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Demand For 3D Projectors Stifled By Lack Of Supply

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

As consumer demand for digital projectors skyrockets, the industry may not be able to supply quickly enough.

  • Privately owned makers of projector components have struggled to keep up with the soaring demand.
  • Despite the inability to match supply with demand, digital projector purveyor Barco doubled its projector sales in 2009 – its best year to date.
  • Barco considers additional funding of component makers as a potential option for solving this supply crisis, and may even use a secondary supplier to meet its component needs.

Facts & Figures

  • 85% of the world’s cinemas have yet to be fitted with digital projectors.
  • Barco thinks it could make nearly 150 million euros ($203.6 million) in 2010.
  • Barco shipped around 1,000 projectors in the fourth quarter of 2009, worth around 36 million euros.

Best Quote

“The challenge will not be how many you can sell, it will be how many you can make.” – Eric Van Zele, CEO of Barco

Strange Bike And Monorail Fusion May Revolutionize City Travel

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Safe, weatherproof, environmentally friendly, and a good workout, too!

  • Geoffrey Barnett’s ingenious new invention combines a recumbent (lying down) bicycle with monorail technology, creating the “Schweeb.”
  • The invention may provide an alternative means of city travel, and it’s cheap and ecologically-friendly, to boot.
  • Apparently, recumbent cycling is faster than upright cycling, and a monorail would be the safest way to get around crowded cities quickly.

Facts & Figures

  • “Schweeb” is derived from the German word “schweben,” which means “to float” or “suspend.”
  • Barnett worked on the design for six years while he lived in Tokyo, and opened a 200 meter (650 foot) track in Rotorua, New Zealand in 2007.
  • The Schweeb can reach speeds of up to 35 mph.

Best Quote

“To me, as a cyclist, it’s just obvious, you should be able to ride over the top of traffic, so I came up with the idea of a weather-proof capsule that is completely safe.” – Geoffrey Barnett, Inventor

“Augmented Reality” Brings Real Estate To A New Dimension

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

A prosperous new market marries iPhone superpowers with the reality of day-to-day.

  • The European tech company Layar has engineered a mobile browser that layers content over reality using your phone’s camera, compass and GPS data.
  • Layar’s augmented reality technology (A.R.) is now being used in the lucrative real estate industry.
  • Point your iPhone at a home or apartment and watch interior photos and value estimates appear onscreen.

Facts & Figures

  • 1,000 developers have designed 2,000 programs for the iPhone and Google Android using Layer’s technology.
  • By 2014, the A.R. market is expected to have annual revenue of $732 million.
  • Both Google and Microsoft are working on their own versions of A.R.

Best Quote

“There’s a lot of capital, a lot of money in real estate so we expect realtor brands to use it as a service to their customers and customers to use it just out of curiosity.” – Maarten Lend-FizGerald, Layar Co-Founder

All Eyes On McCann

Friday, March 12th, 2010

After an agonizing descent, UBS pins all its brokerage hopes on Robert McCann. But only for so long…

  • Thrust into a toxic environment teeming with huge credit losses and allegations of illicit banking practices, many industry insiders believe that McCann, the man tasked with the job of salvaging UBS’s debased U.S. brokerage unit, has a short amount of time to accomplish the tremendous task at hand.
  • Industry executives believe that the magnitude of the meltdown will force UBS to sell its U.S. brokerage division, while others argue that it should be cut out of UBS and rebranded.
  • McCann, former leader of Merrill Lynch’s renowned “Thundering Herd” of brokers, left Merrill Lynch while Bank of America was in the process of acquiring the firm and is said to be a capable leader and intelligent man.

Facts & Fiugres

  • In 2008 and 2009, UBS revealed an astonishing $52 billion in credit losses, and was forced by regulators to redeem $22 billion in auction-rate securities (cash-like investments that become untradeable when markets seize up).
  • Last summer, U.S. authorities accused UBS bankers of helping rich Americans hide money in Switzerland.
  • UBS customers withdrew 20 billion Swiss francs in 2009, while the bank retained only 737 billion francs in client assets by the end of the year.
  • About 1,100 brokers left the bank in 2009, leaving it with approximately 7,000 brokers on staff.

Best Quote

“The problem is not whether he can do it, but can he do it quickly enough to keep people in Zurich happy.” – Brad Hintz, Analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein

Tuition Hiked; Students Walk

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Outraged by tuition increases and education budgetary cuts, thousands of students, parents and teachers across California protested at elementary schools, colleges and universities last Thursday.

  • Called a “strike and day of action to defend public education” by organizers, the protests were (for the most part) peaceful.
  • At UC Santa Cruz, protesters shut down access to the campus by obstructing entrances.
  • Tuition protests occurred in other states as well, with at least 16 people arrested at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Facts & Figures

  • 150 people were arrested throughout the state.
  • California is currently facing a $20 billion budget deficit.
  • 1,000 people gathered to demonstrate on the steps of the capital building in Sacramento.

Best Quote

“Kids come to school hungry; some are homeless. How can we deal with problems like that with as many as 38, 40 kids in a class?”  – Mary Flanagan, third grade teacher from Richmond, California

Guns And Coffee Go Together Like Peas And Carrots

Friday, March 12th, 2010

A fast-spreading movement in the pro-gun community has taken the Starbucks coffee contingent by storm.

  • As firearms fanatics and gun-control advocates battle over an issue known as the “open carry” movement (a demonstration by gun owners of carrying their guns in unconcealed holsters in public areas and private businesses where allowed), Starbucks, in full compliance with state open-carry weapons laws, has been caught up in the middle of the raging debate.
  • Starbucks, along with some other establishments, has refused to ban guns, causing uproar in the gun-control community.
  • Some retailers have banned guns from their stores for fear of losing out on potential customers with hoplophobia (fear of firearms).

Facts & Figures

  • The “open carry” movement started gaining momentum in 2004 after pro-gun advocates began researching state laws only to find that many states do not have laws that prohibit carrying unconcealed firearms.
  • In the 43 states where open carry is legal, Starbucks has around 4,970 company-operated stores.
  • Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Home Depot Inc., Best Buy Co. and Barnes and Nobles Inc. also allow unconcealed weapons in the respective states that allow such an activity, and have all become “open carry” friendly sites and milieus for informal “open carry” demonstrations.
  • Companies such as Peet’s Coffee & Tea have disallowed carrying unconcealed weapons in their stores, despite the legality of such an action.

Best Quote

“I think the policy shows complete disregard for the safety and sentiments of their workers. The only thing worse than a yuppie upset with how their frappuccino turned out is a yuppie with a gun who’s unhappy with how their frappuccino turned out.” – Erik Forman, a Starbucks barista, union member, and ostensible hoplophobe and sensationalist from Minneapolis

Coke Buys Coke’s North American Bottling Operations.

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

In an effort to improve its business model and boost efficacy, Coke takes over bottling its beverages.

  • Coca-Cola Co. will now control the operations of its largest North American bottler, Coca Cola Enterprises Inc., helping the company cut costs and increase flexibility in distribution.
  • Apparently, Coke made the purchase in reaction to PepsiCo’s recent purchase of its top bottlers, Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. and PepsiAmericas Inc.
  • Coke’s present business model — selling beverage concentrate and using CCE to bottle and distribute the drinks — has caused tension over the years around issues such as concentrate pricing.

Facts & Figures

  • As a result of the deal, Coke will give up the 34% stake it has in CCE, which is valued at $3.2 billion as of 2/24/2010. Coke will also take on $8.88 billion in CCE debt.
  • PepsiCo spent $7.8 billion in purchasing its bottlers.
  • As of noon on 2/25/2010, CCE shares went up 34% to $25.63, and Coke’s shares rose almost 5% to $52.62.
  • CCE shareholders will receive a one-time payment of $10 a share and will also receive shares of the new Coke Enterprises.

Best Quote

“Our North American business structure has remained essentially the same since CCE was founded in 1986, while the market and industry have changed dramatically.” – Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca-Cola Co.

Keeping Up With The Millennials

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Luxury brands aspire to engage a younger generation by adapting and innovating their delivery of fashion.

  • A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that millennials, people between the ages of 18 and 28, are both turned off by more conventional and blatant marketing approaches and have a sophisticated understanding of social media and entertainment.
  • Nowness.com, launched by Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, exemplifies the new trend of companies utilizing artistic videos and images, implying exclusivity and offering cultural commentary.
  • Traditionally, magazines fulfilled the primary role of communicating fashion news to consumers; now many of the brands connect directly with their consumers.

Key Stats

  • 75 percent of Millennials regularly use social networking sites.
  • Burberry opted to make Harry Potter icon Emma Watson the new face of its brand.
  • Last month Armani gained 268,000 new “friends” on Facebook after Lady Gaga wore a space age Armani creation.

Best Quote

“Our goal is always to create a seamless brand experience, especially with our younger lines, communicating the brand wherever the customer wants to touch it – on their mobile devices, via a social network, on blogs, in store, in print and outdoor media.” – John Hooks, Deputy Chairman of Armani

Disney Goes Green

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

In an effort to capitalize on environmental conscientiousness and help curb global carbon emissions, Walt Disney Co. will impose a carbon tax on itself, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

  • On Wednesday March 3, 2010 Walt Disney Co. president and chief executive let it be known that the company will impose an internal tax based on how much carbon they use.
  • The proceeds from the tax will go towards “green” initiatives, such as the preservation of tropical forests and planting trees.
  • Disney has also endeavored to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfills, assess every new capital project from an ecological standpoint and convert vehicles to use cleaner, energy-efficient fuels.

Facts & Figures

  • The carbon tax is calculated based on a unit’s projected increase in carbon emissions over a five year period—if the emissions are less, the tax is less, and vice versa if emissions are greater.
  • Disney would like to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfills by 50% of what it was in 2006, and is already three years ahead of schedule.
  • Disney is trying to convert 2,000 vehicles to use cleaner fuels, and is even switching the steam engines that run in their amusement parks to vegetable oil from diesel.
  • Through its program “Friends for Change,” which has enlisted 1.5 million children to do its “green” bidding, the Disney Channel is doing its part to effect change.

Best Quote

“It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also the right thing to do for shareholders” – Roger Iger, President and CEO of Walt Disney Co.

Wall Street Hurt Just As Much As Everyone Else

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

In terms of job creation for the mid-level managing types, yes, they too are hurting.

  • While the market has somewhat recovered and stabilized in the past year or so, and big banks have begun to bounce back, former mid-level executives of banks and financial firms have had a hard time finding work.
  • Many banks and finance companies fear that the stock market boon that helped catalyze the recovery in 2009 may not last, and, to make matters worst, that pending trading regulations will inhibit profitability.
  • It may take months for banks and financial companies to start hiring mid-level executives, but there are currently a plethora of opportunities for senior-level bankers and executives.

Facts & Figures

  • Financial companies have cut nearly 80,000 securities, commodities and investment jobs in the United States since mid-2008.
  • During the recession, New York’s financial services sector shed 44,200 jobs (a 6.1 percent reduction).
  • All told, Goldman Sachs cut 4,800 jobs, Citigroup, 75,000, Bank of America, 45,500, JPMorgan Chase, 23,700, and Morgan Stanley, 8,600.

Best Quote

“The reality is that you get used to a certain level of compensation that is hard to match elsewhere.” – Matt Prendergast, Former Managing Director at Bear Stearns

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