royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

With the landmark Supreme Court ruling granting the Xeni Gwet’in people 1,750 square kilometers of land west of Williams Lake, business for resource extraction companies in B.C. got a whole lot more complicated. This decision made it mandatory for businesses like Taseko Mines to obtain approval from the Tsilhqot’in nation in order to undertake natural resource-based projects in the interior of B.C. Environmental protection and the health of the wildlife is a major focus for the Tsilhqot’in people. While potentially very lucrative, the New Prosperity copper-gold project is a large-scale industrial mining environment, which threatens the fish habitat of Fish Lake. The Tsilhqot’in will undoubtedly be challenging to negotiate with on this matter; reaching an agreement will be time-consuming and costly.

Businesses operating in or near First Nations territory face mounting challenges in a business environment shaped by the society and culture of the Aboriginal landowners. The desires of the Tsilhqot’in people do not in any way parallel the interests of the resource extraction entrepreneurs (primarily concerned with profit maximization). The best tactic for prospective businesses operating in close proximity to Aboriginal territory is to find a way to create value for Aboriginal stakeholders.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Premier+urges+cooperation+more+litigation+government+natives+reach+fork+road/10194776/story.html

crackberry.com

Blackberry’s marketing strategy with their new Passport handset is to target a specific customer segment, the “mobile professional”. Whereas the Apple iPhone targets a much larger, more generalized customer base, Blackberry has chosen to cater to the needs of people who rely on smartphone technology to do their jobs efficiently. The Passport offers longer battery life, improved security, a multi-function keyboard, and access to documents, messages, email, and contacts across devices, among other features.

The strategy for the Passport is a clever one because it not attempting to offer a slightly different, would-be superior version of the iPhone without the massive power of the Apple brand name. It has been proven on multiple occasions with multiple different products that to beat Apple at its own game is a nearly impossible feat. Instead, Blackberry aims to carve out a new niche within the smartphone consumer population, one that specifically demands a tool rather than a plaything. “Being different isn’t always easy,” writes Blackberry CEO John Chen, “but we do know it’s the only way to stand out.”

Can the Passport be expected to rival the iPhone in total sales and popularity? No, but it can be expected to establish a unique new customer base and satisfy needs that have yet to be met. With the launch of the Passport, Blackberry might finally be able to regain its footing in the smartphone industry and obtain a new position within the average consumer’s mindset.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102053583

therealsingapore.com

When the Alibaba Group Holding Corp. revealed its financial results for the second quarter of 2014, excitement about the upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO) for Alibaba only intensified. With a 46% increase in revenue over the last year and earnings three times higher than the amount reported in the previous year, the prospects for the Alibaba IPO were much more than favourable.

However, in the article “Opinion: In Alibaba’s IPO, where did the skepticism go?” Mark Hulbert states that there are legitimate concerns regarding the reliance that can be placed on the financial results reported by Alibaba or any other Chinese company. How can you trust any Chinese company’s financial statements amid the numerous recent reports of accounting scandals involving the Chinese companies such as Tianhe Chemicals, AgFeed, Ultrasonic AG, and Sino-Forest. All of these companies, have been accused of either reporting fake revenue, profits or asset bases. John Wasik with Forbes agrees that “Chinese corporations are not audited the same way as American companies” and as a result the full picture of Alibaba’s financial position may not have been reported. It does seem clear that the risk of financial statement fraud is greater for Chinese companies who are operating in a less regulated business environment. Potential Alibaba investors and others who rely on their financial statements would be wise to exercise caution.

1. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/in-alibabas-ipo-where-did-the-skepticism-go-2014-09-19
2.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwasik/2014/09/17/alibabas-underbelly/

gadgetreview.com

In 1998, Dell Inc. became one of the first companies to redesign their business model around digital information linkages and e-commerce transactions. Today, many of the most successful companies are virtual, relying on the power and speed of the Internet to ensure smooth, cost-efficient processes between manufacturers, suppliers, and consumers.

“Understanding Net(flix) Neutrality” reveals the kinks and hidden costs a virtual company like Netflix faces in managing the transmission of their huge data files over the Internet’s backbone to individual consumers. In the past, Netflix has relied on costly CDN (“content delivery network”) services to manage the delivery of its shows, movies, and services to ISPs. Recently, Netflix has cut out the CDN middlemen, and reached agreements to interconnect directly with several major ISPs. These key ISPs already have the appropriate infrastructure to manage Netflix’s enormous content (30% of all Internet bandwidth) without additional infrastructure construction costs.

While Netflix’s new interconnection arrangements have significantly reduced costs and increased speeds by 65 percent, new threats are looming in the “last-mile” connection between ISPs and consumers’ screens. In May 2014, the Federal Communications Commission circulated new “net neutrality” rules, giving telecom providers the authority to prioritize data delivery, granting high-speed access to those companies that are willing to pay for it. Netflix, and many other large Internet-based companies, have bristled in response to this proposal, arguing that their consumers already finance high-speed internet access under monthly plans. It is clear that the Internet, while appearing seamless and unlimited in its capacity for data transmission, is not a cost-free delivery route for a company’s services.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/10/01/understanding-netflix-neutrality/