Weekend Digest: The lucky CEO and dogs tilting heads edition

TV PREVIEW
On this week’s TV edition of Talk Business & Politics with Roby Brock, which airs Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on KATV Ch. 7:

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., discusses the terrorist attacks in Paris, Syrian refugees and the American response. Plus, he’ll outline progress on federal highway funding, the Clean Line energy project, and his re-election campaign. 

State politics has been bouncing with rumors for weeks as allegations of corruption explode. What may be at play and how should it be reported?

And in this week’s roundtable, we’ll talk business and politics. TB&P contributor Frank Scott and KATV’s Janelle Lilley discuss Wal-Mart, Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s trip abroad, and state highway funding.

Tune in to Talk Business & Politics with Roby Brock on KATV Ch. 7, Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

GOOGLE GETS A BIG SURPRISE
The Wall Street Journal reports, “Google’s effort to keep its search engine relevant in a world of mobile apps just got a boost from a big rival.”

“Facebook Inc., operator of the world’s largest social network, on Friday began allowing Google to crawl and index its mobile app, a spokeswoman for Google parent Alphabet Inc. said.”

The agreement means that results from Google searches on smartphones will display some content from Facebook’s app, including public profile information. The listings will appear as “deep links” that will take users to the relevant part of the Facebook app, the spokeswoman said.

What does Facebook’s cooperation actually mean for Google, and what limits will Facebook keep in-check?

Full story at this link.

CHINA’S ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN PLAYING HAVOC
Bloomberg Business says, “China’s slowdown is already playing out across the world, dragging down commodity prices and weighing on trade partners. And that’s while the economy is still growing at about 7%. So imagine what happens in a hard-landing scenario.”

The crew at Oxford Economics have done just that in a new report that makes stark reading for anyone with a stake in the global economy. So were China to sneeze, the world may well catch a cold.

Click this link to find out why.

ARE THEY JUST LUCKY?
Successful CEO’s we’re talking about here.

Harvard Business Review posts: “Ask chief executives why their companies are performing so well, and they’ll typically credit a brilliant strategy coupled with hard-nosed, diligent execution. When you ask Lars Sørensen of Novo Nordisk what forces propelled him to the top of HBR’s 2015 ranking of the best-performing CEOs in the world, he cites something very different: luck.”

So begins our recent profile of the best performing CEO of 2015. Sørensen’s modesty is refreshing, but is it accurate?

Get the answer by following this link.

THE DOGS OF INSTAGRAM AND MILLENNIAL BUSINESS
Forbes has posted a great read on “a  formula they don’t teach in business school.”

Here it is:

1. Start an Instagram account about something you love
2. Lovingly build a community around that shared passion and watch the numbers grow
3. Translate that community into a growing media & a retail business beloved by customers

Oh, and along the way, find the love of your life.

Sounds too good not to read the whole thing, right? You can, here.

HOW DOES OBAMA’S ISLAMIC STATE PLAN COMPARE TO OTHERS?
The Washington Post reports, “In a press conference before the world’s media on Monday, an annoyed President Obama — under criticism that he’s not doing enough to fight the Islamic State — snapped that he hasn’t seen any plan much different from his.”

“I think that, when you listen to what they actually have to say, what they’re proposing, most of the time, when pressed, they describe things that we’re already doing,” Obama said.

This week, two major presidential candidates kind of proved him right.

Who and how so? At this link.

SANDERS WANTS A NEW NATO PARTNER
The Hill  posts, “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for a new accord between America, its closest allies and Russia as well as Arab nations as a major plank on how to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).”

“We must create an organization like NATO to confront the security threats of the 21st century — an organization that emphasizes cooperation and collaboration to defeat the rise of violent extremism and importantly to address the root causes underlying these brutal acts,” the Democratic presidential candidate said Thursday during a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

“We must work with our NATO partners, and expand our coalition to include Russia and members of the Arab League.”

Democratic presidential candidate Sanders also chastised America’s Arab allies in the region, which he says “have contributed far too little in the fight against ISIS.”

Get the complete story here.

MAJOR INSURER MAY LEAVE OBAMACARE
The Hill reports, “One of the country’s largest health insurers warned Thursday that it may leave the ObamaCare exchanges within two years, delivering a shock announcement that could ripple through the marketplace.”

Who is this insurer and why are they considering leaving? Click on this link for full details.

‘MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING’
POLITICO Magazine says that’s the “unsettling truth” politicians are discovering.  “Money isn’t everything.”

The latest evidence comes from the just-expired presidential campaign of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican who dropped out on Tuesday, saying, “This is not my time.” Jindal had wallowed in the low single digits in polls and was relegated to the undercard debates even though groups allied with his campaign consistently ranked among the top sponsors of TV ads in Iowa.

“Or consider the staggering confession made by conservative billionaire Charles Koch last month. The man who along with his brother David has spent or steered hundreds of millions of dollars into reshaping U.S. politics in recent years said…”

Click here to find out.

ONE OF AMERICA’S GREATEST AUTOMOTIVE ARTISTS PASSES AWAY
Art Fitzpatrick has died.

Automotive News posts, “Art Fitzpatrick, one half of the team that created some of the most eye-catching advertising artwork for General Motors from 1959 to 1971, passed away this week in Carlsbad, Calif., at age 96.”

The pair cranked out advertising images for 14 automakers during their run, creating some of the most iconic ads of the era. But it was the Pontiac ads – 285 in all – for which they are best remembered.

More recently, Fitzpatrick drew two series of commemorative stamps for the U.S. Postal Service titled “America on the Move,” released in 2005 and 2008. The first series celebrated 1950s sporty cars, such as the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Thunderbird and Kaiser Darrin. The second set, “tailfins and chrome,” featured such cars as the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, Chrysler 300C and Lincoln Premiere.

Learn more about Fitzpatrick’s brilliant career with his drawing partner Van Kaufman, and how the team worked together to be so successful, by clicking this link.

A TRAGIC DAY FOR A FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK
Sadly, and improbably, former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie’s parents died on the same day.

“Doug Flutie’s parents died within an hour of each other Wednesday after being married for 56 years, the former NFL quarterback said on Facebook.”

For more reaction from Flutie and how this tragedy occurred, go to this link.

WHY DO DOGS TILT THEIR HEADS WHEN WE SPEAK?
AOL boasts, “Attention to all you pet lovers out there, we have solved one of the greatest mysteries of all time.

You’ve most likely wondered at some point in your life as to why dogs tilt their heads to one side when you talk. And no, the reason is not because they’re feeling extra cute.

If you want to know the reason, you’ll have to go to this doggone link.