Recycling Irony

February 7th, 2011

“All Danny Clark wanted was to leave an eco-friendly footprint for his children.

That and to ride the new wave of ‘green business’ startups by coming up with a way to make money and help the environment at the same time.

His idea was simple: If he could make plastic water bottles biodegradable, it would reduce the impact on landfills, curb roadside litter and reduce the amount of plastic garbage that eventually washes into the oceans.

Everybody wins. Well, not everybody.

The Mesa man’s small-business venture has run into opposition from a large and unexpected source: the $400 billion recycling industry, which fears that by making plastic bottles biodegradable, it will reduce the stream of plastic refuse used to make everything from carpet to clothing to new bottles. In addition, changing the makeup of plastic bottles could make it more difficult to recycle them, the industry fears.”

What do you think?

Chicken or egg? Should your old plastic junk be used to make new plastic junk, or should it biodegrade into the earth once its life is over? Which idea has a better business model?

What If China Says “Sorry, Pay Up” to U.S.?

February 4th, 2011


credit: Lars Plougmann

Is there a “Plan B?”

  • Countries like the U.S. sell government bonds to raise money. Bonds are a form of debt – when the bond-holder cashes in their bond, the government has to pay them back with interest.
  • China is the biggest buyer of U.S. Treasury bonds, which means that if it suddenly sold off a lot of them, it could screw up the entire U.S. market.
  • A dramatic change like that would also hurt China’s economy, so there are probably only two situations in which China would consider selling off that much U.S. debt:
  1. China and the U.S. get into a serious fight. Like, a military-style fight, probably over resources in Asia
  2. China starts to think the American dollar is going to totally tank, and gets out while it still can
  • So what’s Plan B? There is no official plan, but the U.S. government would probably start asking its own citizens and its friends around the world to buy a whole lot of bonds. And the Fed would have a much bigger problem on its hands than the recession.

Facts & Figures

  • China is the United States’ biggest creditor in the world
  • If you include Hong Kong, China holds almost $1 trillion in U.S. debt

Best Quotes

“I worry that we could be at a tipping point.” – Eswar Prasad, economist at the Brookings Institution, former IMF official

“The U.S. government should have and maybe still could call on the people of the U.S. to invest in U.S. debt…. What we need to do is have a plan that’s reasoned, reasonable, can reassure our foreign lenders and also demonstrate to the American people that Washington can get something done” – David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General

What do you think?

How has your life been affected by the rise of China?

Think you can out-Batali Batali?

February 4th, 2011

According to this surprising breakdown of the costs of opening a high-end restaurant in San Francisco, you could easily drop $2,697,000 before your first customer even walks in the door!


credit: cyclonebill

Want to go to the World Economic Forum in Davos? Bring your credit card (or bags and bags of gold).

February 3rd, 2011

Andrew Ross Sorkin did the homework none of us wanted to do, and came up with an estimate of how much an evening in Davos will cost if you’re lucky enough to be invited to the WEF this year.

Some highlights:

  • One ticket in the nosebleed seats (including membership fee): $72,000
  • A ticket for you and four of your best cronies: $622,000
  • Number of your cronies who must be a woman for any of you to get in: 1
  • The cost of Google’s party on Friday night: $250,000

And still: “You always feel like you are in the wrong place in Davos, like there is some better meeting going on somewhere in one of the hotels that you really ought to be at. Like the real Davos is happening in secret somewhere.“


So, just wondering… what do you do if you can’t afford any of that?

23-year-old entrepreneur Zach Vruwink takes a different view of investing

February 3rd, 2011

TILE showed up for part of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards at the New York Stock Exchange this October, and we met some young folks who made us feel bad about sleeping through college.

Zach started a tech support business when he was 14 years old. Since then, he’s followed his heard and stuck by his values, and now that small business has absorbed several others in the area and is on its way to total. market. domination. Watch this clip to see where he’s coming from:

Watch the oh-ficial GSEA 2010 recap video here. To see all our GSEA interviews, click here.

Foursquare Users In North Korea, Rest Of The Entire World, Checking In And Earning Badges

February 3rd, 2011

“Popular mobile check-in application Foursquare today announced that it grew 3400% in 2010. The company now stands at 6 million users.

Other interesting stats include more than 381 million total check-ins accounting for every country (including North Korea) as well as a check-in from space. California also appears to have the most fit Foursquare users, being the top state for gym check-ins.”

What do you think?

How awesome are these infographics? A check-in from space?!

foursquare-check-in-stats.jpg

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: Stop Fighting, Guys – It’s Everyone’s Fault

February 3rd, 2011

“The 2008 financial crisis was ‘avoidable’ and brought on by the actions of government officials and private-sector players, according to a blue-ribbon panel’s draft report that spreads blame broadly for the meltdown.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s draft report singles out federal banking regulators for particularly sharp criticism, saying that ‘the prime example’ of the system’s shortcomings was ‘the Federal Reserve’s pivotal failure to stem the flow of toxic mortgages’ over the past decade. But the report also has harsh words for both ‘captains of finance’ and Main Street lenders.”

What do you think?

Who do you think has earned more blame for these bad business decisions – businesspeople or the regulators that are supposed to be setting and enforcing regulations? How have you been affected by the financial crisis?

As Seen on the Web… Where the ladies at?

February 2nd, 2011

As Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg knows a few things about succeeding in a male-dominated industry. (Anyone seen the genius-male to lame-female ratio in The Social Network? Hmm?)

But in this awesome TED Talk, Sheryl gives us reason to believe that women can choose to sit at the desks in the corner offices if they just remember three things.

Americans Open Wallets Wider Than They Have In Three Years

February 2nd, 2011

The financial times they are a’changing. At least, that’s what these new statistics would have us believe…

  • In 2009, the American GDP (gross domestic product – a measurement of economic activity) dropped more than it had in sixty years. But like a phoenix made up of economic statistics, it rose back up in 2010.
  • We can’t know the exact cause, but the numbers say that people earned a little more, saved a little less, and spent a little more than they had in recent years.
  • Since consumer spending makes up almost three-quarters of all economic activity in the U.S., this is good news. But there are still those issues around high unemployment and a trashed housing market…

Facts & Figures

  • Consumer spending represents 70% of all economic activity in the U.S.
  • In 2010, spending rose by 3.5% – 0.7% of that was in December alone
  • The last time spending rose that high was in 2007 (pre-recession)

What do you think?

Have you been spending more lately? Do you think the economy will recover faster depending on where you spend your money (at independent stores versus chains)?

(Check out this week’s Today at TILE for a closer look at signs of life in the economy.)

Whoa – Credit Card Fees Higher Than Ever!

February 2nd, 2011

“NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Interest rates are now hovering near record highs, at an average rate of 14.72%. And if your credit is bad enough, you could even end up with a rate as high as 59.9% APR.

That’s because while the CARD Act helped crack down on certain fees and requires more disclosures, it didn’t cap every credit card holder’s worst enemy: interest rates.”

What do you think?

Do you know how much interest your card company will charge you for a late payment?
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