This post done by Andrew Grange was particularly interesting to me since it based on events that are taking place in my province. As he had mentioned in the article, I am among many British Columbians who are unaware of what is taking place. British Columbians known for its vast natural resources, and to be giving them away for no cost is almost baffling. I believe that the provincial government should act on this issue, because the province as a whole could be benefiting if Nestle is charged for the resources they use.   Other companies such as, BC hydro, should also be behind the movement of placing a fee on the valuable resources to create a fair system for all companies who would potentially use these resources.There should be a better allocation of the resources, which should be decided by the government. I agree with Andrew’s point of it being an ethical issue for all British Columbians. Although this loophole provides a profit boosting situation for Nestle, they should not be able to attain a resource like water at zero cost based on a law that was created in a pre-captalistic society. It is time for the laws to be updated to better suit current markets.

Image:http://images.sodahead.com/polls/003313695/399607234_nestle_pure_life_water_answer_2_xlarge.jpeg

Although the competition between Samsung and Apple appears to be a war of attrition, with both companies continuously trying to out-do the other with the launch of a new smartphone, Samsung has been expanding into untouched markets.It seems that the tech giant is hoping to be the first to enter in new emerging markets, andit appears that they have been successful so far in doing so by developing low cost smartphones. By being the first to expand into the vast markets of India and China, where just under a third of the world’s population lives, the potential for unmatchable dominance is huge. They are able to continue to compete with Apple in the already existing markets, and now they can slowly expand their possible markets. As said by analyst Andrew Milroy inthe article, “They have covered both ends of the spectrum really well”. With all of this happening, Samsung is still putting a large focus into developing and creating brand new products. This shows how dynamic the company really is, and how deserving it is of its predicted record breaking quarterly profit. Samsung Electronics is clearly living up to its title as “The world’s biggest mobile phone and TV maker”.

Article:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24393850

Photo: http://onlinetechguru.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/samsung_logo_alt_720w.png

It appears that that the tobacco industry may be on the verge of having the carpet pulled right from under its feet. The new emergence and rapidly increasing popularity of E-cigarettes has the potential to be a major threat to the tobacco industry. Their main point of difference being that they contain no tobacco, which is seen by many as the most toxic of the elements of a cigarette. They also can be seen as a more attractive way of quitting smoking, as they have been proven just as effective as nicotine patches and gum(as said in the article). It seems that they were the first to move into a fresh new market, and thereby began to establish early dominance. It seems that many players in the tobacco industry have began to change their incentives from expanding on their tobacco based products, to developing a potential product that may be able to enter the electronic cigarette market. The only thing that is working in the favour of the tobacco industry is the tough time the E-cigarette producers are having with regulators. Nonetheless, the tobacco industry will have to be wary of a now clear competitor creeping up close.

Article: http://www.economist.com/news/business/21586867-regulators-wrestle-e-smokes-tobacco-industry-changing-fast-kodak-moment

Image: http://epower.core-mark.com/2013/04/e-cigarettes-already-dramatic-growth-accelerates/