mera - Blog - Global Risk Community2024-03-28T16:44:23Zhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/meraMERA: Macroeconomic and Event Risk Apphttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/mera-macroeconomic-and-event-risk-app-12014-04-29T19:54:53.000Z2014-04-29T19:54:53.000ZJames McCallumhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/members/JamesMcCallum<div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"> </span></div>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8028227492,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8028227492,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8028227492?profile=original" width="375" /></a>Macroeconomic risks are often overlooked by SME managers when conducting risk assessments. Macro risks like wars, credit crises, market changes and technological disruptions can have catastrophic implications for SMEs.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">"...small-medium sized businesses (SME), public sector entities, the communities in which they operate, and society at large are exposed to many factors that are outside the control of executives and policy makers. These exposures span a variety of influences ranging from commodity and financial market prices, macroeconomic conditions, operational disruptions, human misconduct, technological shifts, competitor moves, sociopolitical events, natural hazards, man-made disasters, etc.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Each of these risk areas are addressed through rather disparate practices of financial risk analysis, exposure limits, actuarial modeling, insurance contracting, alternative risk-transfer, contingency planning, risk mitigation, preparedness, etc. Business enterprise and society are also faced with potential systemic risks embedded in interacting global markets, worldwide climatic changes, and threats of international terrorism. All of this accentuates a need for effective strategic risk management practices to deal with these phenomena both at corporate management and public policy levels." Torben Anderson, Copenhagen Business School</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Macroeconomic Risk App (MERA)</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">The objective of MERA is to provide SME's a self assessment tool to score and manage macroeconomic and event risks that impacts the profitability and growth of SMEs. These risk factors embody great risk to the business franchise and offer opportunities presented by rapidly changing business conditions and market dislocations. MERA sizes macroeconomic and event risks; allowing astute managers to initiate actions to mitigate threats and capitalize on the opportunities volatile business cycles present.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">MERA offers a self assessment framework for users to score and mitigate the impact of a class of risk under weighted and largely ignored by SME business managers.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Small Business Problems and Priorities</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) study "Small Business Problems and Priorities" details over 75 macro risk factors confronting the SME business segment. MERA includes these factors as well as others for assessment consideration. Users may also enter user defined factors for consideration. Risk factors are color coded and grouped in 10 Problem Clusters.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Risk Clusters:</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">costs</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">competition</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">employees</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">finance</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">information</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">management</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">public service/ responsibilities</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">regulation</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">taxes</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">technology</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Macro Risk Scoring</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">MERA's rating scheme helps users score risk factors and their impact. Users define actions that will mitigate risk factors, estimate capital investments required to address risk and calculate a ROI to determine project priorities, funding requirements and expected returns.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">MERA aggregates and scores macro enterprise risk , aligns actions and capital investments required to mitigate aggregated macroeconomic and event risk factors confronting the enterprise.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Risk Apps for Mobile Office</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">MERA is an MS Excel based application. Android users require the use of Mobile Office. MS Excel Mobile Office conversion apps are available for download at no charge on Google Play. A PDF reader and a Zip File Manager are also required to use this app also widely available for no charge on Google Play. The app directs users to a Drop Box to pick up a zip file. A DropBox account is not necessary to access the MERA file.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">MERA does not collect or store any data entered into our Mobile Business apps. All data entry is done off line.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Get MERA from Google Play here: <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wMacroeconomicEventRiskApp">Macroeconomic and Event Risk App</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:14pt;">risk: MERA, NFIB, event, macroeconomic, risk, sme, problem cluster, risk scoring, sme</span></p>
</div></div>Singapore Sling: Basel III Amps SME Credit Riskhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/singapore-sling-basel-iii-amps-sme-credit-risk2014-03-23T01:00:00.000Z2014-03-23T01:00:00.000ZJames McCallumhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/members/JamesMcCallum<div><p></p><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify;"><p dir="ltr"><span><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8028230075,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8028230075,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="120" class="align-left" alt="8028230075?profile=original" /></a>SME lending just got more expensive in Singapore. Basel III capital requirements has increased the risk weighting on SME loans. Banks are now required to set aside more capital to protect against SME loan defaults. This will drive up the cost of capital for SME’s as lenders pass on added costs to borrowers to maintain healthy margins on SME loans; Singapore’s</span> <a href="http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/top-stories/basel-iii-wont-shift-spore-banks-focus-smes-20140324"><span>Business Times</span></a> <span>reports.</span></p><span><span><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr"><span>SME’s are a critical driver of economic growth in Singapore. Bank loans to the segment grew more than 10% in 2013. At DBS Bank, SME lending produced a $1.8 billion increase in revenue.</span></p><span><span><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr"><span>The Government of Singapore has long been friendly to SME's and remains committed to support the segment as a keystone to the economic recovery of this vibrant Asian Tiger. The government has maintained a risk sharing program to guarantee 50% of an SME loan. Due to the increase in the loan loss reserves mandated by Basel III; the government will now increase its risk share to 70%. It is hoped that this will protect the the flow of capital to SME's. </span></p><span><span><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr"><span>This regulatory initiative is another example of the compounding macroeconomic risk factors confronting SME’s. Shifts in credit market conditions and healthy functioning credit channels are major risk factors for SME’s. Acute macro risk, forces market players to compete for capital during restrictive business cycles. SME’s must assess macroeconomic risk factors surrounding the capital funding landscape to maintain profitability.</span></p><span><span><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr"><span>Get risk aware with Macroeconomic Risk and Event App (MERA) on Google Play; a Mobile Office app that runs on MS Office and Android. MERA helps SME's assess emerging risk factors to profit from the opportunities shifting markets present.</span></p></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify;"></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify;"><span><span><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr"><table width="764"><colgroup><col width="574" ></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><p dir="ltr"><span><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/GUt0HXqWYmVfKFxeGFEZI9zt0VS6cmarWaBWCAHGV8a6y2HYOoJ2_bw5EfyzMfsQoUUSsFwb5PIeRuPPsfyMw1UpSa6gdaB5OlKLVBHeNinKgG5Yj9Hmx9_z4Mda8bajdQ" alt="GUt0HXqWYmVfKFxeGFEZI9zt0VS6cmarWaBWCAHGV8a6y2HYOoJ2_bw5EfyzMfsQoUUSsFwb5PIeRuPPsfyMw1UpSa6gdaB5OlKLVBHeNinKgG5Yj9Hmx9_z4Mda8bajdQ" /></span></p></td></tr><tr><td><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wMacroeconomicEventRiskApp&hl=en"><span>Get Risk Aware</span></a></p><br /><p dir="ltr"><span>risk: sme lending, regulatory, credit risk, Basel III, Singapore, DBS Bank, OCBC, UOB, macroeconomic risk, Strait Times, Singapore Business Times, government spending</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><table align="center" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float:left;margin-right:1em;text-align:left;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size:13px;"><br /><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-697c2f8e-f5f1-9594-c63e-9cf949d58f89"></span><br /><div><span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div><span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>ECB Preparing Deflation Measureshttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/ecb-preparing-deflation-measures2014-03-14T22:00:00.000Z2014-03-14T22:00:00.000ZJames McCallumhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/members/JamesMcCallum<div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-c_uwss5tYTU%2FUyM73uoaoDI%2FAAAAAAAAEoI%2FpfYJyRDsySY%2Fs1600%2Feuro_2720097b.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" style="clear:left;float:left;margin-bottom:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_uwss5tYTU/UyM73uoaoDI/AAAAAAAAEoI/pfYJyRDsySY/s1600/euro_2720097b.jpg" height="198" width="320" alt="euro_2720097b.jpg" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_uwss5tYTU/UyM73uoaoDI/AAAAAAAAEoI/pfYJyRDsySY/s1600/euro_2720097b.jpg" style="clear:left;float:left;margin-bottom:1em;margin-right:1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:1em;">Dow Jones Market Wrap Reports:</span><br /> <span style="font-size:1em;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size:1em;">The European Central Bank is preparing additional measures should the euro zone slide into deflation, its president said Thursday, making clear that the central bank is concerned that muted price pressures could undermine the currency bloc's fragile recovery.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:1em;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:1em;">Mario Draghi also added a powerful voice to increasing concerns among policy makers that the strength of the euro is affecting inflation. That could prompt the ECB to potentially implement measures designed to weaken the common currency.</span></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;text-align:justify;">While the risk of deflation in the euro zone is quite limited, the longer that inflation in the monetary bloc remains low, the higher the probability of such risks emerging, Mr. Draghi in a speech in Vienna.</div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;text-align:justify;">A deflationary spiral in the EU mirrors the two decade long economic stasis of Japan. The devaluation of euro based assets will be correlated to a devaluation of the euro currently under consideration by the ECB.</div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;text-align:justify;">SME's with supply chain, market exposures or asset valuations linked to a deflationary trend in the EU need to be wary of this emerging macroeconomic risk factor.</div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;text-align:justify;">Download Sum2's Macroeconomic Risk and Event App (MERA) on Google Play to assess your company's macro risk factors and what you can do to profit from them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wMacroeconomicEventRiskApp" style="clear:left;float:left;margin-bottom:1em;margin-right:1em;text-align:justify;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g2Ef90as0Ac/UyIsTn3zZ2I/AAAAAAAAEk8/ZdNa3biOVko/s1600/mera+thumbnail+100+100.png" alt="mera+thumbnail+100+100.png" /></a></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;text-align:justify;"></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;"></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;"></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wMacroeconomicEventRiskApp">GET IT HERE: MERA</a></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:2px;">Risk: currency, economic, political, market, supply chain </div></div>