Ain't Nuthin But A G20 Thang

Today in Pittsburgh, PA, the heads of state from the world’s top economic powers will sit in large comfortable chairs around expensive wooden tables to rap about how they can use tighter financial regulations to prevent worldwide financial crises like the one we seem to be exiting. They'll also talk about curtailing big banking bonuses, and a few G20 reps will try to convince net exporting nations like China and Germany (who export and save much more than they import and spend) to become a little more like the U.S. of As of the planet, and buck up a bit, buying exports rather than selling them, spending more of their savings. Also on the agenda is climate change.

Indeed, seems like the G20 has a lot to talk about; good thing they have 36 hours to craft some solutions and begin to implement some changes (the summit ends tomorrow).

Also today, US Banker published its annual ranking of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking and, for the third year in a row, Heidi Miller of J.P. Morgan topped the list. US Banker also unveiled its annual ranking of the most powerful women in non-banking finance, among other powerful ladies lists. (For an interesting and informative overview of the state of female executives in banking, check out this US Banker article, published along with the rankings.)

Speaking of power, thanks to the richest man in Russia, Mikhail Prokhorov, the NBA’s New Jersey Nets appear to be moving closer to breaking ground on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. And if Prohkorov’s proposed deal to buy the Nets goes through, he'll likely become the only NBA franchise owner who can dunk (he's 6'7"). He might also become the shadiest franchise owner in the league (in the past, he's been accused of several illegal business activities, including the procurement of prostitutes).

Finally, this little accounting rule change should go a long way toward boosting several companies’ bottom lines. The other day, the FASB agreed to change the way tech companies can record the revenue of hardware sold with software. Previously, revenue on products like Apple’s iPhone had to be recorded over a certain time period (say, two years), relating to the life of the product. But now, under new rules, the hardware of that product (that is, the phone itself, minus the software sold along with it) can be booked upfront. This is no small difference: The new way would’ve increased Apple’s latest quarterly revenue by 17 percent, and its earnings by 58 percent.