I remain interested in the posts which decry the US economy, and there are numerous indicators that support this view
But the US economy has some amazing dimensions, and one of them that is not reported in the popular press, is the entrepreneurial section, Sure we all know about some of the success stories, Facebook, Apple etc..but its whats under these results...
I have been watching some of the entrepreneurial ecosystems that are alive and well in the US and these are very impressive. Something that is sadly missing from most other countries ( I generalise for the sake of brevity), including Australia
For those interested, have a look at the below links
http://www.feld.com/about
http://www.feld.com/archives/2014/06/using-startup-next-get-company-accelerator-ready.html
http://www.amazon.com/Startup-Commu...s&ie=UTF8&qid=1427267126&sr=1-5&keywords=feld
https://www.ycombinator.com/
http://500.co/
http://techlaunch.arizona.edu/about-tla
http://techlaunch.arizona.edu/wheelhouse/start-ups-new-venture-team
https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-...-entrepreneurship/enterprise-100#.VRJiJvmUdnE
Nothing would surprise me in terms of what could come out of this sector...jobs, GDP growth
What would surprise me is any sign of such activity in some of the European countries...(see below, utterly predictable in my experience, sacre bleu !)
Ramsay Health chief Chris Rex says France not 'business friendly'
Date
March 25, 2015
Jessica Gardner
Ramsay Health Care chief executive Chris Rex says a surprise 2.5 per cent cut in tariffs shows the Hollande government is not business friendly.
Ramsay Health Care chief executive Chris Rex says a surprise 2.5 per cent cut in tariffs shows the Hollande government is not business friendly. Photo: Louie Douvis
Ramsay Health Care chief executive Chris Rex has brushed off the financial impact of a surprise cut in payments that the private hospital operator will receive in France, but has criticised the French government's anti-business approach.
Earlier this month Ramsay, which is now France's largest private hospital operator, and its rivals were told that the French government would cut the tariffs it pays for care by an average of 2.5 per cent.
Unlike in Australia where Ramsay and its peers, including Healthscope, get most of their funding from private health insurers such as Bupa and Medibank Private, in France most of the population's medical care is covered by the government. The latest cut meant that private providers are paid 24 per cent less than public hospitals.
The cut was much greater than anticipated, after a number of years of flat tariff growth, but Mr Rex said Ramsay's French business would rely on its strong management and attempt to mitigate the reduction.
"Given the poor performance of French state finances at this time it is to be expected that all parts of the economy will be affected, but I remain confident that operating conditions will improve over the medium to long term," Mr Rex said.
However, he hit out at Francois Hollande's government, saying the public sector had got off lightly. The move also showed the government was "not serious about encouraging investment in France despite its attempts to the contrary", he said.
"Unfortunately the actions of the French government only reconfirm the widely held view that France is not a business-friendly country, which is a shame as private investment is exactly what it needs to kick-start the economy."
Market leader
After the May 2014 deal to buy Generale de Sante, which valued the company at €902 million ($1.3 billion), Ramsay became France's market-leading private hospital provider through its joint venture Ramsay Sante, with 115 facilities or 16 per cent of the market.
In the first half of 2014-15 Ramsay had earnings before interest and tax of €46 million ($64 million) from France, which included a contribution from Generale de Sante from October onwards. The $14 billion hospital group had total EBIT of $378 million in the period.
JPMorgan analyst Steve Wheen said although the cut was a surprise, he believed Ramsay had synergy and procurement benefits that it was yet to fully realise.
In a note to clients Mr Wheen also said the cut could provide further acquisition opportunities for Ramsay because it would put smaller operators under pressure.
"The cut has the potential to force further consolidation on the industry, particularly as some [private equity] owners of private hospitals grapple with large debt balances," he wrote. "Scale is an appropriate solution to a top line that is under pressure and Ramsay Sante has that in spades via the acquisition of Generale de Sante."
Mr Wheen noted that within the average rate cut dialysis care had been cut by 4.5 per cent, while obstetrics had been cut by only 1.5 per cent. "Ramsay Sante [and] Generale de Sante have a strong mix favouring both of these disciplines," he told clients.
UBS analyst Andrew Goodsall said the French competition regulator would be unlikely to block further acquisitions given the public system was still dominant in the country.
Ramsay shares have gained 39 per cent in the past year, compared with a 12 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index.
