Summary Archives - GUJRAT INDIA

World Trade News Summary

During this week several significant events transpired particularly in the industrial world. These changes have influenced directly or indirectly not only the growing global trade, but likewise the developing economy of countries worldwide. On one hand, some events have positively contributed to the various sectors of international or local economy and they serve as harbingers of more future developments. On the other hand, there were also events that have negatively impacted and in fact continue to threaten the various sectors of both international and local trade and economy.

Oil Price Continues to Improve in the Global Market

This week has been full of good news for oil traders. Last Monday, oil rate plummeted by $2. As such, U.S crude oil dipped down to $1.6 thus settling to a rate of $62.41 per barrel at the Merchantile Exchange (New York). The decrease also calmed down a 4-day protest prompted by the oil price, which previously raised up to $63.92 per barrel. Meanwhile, the rate of oil in Nigeria continued to increase. This was due to the recent discovery of an oil pipe leak and the militant protests, which forced Nigeria to cut a large percentage of its oil production and supply. Although the situation of Nigeria affected the international oil trade, it did not keep the rate of oil from improving. The significant decrease has been attributed to current negotiations with Iran regarding its plans for nuclear production.

Last Tuesday, the oil rate slipped further by 2% ($1.26). Hence, U.S crude oil settled to a price of $61.58 per barrel. Meanwhile in London, brent crude decreased by 1.32 cents and remained at $61.02. The same trend was followed by the rest of the oil market worldwide. Oil value further improved due to Nigeria’s statement to restore a large part of its production and supply and to OPEC’s decision to maintain out near the maximum level. Nigeria would increase its output by 75% in the coming weeks. The OPEC officials, too, said that they would keep oil production and supply close to the limit in order to avoid gaps and prevent the oil price from increasing.

After the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its report that crude oil inventories rose beyond the expected rates during the past 7 years, the oil rate slipped further last Wednesday by 2.5%. Based on the report, the inventories rose as high as 6.8M barrels during the past week. The results exceeded the expected rate of 1.6M barrels. Analysts added that the decision of OPEC to maintain the oil output close to the limit also contributed to this improvement. Another factor considered was Iran’s statement to maintain an adequate oil production and supply amidst the negotiations regarding its nuclear plans.

Several Partnerships Yield More Improvements in the World Trade

AT&T Inc. disclosed last Sunday its decision to acquire BellSouth Corp. for around $67B. This move was part of AT&T’s plan for further expansion especially in the southeastern region of the U.S. The agreement between the two companies would then bring Cingular Wireless, the leading wireless phone company in the U.S, under the sole ownership of AT&T. The deal would be completed within the span of one year. Although the transaction would need the approval of the anti-trust administrators including the Federal Communications Commission, analysts commented that the process would probably not encounter any opposition.

Upon the release of the news regarding AT&T’s acquisition of BellSouth, the stocks at the European telecom market significantly improved. The European division of DJ Stoxx telecoms rose by 2.2% thus ensuring more stability for 2006. BT earned as high as 4.3% up to a 7-month pence. Both the French and the Dutch telecom improved by 2%. Vodafone increased as high as 4.7% to a close 2 month 127.20 British pounds. The news of the acquisition excited several international telecom companies thus leaving positive results in this particular sector of trade.

Meanwhile in the gas industry, Linde AG, a leading supplier of medical and industrial gases and producer of warehouse machinery, agreed to pay 8.2B pounds ($14.$B) in order to acquire its rival, the British BOC Group. According to analysts, a counter-bid to buy BOC was least expected due to the pressure in the entire gas trade and the competitive amount proposed by Linde. The acquisition further boosted the assets and profits of the German company and placed it to the top place along with French Air Liquide as a leading gas industry worldwide.

Amidst the planned agreement of partnership with Arcelor, the Mittal family was rumored to lower its voting rights from 10-2 down to 2-1. This step would enable the Mittal clan to earn the support of many large investors and to still maintain a large percentage of voting stake. The leading steel company though denied those reports and stated that it would not precede the possible result of its negotiations with Arcelor, which is based in Luxembourg. The partnership though encountered several disapprovals thus causing the stocks of both companies to decrease.

A month ago, Whirlpool Corp. also disclosed its negotiations in order to buy Maytag Corp. Although both companies have not yet arrived at a decision, the proposed agreement has been opposed by the anti-trust division of the Justice Department. Recently, the sector has begun focusing its attention to the laundry appliance industry. Lawyers from the anti-trust department have initiated the process by gathering the testimonies of various rival companies regarding the possible impact of the merging to the entire appliance market. The deal would amount to $1.7B thus giving birth to the largest appliance manufacturer in the global market. Due to the opposition, the shares of both companies decreased.

Nike Inc. which is the number one athletic shoe producer worldwide, was rumored to buy Puma. The company denied the reports though and further supported its statement by saying that it expects more developments and expansion in its own products particularly with goods related to soccer sports. Nike, which would be sponsoring the 2006 World Cup in Germany, said that it would launch a wider advertising campaign compared to its efforts during the World Cup in Asia in 2002.

Automobile Companies Seek Ways to Stabilize and Improve Their Market

Although a decline is expected in the car industry next year, automakers are moving to stabilize and improve their sales and profits. Particularly, DaimlerChrysler, the 5th largest car industry worldwide, expressed its positive outlook regarding its business. Earlier this year, the automaker released its latest goods and empowered its competitiveness in certain areas. The company is expecting its sales to increase in 2007 and 2008.

Meanwhile, General Motors stated last Monday that it would sell back 17.4% of its share to Suzuki Motor Corp. This decision was made by the large U.S car industry to boost its balance and improve its shared in the market. Moreover, GM has also been planning to sell a significant percentage of its shares from General Motors Acceptance Corp, its financial department. Among the rumored bidders is the Norinchukin Bank. Currently, Norinchukin is one of the leading financial companies in Japan. Other companies that expressed their desire to bid were Citigroup and Cerberus Capital Management. Citigroup is, currently, the biggest bank in the United States.

Global Trade Witness Some of the Most Important Trials

Finally, the four former administrators of Ahold faced the court on charges of fraud. Ahold was considered as the biggest supermarket and retailer in the world. Moreover, it served as an icon of success and stability in the business world. Yet this reputation was tainted when its former directors admitted to have falsified documents thus misleading several investors including the company’s own accountants.

Microsoft Corporation also sought last Friday the aid of the U.S federal courts in order to pressure IBM, Novell Inc., Oracle Corp., and Sun Microsystems Inc. in order to hand certain documents necessary in its dispute against the European Commission. In 2004, EC fined the giant company after discovering that Microsoft used its position to damage the other developers of softwares, which are vital for printers, pass log-ins, and file access. The company, which did not yet fulfill its sanctions according to the EC, asked the case to be tried in Luxembourg. It was found out though that the other evidences asked by Microsoft pertained to the internal archives of the EC subject to its own rules and norms.

Netac Technology, based in mainland China, also made historical headlines last month after charging U.S company PNY Technologies for infringement. Although the news came as a surprise for many Americans, some analysts consider it as a harbinger of future possibilities in the technological industry. Many U.S and other foreign companies were also expecting that China would finally intensify its fight against piracy after experiencing the need to protect its own products and trademarks. Recently, China has received foreign complaints particularly a warning from the Washington regarding the widespread piracy in the Asian country.

U.S. Encounter Recommendations and Feedbacks in Trade and Investment

Recently, trademark experts strongly emphasized the responsibility of American Business to register their names immediately in China. This was necessary in order to avoid falling as preys of brand squatters. Stephen Baker, who works at Baker & Rannells as a trademark lawyer, stated the increase of brand squatting cases. Alarmingly, some of these brand squatters even successfully obtained a huge amount of cash from individuals or big time companies that sought to maintain and fully own their web domain name. He commented that regardless whether U.S firms have future plans to expand in China, enlisting their trademark was necessary.

The interference of the U.S Republic Senators against the Dubai Ports World also roused concerns that it would affect an $8B investment of UAE into the U.S regarding an early-warning system. Although the deal was already approved previously, the protest from the senators pushed the government to make another review period. But businessmen and analysts particularly the American Business Group of Abu Dhabi (ABG) based in UAE stated that stopping the agreement could affect the decision of Arabs in investing their money into the country. As such, the organization would be sending its representatives to talk with some 120 Republican Senators.

China Faces Several Issues Significant to its Economy and Position in the World Trade

According to reports, several trading partners of China might raise their complaints against the country at the World Trade Organization. The move would be part of the traders’ objective of pushing Beijing in order to effectively implement the international rules of trade. According to a U.S senior official, several trading partners of China may raise their complaints against the country at the World Trade Organization. The move would be part of the traders’ objective of pushing Beijing in order to effectively implement the international rules of trade. James Mendenhall, the general adviser for the office of the United Sates Trade Representative commented that the efforts of China to fight piracy was not yet enough since the problem has continued to spread and affect other foreign industries.

Meanwhile, John Snow, the Treasury Secretary, also said that China needed to initiate more changes in its currency. He added that the need for more flexibility in its currency was necessary since its role in the international trade was expanding due to its growing economy. Snow commented that promoting equal trade in the international market was a common responsibility of all nations involved.

Cuban Tobacco and Spirits Industry to Expand in Russia

Exporters of Cuba rum and cigarette announced their plan to establish a Floridita bar in Moscow, Russia. The chain of restaurants has earned its fame through the years by accommodating many Hollywood celebrities and other personalities especially in 1940’s and 1950’s. The said bar would be a blend of a fine restaurant, a cigarette shop, and great Cuban music. The opening of the bar was hoped to improve the trade of Cuban tobacco and spirits in Russia.

New Vaccine May Prevent Ear Infection among Children

GlaxoSmithKline Plc has recently discovered a powerful vaccine that could aid in the prevention of acute otitis media. The ear infection is among the common health problems that arise during the childhood phase and has led to the loss of the hearing capacity of many kids worldwide. Yet, the new treatment developed by the pharmaceutical company brings plenty of promises to many children who are at risk of ear infection. The medicine called Streptorix is still subject to the approval of both the European and the U.S regulatory board.

The End Of Business As Usual: Rewire The Way You Work To Succeed – A Brief Summary

In The End of Business as Usual, author Brian Sola explains the sea change in business caused by the advent of social media, Sola poses quite a challenge to those of us who have not yet joined the Facebook, Twitter and Linked-in revolution. He got my attention with the statement that 65% of the Millennial generation born between the mid-seventies and late 90’s are disconnected while awake less than one hour per day! Less than that “creates an unnerving sense of disconnectedness”.

Taking Seth Godin’s concept of Permission Marketing even further, Sola claims that it’s not about companies connecting with customers, it’s about customers deciding whether they want to connect with the company now and over time. The internet explosion required that successful email marketers must earn the permission of their reader via the recipient’s optin- agreement to receive the ad; a far cry from the intrusive and aggressive Madison Ave type advertising classically seen on television. Over the last ten years, we learned how to integrate permission marketing into our offers and our over-all marketing campaigns. And we found that we were adaptable and willing to change.

Guess what? It’s time for more change if we want to compete in the 21st century. Here is why.

The Millennial purchaser is not just interested in giving permission to the companies they want to hear from: they expect to partner with them, claims Sola, More than simply a business relationship, these younger purchasers expect to like the company they do business with so that they can share and post their purchasing experiences with their friends and networks, estimated at an average of 130 for each Facebook user. When they have a problem, they are not interested in dealing with your customer service departments, they expect to hear from someone at the top.. Aged from 17-32 as of 2012, this group comprises 25% of the on-line purchasing population.

Both In 2010 and 2011, Facebook outranked Google as the primary search term-people are increasingly more interested in other people and relationships. The results?

Americans are looking to different sources for our information. Television viewers are declining, subscriptions to traditional newspapers dropped by 9% in 2010, even more in the last couple of years. The combined subscribers of the New York Times, Wall St. Journal and USA Today have less than 5 million subscribers while Facebook houses more than 750 million residents and over 200 million people are using Twitter as a primary mode of communication. Interestingly the isolation predicted by the increased use of internet during the nineties does not seem to hold in the twenty-first century: surveyors find that over 50 percent of respondents feel more connected now than they did prior to the emergence of the social networks. The increased sense of “connectedness” is apparently more than a virtual phenomenon.

In 2008, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, introduced a formula later known as “Zuckerberg’s Law” when he explained that social networking is simply about connecting with people we know and predicted that with each passing year, people will share twice as much information.Think about that for just a moment; a doubling of shared information each and every year. According to Nielson, Americans in 2011 spent a quarter of their waking hours on line networking and Facebook measures more than 700 billion minutes per month spent “Facebooking.”

These numbers are staggering and the implications for marketing profound for those whose products are shared, liked and posted.

2009 – A Summary of the Year For the Publishing Business

2009 may go down in history as the most tumultuous year ever for publishing since 1440, the year the the Gutenberg Press was invented. Subsequent years will seem to be more dramatic to this business–and no doubt the media will make that case–but this was the year that everything changed.

Two forces came to fruition this year: desktop publishing online and the collapse of traditional publishing models, thanks mainly to the recession and the fact that advertisers are moving online. It seemed like every business related to print publishing took a hit. Major magazines died. Newspapers–long-struggling financially–saw many closures, such as the Seattle Post Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain News. The New York Times and the Washington Post issued severe jobs cuts of 40-60% of their staffs. And large book publishers watched at their mega-books fell far short of their sales projections.

It’s remarkable that in the midst of this chaos there was so little innovation by these dying companies. It’s as if these traditional print organizations pretended nothing was wrong, or that the problem would soon go away if they were patient enough. This ostrich in the sand mentality was comical to observe. But the real innovation was happening online in the form of new businesses. And perhaps these large print companies could have held on for considerably longer; but for the recession. Yet still these companies resist and try to hold steady by making cuts and increasing prices. The New York Times is now $2 for a copy and $5 on Sunday. That is clearly too much to pay for a newspaper–especially when every single letter of information (and much more) can be found online.

Parts of the business models that distribute newspapers and paperback books were hatched in the 1930s Depression. These models called for mass distribution and low cost, and they were way for the struggling economy to work itself out of the Depression. Thus, high prices for newspapers are counter-intuitive and don’t work. Traditional book publishers went in the opposite direction in 2009, slashing prices and creating deals for deep discounts of their books. Which is downright ironic, because this too is going in the wrong directions. Books should be priced high and seen as a quality product by consumers.

Despite all this change, the big companies still have a lot of cash and control most of the market share. Content is king on the Web these days. Writers and what I call New Publishing businesses can make a living writing for Web sites. And that means that online publishing can compete with traditional models through quality. In the old days, there were certain outlets that determined the quote-unquote quality of a book–such as the New York Times Book Review. But those outlets are struggling mightily too and some, like the Los Angeles Times book review are dead and gone. These outlets were linked into the distribution system of traditional publishing–they were integral in terms of sales. Now, they have become irrelevant. (I never thought I would live to experience the pure joy of writing that last sentence.)

2010 will be the year that New Publishing comes into its own. 2009 saw the maturity of all the technologies involved in online publishing, from print-on-demand technology to ebooks to YouTube marketing. The last piece of the puzzle is the money. New Publishers are already competing with traditional publishers in terms of quality, excellence and recognition. And therefore New Publishers are growing fast. But there is a big difference between the fast-growing company and the established, mega-company. And that difference is cash on hand. But if the mega-companies can’t pay their staffs or their bills then their decline must surely be precipitous. And if the market share of the New Publishers continues to increase rapidly, they too must surely see even faster growth.

For its part, World Audience has published major books recently. Our luck is probably attributed to the declining market share of the larger print companies. Big-time authors are still looking to get published and a growing company like World Audience is able to serve them. Big names like Dr. Jack Kevorkian and his two books from World Audience, glimmerIQs (ISBNs 9781935444886 and 978-1-935444-86-2) and When the People Bubble POPs (ISBN 978-1-935444-91-6). Furthermore, World Audience is able to branch out into multiple genres with ease, with everything from the humor book WORD! THE BARE NAKED TEACHINGS OF SWAMI ANACONDA BANANARAMA by Swami Anaconda Bananarama (ISBN: 978-0-9820540-3-1) to the travelogue In the Footsteps of Dracula: A Personal Journey and Travel Guide by Steven P. Unger (ISBN: 978-1-935444-20-6). This kind of intense upheavals are probably not healthy and potentially dangerous. But they sure are fun.