In Megan Barnabe’s Blog, I would like to add that it is not only the retailer who should be accountable it should also be the consumer. As consumers we demand that retailers offer us the lowest price possible. So what do the retailers do in response, they look for the cheapest possible place in the world where wages are the lowest. Usually the lowest wages entail that the working conditionsare also extremely poor.

Retailers are constantly looking to cut costs and if they can find a cheaper place then will move. What needs to be done in addition to retailers signing agreements with their manufacturer is retailers need to market to consumers that they are producing clothing that is made in the third world that meets an ethical standard. Consumers then need to buy into the ethical standard and be prepared to pay a little more for their clothing. A number of retailers have done this with coffee beans and have found that customers are willing to pay a little more for ethically grown coffee beans. Until consumers are willing to pay more for ethically produced products unfortunately these working conditions will not improve.

Picture Source: Plastics Today

Mutual Funds are touted as being a great way for people to invest in stocks in order to diversify risk.  The Fund Manager buys stocks in a variety of industries or markets depending on the funds mandate and bundles them up to sell them as mutual funds to investors. Investors buy them hoping to get a good return at the same time diversifying their risks and fund managers take a fee.   This sounds like an ideal situation but many of these funds do not outperform the market; the fees that investors have to pay are sometimes greater than the return.[1] I think a simple solution for small investors in this situation is to invest in Electronically Trade Funds (ETF’s).  Basically, the EFT’s are made up of the same stocks that make up the different stock markets (ie. Dow TSX or NASDAQ).  This way you know what your return is-it is the same as the overall market less the fee-which is much less than fees from mutual funds. Ok you may not have as many options to invest in ETF’s compared to mutual funds, and ETF’s cannot outperform the market as some funds do, but I believe most small investors should go with the ETF’s.

There has been a host of news on Blackberry lately, starting with it possibly being a takeover target to it fighting for its survival. One of its largest shareholders, Farifax Financial, made an offer to buy and other vulture funds are looking at Blackberry which in the last quarter lost  $1 billion [1] and laid off 5,000 employees [2].  To compete with its competitors (IPhone and Samsung smartphones) Blackberry launched the new Z. However, it was not popular; I tried out a new Z for a month and there was no comparison to the IPhone, which caused me to switch and no longer be a proud blackberry owner. However; I was not the only person making the switch; a few years ago, just before making the switch, I noticed the number of my bbm contacts significantly and rapidly dropping. People were switching to the new Iphone too, so when I read that Blackberry may not survive or is in dire straits I was not surprised. I saw that coming years ago with the exodus from Blackberry. What upset me the most however, was that I should have bought Apples shares back then which have now rose from $302 to $496 in the last three years. To benefit greater, I should have also shorted Blackberry, which dropped from $60 to $8.20.  It’s a shame Blackberry may not survive, but a regret for me that I did not see the opportunity to invest.

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