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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

California Leads The Way In Electric Car Technology

Monday, June 21st, 2010

California is ahead of the game: great weather, beautiful beaches and now affordable environmentally friendly transportation…we should all just move.

  • California is encouraging consumers to purchase electric cars through hefty discounts and reliable and accessible charging stations.
  • Charging stations are being built in locations where customers are able to linger (like shopping malls and grocery stores) because charging up a car’s battery takes longer than filling it up with gas.
  • The cost of charging a car’s battery is under discussion – some companies would like consumers to pay by simply by swiping a card, some will make the service free as a way to attract business to neighboring stores.

Facts & Figures

  • California is spending $200 million a year on low-emission vehicle technology.
  • To aid in the cost of these vehicles, California is offering up to a $20,000 rebate to buyers of low-emission commercial vehicles.

Best Quote

“California is leading the way.” – Sue Cischke, Global Vice President of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering at Ford Motor Co.

Best Buy Not So Hot First Quarter

Monday, June 21st, 2010
Best Buy quarterly results show that Best Buy sales fell short of predictions.
  • Best Buy’s stock fell 6% after disappointing quarterly results were released on Tuesday.
  • While sales of notebook computers, cell phones, and appliances were strong, sales of games, music, movies, and televisions fell short.
  • Executives are optimistic that customers will continue spending, though, and pull the company out of this rut.

Facts and Figures

  • First quarter net earnings were 36 cents per share (less than predicted 50 cents per share)
  • Reported sales for this quarter were $10.8 billion (less than predicted $10.9 billion)
  • Retail sales fell by 1.2% in May 2010 (they were expected to rise 0.2%)

Schemer Buys Yacht, Hangs With Celebs, Is Jailed For 50 Years

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

A prominent Florida lawyer is the latest example of what not to do as an investor, a business person, or a generally moral person.

  • 47 year-old Scott Rothstein was convicted on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit bank transfer fraud, and criminal conspiracy related to the financial system.
  • Rothstein managed to buy several houses, cars, and a yacht before he was caught. He also befriended celebrities and politicians, including Arnold Schwarzenegger.
  • Rothstein used new investors’ money to pay off earlier investors, and just like Bernie Madoff’s famous  Ponzi scheme, he left countless investors with immense losses.

Facts & Figures

  • Rothstein’s fraudulent investment scheme was worth more then $1 billion.
  • He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
  • Rothstein forged the signatures of at least three federal judges.

Best Quote

“This rags-to-riches-to-jail saga is a humbling reminder of what can happen when greed and ambition run amok.”  - Wifredo Ferrer, U.S. Attorney

An Oil Company Actually Benefits From The Oil Spill

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
While most oil companies are suffering in the wake of the big spill, investors are becoming more confident in Brazil’s Petrobras because it doesn’t operate in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • As BP shares continue to fall, shares of Brazilian oil company Petrobras have remained stable for weeks.
  • Petrobras plans to make more stock available for sale later this summer, indicating that it’s doing well despite other oil companies suffering from the oil spill.
  • While the oil spill is hurting stocks associated with the Gulf, investors are confident that oil companies elsewhere (like Petrobras) could actually benefit.

Facts and Figures

  • Petrobras plans to offer $25 billion in equity this summer
  • If they do sell all of their offered stock, it would be the second largest equity offering ever
  • Petrobras operates worldwide – from Turkey to New Zealand to, of course, Brazil

Best Quote

“Petrobras does not have the headline risk that BP does right now. Investors are unlikely to move away completely from the oil sector but substitute from one company to another.” – Gerry Sparrow, Chief Investment Officer, Sparrow Capital

Oil Disaster Ignites Innovation, Ingenuity, Entrepreneurial Spirit

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Over 20,000 people responded to BP’s call for suggestions, proving that creativity prevails amid relentless Gulf damage.
  • Countless environmental entrepreneurs are stepping up to offer solutions to the Deepwater Horizon crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • C.I. Agent Solutions, a Kentucky-based company that makes oil-blocking polymer, has created a technology that stops the oil by changing it from liquid to solid. When the polymer and oil meet, the oil becomes a non-toxic rubber-like material, making it easy to pick up.
  • A Florida-based company, C.W. Roberts Contracting,, takes a more basic approach, using hay as an absorbent.
  • While the oil industry has invested billions of dollars in finding new oil, hardly any new research or improvements have been been made or funded in the realm of regulation and cleanup.

Facts & Figures

  • A YouTube demonstration of the oil-absorbing hay has gotten over 1.5 million hits.

Best Quote

“Traditional cleanup companies sell time and material. Our method takes less time and uses less material so they don’t like it.”  - Dan Parker, President Of C.I. Agent Solutions

How To Sell The Modern Home’s Most Boring Accessory: Paint

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
A fresh coat of interior paint is a manageable, recession-proof way for homeowners to spruce up their homes. Just make sure you don’t show the product in action.

  • The paint company Valspar has designed a unique advertising campaign that appeals to the imagination and emotions of consumers.
  • While most paint advertisements feature flannel-clad men and women rolling a brush across a blank wall, Valspar decided it’s best not to remind people that painting your wall is actually a chore.
  • Valspar commercials features exotic locations, a soothing voiceover, and impressive colors that pop onscreen. There is also a 16 x 30 foot wall that stands abstractly in meadows, on beaches, or near mountains.

Facts & Figures

  • Valspar spent $35.2 million in advertising in 2009. Sherwin-Williams (one of few household paint names) spent $52 million.
  • The revenue for exterior paint fell 12% from 2007 to 2009. Interior paint sales slipped just 3%.

Best Quote
“Consumers talk about what they feel when they finish the project, and that’s a sense of pride and accomplishment. They say, ‘I feel like an artist,’ and ‘I feel a sense of freedom and joy.’ They ladder up to a lot of high-level emotional benefits, and that’s what we’re trying to tap into through this campaign.”  - Susanne Champ, Director of Marketing At Valspar

Could The Recession Recovery Be A Fakeout?

Monday, June 14th, 2010

With all of today’s turmoil (the Gulf oil spill, Europe’s debt problem, consistently high unemployment rates) it’s no wonder economists have pondered whether or not we’re heading for Recession Part II.

  • It seems that the possibility of a “double dip” recession, in which a recession is followed by a short recovery that slips into another recession, seems to have decreased slightly since last year.
  • Several factors have influenced this positive change, namely that major U.S. companies have reported profit growth in the first quarter of 2010 and a $1 trillion bailout package has been approved been European leaders.
  • But unemployment is still high, and that GDP growth is already slowing.

Facts & Figures

  • Some believe the chance of a double dip recession is 20% now compared to 50% last year. Others says 25% now versus 30% last year.
  • Unemployment is still up at 9. 7%.
  • GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 5.6%, the highest in 6 years.
  • Economists predict the growth rate will slow to 3% this year.

Best Quote

“One of the things to remember is conditions do not have to be perfect for the economy to grow, but there’s a limit to how much bad news this economy can take.”  - Mark Vitner, Senior Economist, Wells Fargo Securities

Cousteau & Co. Dive To Draw Attention To Waterways

Monday, June 14th, 2010
Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the famous Jacques, hopes to improve New York waterways with his nonprofit and a public school partnership.

  • Plant a Fish, Mr. Cousteau’s new nonprofit, focuses on ocean restoration around the world. Its first project:  The Hudson River.
  • Cousteau is working with students from the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public city high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to plant thousands of oysters near Bay Ridge on Monday, June 14th.
  • The Harbor School offers its students scuba diving lessons and constructs its curriculum around New York’s waterways. The school will relocate to Governors Island this fall.

Facts & Figures

  • On Monday, June 14th, Mr. Cousteau and The Harbor School expect to plant 130,000 oysters.
  • Future Plant a Fish projects include planting one million corals in the Maldives and Florida Keys and one billion sea turtles in the mangroves of El Salvador.
  • The estimated cost per program ranges from $15,000 to $65,000

Best Quote
“We need to see our natural world as a bank account where we have to live on the interest rather than eating away at the capital.  Plant a Fish is one of the ways that we can start restoring that capital.”  – Fabien Cousteau, Founder, Plant A Fish

Your Clickable Drugstore, Complete With Robots

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Soap.com will revolutionize, digitize your drugstore experience.

  • The owners of Diapers.com, a company that turns an impressive profit selling, yes, diapers, have decided to take on all commonplace household products digitally by launching Soap.com this summer.
  • Although big sites like Drugstore.com and Amazon.com already offer online drugstore products, Soap.com believes its strong grasp on logistics will set it apart.
  • Soap.com possesses a unique warehouse technology that includes robots which determine the most efficient way to pack products. They also physically retrieve the items from the warehouse shelves.
  • Orders arrive within two days, and shipping is free.

Facts & Figures

  • Diapers.com sold $182 million worth of diapers and baby products in 2009 and anticipate $300 million in 2010.
  • Soap.com expects to carry 40,000 products by the end of the year.
  • Currently, the offline drugstore market generates $125 billion. The online market makes $8 billion.

Best Quote

“These are products you bought a thousand times before and don’t need to see or touch them again.  These are chores.” - Vinit Bharara, Cofounder of Quidsi, which owns Diapers.com

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