Archive for the ‘Spend Page’ Category

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Toyota Plans More Extensive Vehicle Testing

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

In order to fight doubts about the quality or safety of its new vehicles, Toyota looks to increase the time it takes to test new models.

  • In the last generation of vehicles, there were definite safety and quality issues resulting in massive recalls.
  • As a result, Toyota plans to increase the length of time new car models are tested by 2-6 months.
  • Toyota is trying to prevent increasing the overall time it takes to develop a vehicle, but instead shorten other parts of the process to allow for more testing time.
  • The Toyota brand fell from 7th to 21st overall in its Initial Quality Survey of new vehicles last month.

Facts and Figures

  • Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles due to problems related to unintended acceleration, steering, braking, and gas-tank flaws.
  • Toyota’s market share is 15.1%, down from 17% 6 months ago.

Best Quote

“As we looked at this past generation of vehicles it did seem to be all about the growth of the company, and there were lapses. We are definitely reforming the processes to be ultracareful.” – Randy Stevens, Employee at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, MI

Are You Eating Recalled Food?

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Companies don’t recall products unless they absolutely have to. So why are so many people ignoring recall warnings?

  • Because recalls have become so common, consumers are experiencing “recall fatigue.” They either never get the recall message or they choose to ignore it. In the case of fresh food, the product has usually already been eaten by the time the recall is issued.
  • When a product is recalled, it’s relatively easy to have retailers pull it off the shelves. But it’s much harder to track down each individual that’s purchased that item already to let them know.
  • Costco, a member-based retailer, tracks each member’s purchases and calls them when one of the products they’ve purchased has been recalled.

Facts & Figures

  • In 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission facilitated 465 recalls.
  • 12% of Americans have eaten food they knew had been recalled.
  • The government keeps an updated list of recalls at www.recalls.gov. Mobile versions of the site are in the works.

Best Quote

“The national recall system that’s in place now just doesn’t work. We call it the Chicken Little syndrome. If you keep shouting at the wind — ‘The sky is falling! The sky is falling!’ — people literally become immune to the message.” – Craig Wilson, Assistant Vice President for Quality Assurance and Food Safety at Costco

Putting A Price On Immigration

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Economists consider if the best way to control entry into a country is a fee…

  • Economist Gary Becker advocates an economic solution for the global immigration problem. He proposes attaching a price to immigration, either by selling the right to migrate or auctioning immigrant visas.
  • Becker argues that only the most determined or resourceful migrants would be successful, greatly simplifying the process and allowing governments more immigration control. In addition, the receiving country would benefit financially, potentially helping to reduce budget deficits.
  • For those who were committed to immigrating, but unable to pay the fee, Becker advises a loaning system in which migrants could borrow from the government and pay them back over time.

Facts & Figures

  • Charging 50,000 dollars for the right to immigrate into America would yield the country $50 billion if it let in 1 million immigrants a year.

Hulu Makes A Grab For Your Wallet

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Hulu is introducing a paid subscription model in addition to its existing service.

  • Hulu Plus, Hulu’s new subscription service, charges a monthly fee in exchange for offering users a much wider range of episodes and programs, including full seasons of current shows and back seasons of past programs.
  • Hulu Plus will be available on many different devices, including laptops, the iPhone, iTouch, and iPad, Samsung TVs, and Blu-ray players. A deal with Sony to bring the service to the PS3 is expected, and it will also be available on the 360 next year.
  • Hulu Plus’ biggest challenge will be attracting users who are used to getting the same programs for free on regular television.

Facts and Figures

  • The starting subscription fee for Hulu Plus is $9.99 per month.
  • Three of the four major broadcast network owners- General Electric (NBC), Disney (ABC), and News Corp (Fox) – hold equity stakes in Hulu. CBS Corp is the only holdout.

Best Quote

“We believe that any lasting solution to the challenge of making TV show discovery and viewing dramatically easier has to work for all three of our customers, and those are our end users, our advertisers, and our content suppliers.”  Jason Kilar, Hulu Chief Executive

New Homes Didn’t Sell In May

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Because a special tax credit for purchasing new-homes expired in April, sales plunged in May.

  • The drop in new home sales, which are at the lowest number since 1970, may be the result of buyers rushing to purchase homes before the tax credit expired.
  • New home construction and applications for home-buying loans also declined in May.
  • The decline may not be indicative of a weak recovery, but instead merely a reaction to the expired tax credit.

Facts & Figures

  • New home sales fell -32.7% from April to May.
  • Sales had increased by +12.1% in March and +14.7% in April.
  • In May 2010, the median price of a new home was $200,900, which is 9.6% lower than in 2009.

Best Quote

“It’s a concern that even with very low interest rates, you’re seeing there’s an inability of home sales to move up at all in the past year, but there’s a reason to believe going forward things wouldn’t be quite as bad as they are in May.” – Michael Feroli, Chief U.S. Economist at J.P. Morgan Chase

The Ups and Downs Of A Carbon Tax in Britain

Friday, June 25th, 2010

To tax or not to tax? Will imposing a carbon tax have enough advantages to not disgruntle the British population?

  • A British economic-modeling firm (Cambridge Econometrics) evaluated the effect a carbon tax would have on the country’s economy and environment.
  • The results were mixed. Experts found the tax would boost the overall economy by increasing gas-fired power stations and decreasing expensive wind power operations. However, Britain depends on gas already, and encouraging its use would only speed up the country’s dwindling supply.
  • A carbon tax would also be much simpler than then hodgepodge of environmental laws and tax breaks already in place. The tax would regulate the price of carbon so that if people pollute, they pay for it, encouraging greener technologies.

Facts & Figures

  • With a carbon tax, Britain would raise an extra 11 billion pounds by 2015.
  • Average fuel bills would also grow by 0.5 % by 2020.

Living In Walt Disney World

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Walt Disney Co. plans to develop an expensive vacation-home real estate community – “Golden Oak” – in Walt Disney World in Florida.

  • Golden Oak homes will be priced between $1.5 and $8 million dollars, placing them at the very top of the Orlando area housing market.
  • Construction on the first homes is expected to be finished in 2011.
  • There is another real estate development next to the theme park – “Celebration” – that is more economically diverse and generally considered a successful project.

Facts & Figures

  • The average price of new home listings in the Orlando area in 2010 is about $243,000.
  • The proposed plan includes 450 homes, a 445-room Four Seasons hotel, 2 updated golf courses, a clubhouse, parks, walkways, and wetlands.

Best Quote

“This may be the first time that a kind of man-made entertainment center has generated that kind of real-estate activity.” – Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Dean of Architecture at the University of Miami

Foreclosed Homes: A Good Deal For Buyers?

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

The number of foreclosures on private homes continues to increase, and it shows no indication of stopping in 2010.

  • Between 3 and 3.5 million houses in the U.S. are expected to go into foreclosure in 2010 (up from 2.8 million in 2009).
  • Foreclosed homes are sold “as is,” so there are many potential complications and hidden costs.
  • It’s typical for bank-owned homes to have electricity, gas, and water completely turned off, emphasizing the importance of buyer inspections.

Facts and Figures

  • There have been more than 300,000 homes per month for 15 consecutive months that received foreclosure notices.
  • An estimated 45% of adults may consider purchasing a foreclosure.
  • Some banks are offering financial incentives to those buying foreclosures.

Best Quote

“We’ve plateaued at an unprecedented level of foreclosure activity.” – Rick Sharga, Senior Vice President of RealtyTrac

Today in Apple Uncool

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Apple’s new Privacy Policy (which you’re required to agree to in order to download anything – including apps – from iTunes) has some spy vs. spy stuff going on. The policy basically says that Apple is allowed to anonymously track and store every single move your iGadget makes – in other words, every move you make. Since no one actually reads the updated Privacy Policies, we thought we’d share the creepy new world of iSurveillance for you lucky iUsers out there!

Here’s the part in the new policy that talks about it:

apple-uncool.png

(via consumerist.com)

Why China’s Currency Change Matters To U.S.

Monday, June 21st, 2010

China changing its currency policy may mean a big change for everyone!

  • For a long time, China has (unfairly) kept the value its currency low because it helps keep Chinese industries competitive in the global market.
  • China is expected to finally make a change, after lots of pressure from the Obama Administration.
  • The change would mean a stronger renminbi (or yuan), more affordable American goods in China, and more expensive Chinese goods in America.
  • If the renminbi is allowed to fluctuate, it could potentially increase the value of the U.S. Dollar.

Facts and Figures

  • Since 2002, China has sold $2.187 trillion of its own currency to prevent it from gaining value.
  • China is currently exporting four times more to the United States than the U.S. is to China.
  • 6.82 renminbi equals 1 USD.

Best Quote

“Whether to let the yuan slowly appreciate or let it rise to a tolerable range after careful calculation, I think it is better to have that quick, prompt appreciation.” - Xia Bin, Member, Monetary Policy Committee of the Chinese Central Bank

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