Vintage Filings Business Blog

By Benjamin Blascoe

As with everyone adversely affected by the economy, boutique banks and smaller credit unions have been forced to adapt in new and interesting ways to still keep food on the table. As history proves, the greatest innovations are forged out of dire need and this latest economic downturn is no exception. DirectFed has created a product that literally puts these smaller financial institutions a click away from the Federal Reserve.

In the past, there has always been a middle person grappling all of the interest and floating for profit – hence why it takes so long to clear checks. With this system, it is fast, easy and simple resulting in the happiest clientele with lowest overhead. The checks get verified, whenever the institution submits them – at their own pace with their own system.

Besides being extremely cost effective as well as timely, it is reliable and essentially fail-proof. DirectFed runs image quality checks on every document (check) and allows the staff to balance each batch before it is deposited into the Federal Bank. And apparently, the reports can be generated and tailored as to the client’s wishes.

And it even installs on any computer using Windows! I see this product absolutely skyrocketing. With today’s uncertain corporate climate, using a functional, low-cost system to deliver and receive checks from the Federal Reserve Bank provides the most “bang for the buck” and is essentially the BEST choice.

It will take some tactful maneuvering to slide by these long-established mores of the corporate credit unions but at least on my end – DirectFed seems it is a sure thing.

Check then out!

By Benjamin Blascoe

Times of economic turmoil can be very hard on both public and private companies, especially when American consumers are pinching every penny as it were their last. However, despite all the fall-outs, cut-corners, lay-offs, salary caps and pure frugality of businesses in time of need, there is one area that major companies are continuing to allocate funds – Green IT projects.

IT (internal technology) is the department specific to all things technological and consequently, there is a lot of energy and heat emitted from this department’s territory. Many major companies around the world are setting aside a chunk of their budget to transition into a greener realm. According to Businessweek.com, a study by Deloitte claims that large organizations with $500m plus revenue are setting aside AT LEAST five percent of their IT Budget for green IT projects.

And if we want to get down to the nitty-gritty, even though these companies are allocating relatively large chunks of IT’s budget to purchase this stuff, in the end all cost will be curbed by the incredulous amount of saved energy as well as benefits to employee and environmental health

The trend is similar all over the world. The Businessweek.com article goes on to highlight a British company, John Lewis Partnerships. JLP recently switched to the UNIX machine which uses 80 percent less utilization – meaning fewer machines, less hassle, less money.

Even in this economic debacle, it is nice to see that some people are still focusing on the future. What is your business doing?

So how is the business travel industry doing during the recession? The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and Egencia today released a sample of findings from a study that quantifies global business travel spend and projects business travel growth through 2013. Evaluating 72 countries, the study shows that business travel growth patterns vary dramatically across the globe with North America advancing at an average rate of just over 2 percent per year for the last decade, Western Europe growing 4.6 percent annually and Asia Pacific advancing by 7.2 percent annually over the same period. Emerging Europe and the Middle East/Africa region advanced annually by 12.4 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively, from 1998 to 2008.

Kevin Maguire, CCTE, GLP, NBTA President & CEO, said, “This study is the most comprehensive look at the global business travel industry available today. Corporations can leverage this insight to guide their travel programs and preferred supplier market strategies across the globe for many years to come. We look forward to making the full report available in the coming weeks.”

The study predicts that growth of business travel in China and Japan will exceed U.S. growth over the next five years. In addition, developing nations, like India, Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia will experience significant compound annual growth rates over the same timeframe.

“Developing countries are proving to be fertile business-travel areas,” said Rob Greyber, president of Egencia. “Over the next five years, we’ll see countries like India and China grow at rates of 5.3 and 6.5 percent respectively, versus the U.S. projected growth rate of 0.3 percent.”

Global Business Travel Market & Outlook

The study finds that the North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific regions each represent about 30 percent of the global business travel market (90 percent combined), estimated to total $929 billion in 2008. This figure includes both domestic and outbound international travel. The remaining 10 percent of global activity takes place in Latin America, Emerging Europe and the Middle East and Africa. The United States represents the largest piece of global business travel spend with $261 billion or 28 percent of the world total, followed by China at 10 percent and Japan at 8 percent.

“This study shows that business travel spend has increased by more than 35 percent since 1998, making it an impactful industry in the global economy,” said Kenneth McGill, NBTA Research Consultant and lead analyst on the IHS Global Insight report. “Most of this growth has been due to an expanding global economy and the rising dispersion of business travel activity around the world.”

Despite the United States’ position as the global leader in business travel spend, Asia Pacific is poised for substantial growth over the next five years, while U.S. growth is expected to stagnate. China’s spend, at $93.8 billion in 2008, has tripled over the past 10 years and is expected to lead market growth between 2008 and 2013, followed by Japan and South Korea. Measured in terms of the dollar increase in business travel spending, the United States is expected to be fourth in terms of growth, just behind India.

Business Travel by Industry Sector

The study examines the highest growth industries for business travel globally, of which the top five include utilities, food processing and services, real estate, social and personal services, and professional and business services. Over the next five years, sectors that directly benefit from both infrastructure development (utilities, government and communications) and economic stimulus packages (education, construction and real estate) will experience the most significant growth in business travel spend.

The research shows that, globally, businesses spend an average of about 1.1 cents of every sales dollar on business travel, though it varies widely by industry. In the equipment and leasing sector, for example, the measure of travel intensity is more than three times higher at 3.7 cents per dollar, while in the mining sector, business travel measures only fractions of a cent per dollar of revenue.

Reflecting the global recession, nearly every industry foresees a decline in business travel outlays in 2009 from 2008 levels, led by steep drops in the transportation services, paper and paper products, construction, chemicals, communication equipment, and rubber and plastic manufacturing sectors. The only anticipated uptick in spending is expected in education with a 2.2 percent projected rise. However, there has been a downward trend in the amount of travel spending businesses require to support their sale and operational activities, which is a clear indication of the rising productivity of business travel.

“The increase in productivity highlights several major shifts within our industry,” said Greyber. “Stronger travel management and greater efficiency when traveling have both contributed to this change, essentially driving down business travel spend per revenue dollar. This development should be a key consideration in program planning, in addition to overall macroeconomic changes and sector trends.”

By Benjamin Blascoe

Imagine crossing the treacherous Atlantic on a wooden boat with blistering cold winds and salty chapped air. Off in the distance you see the faint glow of New York City and to your right the infamous Lady Liberty. Adorned on her bronze pedestal is the renowned vernacular of American freedom “The New Colossus,” by Emma Lazarus. The many faces that have come through Ellis Island, my family included, have all read and relied on the phrase:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

And this is what our country was founded upon. It doesn’t matter your faith, your culture, the color of your skin or the ideas in your head – America is a place for human beings to actualize their experience and achieve dreams. And this is our calling card, the willingness to harbor anyone who accepts allegiance to the United States flag. Of course there is quite the bureaucratic process to establish citizenship but the foundations remain the same.

However, yesterday while dining at a local eatery I began a discussion with a man from Yemen, anxiously awaiting his green card through something called an EB-5 program. I was intrigued because he claimed that all he had to do was invest in the American market and POOF, WHAM – citizenship.

What?

After a little research, I realized that there are a varietal of ways to become a citizen of the United States and fortunately or not, it can sometimes be based on socio-economic status – such is the case for the EB-5 program. The EB-5 visa is designed to attract foreign investors interested in United States citizenship. Written into the Immigration Act of 1990, the EB-5 visa offers a green card for anyone willing to invest $1,000,000.00 USD creating at least 10 jobs. And if the applicant invests in ‘certain regional centers with high unemployment rates’ the required investment drops to $500,000.00.

In almost every state there are EB-5 centers to utilize the program – a vast majority of them in California. Essentially, for well-off foreign business professionals or investors this is the fast-lane to citizenship. The majority of individuals who have used the EB-5 have come from Britain and Ireland but as the world’s economic prowess shifts, America is seeing a different pattern of EB-5 applicants.

Just think about the rapid growth in Dubai in the past 10 years. If growth like that continues, which it will, more and more individuals may flock to the United States because of our lower cost of living. Even after taking account of specific items such as healthcare and insurance, many immigrants will discover significant financial advantages living in the United States. It’s kind of like the ‘brain gain’.

By Benjamin Blascoe

Remember the 1994 blockbuster movie Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels? It was a heroic and ‘debacling’ tale of love, thievery and the eventual return of the infamous cash-friendly suitcase to its proper owner Mary Swanson. Cleverly titled, the pair of Carrey and Daniels realize that the suitcase is chalk full of $100 c-notes. The boys, strapped for cash and work, borrow all the money and in its place store receipts marked with the notorious IOU.

The IOU was a long standing joke between my friends and I when one of us forgot our wallet, purse or simply couldn’t afford whatever commodity we were after at the time. But the joke is all over. Now residing in Los Angeles, I live in a state that has literally been handing out IOUs to business owners and residents since July 2^nd of this year – because like Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels), California is broke.

Since the state Controller’s Office started handing out IOUs earlier this month, there have been 220,000 issued and isn’t likely to stop until the middle to end of next week. These IOUs will be redeemable for cash but the exchange date is still up in the air. The IOUs are simply the last leg of California’s epic budget crisis. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been working day-in and day-out to get the increasing deficit under control. And so far, it seems he and his staff are doing the best they can but according to controller John Chiang “we start a fiscal year with a massively unbalanced spending plan and a cash shortfall not seen since the Great Depression.”

What does than mean for people in California? The rest of the United States?

In California, these IOUs will hopefully be redeemable in the near future. People from government agencies, business owners and even residents are all anxiously awaiting the date he or she can cash the thing. In other states where budgets are becoming a cumbersome burden, a similar scenario may unfold. According to Evan Newmark of the Wall Street Journal, the Midwest may have to follow suite given that unemployment is sky high and so are taxes. He claims that Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan are all drafting some form of IOU to effectively budget itself this year.

Just like Lloyd and Harry, I hope we don’t get in over our heads. Wait… too late.

By Ben Blascoe

Sixteen months after Microsoft’s first attempt to buy Yahoo failed miserably, the two technological giants finally worked out a 10-year deal that if applied correctly could put search and advertising leader Google.com in the ‘hot seat’.

Microsoft has generated a lot of e-buzz over the last couple months concerning the launch of its new search engine Bing.com, that the Washington-based company claims is just as “good, if not better than Google’s search engine.” The hatched deal between Microsoft and Yahoo is centered around Microsoft taking over the search responsibilities of Yahoo (via Bing) and hopefully creating enough worthy traffic to convert Googlers into users of Microsoft’s new platform.

Basically, the deal is as follows:

• Microsoft acquired a 10-year license to Yahoo’s search technologies to integrate with Microsoft’s Bing.
• While Yahoo will still be very much active in the process, all Yahoo sites will now be run through Bing.com
• Microsoft will pay Yahoo through shared Revenue based on traffic through their specified network.
• Yahoo’s operating income will be boosted by roughly $500m

According to ComputerWeekly.com who followed a press conference with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, this 10-year merge will be a “game-changer”.  Both parties are very excited and agree that it will enable Microsoft to innovate in search while providing web-users with better options, transparency and choice.

But will this deal actually be able to undercut Google?

Taken from Reuters.com, Google spokesman Adam Kovakovich says “There has traditionally been a lot of competition online, and our experience is that competition brings about great things for users.” Google Inc later stated that it is very “interested” in the 10-year deal – not surprising considering that Yahoo is Google’s largest competitor.

As with any new innovation in technology, the bar will be raised and will prove to be an interesting couple of months as users watch the ‘merge’ take flight right before their eyes. We are sure to see the next level of search application and judging by the illustrious history of Google it should be quite a footrace.

Advertisers continue to rely on a mix of media types, although print is clearly suffering, partly at the expense of Internet and digital advertising.

The Media Mix

There is a divide in what types of advertising are being used in media campaigns. On one hand, more than nine in ten advertisers (92%) are typically incorporating Internet advertising into their media campaigns while 88% say they are incorporating print advertising. At the same time, less than half say they typically incorporate radio advertising (46%), television advertising (46%) and digital advertising, such as through cell phones (39%). There is a regional difference here as advertisers in the South are more likely to use radio advertising (57%) and television advertising (56%) while those in the West are least likely to use both (39% each).

Among those advertisers who are using each of these types of media, there is a difference in the level of their usage since last year. Three-quarters of those who use Internet advertising (74%) say they are incorporating it more often while 69% of those who use digital advertising are incorporating that more often when compared to a year ago. Just under half (48%) of those who use television advertising are using it the same amount as last year, but 38% are using television less. Those who use radio advertising are split, 46% are using it the same amount while 43% are using it less often. The largest drop is with print advertising as half (49%) of those who use it are using it less often relative to a year ago while 41% are using it the same amount.

Internet Advertising

Among those who use Internet advertising, just 14% say they only use it as a standalone digital campaign, while over half (54%) say they use it in an integrated campaign with other media and 33% use Internet advertising in both types of campaign equally.

More specifically, Internet advertising is used in a broad number of ways. Four in five advertisers who use Internet advertising use it as a branding device (79%) and two-thirds use it to drive information gathering for an offline transaction (65%). Slightly less than three in five advertisers (58%) use Internet advertising to drive online transactions while 57% say they use it to promote community around their brand, through such things as message boards, memberships and fan clubs.

Consumers, however, find many characteristics of Internet advertising very frustrating. Four in five consumers (80%) say they find ads that expand on the page and cover the content very frustrating while 79% say ads where they can’t find the close or skip button are very frustrating. Three-quarters of consumers (76%) find Internet ads that automatically pop up very frustrating while two-thirds (66%) say ads that open if they are “moused over” are very frustrating. Three in five consumers find both animated ads that automatically start playing and ads that play music and/or have loud soundtracks to be very frustrating (60% for both).

So What?

Given that half of all advertisers are using print media less as compared to a year ago, it is not surprising that so many magazines and newspapers are folding. Nor is it surprising that some of the survivors are publishing less frequently or instituting employee furloughs.

Although the trend among advertisers is clearly towards the Internet, advertisers have to walk a fine line. At least three in five consumers are very frustrated with six of the main Internet advertising characteristics, and there is the potential to see a backlash forming. To be successful, those that advertise on the Internet will need to come up with more engaging ways to connect with consumers.

These are some of the results of a new LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll of 1,015 advertisers from agencies or corporations who are involved in the advertising decision making process surveyed online between June 22 and 30, 2009 and 2,025 U.S. adults surveyed online between June 24 and 26, 2009.

By Benjamin Blascoe

Social media and networking websites have taken the world by storm. Neo-philosophers talked of the bourgeoning internet as the ‘Great Equalizer’ of humanity, but now more than ever it is actually true! From the streets of Iran to a penthouse suite in Manhattan, people are turning to social media and networking sites at an unprecedented rate. Entertainment was the original intention but many are starting to realize the enormous potential these sites have in the business world. However, the rise to unprecedented popularity has been coupled with its downfall – bush-league social media marketers flooding these sites with spam, trash and anything else that will hopefully grab people’s attention.

For companies attempting to market utilizing these sites or the internet in general, this can be an easy trap to fall into given that the internet is so straightforward and accessible. However, much like junk snail mail, NOBODY likes this substance. And when bombarded every second of every day, it becomes terribly maddening and can even distort a company’s image. From a branding perspective, social media marketers responsible for such tactless advertising in cyberspace instill a sense of angst whenever that particular company is mentioned. It shows me that whoever was in charge took little care in tailoring our digital relationship – meaning he or she could care less whether I bite or not. I always choose not….

If you don’t cater your social media to a specific audience then it is like fishing in a toxic pond full of nothing but rusty cans and old tires.

There isn’t a rigid platform or set of instructions to follow because every company is going to use these sites differently. All I know is that it is painfully annoying to read spam day-in and day-out. I understand I could simply remove these abusers from my network but that defeats the point. I could go on down the line of sites such as Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, AOL Propeller, FriendFeed, Biznik and many more but the end of the story is always the same. If throwing as many apples in a basket as humanly possible is your system of networking instead of carefully selecting ripe apples, who am I to tell you differently. All I can tell you is that mass-produced spam and trash does not work for me or the copious others I have spoken with about this issue.

A social media strategy needs some pondering, needs tweaking. To best assess which social media outlet (or all of them) would be best for your company, you must first decide how you would like to use these social media sites. Then decide who you would like to find on these sites. Then and only then will you generate the buzz and popularity that these sites can offer. Because when applied correctly, sites liked LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Marc Andreessen’s new social networking site ning.com can truly generate new business or reaffirm standing partnerships. However, if used improperly these sites can be an utter waste for your company and devastating to your image.

So for all of those individuals looking to social media marketing for a face-lift or maybe just some networking, here are a couple sites that will put you on the right track.

Mashable

Social Media Today

By Benjamin Blascoe

Marc Andreessen, web guru of Netscape and other profitable i-ventures, has announced that he and his partner Ben Horowitz are to launch another venture into the thriving technology industry. Andreessen and Horowitz have been partners for quite some time now and judging by their past precedence, this new venture is sure to be lucrative.

The company, cleverly dubbed Andreessen Horowitz, will be an investment firm centered on the best new entrepreneurs, products and companies in the technology industry. Taken from Andreessen’s Blog “…between the two of us, Ben and I have started three companies directly, created many new products and services, run operating businesses at high levels of scale, angel invested in 45 tech startups in the last five years, and served on a broad cross-section of company boards with some of the best entrepreneurs and investors in the industry.”

But the organization will not be as effortless as it seems with these two geniuses behind the wheel. The technology and products Andreessen Horowitz is concerned with all focus on human progress on a worldwide scale – meaning if “it” improves standard of living, improves human potential or even unlocks new technology to a broader range of human beings, Andreessen and Horowitz are interested.

Should make for an interesting firm that will most likely be at the forefront of tomorrow’s technology. Read more at Marc Andreessen’s Blog.

Consumers continue to buy technology products to improve their lives, although the consumer electronics (CE) industry will see overall shipment revenues decline in 2009, according to new data released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The semi-annual U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast shows that industry revenues will contract to $165 billion in 2009 but grow slightly in 2010.

The consumer electronics industry will see shipment revenues fall 7.7 percent, to $165 billion this year, the first decline since 2001. While consumer demand for CE products remains high, several market forces are contributing to lower revenues, including lower consumer spending, price declines and compositional shifts in key product categories. As consumer confidence rebuilds, industry revenues will grow, albeit at a pace of less than one percent in 2010. CEA’s forecast projects industry revenues will bottom out by the second half of 2009, although many risk factors remain causing industry growth to remain muted.

The CE industry continues to hold up favorably compared with other industries. Most recessions are marked by steep declines in durable goods purchases as individuals defer discretionary purchases that can be pushed into the future. Despite the worst recession since the Great Depression, CE spending as a percentage of all durable goods is as high as it has been in 50 years. Vehicle sales are down 40 percent since the recession began in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to Autodata Corporation, and existing home sales are down 34 percent from their peak in August 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“The CE industry is not impervious to the economic downturn but remains resilient compared to other industries,” said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. “Through innovation and global access to consumers and open markets, technology companies will restore economic growth and prosperity. American consumers continue to purchase CE products despite cutting back in many areas, showing that consumer electronics are vital to everyday life in this country.”

Digital displays continue to be the primary revenue driver for the industry, comprising 15 percent of overall industry sales. Unit shipments of displays remain robust, projected to be up eight percent in 2009. LCDs remain the display of choice for consumers with unit volumes jumping 24 percent. Lower price points and an increase in consumer demand for mid-size displays are reducing revenue. TV display shipment revenues are expected to drop six percent this year to $24 billion.

One year after emerging as the next-generation DVD format of choice, Blu-ray players are poised for growth in 2009. Unit shipments of Blu-ray players will jump 112 percent this year, reaching nearly six million. Even as prices drop, revenues are expected to top one billion dollars, an increase of 48 percent over 2008.

Continued innovation in the smartphone category is leading to high consumer demand and increased shipment revenues. Smartphone shipment revenues will increase almost three percent in 2009, to nearly $14 billion, despite declines in average unit prices. Smartphones will account for one in four total handset sales this year as consumers continue to seek devices capable of Internet access, navigation and media playback while on the go.

CEA’s updated sales and forecast also shows netbook momentum is building within the PC category. Unit shipments are forecasted to nearly double in 2009, rising 85 percent, to eight and a half million units. Even as more consumers opt for lower-priced netbooks, the category will reach $3.4 billion in revenue in 2009.

“Consumers continue to buy CE products at high rates, showing that CE is a must-have even during the darkest of economic times,” said Steve Koenig, CEA director of industry analysis. “Notably, consumers are buying CE products that fit today’s budget, like mid-sized displays, netbooks and private label products. Some categories, such as digital cameras, Mp3 players and video game consoles, have reached maturation as most American homes now include such devices.”