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And You Thought Swine Flu Was Bad…

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

A new study explains in no uncertain terms that climate change will have very serious consequences for the future of human health.

  • The public health implications of rising sea levels and shrinking Arctic ice are vast and include malnutrition caused by droughts, disease carried by mosquitos, and severe asthma from increased air pollution.
  • The study, released by the Trust for America’s Health, states that these threats will be dramatically reduced if the federal government prioritizes a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
  • One way to prepare for the onslaught of issues that will face urban areas is to plant more trees in cities, as they both clean and cool the air.

Facts & Figures

  • Heat waves are expected to worsen in cities where the lack of plant life makes for “urban heat islands.”
  • Warmer weather allows insects like mosquitos to migrate northward, expanding their territory and their ability to spread diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease.
  • Increased heat supports air pollution by contributing to smog, causing increased respiratory illnesses in humans.

Best Quote

“Some of the most personal effects of climate change are going to be health-related ones. We should want the government doing as much as possible now to prevent these effects, or minimize them when they occur.” – Jeff Levi, Executive Director of the Trust for America’s Health

Punk Rock Pearls

Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Jewelry designer Tom Binns opens his first boutique mixing goth and glam and making it work…
  • When designers bring old styles back into fashion, they usually miss the mark – like bringing back daisies and bell-bottoms from the ’60s without any mention of Vietnam.
  • Tom Binns doesn’t white-wash his ’80s inspiration: studded leather cuffs with heavy sterling fasteners and emerald-cut crystals, sterling slave collars and spiked bangles, and a silver bullet necklace, to name a few. It’s rock n’ roll jewelry ready for the red carpet.
  • Binns was trained as a fine artist and welder, and signed up for jewelry classes to get girls, which is probably what makes his jewelry such obscene fun.

Facts and Figures

  • Michelle Obama has been seen sporting pieces by Tom Binns.
  • A big silver heart pendant held together by safety pins and bent nails, hung on long strings of tiny pearls goes for $325.

Best Quote

“Here’s the thing: It’s, like, $30,000, so if you feel comfortable with that responsibility, that’s fine.” – Boutique Manager(in response to the journalist’s request to try on a unique necklace)

Buying Shoes Apparently The Thing To Do In A Recession

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Shoes have been selling increasingly well despite the recession, due to what analysts are calling “frugal fatigue.”

  • While other retail sales have faltered, shoes are increasingly weathering the economic storm.
  • According to analysts, shoes cost less than other items of clothing (even in a good economy), so more people can afford to spend on shoes regardless of their size or economic situation.
  • Shoes are considered more of a necessity than handbags, beautiful dresses or nice suits. And shoes wear down and need to be replaced more quickly than most articles of clothing.

Facts & Figures

  • Shoe sales were at $1.5 billion in October 2009, highest since October 2006.
  • Sales increased 7.9% compared to one year ago.
  • J.C Penney, Dillard’s, and other major retailers cite shoes as one of their best-selling product categories.

Best Quote

“Shoes democratize fashion. You probably can’t buy a Zac Posen dress if you wear a size 14, but you can buy a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes.” – Kathryn Finney, Writer for the Budget Fashionista blog

McDonald’s To Serve Billions More, Faster Than Ever

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Could shaving off seconds from a Big Mac order retain some customers for the fast-food giant? What about ordering while waiting in line at the register?

  • Even-though McDonald’s is the world’s largest restaurant chain, it ranks 7th out of the ten top fast-food chains on the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
  • In an effort to get more customers through their “golden arches,” McDonald’s will focus on serving burgers faster, fitting more food on every tray and squeezing more cars into the drive-through line.
  • The company is experimenting with hand-held ordering devices that would allow workers to come from behind the counter to improve efficiency and shorten long lines.

Facts & Figures

  • Sales in the last year at McDonald’s restaurants (open for at least 13 months) climbed 3.8%.
  • McDonald’s aims to serve each customer within 90 seconds of their order.
  • The company has an “innovation center” 20 miles southwest of their headquarters in Illinois, where they practice new serving techniques and other new ideas.

Best Quote

“The moment of truth comes in the transaction. We have to get better at that moment of truth.” – Jeff Stratton, McDonald’s Chief Restaurant Officer

Young Billionaire Gives Back

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, made headline news when he donated $1 million to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

  • Brin, 36 years old, credits the organization with helping his family escape anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union and create a new life in the United States.
  • Citing Bill Gates as an inspiration, Mr. Brin plans to be very strategic with his grantmaking now that his foundation has built a significant endowment.
  • The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society plans to use the gift to  increase their use of technology and increase their work on immigration policy.

Facts & Figures

  • Sergey Brin’s personal wealth is estimated to be $16 billion.
  • Brin and his wife, Anne Wojcicki, have given over $30 million to charity so far.
  • The majority of Brin and Wojcicki’s philanthropic giving has been to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and other organizations working on Parkinson’s disease.

Best Quote

“I would never have had the kinds of opportunities I’ve had here in the Soviet Union, or even in Russia today. I would like to see anyone be able to achieve their dreams, and that’s what this organization does.” – Sergey Brin

When Paying Less Attention To AIDS Is A Good Thing…

Monday, November 9th, 2009

A heated debate is under way over how money should be allocated to fight illnesses that affect young children in developing countries. While much headway has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, children continue to perish from simple dehydration.

  • The U.S. is receiving increased scrutiny from UNICEF and other humanitarian organizations about the percentage of foreign aid that goes to fighting childhood AIDS as opposed to other diseases that afflict children in the developing world.
  • President Obama has promised to put more emphasis on child and maternal health but has simultaneously committed to increase money given to fight AIDS.
  • Leaders in the movement to fight AIDS in Africa, such as Jeffrey Sachs, suggest that other Western nations focus on different global health priorities, since the U.S. is spending so much on AIDS specifically.

Facts & Figures

  • Diarrhea kills 1.5 million children a year in developing nations – more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.
  • Oral rehydration salts cost literally pennies, but only 4 in 10 children suffering from dehydration in developing countries receive this simple treatment.
  • In Africa’s two most populous nations, Nigeria and Ethiopia, 540,000 children under the age of 5 died of pneumonia and diarrhea in 2007, which is more than twice the total number of people who died of AIDS.

Best Quote:

“AIDS is still underfunded, no question. But maternal, newborn and child mortality is tremendous tragedy and gets peanuts.” – Jeremy Shiffman, Political Scientist at Syracuse University

Buffet Invests In American Economy

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Warren Buffet, America’s most well-known investor, has purchased the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation in hopes that railroad traffic will increase in the future.

  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe is a railroad company that ships products by train all over the country.
  • Buffet believes that railroads will become increasingly popular for shipping and transportation as oil becomes more expensive.
  • Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, followed his rules of investing in this particular deal: invest in companies that people can understand, and buy quality products at discount prices.

Facts & Figures

  • Buffet will pay roughly $26 billion for the 77.4% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe that he does not already own (at $100/ share).
  • Buffet is splitting Berkshire Hathaway’s B Class stock 50 to 1 (meaning that if you owned 1 share of stock before the split, you know own 50!) in order to pay for the acquisition.
  • In an investor owned $1,000 worth of Berkshire stock in 1965, that same investor’s stock would be worth millions of dollars today!

Best Quote

“This all happened because my father didn’t buy me a train set as a kid.” – Warren Buffet, CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

Disney Goes To Shanghai

Monday, November 9th, 2009

After 20 years of negotiation, the Walt Disney Company will build its first Chinese theme park in Shanghai.

  • The opening of such a large American theme park will have many cultural and financial implications for Shanghai, a city proud of its rich cultural history.
  • The park will be bigger than the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and will be similar in style to the Paris and Hong Kong parks.
  • The goal of opening such a park is to create demand for Disney products (TV shows, movies, games, characters, toys, boardgames, DVDs and plenty more) among China’s 1.3 billion citizens.

Facts & Figures

  • The park will cost $3.5 billion dollars to build, will occupy at least 1,000 acres of land in the city’s Pudong district, and is set to open in 5-6 years.
  • Only 20 foreign films (often censored) are permitted to be shown in Chinese theaters every year.
  • Disney already sells Disney merchandise at 6,000 locations in China.

Best Quote

“It’s a signal that now they will tolerate a certain kind of Western investment” – Orville Schell, Director of the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations

Feds Propose Polar Bears No Longer Walk on Thin Ice

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Amid dueling agendas for Alaska’s future, the polar bear’s plight is being given some serious attention in Washington.

  • The melting of sea ice has left polar bears vulnerable, as the disappearing ice forces them onto land where food is harder to find and conflicts with humans are frequent.
  • The federal government has proposed designating 200,541 square miles on the coast of Alaska – this would be the largest habitat zone ever established to protect a species from extinction.
  • Conservationists have warned that proposals for new offshore oil and gas development will conflict with these protection efforts as they will substantially add to  greenhouse emissions and the melting of sea ice.

Facts & Figures

  • If the root problem of their melting habitat is not addressed, the polar bear could disappear from U.S. waters within the next 100 years.
  • The proposed habitat covers three separate areas along the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska: the coastal barrier islands, sea ice over the continental shelf in waters less than 980 feet deep; and terrestrial denning habitat from five miles to the 20 miles inland.
  • About 1,500 polar bears are believed to live in the Southern Beaufort Sea. The other significant population is in the Chukchi Sea. They haven’t been counted for 20 years, but at that point there were 2,000.

Best Quote

“Today’s announcement…acknowledges that some of the most sensitive areas on land and in the offshore waters of America’s Arctic – including much of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – are key to the species’ survival.” – Cindy Shogan, Alaskan Wilderness League

A Second British Invasion… But With Retail Stores?

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

With retail sales dropping, U.K. fashion chain Top Shop takes a transatlantic risk.

  • Philip Green is one of Britain’s wealthiest citizens, with a personal fortune estimated in excess of 3.8 billion pounds. He also owns the women’s retail clothing store Top Shop, among other business ventures.
  • After successful runs in the U.K. and across Europe, Green has opened a flagship American Top Shop in SoHo in New York City.
  • Green hopes that associating the Top Shop brand with star power (such as supermodel Kate Moss) will help bring the store acceptance in the U.S.

Facts & Figures

  • Top Shop’s largest global competitor is H&M, which opened its first store in New York in 2000 and operates 175 stores in the U.S.
  • Arcada Group Ltd., of which Green is CEO, made a profit of £164.7 million (in the currency of Great Britain, pounds sterling) and total sales of £1.9 billion in the year ending Aug. 29, 2009. Revenue from Top Shop and Top Man contributed to at least a third of both figures.
  • The Top Shop emporium in Soho cost $25 million to prepare.

Best Quote

“Green’s New York store is a statement of his intent that Topshop will become a global fashion brand,” –  Greg Hodge, Analyst at Planet Retail Ltd. (a London-based industry research firm)

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