Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
Posted on May 17, 2012 02:04:55 PM
From smSmallBiz.com
MARTHA MONTOYA HAS found a way to grow her small business: She exports. While “exporting” conjures up images of vast shipyards and warehouses, Montoya, a comic-strip artist in Santa Ana, Calif., sells her colorful cartoon characters for use on snack packages in China, Ecuador, Colombia and other far-away places. She tells other entrepreneurs — no matter their business — to think about going global.
“You have to look into it,” says Montoya, 43, who estimates that revenues at her company, Los Kitos Entertainment LLC, have grown between 30% and 40% since she started exporting two-and-a-half years ago. “You can grow your business much faster than if you keep trying to sell to the same customers here.”
Many entrepreneurs want to tap into the world marketplace, but shy away because they’re intimidated by language barriers, currency exchanges and the risk of getting stiffed by an overseas buyer. But those barriers are becoming less onerous thanks to technology and globalization, small-business advocates say. Additionally, new products and services, including programs sponsored by the U.S. government, are popping up to help entrepreneurs foray into foreign markets.
Earlier this month, the Import-Export Bank launched a new, web-based service to help U.S. companies more easily and quickly buy insurance covering shipments of goods or services to other countries. Ex-Im Bank, a little-known government agency created during the Depression to boost international trade, designed the more user-friendly web service with the small-business owner in mind.
“Our biggest problem is the lack of awareness on the part of the U.S. exporter that the federal government has a program like this that will allow them to increase not only their foreign sales but also their profitability,” says John A. Emens, Ex-Im Bank’s senior vice president of small business.
For small companies, Ex-Im Bank is often the only place to turn for protection on shipments of overseas orders, as the private sector typically doesn’t want to take on the risk.
And insurance is critical when it comes to exporting. For instance, a small-business owner who manufactures ready-to-eat desserts might get a big order from a buyer in Canada. If the buyer won’t pay in advance — and many won’t — then the small-business owner needs to buy insurance. That way, the dessert-maker will still get paid if the Canadian customer skips town with the pudding.
One of Ex-Im Bank’s most popular products is export credit insurance, which protects the small-business owner in the event of buyer default. The policy generally covers 95% of the invoice, at a cost of roughly 65 cents per $100 of shipment, Emens says.
Similar to Small Business Administration loans, in which the government works with commercial lenders to guarantee loans to entrepreneurs, Ex-Im partners with banks and insurance companies to minimize their risk. The government wants to help small exporters break into new markets because it can boost sales and “maintain and create U.S jobs,” Emens says. “Export sales are very valuable to the economy.”
Small-business owners who want to learn about the basics of exporting can turn to some other government programs for help. The Department of Commerce has set up one-stop centers staffed with trade specialists in more than 100 U.S. cities. The SBA also publishes an online guide to exporting, called Breaking Into the Trade Game.
While U.S. goods such as agricultural products have long been exported, there is increasing demand for U.S. exports of services, according to the SBA.
For instance, American software companies earned more than $5 billion from overseas sales in 2002, according to the agency’s most recent report. (Not everyone is a rock star, but interestingly, American bands brought in $500 million from overseas copyright royalties — considered a U.S. export — in 2002.) The most common U.S. service exports are in the industries of travel, transportation, financial services, entertainment, health care and telecommunications. Meanwhile, there’s new demand for U.S. exports in accounting, advertising, engineering, franchising, consulting, public relations and other industries, according to the SBA.
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A number of trade groups also help entrepreneurial exporters, including the largest and oldest nonprofit, the Small Business Exporters Association. The All American Small Business Exporters Association provides its advisory services free of charge to minority, immigrant and women-owned firms.
Sharon T. Freeman, president of the AASBEA, has written several books on the subject, including a how-to guide called “Exporting, Importing and E-Commerce.” She advises first-time exporters to be wary of common mistakes, such as blindly chasing orders from around the world. An entrepreneur who receives an order from a foreign country should first make sure the buyer is not on the “denied” list kept by the Commerce Department here, which works to prevent transaction that could be fraudulent, illegal or unsafe. Small-business owners also should consult a lawyer on how to structure export operations, Freeman advises.
Entrepreneurs interested in exporting should not only do their research at home but also investigate the market they hope to penetrate. Montoya, the comic-strip artist, says the easiest way for a small-business owner to learn about another country is to hop on a plane. “You have to go on vacation, right?” she says. “Concentrate on one country each year. Go visit, and check out the marketplace.” In this case, mixing business with pleasure might lead to profits, long after the trip is over.
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Posted on May 17, 2012 11:04:55 AM
Dubai: The UAE’s GDP is estimated to have grown 4.9 per cent last year, said the latest report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding that the UAE economy continues to recover from the fallout of the global downturn.
"The recovery of the economy is continuing despite the uncertain global economic environment. High oil prices and increased production, strong growth in Asia, and the UAE’s perceived safe haven status in the context of the regional turmoil contributed to an estimated real GDP growth of 4.9 per cent in 2011," IMF said in its latest Article IV consultation with the UAE.
"Despite the continued weakness of the construction and real estate sectors in the wake of the 2009 crisis, real non-hydrocarbon growth picked up to an estimated 2.7 per cent last year, supported by trade, logistics, and tourism."
For 2012, the IMF projects oil production to be flat, whereas non-oil growth is expected to strengthen further to 3.5 per cent.
Article continues below
Posted on May 17, 2012 05:03:41 AM
Investment advisors are under constant pressure to retain assets and sustain profitability in the current market. With clients expecting proactive solutions, fast response and timely, detailed and accurate reports, firms need to focus on delivering a first-rate service. Yet the technology needed can be costly and firms need the time and expertise to properly manage back office operations, portfolio accounting and reporting systems in-house.
In the wake of market turbulence unlike any seen in a generation, investment advisors are under enormous pressure to retain assets and sustain profitability.
Rebuilding client trust and containing costs are the two most important goals a firm must meet if it hopes to stay viable as the market recovers.
The challenge is that those two goals are often at odds. Clients expect proactive solutions, fast response, and timely, detailed reports of irreproachable accuracy.
Yet the technology needed to deliver first-rate service can be costly. And there’s the question of having the time and expertise required to properly manage a portfolio accounting and reporting system in house.
The White Paper by Advent Software: Operations Outsourcing and Investment Reporting addresses these issues and explains when it makes sense and what trade-offs are involved.
This white paper includes:
• The Challenge: Controlling Costs Without Compromising Service
• Outsourcing Goes Mainstream
• Understanding Outsourcing Options
• Why Outsource? A Question of Time and Money
• Defining Reporting Requirements –
Client Service and Reporting
Performance Reporting
Regulatory Reporting
• The Top 10 Indicators for Outsourcing
• Outsourcing Pros and Cons -
Advantages
Disadvantages
• Finding the Right Provider: Your Outsourcing Checklist
• Outsourcing for Today’s Challenges
and Beyond
Posted on May 16, 2012 11:03:41 AM
WELLINGTON |
Tue May 15, 2012 8:10pm EDT
WELLINGTON May 16 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s competition
regulator is looking into Sky Network Television Ltd’s
programme acquisition arrangements and deals with internet
service providers, the company said on Wednesday, sending its
shares sharply lower.
Sky TV, the country’s dominant pay television operator, said
the Commerce Commission had cleared its joint venture with the
state-owned Television NZ, to set up a slimmed-down pay TV
service, Igloo, which is due to start next month.
However, it said the regulator was now looking into Sky’s
agreements for the acquisition of programmes and its deals with
internet service providers.
Shares in Sky Television, a top-10 stock, fell as much as
9.8 percent before trimming its losses to last trade down 40 NZ
cents or 7.3 percent at NZ$5.05.
So far this year the stock has fallen around 5.6 percent
against a 7.7 percent rise for the benchmark NZX-50 index
.
Sky, around 44 percent owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News
Corporation, has a virtual monopoly on pay television in
New Zealand.
It offers around 100 TV and radio channels from the Cartoon
Network to National Geographic, as well as operating free-to-air
channel Prime Television. It competes against state-owned
Television New Zealand’s (TVNZ) two channels, and the privately
owned TV3 and Channel Four stations.
Sky has been criticised for its exclusive deals to the
rights for a wide range of sports events and drama programmes,
such as those produced by Home Box Office.
Australian based pay TV operator Quickflix has just
launched a broadband-streaming, video on demand service in New
Zealand, but has complained that Sky’s programming dominance and
restrictive on-sale agreements with other telecommunications
companies, such as TelstraClear, are stifling competition.
(Gyles Beckford)
Posted on May 14, 2012 11:03:34 PM
BEIJING |
Fri May 4, 2012 1:20am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s yuan is at an equilibrium against the dollar and even high in some respects, the country’s main official newspaper said on Friday in remarks that could sow further tension in talks between Beijing and Washington.
The People’s Daily, the mouthpiece newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, said differences in labor productivity and operating costs in the world’s two biggest economies show the yuan, or the renminbi, is reasonably valued versus the dollar.
The article came just a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in China with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for annual talks with Beijing, repeated calls for China to have a stronger yuan to create room for more flexible policy.
“At the present stage, on the basis of value, and balanced supply and demand, the renminbi exchange rate is basically at a reasonable equilibrium,” said the article, written for the paper by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the country’s top think tank.
It argued there was no need for the renminbi to rise further, especially since comparisons of labor, raw material and what the article called ‘environmental costs’ – which were not explained – show they are much lower in China than the United States.
“If the renminbi exchange rate is measured against the ‘three lows’ in Chinese costs, it will be high at present,” the newspaper said.
Labor productivity comparisons also showed the yuan was fairly valued, the People’s Daily said, adding that rises in the value of the Chinese currency between 2008 and 2010 outstripped the country’s productivity gains in that period.
It said U.S. productivity was 5.4 times that of China in 2010, slightly under 6.1 times in 2008, and 12.6 times as high in 2000.
The yuan rose 10.5 percent against the dollar between 2008 and 2010 and has climbed around 31 percent in nominal terms since a landmark revaluation in 2005.
LIGHTNING ROD
The yuan’s value has been a lightning rod in Sino-U.S. ties, with some in Washington accusing Beijing of deliberately holding down the currency to gain export advantage.
China denies the allegation and says it too wants a currency whose value is decided by the market, but insists any changes to its foreign exchange policy must be gradual.
It took a milestone step of widening the yuan’s daily trading band last month to let the currency rise or fall 1 percent from a mid-point set by the central bank, compared to a band of plus or minus 0.5 percent before.
But even with incremental reforms, China still keeps the yuan on a tight leash, in part to protect its vast export industry, a huge employer in the country.
Although the latest comments in the People’s Daily may not have been authorized by Chinese leaders, they likely reflect the thinking in Beijing and demonstrate the tensions between the world’s two biggest economies on a key issue.
The annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue talks between the U.S. and China have already been upstaged this year by a row over a Chinese dissident who sought refuge at the U.S. embassy after escaping 19 months of house arrest.
The incident, which exposed uncomfortable differences on human rights between the two powers, escalated on Thursday when the blind dissident, Chen Guangcheng, made a dramatic plea for help to a U.S. congressional hearing from his hospital bed in Beijing.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
Posted on May 12, 2012 02:03:58 PM
GENEVA (Reuters) – Some Swiss bankers are advising clients to steer clear of U.S. securities ahead of a new law that would tax people with over $50,000 invested in stocks or bonds of U.S. companies even if they have never set foot in the United States.
FATCA, or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, will require overseas banks to report U.S. clients to the Internal Revenue Service, but its loose definition of who is a U.S. citizen will create a huge administrative burden and could push non-residents to slash their U.S. exposure, some bankers say.
“Wegelin believe this is a regulatory monster. It is an important regulatory burden not only on Swiss banks but all over the world,” said Ivan Adamovich, head of the Geneva branch of Switzerland’s oldest bank, Wegelin.
“We decided to tell our clients not to invest in U.S. securities any more. If clients want exposure to U.S. securities we would buy an ETF which does not have a U.S. regulatory base,” Adamovich said.
Due to become law in 2014, FATCA will ask overseas banks to report U.S. clients with more than $50,000 in assets to the U.S. Internal Revenue Services, or withhold 30 percent of the interest, dividend and investment payments due those clients and send the money to the IRS.
Bankers say the scheme will be extremely costly to implement, and some say that as the legislation stands, any bank with a client judged to be a U.S. citizen will be also obliged to supply documentation on all other clients.
“FATCA will cost 10 times to the banks than it will generate for the IRS. It is going to be extremely complicated,” said Yves Mirabaud, managing partner at Mirabaud & Cie and Swiss Bankers Association board member.
“We (will) try to convince the IRS to make something which is a bit lighter, a bit more reasonable. We are not in favor of automatic exchange of information.”
But despite concerns about FATCA, it may be unfeasible to advise clients who want a globally diversified portfolio to sell all their U.S. company stocks and bonds, said Vontobel head of private banking Peter Fanconi.
“We as an industry need to seriously start to talk about the consequences of FATCA. (But) we can’t advise clients to pull out of one of the biggest global markets,” Fanconi said.
Alexandre Zeller, head of the private banking business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at HSBC (HSBA.L) said avoiding U.S. assets will not be an option for global institutions.
“We are a global bank… There is no way we are going to say we don’t do business with the US so clearly it’s about finding the best way to implement this new regulation,” he said.
A U.S. inheritance law dating back at least 50 years which may now be more vigorously applied as the United States seeks to rake in tax revenues is also making bankers think twice about client holdings of U.S. securities.
“Holding US securities on a direct basis can give rise to inheritance tax independent of the holders of those securities,” said Pierre de Weck, global head of private wealth management at Deutsche Bank.
“Therefore we definitely advise non-U.S. clients not to hold U.S. securities on a direct basis. There’s no reason for a Swiss resident with nothing to do with the U.S. to incur 40 percent U.S. inheritance tax.”
The broader definition of who is subject to U.S. taxation under FATCA could also bring more private banking clients under the U.S. tax net, regardless of their domicile.
“The client needs to be aware… being a Swiss citizen and having U.S. exposure, there could be an inheritance issue. We have not actively advised, we have informed our clients there is possibly an end risk there,” said Fanconi.
(Reporting by Martin de Sa’Pinto; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
(This story is corrected in paragraph 8 to add dropped “not” to show Swiss Bankers’ Association is not in favour of automatic exchange of information)
Posted on May 12, 2012 11:03:58 AM
MELBOURNE—Westfield Group, the world’s largest owner of shopping malls by value, posted its first net profit in two years and said it has weathered the financial crisis, with signs of retail improvements in key markets.
The Sydney-based group, which has 119 malls in the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and New Zealand, said Wednesday that net profit for the six months ended June 30 was 961 million Australian dollars (US$870.2 million), compared with a net loss of A$708 million a year earlier.
It was the first time Westfield has posted a profit since the first half of 2008, as the property value of its malls plummeted and retailers inside the centers experienced lower sales due to the global economic downturn.
Westfield said there are signs that both trends were reversing, with property values increasing and retail activity finally picking up in the U.S. and the U.K.
“We have weathered the crisis and are focusing on operations to create the platform for growth,” Joint Chief Executive Peter Lowy said.
He predicted growth was set to resume, forecasting earnings per security of 90 Australian cents for the full year, ahead of analyst forecasts.
The value of Westfield’s properties rose A$349.4 million to A$47.4 billion, compared with a A$2.47 billion fall last year.
Revenue for the six months ended June 30 was A$1.8 billion, down 13% from A$2.07 billion in the same period last year.
The group restarted A$1 billion of development projects this year due to increased activity in the Australian retail market.
It said demand in the U.S. and U.K. hasn’t yet reached a level that justifies a similar investment in large new development projects but the signs in both markets were positive.
“In the first half of the year we have seen improving performances from our United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand businesses and a continuation of the strong performance from our Australian business,” it said in a statement.
Westfield’s preferred measure of profitability, net operational earnings, which excludes property revaluations and other noncash items, was A$1.03 billion, down 2.6% from a restated A$1.06 billion in the year-earlier period. The company said the result was impacted by the strength of the Australian dollar and would have been up 1.6% on a constant currency basis.
Even so, it exceeded expectations. UBS
expected net operational earnings of A$955 million, with Citi forecasting A$905 million and Macquarie A$1 billion.
Macquarie said in a note to clients that it was maintaining an outperform recommendation on the company’s stock. Westfield rose 2.2% to A$12.57 Wednesday in Sydney.
The company has 55 shopping centers in the U.S., 44 in Australia, 12 in New Zealand and eight in the U.K.
Westfield said it had signed Costco Wholesale Corp.
as a tenant in three U.S. centers and would be interested in similar deals in the U.K. and Australia.
Posted on May 12, 2012 02:02:02 AM
As one of the newest computing frontiers, cloud technology is gaining massive interest from companies seeking substantial economies of scale by outsourcing all or portions of their computing, applications and data storage requirements. There are also however a host of potential security and privacy issues that can arise and expose organizations to unique risk. This whitepaper discusses those risks and provides insights on how to mitigate those risks.
As one of the newest computing frontiers, cloud technology is generating massive interest from companies seeking substantial economies of scale by outsourcing all of their computing, applications and data storage requirements.
It’s true that migrating data to an external cloud can lead to sizable savings on capital and operational expenses.
There are also, however a host of potential security and privacy issues that can arise and expose organizations to unique risks.
This CommVault white paper – Understanding and mitigating the unique risks of cloud technology looks at the risks involved and provides insights on how to mitigate those risks.
Posted on May 9, 2012 02:04:19 PM
Published May 8th, 2012 – 11:00 GMTPress Release
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry received H.E. Audronius Azubalis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuanian, heading a 10-member business delegation seeking enhanced economic cooperation with Dubai, at the Chamber head office on Tuesday.
H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, welcomed the Lithuanian delegation stating that this particular visit comes as part of Dubai Chamberâs new approach in 2012 to explore promising markets that provide its members with competitive edge and valuable gains into new business destinations.
He further stated that Central and Eastern European countries offer huge economic potentials and Lithuania can be Dubaiâs gateway to the region due to its strategic location connecting the Baltic Sea, Russia and Europe; thus becoming an important crossroad for international trade and commerce for the emirate.
H.E. Buamim said that trade has always been the main pillar of Dubaiâs economy with Dubai Chamber members enjoying trading ties with businesses in Latin America, South East Asia, Australia and Europe. He informed the visiting delegation that Dubai with its modern infrastructure, strategic geographic location, attractive business climate and unlimited government support, provides an ideal destination for businesses from all over the world.
The Director General of Dubai Chamber highlighted the achievements of Dubai in Q1 2012 as he said that the emirate saw an increase of 9% in visitor numbers, the hotel occupancy was 87% as their revenue increased by 24% and Dubai ranked in the top 10 hotels of the world while the number of Airport passengers also saw a rise of 16% in Q1 which shows that Dubai is a major hub connecting many countries of the world. Meanwhile, Dubai Chamber also registered 4,600 new members in the first four months of 2012, he said.
H.E. Buamim informed that Lithuania occupies 129th rank on Dubaiâs list of trading partners as the emirateâs non-oil trade with the country during the first 10 months of 2011 reached AED 142 million, and this highlights the need to enhance our cooperation to achieve better trade relations, he said.
He said that though currently there are just 10 Lithuanian companies operating in Dubai still their numbers can be increased through dialogue and promotion highlighting Dubaiâs attractive business environment to the Lithuanian business community who can make their base in the emirate to reach out to their clients in the region and beyond.
On his part, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs called upon Dubai businesses to invest in his country. He stated that Lithuaniaâs economy witnessed the 2nd highest GDP growth of 5.8% in EU in 2011 while it grew by 3.9% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
He added that his country offers a lucrative investment destination as it ranked 27th in the ease of doing business by the World Bank report. H.E. Azubalis further stressed that the desire to promote bilateral relations between the two sides was witnessed during the Gulfood 2012 exhibition where a large number of Lithuanian companies from the food and beverages sector participated.
He urged Dubai businesses to invest in Lithuaniaâs infrastructure, lasers and engineering industry, agriculture, furniture and wood processing, textile and clothing, medical and holiday tourism, transport and logistics and education, stating that his country can play an important role for Dubai businesses wanting to enter the European market.
The visiting delegationâs presentation revealed that Lithuania’s exports in 2011 amounted to USD 26.5 billion while imports amounted to USD 29.8 billion. The countryâs exports in 2011, grew by 28.9% while imports increased by 28.2%.
The presentation informed that the largest percentage of exports of 25.6% was seen in mineral products and 10.3% in machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical equipment, as the sector is representative of Lithuania’s free-market economy and its competitive manufacturing industry which exports 67.6% of its production.
Other sectors of interest are IT infrastructure, lasers and engineering industry, furniture and wood processing, textile and clothing, medical and holiday tourism, transport and logistics and education, the presentation stated.
Posted on May 9, 2012 11:04:19 AM
As oil prices recently rose, I’d like to put inflation in perspective by analyzing the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index (TR/J CRB). Energy prices are a constituent of inflation, like food prices. Inflation implies a decrease of purchasing power.
Boldly stated: in an inflationary environment, 1 currency unit (for instance 1 US dollar or 1 UAE dirham) is worth less ‘tomorrow’ than it is today. In case of deflation, with 1 currency unit, more goods (or services) can be bought in the future than today.
The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index (in short CRB) is a good indicator through which to track inflation. This broad index is comprised of 19 commodities as quoted on the NYMEX, CBOT, LME, CME and COMEX exchanges. These commodities are sorted into four groups, each with different weightings. For instance petroleum-based products (based on their importance to global trade), always make up 33% of the weightings.
The futures on the CRB Index are listed on NYBOT in New York and the electronic trading platform ICE in London. The trading unit of the CRB futures (ticker symbol CR) on ICE is $50 times the CRB Index. Like other indexes, the contracts are being cash settled. The last trading (expiration) day is the second Friday of the expiration month. For the contract specs, I suggest you to go to the ICE website.
CRB Weekly Chart
The CRB chart below, derived from Barchart.com, illustrates the performance since 2007. Noteworthy is the peak in the 2008, when food and oil prices were reaching all time highs. Riots due to high food prices, like the ‘taco riots’ in Mexico, took place during these times. The headlines in the media in 2008 were focused on high oil and food prices. Ironically, since then the CRB Index crashed from over $470 to $200.
Since the trough in 2009, CRB rose 80% towards $360 but did not recoup the losses completely since the peak in 2008. WTI crude oil on the other hand, rose 185% since the low of $35 per barrel in 2009. WTI is currently hovering above the natural number $100 per barrel. If WTI rallies and manages to break the 2011 high of $115, we can also expect a rise of CRB.
CRB is challenging the resistance level from the peak of 2011 and seems to break out to the upside. This implies upward pressure on inflation (again). If you would like to hedge (protect) yourself against inflation, CRB futures can be bought.
1 CR contract means $50 per $1-point fluctuation in the CRB Index. Suppose 1 contract has been bought (long) @ 318 and CR will rally to $368 (high of 2011), the profit would be $2,500 (50 points multiplied by $50). Losses will occur of course in case CRB falls.
On the other hand: in case CRB breaks the low of 2011 around $295 a selling opportunity might occur. Depending of your vision (inflation versus deflation), a suitable (hedging) strategy can be applied.
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