This article prods me to think about the Asian-Indians and their needs for such institutions. I think that due to our language advantage (read familiarity with English), we can make do with the American banks, yet with increased immigration and wealth, there appears to be a reasonable market opportunity.
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