I’ve lived in Whistler for 17 years. A popular tourist destination, the tourism industry is extremely prominent within the town and continuously seems to do well, as the sale of ski passes beats records and fresh events such as Crankworx attract a strong customer base that seems to get bigger every year.

When I fell upon this headline, “Canadian Tourism Declines Despite World Travel Boom”, I questioned whether this was a reality within the west coast, and thought to explore current innovative projects within the Sea to Sky corridor.

A project both close to my heart and close to my home, was Groundeffect’s Sea to Sky Gondola project. While previous propositions of a gondola on the Stawamus Chief had been shut down, Groundeffect’s is in the midst of developing a gondola that is just in between the Stawamus Chief and Shannon Falls. The project involves a gondola ride up to an endless array of activities including, hiking, walking, rock climbing, mountain biking etc.

The Sea to Sky Gondola is going to revolutionize outdoor tourism. Attracting both tourists and locals, the project will have infinite economic benefits for both Squamish and surrounding towns. Expecting 185 thousand visits in the first year alone, and 230 thousand visits in the second year, the Sea to Sky Gondola hopes to beat those downward trend in the Canadian tourism industry.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-tourism-declines-despite-world-travel-boom-1.2426675

http://www.seatoskygondola.com/

Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg is making the first steps towards creating an economy that is less dependent on oil.

Now that is definitely something worth talking about.

In a society that claims to be so incredibly concerned about the environment and about current oil practices, the government along with big corporations have yet to make a single move upon it.

No big surprises there.

In an interview in Oslo, Solberg stated “We have to prepare Norway for an economy that is less oil income, directly, and less oil activity”

This movement towards a minimal dependency on oil may be less derived by environmental concerns however, and more focused with the country’s economic goals.

“The government sees the mainland economy, which excludes oil and gas output, slowing to 2 percent this year, compared 3.4 percent last year. GDP by that measure will grow 2.5 percent next year, it estimates”

A cut in wealth tax might also aid the country in its movement towards the non-oil industry.

I thought this article to be incredibly interesting and sparked a remarkable amount of thoughts for me. Governments may not have the best interests for the environment in mind, yet if economy’s will be saved through the non-oil industry in the future, then that is incredibly great news for everybody.

Source:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-17/norway-prime-minister-says-time-has-now-come-to-cut-oil-reliance.html 

As somebody who is personally invested in Wells Fargo & Company, I like to keep tabs on current news involving the corporation.

Latest headlines include:

Global Finance names Wells Fargo Insurance, North America’s Best Insurance Broker

Wells Fargo to cut 2,300 jobs from its mortgage-production unit as demand for refinancing slows

An article that sparked a particular interest for me was Bloomberg’s piece stating that Wells Fargo is to pay $869 million dollars to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac is a public government-sponsored enterprise in the financial services industry that claimed supposed fraud for home loans sold by Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo stated, “the agreement will allow it to substantially resolve liabilities on home loans it solde to Freddie Mac before 2009 and the emergence of the financial crisis”.

Wells Fargo, is not the only bank facing these issues as many corporations face claims that date back to the housing boom.

Will it affect the stocks? Probably not. Wells Fargo is an incredibly big, and successful bank which was most likely already funded to make such an expensive settlement. However, most investors won’t be too happy to hear about it.

Currently trading at $43.54, I’d say that Wells Fargo is on a positive stretch.

Fingers crossed it will stay that way.

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-30/wells-fargo-agrees-to-869-million-settlement-with-freddie-mac.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/wells-fargo-said-to-eliminate-2-300-mortgage-jobs.html

https://www.wellsfargo.com/press/2013/20131112_bestinsurancebrokerinnorthamerica

https://www.wellsfargo.com/press/2013/20131115_fourthqearnings

The other day, my father urged me to read Diane Francis’ new book, “The Merger of the Century”. Although I hardly have the time to read anything for leisurely purposes lately, the title struck me as shocking.

The book is composed of Francis making an argument for a united North America.

But why?

As resources become scarce and countries exploit Canada’s resource assets, Francis argues that a united Canada and United States could have incredible economic benefits. With Canada’s abundance of natural resources and the United States’ sustainable practices, and risk taking nature could result in the perfect combination. There would be hardly any competitors she claims.

Problems with the merge:

Merging different politics and laws would be exceptionally difficult

Francis proposes that the US pays Canada about 17 trillion dollars…. Which the United States most definitely does not have

Francis’ proposition isn’t all bad though. A merger between Canada and the United States would create an incredibly strong Country if all were to run smoothly.

Benefits include:

Development opportunities within Canada

Healthier demographics

Domination of the global economy

Sadly, this merger is probably not a reality nor is it the future plans of either the president or the prime minister. However, a strongly recommended book by most, I will definitely be reading, “The Merger of the Century” over Christmas break.

Sources:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/10/17/merger_of_the_century_by_diane_francis_review.html

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/09/30/diane-francis-the-merger-of-the-century/

In response to Cynthia Chang’s article about Snapchat.

Similarly to Cynthia, I fell upon Snapchat’s strange rejection of Facebook’s $3 billion offer and found myself agreeing with her regarding Snapchat’s decision. Yet, I was intrigued as to investigate Snapchat’s specific reasoning for turning Facebook down.

Here is what I found:

Room to Grow

Like many popular social media phenomenons, Snapchat is addictive. Unlike Facebook and Twitter however, Snapchat is brand new and has so much room to grow. It’s a new type of communication and may just be the future of text messaging in its whole.

Not Just a Time Waster

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all applications that could be more or less classified as time wasting apps. Snapchat on the other hand, fills the niche of a communication utility.

A Disappearing Act

Technological advances have allowed the younger generation to post literally everything online. Bearing advantages and also critical disadvantages, we are currently reminded of the timeless print of the decisions we make on social media. So, what makes snapchat so incredibly unique? The idea that pictures posted within the app, are deleted within 10 seconds. This places snapchat as a threatening competitor to facebook. Maybe facebook should of offered more than $3 billion…

Sources:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/cynthiachiang/2013/11/15/snapchats-3-billion-answer-no/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/11/14/should-snapchat-have-accepted-facebooks-3-billion-cash-buyout-offer/

In response to BenEtkin-Goulet’s Blog :

When I read Ben’s blog about the Smart Wheel, which he defined as “a detachable electric wheel that can be purchased separately from a bike and attached onto almost any bike” it reminded me of a recent article that I had read on the “Invisible Bike Helmet”.

Swedish designers, Anna Hapt and Terese Alstin have designed the impossible. A helmet that is designed to be like an airbag, fitting directly around a person’s neck, the product is virtually invisible to any onlooker.

Flaws to the product? They are currently selling the invisible bike helmet, which they have named “the Hovding” at a ridiculously high price of $530.

Looking good comes at a cost apparently…

In his blog post, Ben stated that he does not believe that the Smart Wheel will be a success. Arguing that it will actually have “the opposite of the intended effect, discouraging commuting all season/all location commuting”. Yet, I would argue otherwise. while the Smart Wheel and the Hovding may have definite flaws, there is most definitely room for improvement and hope for an increase in bike utility. Sustainable innovation such as the Smartwheel and the Hovding are the start of a revolution towards sustainable living and should definitely be supported and invested in.

Sources:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/362275

https://blogs.ubc.ca/benetkin/2013/11/12/the-revolutionary-smart-wheel-and-why-it-wont-start-a-revolution/

A cashless society seems environmental, useful, and most definitely an appropriate attribute to a sea of busy consumers, yet a lack of physical commodity will also result in an increase in debt says Melissa Leong of the Financial Post.

“when it is a number on a screen — it’s easier to spend, researchers say.”

As society becomes addicted to a faster paced way of life, as does our attitude towards money. No one has time to fiddle around with cash and coins anymore; consumers want an easier way to pay.

Credit cards, and online payments allow consumers to avoid cash altogether, yet there are consequences. Numbers and spending money actually stimulate a part of the brain known as the insula which is associated to pain, and by speeding up the spending process, consumers are also skipping over the painful thought of spending money.

The average Canadian is expected to carry a consumer debt of around $28,000 by the end of this year.

The Canadian Economy however, is not quite threatened, yet.

As credit cards and virtual payment methods replace traditional systems, consumers must be wary of their spending habits. 50 dollars is easier to spend when you don’t have to give away a big shiny red bill…

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/debt-by-numbers-troubling-trends-in-consumer-spending/article14017219/

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/05/the-end-of-cash-will-it-make-spending-zombies-of-us-all/

Advertising took over Facebook then Twitter, and it was only a matter of time before it was sprawled upon the world’s favorite photo app, Instagram. As of now, Facebook (the owner of Instagram) had only one simple goal for the popular photo program: increase the number of users. Instagram now has, “more than 150 million users”, and introducing advertisement within the application could in fact be a gold mine of profit.

If used correctly.

In my opinion, Instagram is going to have to be highly selective as to what type of advertisement will be displayed within the app. The problem with advertisement comes with the aggravated sentiments of consumers who feel as if they are being constantly pressured into buying something. No one wants to see flashy dating ads, or constant windows asking one to fill out surveys. It’s annoying, intrusive, and simply ineffective in engaging the consumer. If Instagram can introduce advertisements by simply integrating beautiful, slick looking photos into a consumer’s photo feed, then the consumer might not even consciously know that they are being exposed to a product in itself. Subliminal advertising could be the key in this whole idea.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/instagram-adding-ads-boosts-facebooks-outlook-analysts-say/2013/10/04/5bed98c4-2d10-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html

After the lecture on “Brand Positioning & Value Propositions”, I stumbled upon this article. While everybody knows that McDonalds is at the top of the food chain in terms of the fast food industry, one must wonder what it would take to overthrow the golden arch. While subway prides itself on being the healthier fast food alternative, there isn’t much to differentiate Burger King, Wendy’s, A&W etc. Until now?

Introducing a concept that even McDonald has yet to evaluate is Burger King’s new product, “Satisfries”. Introducing a healthier alternative to the world’s favorite finger food, Burger King’s new “Satisfries” are designed to “absorb less oil, reducing fat by 40 percent and calories by 30 percent over McDonald’s fries”. While Burger King has already tried to take a competitive edge to McDonalds by having a variety of types of French fries, this new low calorie option could be just the thing to push Burger King closer to it’s competitive counterpart.

I think the concept is brilliant. Low calorie French fries are the fast-food lovers dream, and could even broaden Burger King’s consumer range by attracting more people who may be wary of fast food in the first place. Is it enough to take on McDonalds? Surely, America’s favorite fast food chain won’t be too far behind on the low calorie concept…

It’s only a matter of time.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-24/for-burger-kings-satisfries-healthier-is-a-very-relative-term

For some companies, ethical decision-making is considered to be the adversary to success. Ethics being the moral challenges faced within an environment, and in this case, related to a business setting. Take world-renowned company Monsanto for instance. Amongst numerous awards and recognitions, Monsanto was ranked as “One of the 40 Best Companies for Leaders 2013” by Chief Executive magazine but was also ranked number one in “The 12 Least Ethical Companies in the World” by the Huffington Post.

At the price of success, Monsanto raises criticism within its use of GMOs and involvement of lawsuits with small time farmers.

This raises the question, are companies subject to unethical choices at the price of success? I don’t believe so. While amplifying ethical choices within a company may be more costly due to safer materials, legal labor methods, environmentally friendly options etc. I believe that a business that adopts ethical behaviors will be more successful in the long run. Companies such as Monsanto may have done well in the past, but society is slowly directing itself towards companies that are sustainable, and that pursue honest customer well being. Just look at how well Whole Foods Market and UPS are doing!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/28/the-least-ethical-compani_n_440073.html?slidenumber=0ZHHXzV%2FaPE%3D&slideshow#slide_image

http://www.monsanto.com/careers/Pages/company-awards-recognition.aspx