Chris Yim’s blog on China’s slowing economy of late is a very relevant topic to North America. It intrigued me because I never knew that Macau was such a big gambling hotspot in the world. As well, Chris brings up the topic of the political situation of China. Since it’s been a month since this blog, China has already picked a new leader for their country. Assuming that this was the major problem that caused the economic slowdown, it would be interesting to see the revenue of Macau’s casinos this month.

Vegas, or Macau…?

As well as being an interesting problem internally to China and Macau, this article (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/04/uk-macau-revenues-idUSLNE89300S20121004) makes China’s economic problem very relevant to the US and Canada. Currently, we greatly depend on China’s economic bloom as we and the USA trade a lot with them, and we feed off each other in order to stimulate our economies.

Lastly, with Macau’s casino market having overtaken Las Vegas, one can only imagine the amount of wealthy Chinese businessmen that travel to Macau to enjoy their lives. This really shows the power that China’s people have obtained in the past 15 years. China is really becoming an economic power in the world, and will probably continue to do so in the future.

Joshua Wong’s recent blog on Telus’ strategy has intrigued me. I found that he brought up some interesting questions and topics about Telus’ actions of late, and its future. You can find his blog here

“The future is friendly”

The Future Is Friendly

Telus has been renowned to be a price-riser with a sufficient amount of market power, but not anymore. They might have to look back on their slogan “The future is friendly” now that competitors Wind and Mobilicity have entered the market and selling at prices below that of Telus.

Joshua is correct, Telus cannot continue to lower its costs in order to compete with these new brands whose strategy is to become a Cost Leader. He is correct as well in identifying Telus’ unique strategy, where they give back to the community, and focus on consumers. However, I think Telus’ attractiveness to the public will dissipate, now that other companies can give the same overall service with lower prices. In such a market as the one Telus is emerged in, consumers don’t think twice about purchasing at a lower price even if Telus gives back to the community. This is because such a service is a necessity to consumers, and they must pay dues monthly rather than a one time purchase of a unique product such as clothing. In the process of buying shoes, the consumer may wonder if these were produced in sweat shops, or in America when considering the product. But when buying a service such as home phone or cellphone coverage, the consumer does not care as much about the morality of the franchise, and is primarily looking to save money .

Joshua’s blog post is very interesting and insightful and applies many of the terms we’ve covered in our COMM 101 class. I suggest reading it to understand Telus’ situation and strategy better. As well, you may benefit from reading this post because he uses the business terms well enough in a way that you can get a better understanding or review of them.

After reading Trevor Melanson’s blog on Canadian Business, I was intrigued by his newest article based on a Vancouver Apple Store employee named Sam Sung. Oh, the irony of it, surely it must be made up. But no, Sam Sung, he exists, and he works for Apple. Incase you didn’t know, Samsung, the company, is Apple’s no.1 rival and enemy. Together, they’ve battled on the fields of consumer preference, advertising, and lawsuits. It all makes for quite the funny story.

Seriously.

Jokes aside, moving onto Apple’s new iPad Mini, it is reported that Apple has sold 3 million iPad Mini’s in their opening weekend. However, their stocks are tumbling of late, and some speculate that it may be the iPad Mini’s release that is causing this. This cheaper tablet (compared to the full sized iPad) means less profit for Apple, and less revenue in a market where there are stronger competitors such as Google (Android) and Amazon (Kindle Fire) who sell for less than $329. With price competition present, Apple will have to drop its price once again to be able to sell effectively. But this means lower profits, and a drop in Apple’s share price.

iPad Mini

Perhaps this is happening, Samsung is really catching up to Apple. Or is Apple just not advancing? It seems like they are just iterating their products tweaking them to be faster, and bigger, and maybe that is why observers were disappointed with the iPhone 5 and 4S. The iPad Mini is yet another example of this iterating, where this time they have made it smaller. While Apple are still selling a desired amount of products, it is time they notice that competitors are catching up, and they didn’t get to where they are now by reiterating products, but by innovating instead. If the company wants to continue to dominate, it’s obviously going to need to starting innovating and stop iterating. No one is waiting for just a faster processor.

Peter Nowak’s blog shines light onto this problem that Apple has grown in the last year or so, and I think it highlights what Apple needs to do very well. It also gives us a good sense of where competitors are in terms of Apple, and really just how close they are as of now. Go Sam Sung!

Bank of Canada has just released a new plastic $20 bill as part of its upgrade of the monetary system. Canadians were alarmed when focus groups claimed to have seen “naked women” and the Twin Towers of the 9/11 attack.

The design itself is actually meant to evoke “the contributions and sacrifices of Canadian men and women in military conflicts throughout our history,” as it features the Vimy Memorial in France (the site of the Vimy Ridge battle) in remembrance of troops in World War I, and the current Head of State Queen Elizabeth II.

Take a look at the bill for yourself, can you see any of the claimed “pornography” or the Twin Towers?

Pornographic how?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/05/is-canadas-new-20-bill-too-pornographic.html

And the “naked women” near the top of the Vimy Memorial statue are known as the chorus. The chorus composes of Hope, Charity, Honour, Faith, Justice and Peace. Only the latter two are featured on the bill, with Peace raising a torch.

The reason for the new bills is to decrease counterfeiting and last longer. These bills are made of a high-tech polymer design, which will make it hard to counterfeit. Currently, the $20 bill is the most counterfeited bill in Canada. As well, the plastic material is harder to rip (I know by experience) and thus will last longer for citizens.

How do you like the bill?

As far as I can see, it’s just a better, improved bill to the old one. No naked women or Twin Towers stand out.

“Canadian Oil Sands warns drop of cash levels, high debts.”

Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., the largest stakeholder in Syncrude Canada Ltd. has warned investors of a drop in their cash levels for 2014. The reason behind this drop is higher debt; Syncrude has expansion projects under way at the Mildred Lake mine, and Canadian Oil Sands controls almost 37% of the consortium.

However, the company’s profit levels have risen 20 cents per share in the third quarter compared to last year. So what is stopping investors and stockholders from being a part of this increased profiting?

The answer is in the cash flow, where investors make their profit from investing. The amount of cash that flows in and out of a business is used as inputs in financial models, and thus determines the rate of return and the net present value of the business. Also, in the case of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., the cash flow is vital to its liquidity. If they are unable to pay their debts, the shortage in cash can be a problem in financial operations in general. When investors see a shortage in cash, they are hesitant to invest because a shortage in a cash can hinder expansion and growth.

The company’s (Canadian Oil Sands Ltd.) excuses for the reduce in cash flow were the lower gas prices this year. Canadian Oil Sands brought in $92.59 per barrel in the first nine months of 2012, while they had received $100.20 per barrel in all of 2011.

What do you think, is Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. save to invest in? Can we look past this decrease in cash flow, and confide in them to pay off their debts and expand effectively?

Would you invest in them?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/canadian-oil-sands-warns-of-drop-in-cash-levels-higher-debt/article4749096/#

Have you considered self-efficient funding for your charity? Are you tired of constantly trying to find a solution for funding of your charity?

Maybe you can be convinced into a social enterprise:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/oct/15/charity-social-enterprise

Toms’ one for one slogan has been the underlying motive of their campaign, they give back one shoe to people in need for each shoe the public purchases

The Guardian states that there are almost 70000 social enterprises in the UK now, and the interest is only increasing. To be clear about what they mean “social enterprise,” the article defines it as “an organisation that trades for social purpose, meaning that any surplus is reinvested back into the business or the community.”

Why should a charity convert into a social enterprise? Adopting a self funded approach to a charity will give the charity a more sustainable and increased social impact.

However, there are things to consider before making the jump. Many charities struggle with the cultural aspect of the decision. They struggle with jumping from being gift funded, to a self-sufficient enterprise that sells services or goods to produce income. However, they forget that the profits are used to support the activities that charities usually does.

In conclusion, if your charity realizes that you’re able to provide a service and generate profit, why not become a social enterprise? You could generate income and use it to fund your social missions. But before jumping in to do so, make sure you have a strategy and a plan for providing a service or a product so you can be sure that you will generate profit. The social enterprise offers opportunities for charities to become long-standing, profitable organizations that focus on providing social services to the community.

If the global demand is weak, and exporting isn’t happening, what do ships have left to do?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/the-cost-of-a-strong-dollar-and-weak-demand/article4595402/

Canada is starting to feel the effects of the global trade slowdown, with its exports going way down due to the weak global demand. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) “tracks changes in the cost of shipping bulk commodities such as metals, grains and crude oil by sea. The index falls when shippers aren’t shipping, and between May and December of 2008, the BDI crashed 94 per cent.” The Index this year has went down 55% due to the weak demand and the excess supply. Why is this happening?

Maybe it’s because of the business caution that people never took before. In the economic  collapse of 2008, the BDI went down 94%. The BDI has already went down 55%, so it’s only natural that demand weakens and caution rises. Who wants to lose money?

We can’t turn to other countries for help, because their BDI indexes are down as well, signifying overall sluggish activity in the economy.

In a nutshell, the overall demand for trade is weak, and our dollar is strong. It makes exporting a whole lot more expensive for ourselves. What can we do?

Full story here

Vancouver’s home sales have dropped more than 30% from last September to this September. In essence, the asking price for houses hasn’t really gone up, but the mortgage has. The government has “recently eliminated the availability of a 30-year amortization on government-insured mortgages,” thus decreasing demand cause some potential buyers cannot afford it now.

Is this really worth all that money? Are you willing to pay a expensive mortgage for this?

One way to tell the increasing price of housing is the percentage increase in listings from last year to this year, a 14% increase. As Sal Guatieri of BMO Nesbitt Burns says, sales will continue to drop as buyers seek revenge after the decade-long boom of the 2000s.

However, where exactly is Canada’s housing market going? With the inevitable sliding of Vancouver’s market and the increase in Calgary (climbed 14.4% from September of last year). As well, what will happen to the condo situation in Toronto, they can’t just keep producing and selling, it has to stop at one point.

I think we must appreciate Jim Flaherty’s management of the situation, his recent tightening of mortgage regulations have decreased risk of a crash and will likely result in a progressive decrease in sales. His intention was set on high-end home buyers, particularly in Toronto, to reconsider before jumping into the market in order to avoid a future crash in the market.

As for Vancouverites, we’ll just keep our dead money in our houses! Or sell them and profit.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/98474–men-s-shoes-the-case-for-spending-800

Men’s dress shoes have not changed styles for almost 300 years, and the probably won’t be fluctuating much in the next 100. 19th century black lace-ups were seen at 2012 Louis Vuitton fall collection paired with futuristic shining leather dress shirts. Similar shoes have been seen at Salvatore Ferragamo, and Giorgio Armani fashion shows. Tim Little, owner of British footwear brand Genson states, when asked about whether the 19th century style shoes were still in fashion, “The toe-cap oxford, the loafer, the wingtip brogue, the plain-fronted five-eyelet Derby—they are all very, very classic.”

It gets interesting when shoe companies based in Northamptonshire, England have come up with a technique called Goodyear welding, where shoes can be resoled without losing shape, thus allowing a pair of these Northamptonshire shoes to last well longer than 15 years.

The point is: If the shoe you spend $800 dollars on can be resoled over and over again despite normal wear and tear, and age like fine wine over time, this $800 isn’t a gamble, it is good use of your business knowledge. Now tell your wife or mom you’re spending $800 dollars on a pair of Northamptonshire shoes that never breaks or go out of fashion.

How do these look?

Get used tom looking at these, you’ll have them for the rest of your life

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44423519/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/t/us-falls-th-global-competitiveness-survey-shows/#.UKG3waX3B8c

Jobs, jobs, jobs. America needs them.

It’s a story that’s been heard before: US’s deficit has dragged it down the list of the world’s most competitive economies. With the upcoming election nearing, what does the public do? Surely their faith in Obama has suppressed, making Romney’s eligibility to win look a whole lot better now. This intrinsic lack of faith for the US economy contributes to its tumble down the list.

This Geneva based forum announces the list based on economic data and the survey of 15,000 business executives.

This recent bad news for the Obama campaign, as the forum cited “a number of escalating weaknesses such as rising government debt and declining public faith in political leaders and corporate ethics.” As well, a recent survey of 142 nations showed a clear disapproval in Obama’s economic policies and actions. These surveys give President Obama something to work for for his country, and certainly something to improve upon this upcoming term, should he win. If he is unable to prove that he can fix the economy and narrow the debt, Romney may seem like a more worthy opponent for Obama. Change is what the Americans want, and Obama needs to deliver.

What will Obama change to gain back his vote? Can Romney defeat him with his campaign?

Other countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan, and Britain rounded out the top ten as Switzerland took the top spot, with Singapore, Sweden and Finland following. Germany took sixth spot right behind USA. While the US slipped down the list, emerging economies gained traction, with China in 26th place, and Brazil, India, and Russia in the 53rd, 56th, and 66th places respectively.

All in all, citizens of the US must be looking to improve their situation and hold their own against superpowers of the world, and these rankings may cause some Americans to reconsider who deserves their vote in the upcoming election.