In many regions around the world, more often than not, third world and second world countries, such as the middle east and indo-asia and particular parts of Europe, there exists tax havens.

tax havens are areas of the world where taxes are either extremely low or non-existent. this can be accredited to many possible probabilities. For example, in the middle east, oil producing nations make so much profit from their sale and supply of natural resources that the governments do not require any additional sums of money from its populace. Infrastructure, public goods and public services are all paid for by the oil supply.

whereas in other regions, the countries are so small or the populace is so few in number that the government does not require large sums of money to fuel its maintenance and provision of infrastructure and services.

having a tax haven in place means that individuals with large sums of money or corporations who wish to retain a larger amount of their profits for investments and dividends will look to invest money in banks and organisations within the country. this further increases the amount of money flowing within the economy, and allows for even greater growth, employment and improvement.

however host countries of the investors will have less money flowing within their respective economies, meaning that their economies will shrink and growth will be slow as investment decreases.

http://www.businessreviewcanada.ca/money_matters/the-top-tax-havens

Netflix has been employing a curious strategy recently to respond to increased competition from amazon’s new online streaming service, and companies creating their own respective websites and programs to make their shows available on. In ‘Moneyball’  Brad Pitt, as the manager of a baseball team, chooses to buy mediocre players with potential for a quarter of the price of a current star player, ‘to create a roster’.

for example, the team he eventually ends up with is a extremely cohesive team that is winning as many players are more than likely to secure a base. Netflix has been employing a somewhat similar strategy as can be seen from the risks taken to revive cancelled or ‘dead’ shows under their own brand name as the risk is relatively small, it has seen successes in shows such as Arrested Development  and The Killing, whose rights have been purchased from their respective owners and produced and provided exclusively on Netflix. Whereas House Of Cards has been completely developed through large research and development investments exclusively for Netflix, and has met with resounding success.

Albeit the riskiness of this method, the potential profitability of the projects in comparison to the investment made is much greater, and as it stands, this strategy is keeping Netflix in the lead of other streaming services.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2013/11/15/is-netflix-playing-a-tv-game-of-moneyball/

Tesla is a revolutionary new company known for its revolutionary design of electric automobiles, the electric cars consume less petrol and there for pollutes less on average than any other road approved car and is able to match performance with even a modern-day BMW.

The cars are designed with not only the environment in mind as the consumer is also supplied with car models varying from luxury types to sports cars which can reach a staggering top speed of 205/MPH, which is revolutionary for an electric vehicle.

Tesla has opened to staggering positive public response, as sales continue increasing gradually to this day. By creating a corporation focused on only producing electric variants of modern vehicles it filled a market gap and is now the market leader in terms of this product.

However, there is no denying that the company still faces fierce competition from established organisations such as Toyota and Nissan and BMW who are now seeing the value of this new market and are now developing and selling hybrid and electric variants of their four wheel drive vehicles (an market segment Tesla has yet to enter) and family four doors and two doors.

The company’s share prices have recently been slowing down in their ascent as speculators now wonder whether Tesla’s unique selling point is really cause enough to grant it a fortified position in the market.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2013/08/26/apply-the-brakes-on-teslas-stock/

One of Vancouver’s many sources of revenue is it’s port, where not only large amounts of capital are shipped and transferred daily but additionally where up to 200 cruise liners end or begin their travels.

Cruises affect local economies greatly, it acts as a portable luxury hotel transporting hundreds of tourists from one location to another. At each respective dock, these tourists disembark to take part in guided tours provided by domestic and international organisations or take their chances exploring the surrounding area by themselves, either way, these tourists will use local infrastructure and services, dine at local restaurants and shop in domestic stores, this not only provides a stable source of revenue for local companies but also means that taxes will be paid by these tourists which will net the government revenue as well.

Unlike most ports, where cruises stop for a average of 8 hours to re-stock and re-fuel, and tourists don’t spend much time in the port’s respective country, Vancouver is what is referred to as a home port, cruise ships often end or start their voyages in Vancouver, meaning tourists will spend more time in Vancouver than in any other city they dock at, therefore it can also be said that more money is spent in Vancouver.

The city’s cruise industry is facing competitive threats from other nearby ports however, as, albeit the recent 49$ million dollar investment into its’ port, then number of ships docking at the city has been gradually declining, and increasing in the nearby ports in Seattle and Victoria.

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/life/travel/2010/04/13/cost-cruising

One of Vancouver’s current industries is the local film production industry, episodes of shows such as Arrow, Fringe and Once Upon A Time are all filmed in Vancouver’s rural and downtown areas, this nets Vancouver the benefits of increased labor employment, increased tourism from fans and revenue from the employment of local capital and infrastructure.

So many shows and movies are filmed in Vancouver that it is not surprising for everyday pedestrians to spot celebrities and persons of interest shopping in malls or walking down streets, part of being a Vancouverite is also coping with the many streets that are closed for movie takes.

Recently however, in response to the trend of shows relocating from California, the American government has allocated a sum of tax credits to be given to production agencies to further entice the industry to film domestically to boost employment and tourism within the state.

As much as 31 shows, such as CBS’s ‘King and Maxwell’ and HBO’s ‘Entourage’ have been approved credits by the government and are now relocating to begin filming their next seasons in California.

This can cause a sharp fall in employment and revenue here in Vancouver, Canada, as this is but one of many examples of rising competition for the city’s filming industry.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-california-film-tax-credits-update-20130604,0,4180780.story

Twitter is a internationally renowned website with millions of users from around the world, millions of people tweet about their habits, lifestyles and most importantly, their experiences.

Twitter offers businesses real time data on product qualities, consumer satisfaction, consumer loyalty and consumer complaints and probable future improvements, a corporate presence on twitter is now almost essential for all major brands and businesses.

HR departments now expand their criteria to the twitter profiles, where they judge possible candidates based on their lifestyle, hobbies and preferences, which allows them to hire more appropriate employees.

companies now routinely conduct research in the form of twitter polls to gage consumer happiness and market performance, as the data presented has been proven to accurately represent that of the current market trend.

companies also currently use twitter to market events and new product releases, as well as running award and consumer recognition systems to improve and expand customer loyalty.

Organizations are also currently beginning to consider tweets written by customers on possible product improvement, as the tweets received by corporate accounts reflect each consumer type’s significant needs and allows the company to expand and respond for more information.

Titter is also an excellent marketing ground for new start ups wishing to reach broad consumer bases in a cost-effective manner and in spreading brand recognition.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/10/07/what-can-business-do-with-twitter-data/

in attempt to add a new flare to the usual everyday chocolate chip cookie, the young entrepreneur Jesse Schwarz established his new cookie store at the age of 22, his reasoning being that not everyone should be forced to the unchanging chocolate chip cookie.

the young business man sells thousands of cookies a day, much in thanks to his training in the marketing field, where he adapted electronic marketing on social media sites such as Facebook, where he has a staggering following of 10,000 fans. Schwarz has also launched a website for his new start-up, YoDough.com , where businesses and individuals are able to place orders and have the cookies delivered straight to their doorstep!

Schwarz also attempts to gain endorsements, sponsorship and recognition by local stores and international celebrities so that he is better able to market his product to his customer base. To support this wide and varied customer foundation, Schwarz has hired a local bakery to do the manufacturing and shipping for Yo’Dough, cutting initial capital costs.

Schwarz started his company with zero investment, his own personal savings went into starting this organization but in return Schwarz is able to run the factory his way, under his own rules.

Schwarz’s focus strategy is working for him in the meantime, as his unique product and currently small consumer base allows for gradual progress and growth, and allows for brand recognition and loyalty to be established.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/your-business/Entrepreneurs+Cookie+business+oven/9008265/story.html

In the past week, the U.S. government has declared a government shutdown  effective as of October 1st, this is due to the inability of democratic and republican representatives to reach an effective decision over the federal health insurance bill, this sudden halt in the decision making and governing process has caused the government’s tax and subsidy system to come to a grinding stop. This pause in spending and funding has many effects on local business and public corporations, large amounts of labor, previously employed by the government, are now on paid leave or extended holiday, operations deemed non-essential by the government have also been closed or paused for the time being.

The economy is now suffering due to this shutdown, as business operations are interrupted, Gross Domestic Product and government revenue falls, leading to lower amounts of money flowing through the economy and decreasing wages and incomes in the long term. The U.S. Government is also discussing raising the debt ceiling in anticipation of a longer pause in business operations and more public business closing shop as the treasury estimates that it will find itself incapable of paying the country’s debts by October 17th.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/shutdown-to-slowdown-how-washingtons-mess-is-hurting-business/article14712510/?page=all

An image of the Nike signature “swoosh” edited by an activist to discourage potential customers.

Nike, the sports goods giant, and its association with sweatshops is by now widely known and reported, most or many of Nike’s customers are now well aware of this unethical production outsourcing technique, yet Nike, to the current day, retains a large part of its market. The question that comes into mind, and which i hope to answer today is: are unethical activities profitable?

The Play Fair at the Olympics Campaign is but one of many examples which I am able to use; the campaign is run jointly by Oxfam and Global Unions, they are an international confederation of trade unions and their aim within the campaign is to ensure that products used within the Olympics are made by companies which maintain fair labor standards.

the Olympics is a major sporting event, a great opportunity to market sportswear brands as reliable, high quality products, as they are worn and used by the best athletes in the world. The added restriction of the company having to use fair labor laws is a huge danger to the brand image of most major sports brands in the world today.

Such campaigns and public pressure make unethical business techniques and traditions very costly, the added pressure of losing customers runs counter productive to any organization’s efforts. Therefore, in conclusion, while unethical businesses may profit in the short term, if the customers are informed of said unethical business, the company will not profit in the long term.

Original Article by the Economist: http://www.economist.com/node/3107741

Picture: http://www.toolness.com/nike/

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