EXODUS: Movement of Job People (out of the U.S.)

With all due respect to the late Bob Marley, the title was "simply irresistable" given my topic for today.  Whoops, ditto for the late Robert Palmer.  An "exodus" is not too dramatic a word to illustrate the latest trend in globalism, and it foretells of a grim future f...

Jose E. Latour Apr 16, 2008

Things are Tough All Over…But Needn’t Be

This Thanksgiving weekend I did something I'm a bit embarrassed to admit:  I caught up on all the business magazines and WSJs sitting in my "to read" pile.  It's Sunday and the workweek begins tomorrow, but I wanted to make this comment based on a consistent underlying theme I fo...

Jose E. Latour Nov 25, 2007

Why GCs are Embracing Workforce Compliance

InsideCounsel magazine recently reported the results of an innovative study undertaken by another publication, Corporate Board Member magazine and FTI Consulting.  In the survey/study, over 1000 General Counsels and board directors were asked about the steps they are taking to mitigate risk wit...

Jose E. Latour Nov 20, 2007

Metagaming, Economics, and Global HR Compliance

Today I am going to talk about the LEAST talked about 2007 Nobel Prize, the one in Economics, awarded to three U.S.-based economists - game theory pioneer Leo Hurwicz, Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson. After half a century of work in a little-known but massively cool area of game theory, it’s about tim...

Jose E. Latour Oct 25, 2007

2007 in Enforcement: Business in the Bullseye

Back on August 9th, ICE -- U.S. Customs and Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- released a five page memo euphamistacally entitled "Protecting National Security and Upholding Public Safety".  The memo, signed off by Asst. Secretary of Homeland Security Julie L. Myers, attempts to s...

Jose E. Latour Oct 22, 2007

Simplifying Workforce Compliance for Inside Counsel

Political tides shift, and the historical benevolence extended to corporate America by Republican administrations has given way to an enforcement-driven policy designed to salvage conservative voter discontent.  The losers, of course, are not just the corporations suddenly facing a barrage of p...

Jose E. Latour Oct 16, 2007

CAFTA Update- Costa Rica (Probably) Comes Aboard

Well, I've been checking online to confirm the facts but I still can't find definitive confirmation on Sunday's CAFTA vote in Costa Rica.  It APPEARS that voters approved it by a narrow (52%) margin.Good for them if they did.  The call centers will remain open.  The export opportuniti...

Jose E. Latour Oct 10, 2007