Archive for the ‘TILE Translations’ Category

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Is Prada Stock Better Than A Prada Bag?

Monday, February 7th, 2011


credit: amandabhslater

After 10 years of talks, Prada is going boldly forward where no other Italian company has gone before: the Hong Kong stock exchange.

  • The company wants to expand its operations, and that means it needs cash. So it’s going after an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong to raise money from investors.
  • The IPO is expected to do well because of a favorable economic climate and the designer’s excellent reputation.
  • If it follows through with the IPO, Prada will be the first European luxury brand listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Facts & Figures

  • Prada was founded in 1913
  • Founder Mario Prada’s granddaughter currently owns 95% of the company

Best Quote

“Confident in the future development of the group, we can now face the coming challenges with serenity and seize the best opportunities offered by the international capital markets.” – Prada Chief Executive Patrizio Bertelli

What do you think?

What do you do when you need cash?

Recycling Irony

Monday, February 7th, 2011

“All Danny Clark wanted was to leave an eco-friendly footprint for his children.

That and to ride the new wave of ‘green business’ startups by coming up with a way to make money and help the environment at the same time.

His idea was simple: If he could make plastic water bottles biodegradable, it would reduce the impact on landfills, curb roadside litter and reduce the amount of plastic garbage that eventually washes into the oceans.

Everybody wins. Well, not everybody.

The Mesa man’s small-business venture has run into opposition from a large and unexpected source: the $400 billion recycling industry, which fears that by making plastic bottles biodegradable, it will reduce the stream of plastic refuse used to make everything from carpet to clothing to new bottles. In addition, changing the makeup of plastic bottles could make it more difficult to recycle them, the industry fears.”

What do you think?

Chicken or egg? Should your old plastic junk be used to make new plastic junk, or should it biodegrade into the earth once its life is over? Which idea has a better business model?

What If China Says “Sorry, Pay Up” to U.S.?

Friday, February 4th, 2011


credit: Lars Plougmann

Is there a “Plan B?”

  • Countries like the U.S. sell government bonds to raise money. Bonds are a form of debt – when the bond-holder cashes in their bond, the government has to pay them back with interest.
  • China is the biggest buyer of U.S. Treasury bonds, which means that if it suddenly sold off a lot of them, it could screw up the entire U.S. market.
  • A dramatic change like that would also hurt China’s economy, so there are probably only two situations in which China would consider selling off that much U.S. debt:
  1. China and the U.S. get into a serious fight. Like, a military-style fight, probably over resources in Asia
  2. China starts to think the American dollar is going to totally tank, and gets out while it still can
  • So what’s Plan B? There is no official plan, but the U.S. government would probably start asking its own citizens and its friends around the world to buy a whole lot of bonds. And the Fed would have a much bigger problem on its hands than the recession.

Facts & Figures

  • China is the United States’ biggest creditor in the world
  • If you include Hong Kong, China holds almost $1 trillion in U.S. debt

Best Quotes

“I worry that we could be at a tipping point.” – Eswar Prasad, economist at the Brookings Institution, former IMF official

“The U.S. government should have and maybe still could call on the people of the U.S. to invest in U.S. debt…. What we need to do is have a plan that’s reasoned, reasonable, can reassure our foreign lenders and also demonstrate to the American people that Washington can get something done” – David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General

What do you think?

How has your life been affected by the rise of China?

Foursquare Users In North Korea, Rest Of The Entire World, Checking In And Earning Badges

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

“Popular mobile check-in application Foursquare today announced that it grew 3400% in 2010. The company now stands at 6 million users.

Other interesting stats include more than 381 million total check-ins accounting for every country (including North Korea) as well as a check-in from space. California also appears to have the most fit Foursquare users, being the top state for gym check-ins.”

What do you think?

How awesome are these infographics? A check-in from space?!

foursquare-check-in-stats.jpg

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: Stop Fighting, Guys – It’s Everyone’s Fault

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

“The 2008 financial crisis was ‘avoidable’ and brought on by the actions of government officials and private-sector players, according to a blue-ribbon panel’s draft report that spreads blame broadly for the meltdown.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s draft report singles out federal banking regulators for particularly sharp criticism, saying that ‘the prime example’ of the system’s shortcomings was ‘the Federal Reserve’s pivotal failure to stem the flow of toxic mortgages’ over the past decade. But the report also has harsh words for both ‘captains of finance’ and Main Street lenders.”

What do you think?

Who do you think has earned more blame for these bad business decisions – businesspeople or the regulators that are supposed to be setting and enforcing regulations? How have you been affected by the financial crisis?

Americans Open Wallets Wider Than They Have In Three Years

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

The financial times they are a’changing. At least, that’s what these new statistics would have us believe…

  • In 2009, the American GDP (gross domestic product – a measurement of economic activity) dropped more than it had in sixty years. But like a phoenix made up of economic statistics, it rose back up in 2010.
  • We can’t know the exact cause, but the numbers say that people earned a little more, saved a little less, and spent a little more than they had in recent years.
  • Since consumer spending makes up almost three-quarters of all economic activity in the U.S., this is good news. But there are still those issues around high unemployment and a trashed housing market…

Facts & Figures

  • Consumer spending represents 70% of all economic activity in the U.S.
  • In 2010, spending rose by 3.5% – 0.7% of that was in December alone
  • The last time spending rose that high was in 2007 (pre-recession)

What do you think?

Have you been spending more lately? Do you think the economy will recover faster depending on where you spend your money (at independent stores versus chains)?

(Check out this week’s Today at TILE for a closer look at signs of life in the economy.)

Trying To Protect Older Workers, Japan Creates A Youth Crisis

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

“TOKYO — Kenichi Horie was a promising auto engineer, exactly the sort of youthful talent Japan needs to maintain its edge over hungry Korean and Chinese rivals. As a worker in his early 30s at a major carmaker, Mr. Horie won praise for his design work on advanced biofuel systems.

But like many young Japanese, he was a so-called irregular worker, kept on a temporary staff contract with little of the job security and half the salary of the “regular” employees, most of them workers in their late 40s or older. After more than a decade of trying to gain regular status, Mr. Horie finally quit — not just the temporary jobs, but Japan altogether.

He moved to Taiwan two years ago to study Chinese.”

What do you think?

See any similarities between the situation in Japan and the situation here in the U.S.?

Madoff Clients Sue Owners of the Mets – “They Should Have Known”

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

“The trustee representing the victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from the owners of the Mets, alleging that they, as longtime and successful investors, knew or should have known Madoff was operating a fraud, according to two lawyers involved in the case.”

What do you think?

Should the Madoff clients that made money be forced to pay the clients that lost money?

Foreign Business Flees Egypt

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

cars-burnt-cairo.jpg
credit: Tom_El_Runi

The people have taken over the streets in Egypt and demanded change… but the change they’re getting is a military presence and a complete shutdown of Internet and mobile networks. What will all of this mean for the country’s economy?

  • Foreign companies are evacuating employees and shutting down plants in Cairo and around Egypt. They’re losing money every day, buy no one is sure when they’ll reopen.
  • Moody’s – a credit rating agency that tells investors which companies and countries seem safe to invest in – downgraded Egyptian bonds by 1 notch and changed its official country outlook to “negative.”
  • In response to the crisis, the price of oil went up – not because Egypt is an oil producer, but because it controls an important canal that bring Middle Eastern oil to the rest of the world.

Facts & Figures

  • Some of the companies evacuating Cairo: GM, Google, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Unilever, Citigroup, HSBC, Nestle
  • One of Google’s local marketing employees has been missing since the protests began

Best Quote

“The safety of our employees is our primary concern and we are taking all necessary measures to ensure everyone’s safety.” – Kenth Kaerhoeg, Spokesman for Coca-Cola

What do you think?

Did you know there were so many American companies with offices in Egypt? Do you think businesses have an obligation to stick around in countries where they earn money?

Here Isn’t An Offer From Groupon: Shares Of Stock!

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

“Groupon Inc., which last month rejected a $6 billion takeover offer from Google Inc., isn’t convinced it will sell shares in an initial public offering anytime soon, said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason.

The biggest daily deal website’s commitment to proceeding with an IPO this year is ‘less than 100 percent, that’s for sure,’ Mason said in an interview at the Digital-Life-Design conference in Munich. ‘An IPO is something we are considering, but we’re just trying to learn more about the option at this point and understand the benefits and drawbacks.’ ”

What do you think?

Is Groupon missing an opportunity to dominate the market now that it’s turned down a $6 billion buyout from Google AND put off becoming a publicly-traded company? When was the last time you suffered from hesitating? Was hesitating ever the right thing to do?

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