Monthly Archives: October 2013

Retirement

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USA : The circumstances for retirees are changing – a significant number of companies have ended their health benefits for their retirees and/or have increased their premiums. Retirees’, whether from recently times or decades ago, find that their positions are no longer secure. Since 1997, there has been a decrease of more than 10% in the number of employees are offered retiree health benefits, showing a continued downwards trend.

That said, there are ways to deal with the situation. Unexpected events happen, and, to a point, we have to be ready for them. Retirees are encouraged to look into Medicare (if eligible), the Affordable Care Act, and/or private insurance plans. Preparations and back-up plans are highly recommend as preparation as there is no solution after this occurs. In other words, it’s time to ‘plan for the unexpected’. Many retirees who haven’t planned sufficiently have found that selling unused valuables around the house is an feasible option, though it is mainly used as a last resort.

Overall, retirees find themselves mad at their former employers – they have worked many years, decades even, only to ‘have the rug pulled out’ from under their feet, especially when the companies are not having any financial difficulties.

Source: http://peaknewsroom.blogspot.ca/2013/10/companies-end-health-benefits-for.html

Twitter’s Potential

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According to a brokerage firm, Twitter Inc’s share price has to potential to nearly double within its first year as a listed company. In fact, this brokerage has issued a “buy” rating for the company before the service is even public. Analyst Robert Peck believes that the stock will float at around $30 per share, possibly reaching $50 in as little as a year. Peck puts Twitter as the dominant player in the “real time interest graph” which gives them an advantage over others.

Twitter has had a highly successful history, receiving a large amount of its revenue from advertising since 2010, when they started selling it. It broadened its horizons with the acquisition of MoPub and Amplify, and has room for even more expansion, perhaps with the introduction of a product like Google’s AdWords. There are many other areas Twitter could make use of to increase revenue, such are e-commerce and mobile apps.

Analysts have already begun thinking of Twitter as Facebook’s rival. While they are very much alike, twitter has some components that are reminiscent of other social networking services and twitter is a “real-time engagement” platform because of its “faster-paced, real-time conversations”. While Twitter is growing quickly, it is true that currently Facebook, in terms of revenue, users, and revenue per employee is notably higher than that of Twitter. However, the fact that Twitter provides “a live broadcast of news, updates, opinions and other conversations accessed conveniently from a mobile app or desktop websites largely unmatched in immediacy and scale by Facebook or Google” makes them a strong threat.

Sources:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-v-facebook-rivalry-in-focus-as-ipo-looms-2013-10-07

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/10/7/Twitter-gets-buy-rating-even-before-listing.aspx

 

BlackBerry being sold? Perhaps there is hope.

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Shares for BlackBerry Ltd. rose on Monday in both Canada and the United States, after rumors of possible interest from ‘strategic buyers’ accompanying an upgrade on their stock from “underperform” to “neutral” (by Kevin Smithen).

Reportedly, the company is talking with Cisco Systems, Google Inc., and SAP about selling parts or all of itself and is, in addition, looking to see if other prospective buyers would be interested. At this point it is undecided whether or not any companies will make a bid but it has been said that many are interested in BlackBerry’s intellectual property.

One analyst, Peter Misek, believes that BlackBerry might be sold in three segments: its operating system and handsets, its messenger platform, and its core enterprise business.

This news follows closely behind other reports of BlackBerry’s failures and its probability of being sold, enhancing it. As discussed in class, BlackBerry has made many mistakes, including not taking advantage of their assets and opportunities. A massive company, which, only just a few years ago may have been associated by the public with the likes of Apple, is now on its last legs. The fall of this empire has been a good lesson to many others, but for BlackBerry, their best option may very well be to sell their business. But how they will go about doing so will be interesting to watch, as there are many options available to them.

Source: http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/10/7/Cisco-Google-SAP-discussing-BlackBerry-bids-Report.aspx

Resale across borders: Pirate Joe’s

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Judge Marsha Pechman recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by the U.S. shop Trader Joe’s against a Canadian imposter, Pirate Joe’s. Pirate Joe’s is a store based in Kitsilano, Vancouver which resells products from Trader Joe’s shops across the border.

The ruling stated that “all alleged infringement takes place in Canada and Trader Joe’s cannot show economic harm,” and “even if Canadian consumers are confused and believe they are shopping at Trader Joe’s or an approved affiliate when shopping at Pirate Joe’s, there is no economic harm to Trader Joe’s because the products were purchased at Trader Joe’s at retail price.”

Trader Joe’s argued that Pirate Joe’s was not authorized to resell their goods and that fake advertising were compromising their brand.

It was noted, however, that Trader Joe’s products couldn’t be purchased on their website and they don’t have any stores in Canada.

While it is true that, if not handled correctly, Pirate Joe’s advertising may affect Trader Joe’s brand and public image, it is also true that, by buying from Trader Joe’s at retail price, Trader Joe’s is not harming them economically. In fact, they may very well be increasing Trader Joe’s sales. Pirate Joe’s spend money and time to bring Trader Joe’s products to Canada so people do not have to travel to get them themselves, helping many in the community. By making Trader Joe’s products accessible, it is likely that more people would be interested in them, making sales increase further. In fact, when you look at it from another perspective, having a shop like Pirate Joe’s is not much different than having the number of customers Pirate Joe’s tailors to and more customers are always accepted. Therefore, the dismissal of the lawsuit is justified and Trader Joe’s should not have so many complaints about it.

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/judge+dismisses+case+against+Vancouver+Pirate/8997334/story.html