As Canada Post predicts losses totalling $1,000,000,000 by the year 2020, the question remains of how to decrease these extensive deficits. Because technology is becoming increasingly important and useful in communication, information transported by mail has consequently been shrinking in popularity and demand. Many argue that the possible solutions of cutting out the delivery service or not offering same day delivery will simply harm the company even further as it will only continue to make the use of a mail service irrelevant. The Canadian government also plans to replace cheques with direct deposits by 2016, which will eradicate a large portion of Canada’s mail. And as pension plans for Canada Post employees remain high, the company is on a fast fall towards bankruptcy.

Mail service is arguably still essential for older generations, however, how long should the Canadian taxpayers continue to subsidize this dying service? Should we be looking to privatize this service by selling to companies like Fedex or UPS? Historically speaking, these private enterprises are more effective and efficient. Canada Post should be required to balance their books within the next 5 years and if they cannot budget that, then the company should start to plan for the end.

Canada Post

Financial Post: News; Canada Post ‘staring down’ billion dollar loss by 2020, report says; Armina Ligaya; http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/23/canada-post-to-lose-1-billion-a-year-by-2020-conference-board/2/

As Apple and Google continue to dominate the smart phone market, a new competitor may soon be added to the mix as Nokia and Microsoft plan to join forces. Because people are demanding less PC’s, Microsoft has been forced to invest in a new production line of smart phones and tablets; and what better way to enter the business than to team up with Nokia? In a 7.6 billion dollar deal, the two companies will merge sometime next year in efforts to contend with the already successful companies in the market. As history shows, coming into a new market is not easy; when Microsoft came out with their own version of the tablet, it proved to be unsuccessful and paled in comparison to competitors. But perhaps focussing on the strengths of both Microsoft and Nokia individually will give them an edge in the market and allow for joint success. Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, has also recently resigned, leaving the question of who will take on the new responsibility in this new market. With multiple changes in place for the upcoming year, the emerging partnership will target the business customer base in hopes of beating out Blackberry completely and appealing to a broader range of consumers in order to surpass top companies in popularity.

Video: CBC News: Microsoft Buys Nokia

Nokia CEO (Stephen Elop) and Microsoft CEO (Steve Ballmer) join forces.

CBC News: Business; Microsoft Buys Nokia Smartphones, Services in $7.6B Deal; http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/microsoft-buys-nokia-smartphones-services-in-7-6b-deal-1.1306183

Canadian company Blackberry recently announced the results of their 2nd quarter, revealing losses totaling almost $1 billion. As the company continues to consider options on how to end their constant loss of revenue, talks of selling Blackberry or making the company private have arisen amongst shareholders of this sinking ship. It’s hard to believe that just 5 years ago, Blackberry’s stock was valued at $145.50 a share, compared to the now slimming figure of $9.08. But how could this company go straight from the top to the bottom in less than 5 years? It is clear that lack of research and development within the company and poor management put this company on a free fall which may not be reversible.

Despite Blackberry’s best efforts of replacing CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis with Thorsten Heins, consumers appear to be less interested in Blackberry smart phones because of their inert technology and concerns of the companies life line. This problem may not be unique to just Blackberry as technology continues to move quickly and the saturation of the world wide demand for smart phones becomes a reality. It appears that smart phone companies, like Samsung, who have production in multiple markets may fair better during these turbulent times. As the technology industry continues to develop, companies in this market face daily concerns on how to stay ahead of competitors and maintain a strong and reliable brand for consumers worldwide.

Video: CBC News: Blackberry’s Free Fall

CBC News: Business; Blackberry Losses $965M in 2nd Quarter; http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/blackberry-loses-965m-in-2nd-quarter-1.1870447