Archive for the ‘TILE Translations’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

A Bump For Small Businesses

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

A new bill promises higher loans and bigger benefits for those pursuing business on a smaller scale…

  • On June 29th the Senate introduced a small-business jobs bill that guarantees higher and more inclusive government loans for small businesses and provides tax incentives to encourage small business investment.
  • The bill also includes a lending fund that loans money to community banks so that they can then lend to small businesses. It also finances state and local programs that would aid businesses in getting bank credit.
  • The bill is designed to appeal to a bi-partisan crowd. It allows people to pay more taxes strictly by choice, with the hope that this will appeal to both a Republican and Democratic audience and eventually be implemented.

Best Quote

“It is attractive politically because people pay more taxes today only if they choose to do so; ergo no one can complain about the tax increase.” – Roberton Williams, Senior Fellow, Tax Policy Center

Nestle Seeks Customers in the Amazon

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Nestle is adapting to the needs of lower-income areas in order to take advantage of a new market opportunity.

  • Nestle is sending a supermarket barge down the Para and Xingu rivers, two tributaries of the Amazon, in order to reach customers in Brazil who cannot get access to name-brand goods otherwise.
  • The company has created smaller and cheaper versions of its products so that lower-income consumers will be able to afford them.
  • If the project is successful, Nestle plans to expand it in Brazil or even in other countries like the Philippines.

Facts and Figures

  • Nestle predicts that as many as one billion people in emerging markets will become able to afford its products in the next decade and that it will make as much as $18 billion per year from selling the smaller and cheaper forms of its products worldwide. The company also plans to increase the proportion of its sales that come from developing countries from 35% to 45% in the next decade.
  • The supermarket barge makes a circuit that brings it to 18 cities and 800,000 potential customers.
  • Nestle has invested one million reais ($560,000) in creating smaller and cheaper products and establishing partnerships with local suppliers.

Best Quote

“In Para, rivers act as streets and avenues. We have to adapt to this reality. [People’s] daily lives here are linked to fishing, to the region they live in. They don’t have the time or money to get to the capital.” – Ivan Zurita, President of Nestle Brazil

Rebuilding in Haiti?

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Six months after the disastrous earthquake, the rebuilding effort in Haiti is slow.

  • U.S. relief organizations have received $1.3 billion since the earthquake, but experts fear that it’s not enough to fund rebuilding.
  • Nonprofits have provided a lot of food and water, but may not be focused enough on providing shelter.
  • Hurricane season is imminent and aid experts emphasize the need for stable structures and shelters, especially in under-served rural areas.

Facts and Figures

  • An estimated 230,000 people were killed in the January 2010 earthquake.
  • Clearing rubble and establishing land rights are the two main obstacles to construction.
  • 3,722 transitional shelters have been built – each houses a family of 5.
  • Nonprofits aim to build 125,000 transitional shelters by mid-2011.

Best Quote

“I feel really good about what the donor community did in this first six months. I would feel even better if I knew that the donor community was poised to stay active over the long haul.” – Regine A. Webster, Senior Associate for Disaster Philanthropy at Arabella Advisors

Spenders Spending, But Quietly

Friday, July 9th, 2010

It seems that Americans will always be enticed by material gloss and glam, but in this economy they don’t want to show it.

  • Despite America’s recent economic despair, the country’s lavish spenders are still alive and well. However, their spending style has shifted from self-advertising to self-discretion. People are still buying away, but in these tough times, it’s not cool to show it.
  • Though Goldman Sachs claimed to skimp on bonuses this year, the total still came to $16 billion. Americans – seemingly frazzled by Wall Street’s demise – still managed to rack up $800 billion in credit card debt in the two years after the crisis.
  • Some people have certainly been forced to reign in their spending. But their reservation comes from necessity, not respectful conservatism. Spenders are still spending; they just might turn their designer labels to the side.

Best Quote

“The notion that people have crawled into a bunker stocked with canned beans is a bit of a myth. Pleasure-seeking has stubbornly continued. Unless you unfortunately lost your job, nobody stopped. People just aren’t as in-your-face about it.” – Mr. Gordinier, Owner of a high-end personal-concierge company

Solar Powered Plane Spends More Than A Day In The Air

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Solar power supporters are jumping for joy as a solar powered plane accomplishes the impossible…

  • On July 8, an experimental solar powered plane completed its first flight lasting more than 24 hours, marking a huge milestone in solar energy technology.
  • The plane, called the Solar Impulse, was piloted by André Borschberg. The plane gets its power from thousands of solar cells that absorb energy projected by the sun and store it so that the plane can continue its flight after dark.
  • The initial goal of the project was to prove that a plane of airliner-size could successfully stay aloft indefinitely by recharging its batteries each night. With the success of the Solar Impulse, the project’s founders hope to eventually create a plane that can circumnavigate the world using solar power.

Facts & Figures

  • The Solar Impulse weighs 3,500 pounds.
  • Total flight time was 26 hours and 9 minutes.
  • During the flight, the Solar Impulse reached a maximum speed of 78 miles per hour.

Best Quote

“I’ve been a pilot for 40 years now, but this flight has been the most incredible one of my flying career. Just sitting there and watching the battery charge level rise and rise thanks to the sun. I have just flown more than 26 hours without using a drop of fuel and without causing any pollution.” – André Bourschberg, Pilot

Drunken Broker Single-Handedly Alters Global Oil Price

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Bet your parents never warned you about this potential side effect of drinking…

  • Last year, Steve Perkins – a broker for PVM Oil Futures – got “blackout drunk” and decided to buy 7 million barrels of crude oil with his firm’s money, driving up the global price of oil.
  • After realizing what he’d done, the 34 year old broker texted his managing director saying that he wouldn’t be coming into work the next day due to an ill family member.
  • As PVM challenged his story, Perkins confessed to spending the firm’s money.
  • Perkins seems to have had no motive for buying the oil, and he claims that he has a blurry memory of the entire night.

Facts and Figures

  • Perkins spent $520 million of PVM’s money, but his job title only allows him to place trades on behalf of his clients.
  • He bought 7 million barrels of crude oil at 2am.
  • Perkins’s purchase raised the global oil price up more than $1.50 a barrel to an 8-month high.
  • Mr. Perkins has been fired, banned from trading for 5 years, and fined £72,000 (about $110,000).

Best Quote

“Mr. Perkins poses an extreme risk to the market when drunk.” – Financial Services Authority

Charitable Foundations Finally Looking Up

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Finally, some good news about philanthropy in the wake of the financial crisis!

  • Endowments for charitable institutions grew steadily last year, rebounding from the sharp declines of 2008.
  • Despite the rebound, many foundations and charities have still cut back on spending and giving.
  • Most foundations (55%) gave less in 2009, but a few (16%) gave more.

Facts and Figures

  • Hundreds of grant makers saw their investments increase by about 20% this year (compared to a 26% drop in 2008).
  • Charities and foundations carry a median debt of over $20 million.
  • 38% of charities spent less in 2009, 20% spent more.

Lower Charitable Tax Deductions Reduce Incentive To Give

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

A proposal worries nonprofits as lower charitable tax deductions might keep donors from giving the big bucks.
  • Nonprofits in New York City are anxious that a state budget proposal will be implemented that greatly reduces tax deductions for charitable donations.
  • The proposal is meant to bolster New York’s sluggish economy by allowing the 3,500 New Yorkers who earn more than $10 million a year to deduct only 25% of their charitable contributions – instead of the 50% it is now.
  • If the proposal passes, it could generate up to $100 billion for the state, but it will also greatly decrease the incentive for high-income New Yorkers to donate to charities.

Best Quote

“Any proposal that could possibly decrease private giving is going to be a disaster for all nonprofits in New York City and throughout the state. The state cannot balance the budget on the backs of those in need.” – Michael Stoller, Executive Director, Human Services Council

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

Businesses Hesitate To Hire, Stall Economic Recovery

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Concerns about the stalled U.S. economic recovery continue to grow.

  • Last week, state unemployment aid claims increased unexpectedly, which may indicate that the economic recovery is stalling.
  • Although the number of layoffs has decreased in the past year, businesses are hesitant to hire.
  • New jobless claims rose to the highest level since the beginning of March.
  • Obama’s approval ratings have plummeted due to concerns about the economic recovery.

Facts and Figures

  • Claims for state unemployment benefits rose 13,000 last month.
  • Employers announced 39,358 job cuts in June, up 1.4% from May.
  • Private employers added just 13,000 jobs in May.
  • Announced layoffs hit a 4-year low in April.

Best Quote

“It’s looking more and more like the job market is treading water. Layoffs are down from 2009, but hiring hasn’t really picked up and this is disappointing. There is a lot of uncertainty on the hiring side that’s causing things to remain sluggish. In order for the recovery to give people confidence it needs to cut across different sectors of the economy.” – Stephen Bronars, Senior Economist at Welch Consulting

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »