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Iranian Investment In Iraq…

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Complex financial and social connections make it nearly impossible for Iranians to extricate themselves from the quagmire that is Iraq.

  • Iran’s government supports firms with a huge stake in the pilgrimage industry, as well as those that renovate and maintain Shi’ite shrines in Iraq.
  • Shamsa, a private Iranian firm, chooses which Iraqi companies to utilize for the pilgrims’ transportation, protection, and accommodation; nearly all these firms are connected with political parties close to Iran.
  • Iranian pilgrims are well-received for their economic support to the shrine-cities. However, many suspect the Iranian government of meddling with Iraqi internal politics.

Facts & Figures

  • In 2005, Iraq agreed to allow entry to 5,000 Iranian pilgrims per day.
  • Karbala receives millions of pilgrims each year, but the city’s hotels have a maximum capacity of only 23,000.
  • Al Kawthar, an Iranian company, is part of a $100 million project to renovate the historic city center of Karbala.

Best Quote

“We are Arabs, we will not accept to be colonized by anyone. We do not take orders from the Iranians.” — Mr Ali al-Hayawi, a hotel owner in Karbala

Hey Hulu Addict, Wanna Watch That Show On Your Big Screen?

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

This write-up explores the changing ways in which people watch TV and get their news, and what that means for businesses in the industry.

  • Cable-television companies struggle to respond to our growing interest of watching television online. The companies could easily sell us web connection, allowing us to choose exactly which programs we want to watch, but they won’t because of the consequences.
  • These companies make money by selling packages of channels, though we end up only watching a small handful. That’s why they’ve resisted the trend so strongly. Unfortunately for them, they may already be too late.
  • A slew of start-ups and savvy electronics makers have stormed the scene, giving us a number of new options to bring internet television into our living rooms.

Facts & Figures

  • The average American household pays $700 a year for over 100 channels of cable television but watches no more than 15.
  • New technology bringing internet television to the living room includes: a few new TV sets come with Ethernet sockets to connect to the internet, video game consoles can stream films and TV shows from Netflix, and specialized boxes like Vudu, Roku, and Boxee can access thousands of videos online and connect them to your TV.
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Behind The Mask Lies A Friendly Face

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Who knew that being unemployed was a superpower? This write-up describes people who have turned a frustrating, unfortunate situation into an opportunity to do something… super.

  • With the current economic downtrend, many of those who have lost their jobs are taking value in what they can do as opposed to what they have and are helping out in communities, having been labeled as “real-life superheroes.”
  • Some are completely dressed from head to toe in a cape and a mask while many just go out as regular citizens. Reactions from the public have been mixed; some see these superheroes as losers, but many respect them.
  • Although without super powers these superheroes are somewhat limited in what they can do, many help the homeless and patrol high-crime neighborhoods.

Facts & Figures

  • Estimates place the number of real-life superheroes between 250 and 300.
  • The superhero movement started on Myspace as fellow comic enthusiasts joined forces.
  • Homeless outreach is the most common form of help these superheroes undertake; one group raised $700 in gifts and brought them to St. Mary’s Children Hospital in New York.

Best Quote

  • “The movement is growing.” – Ben Goldman, historian of real-life superheroes

Twitter Needs Novelty

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

As the times change, we expect our favorite web programs to keep coming up with new ways to impress us, right? But this article explains how Twitter has actually been stagnating over time.

  • Although Twitter is enjoying more and more popularity, it has not been significantly updated or enhanced for two years.
  • Instead of developing new updates for Twitter on its own, the company has relied on third-party applications to improve its service.
  • It makes sense for Twitter’s board and co-founders to focus on managing its exponential growth, but that doesn’t mean they can’t also focus on innovation.

Facts & Figures

  • Because Twitter gets so much traffic, it is plagued by periodical crashes. This problem had previously been addressed, but a popularity spike in the last few months has seen its return.
  • Twitter currently has 43 employees, up from 20 in previous years.
  • It would cost Twitter a projected $4.3 million annually to sustain itself at its current size. The company has already raised more than $55 million.

Best Quote

“For the entire history of the company, most of the resources have gone to managing growth, and that is still the case. If it weren’t growing nearly as fast, we would be building a lot more things.” – Evan Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of Twitter

Europeans Find Electric Desert In North Africa

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Companies from Europe are searching the globe and Africa in particular, for real-estate suitable for their green energy dreams.
  • Desertec is an ambitious European project that harvests solar power in North African desert and delivers it to Europe as electricity.
  • Last week, a group of German companies committed to significant financing for the project.
  • Supporters emphasize the connection between economic and ecological sense and the implications of such an enormous international cooperative; critics suggest a bi-continental plan is inefficient, could result in a negative foreign dependency just like oil, and could further assert Euro-imperialism.

Facts & Figures

  • As it’s planned, Desertec would be the largest centralized solar power production project in the world.
  • The electricity produced could account for as much as 15% of the European Union’s power.
  • It is expected to cost €400 billion ($555 billion).

Best Quote

“The time now is perfect to start this initiative as climate protection has become an urgent issue and our economies need new impulses.” – Alexander Mohanty, a Munich Re spokesman.

Dissecting the Past, Planning for the Future

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
This is a great article if you want to understand where our current deficit comes from. The article strikes down many common misconceptions about the deficit and supports it all with well-presented data.
  • The national deficit puts the U.S. economy in an extremely precarious position because we are dependent on foreign lenders to pay for it.
  • The Obama administration maintains that health care reform is the key to eliminating the deficit. However, the administration is not promoting the kind of reforms that would most effectively decrease the debt.
  • Health care reform alone will not eliminate the national debt. No matter what solution is ultimately reached, it will have to include spending cuts and tax increases.

Facts & Figures

  • 2001 estimates for the years 2009-2012 was an $800 billion surplus per year. Today, the estimate is an annual deficit of $1.2 trillion.
  • The debt comes from four main sources: 37% from the business cycle, 33% as a result of the policies of George W. Bush, 20% from President Obama’s continuation of several of those policies, and 10% from new policies of Obama’s.
  • Obama’s goal is to achieve a deficit equal to no more than 3% of the GDP in the next five to 10 years, but current estimates are at least a 4% deficit.

Best Quote

“Bush behaved incredibly irresponsibly for eight years. On the one hand, it might seem unfair for people to blame Obama for not fixing it. On the other hand, he’s not fixing it. And not fixing it is, in a sense, making it worse.” – Alan Auerbach, Economist at the University of California, Berkeley

Paying With Cash Could Soon Pay Off

Monday, June 15th, 2009

The People vs. Credit Card Company X…

  • When you buy something with a credit card, the retailer generally owes the credit-card company 1.5-2% (or more depending on the card) of the purchase price. Many retailers pass that cost onto their customers in the form of a 1.5%-2% price increase.
  • But since there’s only one purchase price, customers paying in cash are actually paying more than they have to since the price includes a fee the retailers aren’t paying on that transaction.
  • The U.S. Senate is trying to pass new legislation that would change that, allowing retailers to charge less for using cash. But retailer/credit card company contracts could get in the way.

Facts & Figures

  • To abide by their contracts and offer price discounts, retailers would have to post two prices on each product, and the credit card price would have to be larger.
  • The legislation would allow discounts for cash, checks, and debit cards.

Best Quote

“Cash customers pay a penalty because we take credit cards.” – Jeff Miller, President of Miller Oil Co.

They Have Less, But Give More. What We Can Learn From The Philanthropy Of The Poor…

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Americans who don’t make a lot of money tend to be more generous than those who do.

  • America’s poorest demographic is also the most generous, a reality rarely publicized. They give back a higher percentage of their earnings than their higher-income counterparts.
  • During the hardest of economic times, they cut back on their giving the least as compared with wealthier people.
  • Our nation’s most generous are also the least-educated, oldest, most religious, most likely to rent (instead of own) their homes, be on welfare, drive used cars or rely on public transportation, to be students, minorities, women, and recent immigrants.

Facts & Figures

  • The lowest-income fifth of population normally give more than their capacity, the next two-fifths give at capacity, and those above give below capacity (two to three times less than their capacity).
  • The poorest fifth of households contributed an average of 4.3% of their incomes to charities in 2007 while the richest gave at 2.1%.

Best Quote

“I believe the more I give, the more I receive… Plus, I’ve been in their position, and someday I might be again.” – Tanya Davis, a laid-off security guard and single mother on why she gives

Pros Help Nonprofits Kick It Up A Notch…

Monday, June 15th, 2009
Lawyers and business professionals are taking their big business breeding to the nonprofit world.
  • A growing number of lawyers and business professionals is flocking to the nonprofit world. Some made the move because they lost their jobs, while others are craving a career change.
  • Usually college students and recent grads seek out these nonprofit jobs, eager to work but also to learn. This new surge of professionals, armed with their experience and expertise, is extremely valuable to nonprofits.
  • Nonprofits are now prioritizing applicants with business and legal backgrounds, making them more competitive than ever.

Facts & Figures

  • Peace Corps applications are up 16% from last year, with a 50% increase among applicants over 50 years old.
  • Teach for America applications are up 42% this year, with an 80% increase among working professional applicants (rather than college students).

Best Quote

“Business-savvy volunteers are particularly good at helping nonprofits do more with less. These people are setting up credit unions, writing grants, managing resoures – it’s called indirect service.” – Sandy Scott, Director of Public Affairs at AmeriCorps

Turning “Playtime” Into “Pay Time”

Monday, June 15th, 2009

You might want to check out all those toys tossed aside and scattered in your basement or attic – they might be worth something!

  • Donald Kaufman has caused quite a stir in the toy collecting community after announcing he was going to sell his personal collection of antique toys.
  • While he has over 7,000 of these toys, Kaufman claims there are no duplicates, simply “variations.”
  • Most of the toys are cars and trucks, with airplanes coming in a distant third.

Facts & Figures

  • Mr. Kaufman is a co-founder of the now-defunct KB Toys chain and has spent 59 years in the toy business. He bought his first toy, an International Harvester Red Baby truck, in 1950 for $4.
  • At the first auction, Kaufman sold approximately 1,400 toys for $4.2 million – more than twice his $2 million estimate.
  • Kaufman’s Marklin Fidelitas, a three foot long train of delicate hand-painted clown cars, fetched an impressive $103,500.

Best Quote

“These aren’t my toys, I am just taking care of them for now.” – Donald Kaufman, Co-Founder of KB Toys


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