Jun 4, 2015

By Phin Upham John Oliver recently did a bit about payday loans, which the show implied was a predatory scheme. It’s unsurprising that LA Weekly ran a similar story about payday loans. The short-term loans are painted as unethical, with obscene amounts of interest. Yet there is surging demand for this industry. Are payday loans evil? Is anything so cut and dry? The Scary Stuff About Payday Loans If we’re going to discuss payday loans with any level of seriousness, we need to move past the outrageous talking points. It’s true that some payday loans carry interest rates that can be in the 1000% range, however that’s annualized percentage. The loans themselves are meant to be short term, so ideally the 1000% interest rate the media enjoys as a talking point would never apply because the loan would never default. These loans are voluntary too, and they serve both parties. What makes payday loans “bad” is what happens when people default. It’s important to understand that usury is not a “bad” word or concept. Usury certainly wasn’t viewed as evil when the federal government created the Federal Housing Administration, which was designed to loan money and stimulate home ownership in the lower income brackets of society. Payday loans represent a $6 billion industry with demand that can surge across state lines in an effort to get around laws against the practice. Lenders can act in an unethical fashion. That has never been in dispute, but the loans themselves are incapable of carrying a distinction as “good” or “evil.” Payday loans have benefitted low income households all across America. About the Author: Phin Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website or Twitter...

May 5, 2015

By Phineas Upham Elisabeth Berenberg is notable as being the first female to serve as a partner to the Berenberg Bank that carried her namesake. She served for ten years, the first time in the family’s history of being in business. She was a Hamburg heiress who became a merchant banker, an uncommon profession for women of the time. Her family had come to Hamburg as religious refugees from Antwerp in 1585, and they founded a merchant house with the money they’d managed to take with them. They had partnered with another family, Hanseaten, which was one of two of the most prominent families in the city-state. Her father owned the bank during the 1700s, and her great grandfather had been instrumental in forming the bank during its early years. Her family was essentially comprised of the most prominent merchants and bankers of the time, even after the exile. She became the bank’s partner succeeding her late husband, and managed the firm for 32 years with her son-in-law. Her late husband was a marriage of convenience. Elisabeth was not known for her beauty, but she was known for her kindness. She spoke Latin, along with a host of other languages, which made her an adept conversationalist. She was a devoted wife and mother, and retained large sums of money with her family company until her death. She eventually stopped her activities with the bank in the year 1800, retiring to let her sons run the establishment. Phineas Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or LinkedIn...

Mar 27, 2015

By Phin Upham Anita Roddick is the founder of The Body Shop, and a human rights activist. Her company is best known for its ethics related to the beauty industry, and for selling products that take ethical consumerism in mind. Her company was one of the first to introduce beauty products that had not been tested on animals, and she worked hard to promote fair trade in any dealings with third world countries. Roddick was best known for her activism, which had roots in her travels with the UN as a young girl. She would eventually join both Greenpeace and The Big Issue. The Big Issue was a magazine sold by homeless people, which the work of her and her husband made possible. She would later found Children on the Edge in 1990 to help children facing terrible conditions through Eastern Europe and Asia. Her work earned recognition from Queen Elizabeth II, who appointed her Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003. The little girl, who had been born in a bomb shelter, fighting poverty on the front lines, had international attention by then. She decided that she would open a shop in Brighton, simply called “The Shop.” It was located in a not-too-desirable location sandwiched between two funeral parlors. Roddick stated that most of her growth was the result of circumstances and luck instead of any plan she’d prepared ahead of time. She kept her message simple and her business ethical. Roddick died unexpectedly in 2007 to a brain hemorrhage, though she’d been suffering from Hepatitis C as well. Her brand is one of the top ten most known and respected brands in the UK. About the Author: Phin Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website or LinkedIn...

Feb 25, 2015

By Phin Upham Stockton, California was full of rich and fertile soil. So rich, in fact, that it presented a problem to farmers attempting to settle there. The tractors they used, large and heavy steam monstrosities that could weigh up to 1,000 pounds, were literally sinking into the earth. This rendered most farming efforts completely useless. That’s where Benjamin Holt decided to step in and fix the problem. He tried to increase both the size and with of the wheels on those tractors, which made them 46 feet wide. The plan worked, but the downside was that the tractor was expensive and extremely difficult to maintain. He also tried laying a temporary platform of wood planks ahead of the tractors, but the process was time consuming and not very cost-effective. It also interfered greatly with the tractor’s movements. The ultimate solution, tested successfully in November of 1904, was to put wooden tracks around the wheels bolted together with chains. Charles Clements, the company photographer, made the observation that the tractor moved across the wet delta of Roberts Island like a caterpillar. Holt took the name and ran with it. The first Holt-produced tractor was sold for $5,500, which would translate to $128,000 today. Holt filed for a patent in December of 1907, and got the rights to produce a “traction engine.” The improvement promised “endless travelling platform supports upon which the engine is carried.” Caterpillar is one of the most recognized brands in construction, and it was little more than someone’s experiment at efficiency. About the Author: Phin Uphamis an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website or Twitter...

Construction turnaround services are performed under an extremely strict deadline. The building must be upgraded to fit the newest standards, but it costs money each day the building or facility is not performing. Project management is integral to completing a turnaround project on time and under budget. Estimates and Preparation The first thing that a PM does is review all potential work to be done, and make estimates based on what information is available. They will review personnel and determine how many people are required to do the job on time. They also look at material lists, and help determine which suppliers receive orders and schedule a time frame for supplies to arrive. PMs have a short time to grasp the full scope of a turnaround project and their estimates must be as accurate as possible to avoid overages. Reporting and Handling Relationships PMs are the head in their own chain of command, but they have a chain to follow as well. A project manager typically reports to the building owner directly, so keeping an open channel of communication is crucial. PMs should be reporting updates, and discussing what the conditions are like on the site. They must also handle the documentation, or delegate this task to a responsible party. In the event of construction mediation, this documentation can prove to be the deciding factor in a lawsuit. A project manager has the responsibility to make sure a project is completed on time, and that means remaining flexible and responsive. Just remember to keep a safety-first mentality on site.   — Lyle Charles is a consultant for construction, and an expert in steel fabrication. Contact Lyle Charles Consulting for assistance with your next commercial construction...

Written by: Lyle Charles Consulting When a dispute arises in a commercial construction project, what happens after is usually dependent on what’s in the contract. These days, it’s common for businesses to stipulate mediation as the preferred method for settling disputes. Construction claim analysis is a time-consuming prospect that requires attention to detail. The mediation process is good for both parties, and it typically speeds things up much faster than standard trial litigation. Before you take your dispute to trial, consider the benefits of mediating outside of court. Why Mediations are Chosen The reasons mediation is done so frequently has to do with court costs. Courts spend a lot of money litigating, and they handle untold cases daily. Disputes that can be settled out of court are good for local justice systems, and they generally help the parties involved as well. Trial is hard, and costs a lot of money. You’ll end up paying high costs in lawyer fees, and construction claim preparation will be left to you alone. An expert in the subject of mediation is a huge benefit to you when you make the decision to work with your fellow litigant. These third party evaluators are there to observe the process, make note of what is being said and help both parties reach an amicable agreement. Before Mediation Happens The process of gathering evidence is directly related to the paperwork that both parties kept on the project. It’s important that you document everything you have done, and that your contract stipulates exactly what you plan to do and nothing more. Most disputes arise from schedule changes, and other minor adjustments that appear harmless. The disputes arise when both parties fail to agree on some form of resolution. Why Lawyers Hate Mediation Simply put, lawyers don’t stand to make any money on mediation unless they are the mediator. In construction claims, it’s rare for a lawyer to play this part. They may have knowledge on the law, but a steel fabrication expert is much better for disputes that involve materials or construction matters. They are simply better trained on the legal intricacies of the subject and are better equipped to understand the needs...