Interesting Links for 25-01-2018

[andrewducker]

Think your country is crowded? These maps reveal the truth about population density across Europe

(tags: population europe maps )

How Private Equity Killed Toys “R” Us

(tags: business money )

This Is What Domestic Violence Is Like When You're LGBT

(tags: lgbt rape abuse )

Scotland to ban electric shock dog collars

(tags: dogs scotland )

Working in female-dominated workplaces means worse access to flexible working arrangements

(tags: women work )

How Canada may use Sweden's gender-balanced snow-clearing to adjust their budgets

(tags: Canada feminism government money )

The Humanity Star

(tags: space )

This 19-year-old Kiwi farmer accidentally became a character in a US board game

(tags: newzealand usa boardgames wikipedia )

Conflict Theory vs Mistake Theory

I'm Mistake Theory by nature - with a few bits of learned Conflict.
(tags: politics philosophy argument belief society )

World's first electric container barges to sail from European ports this summer

(tags: electricity transport europe canal )

It’s not all in their heads: people with low self-esteem really do have less responsive partners

(tags: psychology relationships self-esteem )

Possibly the finest special effect of all time

(tags: specialeffects muppets viaSwampers )

Comments

[andrewducker]

I have to admit I find this a tricky one. On the one hand, the people who owned it did actually own it, and if they want to, effectively, sell a chunk of it to the banks, then that's a private matter for them and the banks.

On the other hand, it does seem a bit too easy to say to the banks "We want to borrow some cash for expansion" and then just take that yourself, leaving the banks owning a company when they aren't going to take it on as a going concern.

I'm not actually sure I know of a good answer here.

[danieldwilliam]

Banks are pretty serious players here. The often know as much or more about the industy and the companies they are investing in as the management. (For example, the sort of banks who are lending to a former energy industry employer of mine would have their own energy trading desks and the bankers to Toys R Us might well also be bankers to Smyth's Toys and other competitors.)

They are capable and often do negotiate specific protections for themselves. They may well have been in on the deal either explicitly or implicitely. The bankers here are not some suburban bank manager who is bamboozled by some VC sharp suits.

For me the place where the moral hazard lies is in two-fold, 1) employees and suppliers who aren't clued up enough to know whether the take-over is genuine attempt to improve the operation of the company or that someone has spotted a failing and cheap business that owns a bunch of under-valued assets and 2) the pension funds of the employees which are usually not adequately funded.