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Highlights:
We all know by now how much the earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan have affected its economy and the foreign companies that depend on Japanese-made components for their products.
But something we hadn’t really thought enough about is how the disaster affects where Japanese people choose to spend their money. It seems obvious now, but Japanese tourism to Hawaii has dropped by a full 25% since March 11th. That’s a big deal for the Hawaiian tourism industry, which is now spending $3 million on “emergency marketing” to woo travelers from other nations.
See what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket? Diversity really is more than just a corporate buzzword. (Full disclosure: we hate the word “buzzword.”) In work, school, government, AND your investment portfolio, diversification can protect you from unpredictable events and their domino effects.
Fortunately, Hawaii still has plenty of appeal to pasty New Yorkers like ourselves, who are happy to contribute to the state’s critical tourism revenue stream.
Barring an unforeseen volcanic eruption, that is.
(photo credit: gruntzooki) For all your after hours tuxedo rental needs.
The recession has caused a lot of problems for our economy, no doubt. But some industries look like they’re just not going to pull through. Specifically, these ten:
(from The Wall Street Journal)
Good old supply and demand at work. Why buy a newspaper when you can get your news online for free? Why pay for photofinishing when most of your snapshots don’t make it past Facebook?
Are YOU still spending money in any of these industries?
(Bonus points if you can find an industry on this list that wasn’t at least partially laid to rest by the Internet!)
(photo credit: Eggybird)
Every month for the past eight months, dutiful Americans have been pulling out their wallets and handing their money to other Americans in exchange for goods and services. In other words, they’ve been lubricating the wheels of our creaky economic machine.
Why? Well, part of it is that they’re more confident now that the recession is over and there are real signs of a recovery. But the other, more significant part is that the cost of living increased. That’s right: inflation.
Food and gas prices went up, which means that more of Joe American’s dollars went to feeding his family and driving to work than to buying a new television or a trampoline for the kids.
Ben Bernanke from the Fed says that nobody should be worrying about out-of-control inflation – food and gas prices will come down again. But if he’s wrong, it’s the Fed’s job to take action to make sure Joe still has a few dollars left to pay for his morning coffee after feeding the kids and driving to work.
And by the way… while inflation sounds like a bad thing, it’s really not as bad as its evil twin, deflation.
Have you been spending more money since last summer? Why?
Do you know what makes your iPod go?
Here’s a hint: It rhymes with phithium pholymer.
No?
It’s made in Japan.
Still not getting it?
The shutdown of the Japanese factory that makes it is disrupting Apple’s production line.
…
If you guessed “a very specific and obscure polymer used to hold together the lithium ion batteries used in iPods and a variety of other gadgets,” you’re right!! Ding!
This story is crazy. Who knew that one chemical made by one small company halfway across the world could affect iPod buyers in the U.S.?
For now, the company (Kureha) is scrambling to get back into action, but in the meantime, will the price of an iPod go up? Should we start stockpiling them in our panic rooms? Can we order iPods with the soothing voice of Justin Beiber pre-installed on them??
Seriously, though. Do you know where your favorite products are made?
(photo credit: Evan Prodromou)
We all know that carbo-loading is essential for running a marathon (or staying up all night writing papers/ playing video games). So why expect lasting social change to run on a cookie here, a handful of peanuts there?
“45% of the population of rural India live in villages with no electricity.” So it was only a matter of time before capitalist do-gooders found an opportunity to profit from lighting up the countryside. Providing affordable clean energy solutions is potentially a $2 billion industry in India alone. And it’s not just the entrepreneurs who profit: locals suddenly have light to study and work by, cleaner air and water, and a new job market for selling and repairing solar lanterns and other green gadgets.
Sounds like a pretty neat social venture to us. What do you think?
When it comes to supporting causes you care about, are you more likely to fund emergency projects, like disease and hunger relief, or longer-term strategies for change, like electricity?
Today at TILE we talked about “stock splits” – how companies use basic math to dress up (or dress down) the way their stocks look to investors. Why the need for mathematical gymnastics? Can a stock really change its stripes? Why does it matter?
We’d never heard of a Dutch Sandwich (mmm… sandwich) or a Double Irish before reading this article about how multinational corporations avoid paying U.S. taxes.
But then, we don’t have hundreds of highly-paid tax experts and lawyers working day in and day out to help us find and exploit loopholes in the tax code.
But guess who does? That’s right. The Googles, the Facebooks, the Pfizers, and the Microsofts of the world. General Electric alone currently has 975 people on staff to ensure it pays the least amount of tax possible while still not technically breaking the law.
They must be doing a pretty good job, because last year, G.E.’s U.S. tax bill was $0.00.
It pays to have smart people helping you make decisions.
(photo courtesy of Google)
How are you when it comes to saving money? Do you have some kind of smartypants financial advisor? Are you your own smartypants?
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Check out our latest digital short, Budgeting 101: http://bit.ly/fXahca