What about SKYPE?

This is an article that everyone should be excited about. When I read it I was overjoyed because I plan on traveling overseas and this definitely applies to communication.

The internet calling service, Skype, is moving to mobile phones. It plans to make it's software immediately available for the iPhoe and the iPod touch. Beginning in May, the software will be available for various BlackBerry phones. Although there are other phones that offer the Skype software, it does not offer all of the service's features.

If you're not familiar with the Skype software let me give you a brief summary. Skype on the computer enables users IM other Skype users for free. This service will also be available, for free, on the phones. Users will pay lower rates than phone companies when they call landlines or other mobile phones.

Now, I know it sounds too good to be true. And, yes, there are a few stipulations. For instance, the Apple users have to be connected to a Wi-Fi network

Sources:

By: Brad Stone

Published: March 29, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/technology/internet/30skype.html?_r=1&ref=technology

"Falling Exports in Japan Hit Hard"

Although the economy in the United States has suffered significantly, other countries are suffering as well. For example, Japan, which has the world's second-largest economy, has suffered a downfall in their exports by a record 49% in February (the 5th consecutive month). The country's overall trade surplus was down 91%!





The article in NY times was about the small exporters in Japan being effected by the plummiting economy. The small Japanese company, Porite, outside Tokyo, makes vital parts of the the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone. Although these gadgets are in high demand, the company's shipments have been down about 40% from last year. Exporters like Toyota or Sony will not experience much loss, the small exporters in Japan are mostly affected by the economy, much like the small businesses are affected in the United States.



Unfortunately, this is the worst fall in the Japanese industry in 20 years. Their industrial production fell 10.2% in Jan. But Japan's government, like our government, has committed to buying back bank loans to small and mid-sized companies to avoid a credit crisis.



So for everyone who was considering leaving the United States and moving over seas to another country...think again. The economy isn't any better and like many of our parents' have said..."the grass isn't always greener on the other side...so stick with what you know." That's my philosophy.






Sources:
NY Times Article: "Japan's Small Exporters Are Hit Hardest"

By: Hiroko Tabuchi

Published: March 25, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/business/worldbusiness/26exports.html?_r=2&ref=smallbusiness

Small Businesses Deserve A First Aid Kit too!

I don't know about you, but for everyone who's aspiring to become an entrepreneur, I don't know if I can risk trusting our economy. Small businesses have suffered greatly due to the economy and its financial instability. So when I read this article about Obama coming to the aid of small businesses, I was a bit elated.

President Obama's administration will buy up to $15 billion of securities that are linked to small-business loans. This gesture will in turn, increase economic growth within the economy and encourage lenders to give loans to "mom-and-pop" businesses. This will increase loan guarantees for small businesses up to 90% of the loan value.

The Obama administration believes that the country's "economic recovery will be driven in large part by America's small businesses" and rightly so, considering that about 70% of jobs have been created by these businesses over the past 10 years.

This plan is supposed to take effect by the end of March.

Sources:

"Obama Acts to Aid Small Businesses"

By: Helene Cooper

Published: March 16, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business/smallbusiness/17sbiz.html?ref=smallbusiness

Spring into an Economic Downfall

As we all know that economy is suffering greatly. Although clothing is a necessity, fashion isn't. Therefore, many department store are feeling the affect of the recession. "For Spring Clothes, A Lost Season?", a fashion article in the NY Times, discusses the adverse affects of the economy on upscale department stores during the Spring season.

In this article the department stores are compared to museums. Handbags, hats, and accessories are "untouched, like artifacts in a museum." Upscale department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue have been "library-silent" and their "mannequins stood in for shoppers". February sales for Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom were at an all-time low and were some of the worst in the industry.

So why do retailers expect us to purchase blazers, designer jeans, and cashmere sweaters for full retail prices ranging from $800 to $2000? Now consumers have begun to show retailer that they're smarter than many people think. They're thinking about what they purchase and their more willing to wait for those Fendi shoes to go on slae, rather than purchasing them on impulse.

As a result of dramatic losses among stores, analysts predict that the merchandise will be put on sale sooner than usual. New merchandise usually stays full price for about 8 to 10 weeks before they are marked down, but analysts say that they will be reduced in about 4 to 5 weeks instead.

Sources:

"For Spring Clothes, A Lost Season?"

Article By: Stephanie Rosenbloom

Published: March 11, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/fashion/12lost.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=fashion&adxnnlx=1237350022-TKXyxEA17tv%20I/dli%20yw3Q

"How Consumers Shop Differently"

I found this article particularly interesting because TIME magazine requested the expertise of the author of our text book Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Paco Underhill. As I continued to read the article, I compared the information I learned from the text to the information discussed.

Underhill breaks the consumer into thirds & analyzes each group. Then he proceeds to discuss the psyche of the American consumer during this recession. This is where I found his perspective beneficial. As a consumer I was able to quickly identify with much of what he mentioned, but as a college student researching the industry, I found a more intriguing angle. Consumers are no longer shopping in their spare time and when they are shopping, they are thinking about their needs rather than their wants. The long-term effects of purchasing a $2000 flat screen television are more likely to prevent a consumer from purchasing it. He/she may think about bills that may need to be paid, if he/she will have their job next week, or if they'd rather just save the money. Underhill also mentions that people aren't going to the mall at all because of the temptation. They are more likely to go to a specialty store where they walk through the store with a cart, placing items in the cart, and then deciding that they don't want to purchase the item when they get to cashier. Again, this is something that I find myself doing, quite often, as a consumer. The consumer's indecisive shopping causes a messy store & Underhill states that "a basic rule of retailing is that you have to have a clean store."

So what is the future of consumerism? Underhill mentions that consumers are more inclined to purchasing vintage clothing. Now, more than ever, consumers are changing their perception of the markets. Goodwill, EBay, and Salvation Army have all the same clothing necessities that the mall has, at a lesser and more appeasing price.

For retailers, the industry needs to stop being counterproductive. The size of the store does not reflect the amount that the consumer is going to spend. It only ensures that they company will have to fill the floor with more products. The consumer doesn't need many choices especially if they're widely ranged.

Retailers should also be more female friendly. Taking into consideration that the industry is male driven (in every aspect), women are the "engines of consumption". When the retailer doesn't appeal to the female's aesthetics. Whether it be a hardware store or an Men's Express.

All in all..."chic" isn't gone. Although we as consumers are not purchasing Armani & Louis, we are still very fashionable in a more price conscious way.

The most important idea Underhill mentioned for people wanting to "launch" a retail idea was:
"If I were to act on a new retail concept today, I would ask, 'how do I marry the idea of a physical asset with an online world?' So rather than saying 'I'm going to have Victoria's Secret and then have victoriassecret.com, can I stand back and conceive of an online business which has a physical manifestation that drives it?"

I found this concept very interesting and it has changed my ideas of entrepreneurship entirely.


Sources:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1881098,00.html

Author: Sean Gregory
Title: How Consumers Shop Differently Today
Magazine: TIME Magazine

Smartphones in the Classroom...

CTIA, a wireless industry trade group, will present research paid for by Qualcomm, a manufacturer of chips for cellphones, proposing that classrooms allow students to use their smartphones in class because it will make them smarter.


This is the same proposal that the computer industry made when they pitched the selling of laptops to students since the 1980s. Smartphones have 3 major differences in comparison to the computer...it's smaller, cheaper, and widely used by students.

Results of the study, from four North Carolina schools, will be released on Tuesday. They will show that students who were given the smartphones (which were enabled with Microsoft Office software) used them to record their voicenotes and to post videos of themselves solving the problems on private social networking sites, did 25% better on the end-of-grade algebra exam.




Students in a high school in Jacksonville, NC using their phones to study algebra.









Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/technology/16phone.html?_r=1&ref=business

"Industry Makes Pitch That Smartphones Belong in the Classroom" by: Matt Ritchel and Brad Stone. Published February 15, 2009

Layoffs and the Economy

The US economy continues to suffer as several large companies announced on Monday that they would be cutting 75,000 jobs. Sprint/Nextel and Home Depot are only two of at least eleven companies that have cut jobs as well.

First the mortage companies and real estate industry began to feel the affects of the recession, along with the financial institutions. Now retailers and IT companies are beginning to suffer as well. Last week, Microsoft announced "its first significant job cuts ever".

Just a few quick statistics on the number of layoffs since the recession began:

Number of job cuts since Dec. 2008: 2.55 million
Bureau of Labor Statistics
More than 66,600 retail jobs were lost in December (the worst since the 1930s)

As the United States economy continuously falls, the graduating college students, who have spent their entire educational career planning for their future in the "real world", have been pitched a curve ball. Before the recession, an undergraduate degree was golden, whereas now, it doesn't seem to gaurantee the job security that we hoped it would.

So what should we do? Some of us have opted to stay in school and either get another Bachelor's degree or pursue a Master's degree. While others have taken the leap of faith and began their careers in this fluctuating economy.

Although the recession seems to be at its worst, I've always been told that things have to get worse before they can get better. The executives of these companies have to learn their lessons as to what could be done differently to continue a prosperous business, and unfortunately WE have to suffer for it. But if we continue to save and spend wisely, the economy will eventually rise again.




Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/business/economy/27layoffs.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=layoffs&st=cse

Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy, Catherine Rampell. January 26, 2009