It has been recently reported that a European Central Bank board member has said that Greece will need international assistance beyond what was originally planned out. As opposed to their anticipated bailout in 2014, it is now predicted Greece will need help for much longer.

Vancouver Sun quotes that,

“…Athens probably won’t be able to return to finance its debt on financial markets in 2015 and 2016, thus requiring a third assistance program.”

Currently, as everyone knows, Greece has been hit extremely hard by the recession and their economy has suffered dearly. Since 2010, Greece’s financial issues have been kept afloat due to international creditors. These creditors have pledged rescue loans worth €240 billion ($306 billion) through 2014. And now, Greece is in need of more dire help because of their situation.

Why?

The European market needs growth more than ever. Yes, the financial markets have seen some stability but without growth

“…there won’t be enough tax revenue to help countries like Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal narrow their deficits and slow the expansion of their debts. Their debt burdens as a percentage of economic output, a key measure of fiscal health, look worse by the day.”

From my view, I see the main problem coming from the underspending of the government. Raising taxes and cutting spending has proven to be an unhealthy practice for the European markets but given their situations, its the only choice.
Additionally, borrowing money from the banks is an absolute atrocity. Greece has to pay nearly twice the interest amount on loans as compared to Germany. Consequently, underfunded companies now have to cut down on employment thus explaining the immensely high unemployment rates in Greece.

A possible thought is to put more funding into education. Despite the economic situation, people have to be educated more than ever. People have to know how to make smart financial decisions. In theory, I believe this would be a great move as it could reap in long term benefits.

It is obvious that the European markets are having dark days, and in truth, there is no immediate solution. Time will recover the market, and it will be quite some time before the market of Greece trends back to normal.

Sources:
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/economy/board+member+Asmussen+says+Greece+will+need+help+beyond/7566913/story.html#ixzz2CebZkCII
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/economy/Europes+government+debt+burdens+worsen+austerity+bites/7565180/story.html

Our last Comm class focused on Social Entrepreneurs at work. We focused on living examples of this meticulously beautiful style of entrepreneurship and saw the benefits received because of it.
With that said, whenever I think of Social Entrepreneurship, I immediately think of Mark Brand, owner of Save On Meats and several other restaurants.

I think of him because he is a prime example of someone using business skills to create a social benefit. Not only is Brand an national icon, but he lives local to us; a fellow resident of the DTES (Downtown Eastside).

To briefly highlight his impact, Brand does the following:

• Currently employs 65 people at Save On Meats, most of which are actually barrier residents of the DTES (people whom are unable to have a stable job due to illnesses or psychological disorders)
• Unites and promotes the DTES community
• Caters and feeds to SROs (Single-room occupancy hotels)
• Serves anyone in a friendly manner disregarding social status

More importantly, Save On Meats acts as a beacon of hope for the DTES as it remains to be token of history; an old yet thriving building filled with rich heritage. As many already perceive, DTES is known to be a ‘sketchy’ place with unfriendly people. Sure enough, it may radiate such an atmosphere but the culture and people are far more than meets the eye.

DTES is a vibrant community, a community that has limitless opportunity. From a business aspect, DTES has a bright future due to its cheap leases and the close community of people. This is why businesses like Save On Meats works.

“…entrepreneurs have flocked to [this] area [since] the turning point [of] 2009, when the Woodward’s housing development opened to breathe new life into the neighbourhood. “

As evident, indeed businesses have diversified to this section of Vancouver whether it be high end boutique shops to restaurants. For a student like myself, seeing Mark Brand use business to help save the DTES is incredibly inspiring. It is great to see Social Entrepreneurship work and thrive at such a local level to us all.

Sources:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouvers-downtown-eastside-is-open-for-business/article5265614/

In short, Suzuki has not seen the light of day in quite some time. Automobile blogger Chris Nagy from Automoblog.net, says, “American Suzuki Motor Corporation [has been] fighting too much of an uphill battle inside a small congested car market.” To no surprise, Suzuki filed for bankruptcy protection in the auto-mobile industry in the U.S. as part of their plan to restructure their entire organization. In essence, Nagy states the plan as the permanent halt on the sales of Suzuki cars in America, and to put a larger focus on selling motorcycles and ATVs.

To paint a stronger image, Bloomberg states states that

American Suzuki had assets of $233 million and debt of $346 million as of Sept. 30, according to Chapter 11 documents filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana, California.

 

From my perspective, it seems only appropriate that Suzuki backs out of the American market. With the recent recession in 2008, the automotive industry simply fell displaying major decline in sales. Most of the automotive companies were able to restablize; however, as Nagy says best,  “the sale of Suzuki cars in the United States [was just] judged too unprofitable.” 

Despite Suzuki being a heritage brand in the American industry dating back 27 years ago, it never saw consistent sales and improvement. It only makes sense to drop out of this market or else the company will just see more problems in the future. Their image has already been tainted since the Consumer Union issued their warning of rollover awhile back.

They’ve been in a slump, and by doing dropping out, they can focus all their resources to what works: motorcycles, ATVs, and marine product businesses.

Sources:
http://www.automoblog.net/2012/11/08/suzuki-saying-sayonara-to-us-auto-market/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-06/american-suzuki-motor-files-for-bankruptcy-protection.html

Our last class revolved around the idea of entrepreneurship and what it takes out of you to be successful. Indeed, it is not an easy path and it requires the innate ability to take risks. After reading about the green market on Forbes, it become apparent how great business ventures can come from the smallest of ideas. What inspires me though is the passion that these entrepreneurs have. They defy odds because of their simple love on what they believe.

With that said, green entrepreneurship is on the rise and this sector will grow at a rapid pace due to the high demand of issues.
The ‘Green Market Oracle’ predicts that ventures regarding environmental issues

will reach $2.74 trillion by 2020.

Phil Tepher of Kenai Sports is an example of a green entrepreneur. Inspired by change, he has created a way to develop clothing using corn husks, computer keyboards, soda bottles and other pieces of trash.

Then there is Sasha Lipton, who saw the waste in thrown-away toys. By collecting and cleaning toys, she has created a business called Second Chance Toys that gives away toys to children in need. Her company

has distributed more than 110,000 toys to disadvantaged children and has kept thousands of pounds of plastic out of our landfills.