An uphill climb for millennials; Driving the next era of sustainable business; Toshiba axes 3,000 jobs; Apple is most valuable brand; Disarray in India government

1 An uphill climb for millennials (Caroline Porter in The Wall Street Journal) The on-ramp to adulthood is delayed and harder to reach for young people today, a reality that is changing the country's society and economy, according to a new report. More demanding job requirements, coupled with the pressures of the recession, have delayed the transition to adulthood for young people in the past decade and earned them the title of "the new lost generation," according to the report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Through analyzing about three decades of census data—from 1980 to 2012—the study found that on average, young workers are now 30 years old when they first earn a median-wage income of about $42,000, a marker of financial independence, up from 26 years old in 1980. The labor-force participation rate for young people last year declined to its lowest point in about 40 years, according to the report.

For young people, the delayed entry into the world of work is partly a reflection of the recent recession, but it is also driven by long-term trends, including more jobs that require advanced skills and fewer high-paying factory jobs that required little more than a high-school diploma, the report found. The "new knowledge economy" has spawned more internships and bite-size credentials as a result.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303643304579105450145516622.html?mod=trending_now_5

2 Driving the next era of sustainable business (John Brock in The Guardian) When the global financial crisis hit, there was significant speculation that organisations would move away from investment in sustainability. In fact, companies have maintained – or even grown – their commitments. However, the success and sophistication with which companies are adopting sustainability strategies vary widely.

In a research that explores the role that innovation, collaboration and technology play in implementing sustainability strategies, more than 330 senior executives across Europe were asked about their experiences when setting and pursuing sustainability objectives. It's clear from the survey that while some make strong links between innovation, competitiveness and sustainability – by offering more sustainable products (48%) or investing in renewable energy (33%) – others are still trying to gain endorsement from the top and a clear view of how to embed sustainability in their business.

We're facing dwindling natural resources and potentially 3 billion new middle-class consumers by 2030. Tried and tested solutions won't work anymore, so we need to accelerate the pace of change and embrace disruptive new business models to drive breakthroughs in the next era of sustainable business. Ten years ago, who would have thought we'd be renting our cars by the hour? 

Alongside innovation and collaboration, technology will continue to be important in driving sustainability plans forward. According to the survey, 58% of businesses are using technology to develop more sustainable business models, and 54% are using social or mobile technologies to engage with their customers.

Companies' approaches to sustainability have clearly matured, and greater opportunities now exist to harness the transformative power of external partnerships, innovation, technology and senior leadership. We can't get there on our own. It will be the companies that recognise this and use it to their competitive advantage that will be leading the way over the next 20 years.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/what-drive-next-era-sustainable-development

3 Toshiba axes 3,000 jobs (BBC) Japanese electronics firm Toshiba has said it will halve the number of staff in its TV division to 3,000 as it looks to revamp the unit's operations. The changes will also see the firm close two of its three overseas TV manufacturing facilities. Toshiba said it would focus on emerging markets including Asia and Africa, and end sales in "unprofitable regions".

Toshiba, like other Japanese TV makers, has been hit by slowing demand, falling prices and increased competition. The company's digital products division, which includes TV manufacturing, saw its losses widen to 16.3bn yen ($166m), in the financial year to 31 March, compared with a loss of 3.3bn yen a year earlier.

4 Apple is most valuable brand (Stuart Elliott in The New York Times) Apple is the new most valuable brand in the world, according to an annual report from Interbrand, a corporate identity and brand consulting company owned by the Omnicom Group that has been compiling what it calls the Best Global Brands report since 2000. The previous No. 1 brand, Coca-Cola, fell to No. 3. 

Not only has Apple replaced Coca-Cola as first among the 100 most valuable brands based on criteria that include financial performance, this is the first time that the soft drink known for slogans like “It’s the real thing” has not been No. 1. The 2013 report begins: “Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new No. 1 — Apple.” 

The report estimates the value of the Apple brand at $98.3 billion, up 28 percent from the 2012 report. The value of the Coca-Cola brand also rose, by 2 percent to $79.2 billion, but that was not sufficient to give Coca-Cola a 14th year as Interbrand’s most valuable brand. A spokesman said, “Coca-Cola is an efficient, outstanding brand marketer, no doubt about it,” but Apple and other leading technology brands have become “very much the poster child of the marketing community.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/business/media/apple-passes-coca-cola-as-most-valuable-brand.html?ref=media&_r=0

5 Disarray in India government (M J Akbar in Khaleej Times) What is doing fatal damage to India's Congress party is the total disarray within the establishment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is being humiliated time and again, not by Opposition but by his own party. The confusion and somersault over the convicted politicians’ ordinance, is only one, albeit startling, instance. This was a Cabinet decision, not a throwaway order. All the heavy lifters, including Chidambaram, Sushil Shinde and Kamal Nath, put their support on record much before Rahul Gandhi dismissed the ordinance as complete nonsense. Such warfare between a ruling party and its Prime Minister is unprecedented.

It is embarrassing to watch the last shards of credibility crumble around a prime minister who has been in office for nearly a decade. His visit to the White House this week has all the warmth of a desultory retirement dinner financed by a quick whip-around. Is Dr Manmohan Singh a stoic? To take punishment from the Opposition is part of the give and take of democratic politics, but to accept such dismissive barbs from one’s own colleagues requires a temperament that is not easy to decipher.

There is no government left. What we have instead is a desultory squabble in which no minister can be sure of where he stands, or where he should stand, on any issue. A technical structure will hold office, while Congress continues to hope that some miracle between now and next March will prevent an electoral meltdown. Miracles need saints, and there are no saints in politics.

http://khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2013/September/opinion_September50.xml&section=opinion