Author Archive

January 24, 2008: 7:09 pm: BernardSport

At the dawn of major sporting events, the events were about just that - major sports teams. In today’s commercialized world, however, sporting events more than a competition between the team playing on the field or court; there is another competition raging all throughout the event. This competition is worth more than just a win or a loss, its about billions of dollars. Corporations use sporting events as platforms to bombard spectators with all sorts of advertising messages. From the names of stadiums to the athlete’s uniform. Even in tennis and golf, sports perceived as pristine and pure allow millions of dollars of advertising. Just walking around Rod Laver stadium during the Australian Open you will notice logos upon logos of corporations “bringing you the…….whatever.”

January 23, 2008: 5:37 pm: BernardInvesting

Amidst all of the talk about recession and a global slump in stock markets the Dow bounced back with a 300ish gain on Wednesday. This is good news for all investors whether it is big brokerages or individuals trading on online services.

Blue chips rallied Wednesday afternoon, with the Dow bouncing back from a more than 300-point loss earlier in the session, while the Nasdaq erased losses sparked by Apple’s profit warning.

The Dow Jones industrial added almost 300 points, after having fallen more than 300 points earlier in the session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.1 percent.

To read more about this story, click here.

January 22, 2008: 2:57 pm: BernardSport

Hosting a major sporting event in a city or country can greatly increase the the respective location’s surrounding commerce. Glendale, AZ is the host of this year’s Super Bowl, and its surrounding economies (including Phoenix, Scottsdale, etc.) are already feeling the bump in their economy. Everything from hotel’s and restaurants to transportation and entertainment are going to feel the increase in their local commerce centers. On the other side of the globe there is another major sporting event in the Australian Open, taking place in Melbourne. This city down under will no doubt be basking in the warmth of an economic boost.

January 21, 2008: 7:51 pm: BernardInvesting, News
Stocks fell sharply worldwide Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government’s stimulus plan to prevent a recession.U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but were primed to open Tuesday’s session with steep declines, according to futures trading.

To read more about this story, click here.

January 18, 2008: 4:52 pm: BernardNews

Whether its brokers, investing companies, or online stock picking services you know the market is tremendously sagging. And seemingly each day there are more bad signs for investors and the market.

Like a fatigued swimmer flailing for shore, investors are just hoping to find the bottom. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has declined nearly 6% over the past three trading sessions, while the Dow Jones industrials are off 5% and the Nasdaq just over 5%. The Dow, down more than 8% for 2008, is at its lowest level since March, 2007, while the S&P 500, off 9% for the year, has hit a 15-month low.

To read more about this story, click here. More and more signs keep popping up indicating a recession; not that the economy is heading for one, but that we’re already in the midst of one.

January 16, 2008: 6:48 pm: BernardFinance

Crocs, the maker of what may be the ugliest shoes in the history of shoes, has named their new CFO and created a new position of senior VP of retail. Crocs are so ugly cave men wouldn’t even want to wear them.

Crocs Inc. Wednesday named Rush Hammer chief financial officer, treasurer and senior vice president of finance, effective immediately.

Hammer was previously the chief financial officer and corporate vice president of the Home Solutions Business at Motorola Inc.

Crocs, a Niwot, Colo.-based footwear retailer, also named Peter Case, its CFO, to the new position of senior vice president of the retail division, effective immediately.

To read more about this story, click here.

January 15, 2008: 12:09 pm: BernardTechnology
NanoGram Corporation, a leading developer and licensor of core process technology for the manufacture of unique nanostructured materials for optical, electronic and energy applications, today announced that it has closed on a third equity round of $32M to date to expand its solar technology and nano materials solutions businesses.

This about the time that Arthur Trueger and his company, BerkeleyVC would look to invest in a company; in the later stages of the start-up process. If you would like to read more about this story, click here.

January 14, 2008: 2:33 pm: BernardEconomy

In the midst of recession speculations on Wall Street, US Commerce Secretary, Carlos Guierrez stays optimistic of the country’s overall economic health. This claim is hard to believe considering all the contradictory evidence and rumblings of a recession.

Gutierrez pointed to rising wages, an increase in the total amount of hours worked, growing exports and unemployment that remains below the 30-year average as all signs the economy is still strong.

“I look at the facts,” he said in an interview Friday with CNNMoney.com. “There are some very positive sides to the U.S. economy, the challenge is to keep it going.”

Despite all of the economic problems, venture capital companies, like Arthur Trueger’s BerkeleyVC, seem to be finding plenty of start up tech companies in which to invest. That could be because of the always growing technology capabilities and the companies that provide and develop them. To read more on this story go to CNN, to read more about Arthur Trueger and venture capital news visit Arthur Trueger’s blog.

January 8, 2008: 11:49 am: BernardNews

As social media has grown in popularity, both for recreational and business use, many investors, like Arthur Trueger, are interested in the outlook of the this new web technology.  Here are some proposed trends for the upcoming year.

1.   Consumers will continue to rely on social media platforms to research products and service.

2.   The growth in data and content created by the social media will also bring change to the traditional search models.

3.   Likewise traditional models for businesses to research their consumers will fundamentally change.

4.   Customer feedback and the social network will overtake price, and in some cases brand as a major factor in online purchase decisions

5.   The data generated from Web 2.0 will be increasingly important to all organisations, not just to web based businesses

To see what the other five trends are click here.

January 7, 2008: 6:51 pm: BernardNews

Here are 10 tips that can help any person become more responsible at managing their finances.

1.   Get paid what your worth, and spend less than you earn - Make sure you know what your job is worth in the marketplace, by conducting an evaluation of your skills, productivity, job tasks, contribution to the company, and the going rate, both inside and outside the company, for what you do.

2.    Stick to a budget - You need a budget whether you make thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

3.    Pay off credit card debt - Credit card debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially.

4.    Contribute to a retirement plan - Ask your employer if they have a 401(k) plan (or similar plan), and sign up today. If you’re already contributing, try to increase your contribution. If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan, consider an IRA.

5.   Have a savings plan -  Resolve to set aside a minimum of 5% to 10% of your salary for savings BEFORE you start paying your bills. Better yet, have money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separate account.

To read the remaining 5 tips, click here.

January 4, 2008: 7:23 pm: BernardNews

KBW analyst Diane Merdian now estimates Citigroup will take $15.3 billion in writedowns in the fourth quarter tied to mortgage-backed debt and collateralized debt obligations, instead of the $11 billion previously estimated.

The writedowns stem from continued deterioration in the mortgage market. As mortgages — especially subprime mortgages given to customers with poor credit history — have increasingly defaulted, banks have been forced to cut the value of bonds and debt backed by the troubled loans.

Citigroup took about $6 billion in writedowns during the third quarter. Late last year, Citigroup anticipated it would take between $8 billion and $11 billion in writedowns during the fourth quarter.

To read more, click here.

January 3, 2008: 7:09 pm: BernardNews

Jackson Hewitt, a tax service corporation, announced the hiring of a new Chief Financial Officer in Daniel O’Brien.

Daniel O’Brien, most recently CFO of Honolulu-based Hawaiian Telecom Communications Inc., has previously held the CFO title at a number of companies, including Global Crossing, Genuity Corp. and GTE Corp. He succeeds Mark Heimbouch, who became chief operating officer of the Parsippany, N.J.-based firm in October.

O’Brien will replace Mark Heimbouch who was named the companies COO in October.  To read more about this appointment, click here.

January 2, 2008: 7:32 pm: BernardNews

This MarketWatch.com article lists the worst jobs; the criteria was the percentage of jobs in an industry that paid less than the median wage in 1979, adjusted for inflation, and had neither employer-sponsored health insurance nor a retirement plan.

1.   Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop - 87% bad jobs

2.   Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession and coffee shop - 87 %

3.   Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers - 85.4%

4.  Fabric and apparel patternmakers - 82.2%

5.   Lifeguards and other protective-service workers - 81.6%

To find out the worst jobs that round out the the top ten, click here.

December 20, 2007: 5:48 pm: BernardNews

Entertainment events receive plenty of attention throughout the holiday season; everything from fine arts to sports to concerts.  People need a way to ease all the drama associated with extended family gatherings, so they turn to live entertainment events.  Concert tickets for winter events such as the Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol are in high demand year in and year out.  Football tickets are always a permanent fixture in and around the holiday season, with the all the college bowl games and the mother of them all, the Super Bowl.

December 19, 2007: 7:15 pm: BernardNews

If the Holiday shopping rush isn’t enough to jump start your online sales, here are five tips to get it going.

1.   Don’t make people register to make a purchase. Shoppers know they have to provide their contact information anyway, so why make them fill out a separate form?

2.   Reassure shoppers about security and privacy. Have a security/privacy policy on your site, ensure checkout pages are secure and make security icons very visible

3.   Make the “Add to Cart” button large and obvious. The same goes for other important buttons such as “Checkout” and “Complete Purchase.”

4.   Have as few checkout steps as possible. The fewer steps, the easier it is for shoppers to complete a purchase.

5.   Give shoppers a reason to buy from you. Make special offers (such as free shipping) very visible, especially on shopping cart and checkout pages.

To read more about these tips, click here.

December 18, 2007: 5:55 pm: BernardNews

Hopes that the country’s trade troubles may be easing was spurred by the news that during the third quarter, the deficit was at the lowest level in two years.  On Monday the Commerce Department announced that the current account trade deficit fell by 5 1/2 percent to $178.5 billion.  This was the smallest current account imbalance since 2005’s third quarter amojnt of $173.4 billion.

Click here to read more about the lessening trade deficit. 

December 17, 2007: 6:15 pm: BernardNews

It was 13 years ago when Pizza Hut debuted the first web-page order form, yet ecommerce retailers still can’t get all the kinks worked out.  High traffic on Black Friday, and the recently dubbed, Cyber Monday caused a outtage of some major online retailers, who you would think had enough resources to protect against such a mishap.  Sears.com and Yahoo Shopping experienced 8 and 10 hour crashes, respectively.  Other retail behemoths like Wal-Mart and Circuit City also experieced some minor mishaps like extremely long load times and items disappearing randomly from shopping carts.

These hiccups on many online retail sites weren’t actually caused by the insanely high number of purchases made online, but rather the online equivalent of window shoppers - people just browsing e-commerce sites and eating up bandwith.

To read more about these online window shoppers, who are disrupting your online shopping, click here.

December 14, 2007: 6:00 pm: BernardNews

Harris Private Bank Managing Director, Mark Johannessen gives 5 finance tips on how to bring in the new year.

1.   One of the best gifts you can give yourself this year is a financial assessment. Working with a financial planner can help you define and commit to your financial goals and determine what amount of time and effort it will take to get there.

2.   One step in recognizing your financial strengths and weaknesses is hand delivered to you each month — your bank statement. Make a resolution to track your bank statements for three months to see exactly where your money is going.

3.    As you are wrapping gifts this year, think about a budget for next year’s gift giving. Many Americans go into debt to foot the bills for their holidays.

4.   And speaking of credit cards, they can both help and hinder your progress to a secure financial future. If you pay off the cards each month, they can provide you with a detailed summary of your purchasing patterns, helping you to budget accordingly. However, if you continue to roll over a balance, then credit cards — no matter how low the interest — are taking money out of your pocket.

5.  Many companies increase employees’ salaries beginning with the first paycheck in January. If you are expecting an increase this year, commit now to immediately siphoning the bump in pay right into your 401k plan or retirement savings vehicle.

To read more about these tips, click here.

December 13, 2007: 7:40 pm: BernardNews

The 18th US-China Joint Commission on commerce and trade took place this week in Xianghe.  One of the major outcomes was the Chinese banishment of imported Hollywood movies.  US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said “My understanding is that there is a suspension, which has happened in the past.”  Gutierrez said that the US is lobbying China to end the ban.  The commerce secretary goes on to say “the problem we have with movies, with films, is that there’s a limit…a quota on them, and we’d like to get that lifted.”

Read more here.

December 12, 2007: 12:12 pm: BernardNews

In piece of interesting commerce news, the US and China have come to an agreement that would facilitate the acquirement of tourist visas for outbound chinese tourists.  After years of negotiations the US becomes the 134th country on China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) list.  Currently the US issues only business travel visas.

The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) says that the agreement will provide a strong motivation for bilateral ties in such sectors as the economy, trade, and culture, as well as invigorating the tourism industry.

US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez says “the agreement will open a large and growing market for the US travel and tourism industry.”  The US Department of Commerce estimates that the number of Chines vistors would reach 579,000 annually, by 2011, up from 320,000 last year.

For more information, click here.

December 11, 2007: 11:59 am: BernardNews

Through the first 37 days of the holiday shopping season, e-commerce spending is up 18%.  December 6th now holds the record for heaviest spending in day with $803 million, up 28% from the same day last year.  ComScore, Inc. conducted the survey to find this commerce news.  From November 1st to Decembe 7th $18 billion have been spent online.  You can read about more finance news here.

December 7, 2007: 6:10 pm: BernardNews

In some big commerce news today, QVC, one of the largest multimedia retailers, announced that they will be bringing on Claire Watts as their new president of US Commerce.  In her new position, beginning January 7, 2008, Watts will be responisble for “…planning, programming, merchandising, broadcasting, TV sales, and QVC.com for the U.S. operation.”  This is huge commerce news, seeing as QVC is a integral outlet for manufactureres and sellers of a wide variety of items.

To read more about this announcement, click here.

December 6, 2007: 11:19 am: BernardNews

The European Union (EU) finance ministers reached a compromised deal on Tuesday to reform the 27-nation bloc’s value-added tax (VAT) rules. “Today we have reached an agreement on the VAT package, which means we have been able to int …

Read More at People’s Daily…

: 11:07 am: BernardNews

The European Union agreed to the sweeping changes after Luxembourg finally agreed to a deal to end the perks enjoyed by its e-commerce industry - but not until 2015.

Read More at International Herald Tribune…

December 4, 2007: 4:35 pm: BernardNews

Black Friday, the purported  biggest shopping day of the year, now has an online companion - Cyber Monday.  The Monday after Thanksgiving has, in recent years, been dubbed by that name due to the large amount of people going online to find great deals, just like they do when they get up at 4 am to find deals at the mall.

The Holiday shopping season always increases the amount consumers spend on others and themselves.  In the age of the internet it is no surprise that this has moved online.  e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay are bombarded by visitors; the influx of spending even spills over into online investing with online brokers and stock picking services like Gorilla Trades.  Hopefully continued consumer spending can help boost the overall economy at least a little bit.

: 4:57 am: BernardNews

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group is selling its yet-to-completed new 39-storey headquarters Menara Bumiputera Commerce to Ministry of Finance Inc-owned Pembangunan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd (PHBB) for RM460 million cash under a sale and leaseback arrangement.

Read More at The Edge Daily…

: 4:49 am: BernardNews

In the battle to diversify the local economy and grow new jobs, it can?t hurt to have a five-star general on your side. That?s just the sort of heft the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce wields after receiving a five-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Read More at The Dalton Daily Citizen…

December 3, 2007: 4:48 am: BernardNews

Business seminars galore in December.

Read More at Santa Barbara Independent…

: 4:12 am: BernardNews

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama) — No timeline has been set for the gas price review but any such decision will be in conjunction and concurrently with a review in electricity tariffs, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said Monday.

Read More at Malaysian National News Agency …

December 1, 2007: 4:58 am: BernardNews

Appliance retailer Hill & Stewart has been found guilty of 14 charges under the Fair Trading Act, for pricing goods purchased with interest free finance as more expensive than cash.

Read More at NZPA via Yahoo!Xtra News…