plus 4, We cannot afford to spurn the emerging investors - Financial Times |
- We cannot afford to spurn the emerging investors - Financial Times
- Man arrested for setting fire that spreads to homeless man - Orange County Register
- Q.C. business owners look to stop bandits - East Valley Tribune
- We Need Initiative to Rebuild America - Common Dreams
- LAS VEGAS ECONOMY: Some local business owners profiting during ... - Las Vegas Review Journal
| We cannot afford to spurn the emerging investors - Financial Times Posted: 03 Jan 2010 01:02 PM PST Last month China’s Geely settled commercial terms to buy the Sweden-based Volvo division from Ford of the US. If this deal receives government approval, it will become the latest in a series of acquisitions reshaping the global automobile industry. Over the past year, Beijing Automotive (BAIC) has bought platforms and technologies from General Motors’ Saab unit, Sichuan Tengzhong has proposed a purchase of the GM Hummer division and Ford has sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata of India. Taken together, these transactions demonstrate two significant facts about international investment that carry two cautionary lessons for leaders in business and government. The first fact is the rise of foreign direct investment from developing into developed countries. For generations, FDI flowed overwhelmingly between rich countries. But recent years have seen surging FDI outflows from multinationals based in developing countries. FDI arising from the four “Bric†nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), Indonesia and South Africa averaged about $10bn a year in the decade to 2003 but had climbed to $121bn by 2008. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Man arrested for setting fire that spreads to homeless man - Orange County Register Posted: 03 Jan 2010 01:09 PM PST Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Q.C. business owners look to stop bandits - East Valley Tribune Posted: 03 Jan 2010 01:45 PM PST Queen Creek business owners and residents menaced by increasingly brazen thieves gathered this week to commiserate, exchange e-mails and search for solutions. The group, which included officers from the Maricopa and Pinal County sheriff's offices, didn't settle on any concrete measures or resolutions to combat the rising banditry, but it agreed to start meeting on a monthly basis. Mark Schnepf of Schnepf Farms, who moderated the meeting Tuesday at the Queen Creek Library, called the gathering a good start. "I think we laid the foundation for a community-wide effort that will ultimately have some very good results," he said. Q.C. business owners angry over thefts The losses business owners say they've seen over the years are staggering by any measure, let alone to mom-and-pop operations. Bartling Enterprises, an automobile services and repair shop near Scotland Court and Ocotillo Road, said it has lost up to $90,000. Highland Homes, a builder in the area, said it has lost about $250,000 through theft and vandalism over the years. And Painter's Auto Body, also near Scotland Court and Ocotillo Road, has lost at least $40,000 from burglaries, said Bradley Booth, an employee. "If we sat down and started totaling it up, we'd probably be $40,000, $50,000, maybe even $60,000 (in losses)," he said Wednesday. Frustration was palpable among business owners. Ben Lyman, a superintendent for Highland, said the company tried several kinds of security options, including hiring guards and buying portable alarms with global positioning technology to track stolen property. "We've just really felt helpless," he said. "We've done all kinds of things to try and catch these guys." Many business owners complained about the law's inability to catch and convict the bad guys. Reflecting on the meeting later, Booth expressed disappointment. "Personally what I got from it was, 'It's the owner's fault that we're getting broken into and there's nothing the police can do,'" he said. "That's what I came walking away (with)." Lt. Mike Mitchell from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office told the group it has to have realistic expectations of law enforcement. He explained the office has only five full-time officers dedicated in the area. MCSO provides Queen Creek with law enforcement services as the town has no police department of its own. Officers said business owners can take proactive actions to protect their property including installing good lighting, copying serial numbers on expensive equipment and getting rid of bushes, which can obstruct a property's view and provide cover for burglars. Andrew Good, an investigator with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, said the moves are about making it hard on the criminals. "(If) you take away that opportunity, you take away the possibility that that crime is going to be committed," he said. Town manager John Kross, who wasn't able to attend, said before the meeting that statistics show property crimes decreasing in the area. "Talking with our counterparts in Gilbert and Mesa, they're seeing the same trends, which is overall very good news in terms of it going down," he said. "That doesn't diminish what individual business owners might experience, and we take all that extremely seriously." Schnepf, who said he's been hit eight times since October, believes the thefts are drug-related. He said a group is stealing property and then selling it. He has proposed to other business owners that everyone chip in to offer a reward for the arrest and conviction of the burglars. Schnepf Farms has already put up a $5,000 reward. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| We Need Initiative to Rebuild America - Common Dreams Posted: 03 Jan 2010 11:07 AM PST 'There is not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America -- there's the United States of America." With these words at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama electrified a divided country, launching a victorious Senate campaign, and four years later, a triumphant presidential campaign. He took office amid the worst conditions facing any incoming president since Franklin D. Roosevelt -- a great recession, two wars, financial free-fall. In his first year he staved off depression, rescued the banks and labored to pass some health-care reform. But the test of whether this is truly a United States of America still awaits. If we are one America, then we must act together to help those hit the hardest by the economic calamities. The economists say the recovery has started, but in urban and rural America, things are getting worse. The industrial Midwest is still reeling, and many of the jobs aren't coming back. California, Florida and Nevada are still staggered by the collapse in housing values -- and now brutal cuts are coming from state and local budgets. With the banks saved and massive job loss staunched, many economists -- including some in the White House -- now assume the recovery will take its course, and employment is a "lagging indicator." So it's time to focus on deficit reduction and closing down the emergency Federal Reserve programs that gave banks a lifeline. And after the big fight on health care, Congress is looking to pass some kind of financial reform, a token "jobs" program, and get out of town to campaign for re-election. But take one look at Detroit -- or at Cleveland or South Chicago. Some of Detroit's -- and the Midwest's -- problems are self-generated. But many come from the decadelong decline of manufacturing that culminated in the collapse of the auto industry. Unemployment among the young is at its highest levels since the government began keeping track after World War II. For low-income black teenagers, according to the New York Times, only 4 in 100 found jobs this fall. If we are truly one America, we cannot abandon these kids to idleness, crime, drugs and poverty. We cannot abandon industrial cities in despair. We cannot allow millions of Americans to lose their homes while saving the predatory lenders that put many of them in the fix they are in. This administration and the Congress must step up to this challenge. We need a bold new initiative to rebuild America. Across the country, our basic infrastructure is in dire need of repair and renewal. Leaking sewer systems expose millions to befouled water dangerous to their health. Outmoded or absent mass transit clogs streets, wastes hours in gridlock and exacts a cruel tax on our lives as well as our economy. An outmoded energy system leaves us ever more dependent on foreign oil, while we fail to lead the new green industrial revolution that will generate the growth markets of the future. President Obama called us to build our economy on a new foundation -- investing in infrastructure, in new energy, in education and training. We now need a policy to fit the vision. Establish a national infrastructure bank, providing guarantees for pension funds, to invest in building the new green infrastructure of the 21st century and put people to work. Invest in children, ensuring that they have the best education available in the world, from pre-K to affordable college, no matter where they are born. And then target those investments on the areas most in need -- on our cities in despair, our depressed rural areas. Provide direct public service jobs so young people can get the discipline, skills and hope that come from work. If this is one America, it is not enough to rescue Wall Street and abandon Detroit. It is not acceptable to write off our cities or our rural areas as lost. Surely, if we can plan to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, we can plan to rebuild Detroit and South Chicago. A United States of America -- now is the time to prove it. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| LAS VEGAS ECONOMY: Some local business owners profiting during ... - Las Vegas Review Journal Posted: 03 Jan 2010 02:03 AM PST Tiedemann and his wife, Sharon, have owned the store since the late 1990s, purchasing it from his grandmother, co-founder Dorothy Woods. Luv-It was opened in the same spot, at 505 E. Oakey Blvd., in 1973, by Dorothy and husband, Richard. Their grandson Greg has found a recession-proof formula to keep it successful: Leave it alone. "If it's not broke, why fix it?" he says as he makes an eggnog custard cone. "People take over family businesses and they try to change the whole concept. I tweaked this, but I didn't change the concept." Luv-It stays so busy that fretting over the local economy is a luxury Greg can't afford. And the recession? "I haven't had time to think about it," he says as he takes orders. A slew of "best of" awards, and media mentions such as on CBS' "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" have helped to draw international customers and a cult following for Luv-It. But some other local companies are also thriving amid Las Vegas' worst economy since the 1930s. Some of those companies performing the best in the downturn have found a way to capitalize on the recession. One of those squeezing lemons and mixing lemonade is Las Vegas Fast Wrap owner Garth Harris. He went from economic victim to successful franchisee in just 10 months. Harris' last company, Line-X of Las Vegas, went out of business in April after the market for its spray-on truck bed liners vanished. But by then, he was already making the local Fast Wrap a winner. Seeing the growing demand for protective wrapping for stalled housing and commercial developments, Harris invested $40,000 to open the Fast Wrap Las Vegas franchise in February. He has already generated revenues of between $130,000 to $140,000, including at least $40,000 to wrap portions of Boyd Gaming Corp.'s stalled Echelon resort earlier this year. Boyd halted construction of the $4.8 billion project in August 2008. Many lost work and revenue as a result of the decision to mothball Echelon, but it ultimately meant big business for Harris' Fast Wrap. "If Echelon hadn't shut down, I wouldn't have wrapped it," he said. "The recession has actually helped us." Fast Wrap didn't cover all of the ill-timed megaresort, but enough to make it worth Harris' time. That, combined with other major projects such as one for energy company Calpine Corp. and for the city of Henderson, has allowed Fast Wrap to add employees at a time when others are laying people off. "I am going to hire two more people tomorrow," Harris said in a Nov. 30 interview. And Fast Wrap incorporates a business model that's recession-friendly but not recession-dependent. When the economy improves, his customer base will simply change. He'll wrap luxury items, such as boats. Departing residents, and those losing their homes to foreclosure, call on Fast Wrap to wrap and protect valuable furniture. "I have a contract with a local storage facility to wrap furniture being put in storage," he said. Stevenson Brooks is looking at the recession as a selling point for his 31/2-year-old franchise because that's what he teaches -- sales. The owner of the local Sandler Training franchise said the harsh economy has changed the way potential customers view his services. "The recession helped my business," Brooks said. "Three years ago, I had to sell to people who said, 'I have more sales than I can handle.' Now, they need to maximize their sales and profit." A $60,000 initial investment to buy the local Sandler Training franchise has proved to be a good idea. Clients such as the Blue Man Group, the Hard Rock Cafe and Allegiant Air are using Brooks to motivate and train their sales staffs. Profits are up by $30,000 from last year, with the biggest gain coming in the second half of 2009. Brooks received a Biz E Award from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce in September. Brooks sees himself as a motivator for salespeople who might have been more like "order takers" in boom times. "Now, it's my job to take seasoned salespeople and teach them to become salespeople," Brooks said. "They are used to people calling and saying, 'I want to buy something.' " Stretching every dollar has become a key survival tactic for local companies and consumers. Businesses offering to assist in increasing revenue have found the welcome mat. Jay Schwartz's Web designing and viral marketing venture IdeaWork, like Brooks' Sandler Training, has found renewed respect during the recession. "I think the recession has actually helped us because what we do brings in revenue at a lower cost. Why spend $7,000 to $10,000 for billboards when you can get a marketing campaign from us for less, and reach more people?" Schwartz said. IdeaWork has done well during the downturn. Schwartz is still compiling 2009 numbers, but said revenue was up by $100,000 from 2007 to 2008. Economists officially put the start of the recession as December 2007. The 5-year-old IdeaWork has offices in Las Vegas and Santa Barbara, Calif., but about 70 percent of the business is generated in Southern Nevada. Major clients include Station Casinos, MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment and the Hard Rock Cafe. Some clients dropped IdeaWork's services because of economic hardship, but Schwartz said those were smaller companies. Even that loss of business turned into a positive. "We were operating at capacity, and some of those clients were lower billables, and maybe having them contract opened the door for bigger ones," Schwartz said. IdeaWork has 10 employees between locations in Southern Nevada and Southern California. Schwartz sees business as good enough to probably add a few more employees in Las Vegas early in 2010. "We have expanded our region to Northern Nevada," he said. "Last year was a record year." Sometimes maximizing revenues can equate to recouping some of the potential losses. Local furniture store operator Colleen Aiken saw an upswing in good consignment furniture at the beginning of the recession as homeowners shed pricey furniture when facing foreclosure. Many turn to Aiken's three valley Colleen's Classic Consignment stores, two of which she opened since the recession began. Her 40,000-square-foot Henderson store opened in August 2008. She purchased the old 16,000-square-foot Ethan Allen location on South Rainbow Boulevard in September. "I am one of those people who is crazy enough to open stores in a recession," Aiken said with a laugh. She's been in business for nearly 15 years. A look around the stores on North Rainbow and South Rainbow gives the impression of a new, high-end furniture shop, and some of the furnishings are close to new. Aiken gets "a huge amount" of World Market Center samples, such as Aico and FX. She may get them for as much as 50 percent off and pass much of the savings on to her customers. "I do well in a good economy and succeed or sustain in a bad economy, because (people) don't have $10,000 for an Ethan Allen bedroom set, but they can get it for $4,000 from me." Business just keeps on coming. The wave of foreclosure-driven consignments has abated. But now homebuilders are closing out developments and looking to make whatever they can off their model homes' furnishings. Combined store sales have risen from $600,000 to as much as $800,000 a month. Aiken hired 12 more employees this year and 20 additional workers in 2008. "I am still growing in a bad economy," she said. A recession doesn't punish all businesses, but most of them are hit. U.S. Small Business Administration Nevada District Director John Scott said certain types of companies are in demand right now. Among them: security firms, guard-service suppliers and residential short sellers. Handymen and auto-repair services are added to that list by Nevada MicroEnterprise Initiative Operations Manager Anna Siefert. "People know if they can't sell their homes, they will live in them for the next five years and want to fix it up," she said. The Great Harvest Bread Co. at 10180 W. Tropicana Ave. had neither a recession-friendly product like a Fast Wrap nor the fame of Luv-It. However, husband-and-wife franchisees Tina and Kevin Yancey did the nearly impossible and increased profits by about $8,000 this year. That's no small feat considering a slew of their shopping center's tenants fled, including foot-traffic magnet Starbucks. Revenues dropped sharply as a result. The Yanceys responded by comparison shopping for products, cutting thousands off their vendor bills. They cut labor expenses without laying anyone off. The couple started working more efficiently. "Hi Ruth! Hi Sergio!" Tina Yancey calls out, waving to regular customers as she bakes, all the while carrying around her infant daughtwer Sophia. "I try to know everybody by name," she said. "It is important." Contact reporter Valerie Miller atvmiller@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-387-5286. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Add Images to any RSS Feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
.gif "OBAT KUAT")
.gif)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar