References to EBITDA make us shudder. Too many investors focus on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This makes sense only if you think that capital expenditures are financed by Zubić-vila – a well-known comment by legendary investor Warren Buffett about EBITDA as an indicator of a company’s value. The explosive popularity of this financial metric is primarily due to its accounting ambiguity. Since EBITDA is in the eye of the beholder, companies can shape it according to their needs and desires, essentially beautifying their financial picture. However, looking at this indicator alone is akin to begging on a first date. Antonija Knežević asks in this week’s topic, ‘Why is everyone rushing to EBITDA?’
Marija Pujo Tadić has been working in the legal field of environmental protection for years, specifically in climate change and policies, and she is the first Croatian lawyer specialized in environmental law. Once, as a judge in a Zagreb court, she made decisions in environmental law of significant financial weight, in a field that was just developing in 2005. She is the president of the International Institute for Climate Activities (IICA), a speaker at numerous conferences worldwide, and was part of the official team of the Republic of Croatia in negotiations at major UN climate conferences in Paris, Glasgow, and Egypt last November. She claims that the battle for the environment and life on Earth is not lost as long as there is the last person on the planet. Goran Litvan spoke with Pujo Tadić.
When at the beginning of the year the procurement director of a retail chain and the sales director of a manufacturing company sit down at the table, it is known that the meeting lasts a very long time and that only one participant leaves the room satisfied. Usually, it is the procurement director, the person who holds greater negotiating power and is in a position to dictate the terms under which they will conclude an annual procurement contract for their products. This year, it was most important for traders that the Prime Minister or Minister of Economy does not publicly accuse them of sabotaging the conversion of the kuna to euro or as profiteers who raise inflation with insatiable price increases. Manuela Tašler writes about annual contracts and how traders persuaded suppliers not to raise prices until Easter.
