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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Introduction to a Branding Guru

Sponsored Article

we would like to introduce you to a Branding Agency that is a true branding guru, hence their name, Brand Identity Guru Inc. 

Brand Identity Guru Inc. provides marketing services targeted towards improving and maintaining a good brand image for company, product or a website.  They worked to ensure that throughout a company's ecosystem of contacts and partners and suppliers and customers the brand identity grows and improves over time.

Many companies underutilized their contact base of partners in particular and just assume that their partners know who they are and what products they have and what's services they can offer.  This is a mistake as partners typically shuffled through people just like any other organization and even though the sales arm may have reached out initially and learned a little bit about a company that doesn't mean the rest of the organization really knows what you do.  As a partner or a customer or even to a supplier you have a unique opportunity to capture the attention of the company that you pay a to provide goods or services or work with on a day-to-day basis is a partner and you can utilize that attention to increase your own sales, but you can also use that attention to improve and increase your brand strength.  Your partners are suppliers don't have to purchase your goods or services but they can promote it freely and easily.  Our sponsors according to their latest release can help you maximize your return on investment with efforts such as these.

Ramping Up Ethanol Production

Farmers are rapidly jumping on the bandwagon to chase after ethanol sales.  The increase in the price of oil is made it much more sustainable to grow corn and sell it for ethanol production.  This has driven up the volume of corn significantly enabling farmers to make more selling corn and they have other crops in the past.

And just like farmers have done many times in the future there all chasing after the same extra dollar and planting more corn so much more corn that it drove future prices down on corn this week as the numbers started to come out indicating just how much extra corn farmers are going to produce.

They are actually planning on producing 2 1/2 million more acres of corn than was predicted in that sent corn futures down by 5% on Friday.

Chinese Slapped with US Tariff

Washington fought back against China today who has failed to

rein in its currency trading for several years.  They've opted to fight one type of paper with another and so they slept a 21% tariff on paper products coming from the People's Republic of China.

Since many products destined for shells on Wal-Mart and many other stores are packaged in China the tariff is significant.  A $30-$50 product might have packaging costs of $.60 to a dollar and that cost is just gone up to $.70 to a dollar 20.  That may not seem like a large amount however in an environment of retail where suppliers have little ability to increase their prices to retailers in the United States such as Wal-Mart the cost of these products cannot be passed on to the consumer.

Most retailer contracts are set up on a yearly basis and all of the power is set aside for the retailer and not the supplier or distributor.  Most companies couldn't raise prices to Wal-Mart if they wanted to, and most of them do want to.  Among other things this may show Washington's willingness to get tough on China in his opening gambit that will probably increase over the next couple of years and could potentially fuel the fire of financial Stock trading that has recently caused great fluctuations in markets around the world which have been triggered by problems in China.

China wants to look good during the next Olympics, however they could find themselves very much on the defensive and possibly in a very dire economic strait if the situation gets out of control.  China is not the only low-cost manufacturer in the world and the world has learned that it doesn't take long to establish a new one.  Personally I like food from India are better than I do from China and so maybe it's time we went next door and visited our other friends in Asia.

Finish the Project Early and Take a Vacation

Sponsored Article

While its unlikely that Sam Haddad of Med-Health will be taking a vacation anytime soon after their recent implementation that came in several weeks ahead of schedule, it could be an excellent reward for wrapping the project early.

Our sponsor Vacations.net provides great occasions and essentially a fixed price and there are recent release indicates that they too have launched a new website in system and to reward customers are offering savings up to 50% on all inclusive Mexico vacations.  For employers or companies looking to reward their employees sometimes a vacation can be the best gift that can be given.  It can help the employees relax the stress and come back knowing that their company funded something that made him very happy.  They'll look back on memories of a great trip and always associate that with their employer.  Course employers can send an employee off on a vacation with an open tab for blank check and so selecting a package that has a fixed price but still covers all the expenses for the employee is definitely the way to go!

Med-Health Deploys Ki4 Wholesale Distribution with SAP

Med-Health has announced that it has successfully deployed the Ki4 SAP solution for its wholesale distribution business.  The implementation took less than 10 weeks and met several deadlines of the medical supply business.  Med-Health is hoping to launch a medical supply distribution business, and a pharmaceutical drug wholesaler utilizing state-of-the-art, robotic solid dosage pharmaceutical repackaging systems combined with their IT platform.

The combination of using SAP and Ki is attributed by Sam Haddad, Vice President of Operations at Med-Health for being the reason that the venture was able to launch an such a short time frame.

Lillian Vernon Lay Off Resulting from Time Life Distribution Loss

Lillian Vernon is going to lay off 230 employees in relation to a loss of business between Time Life and Lillian Vernon.  The layoff will impact about 230 employees in Virginia Beach.  These workers will come from the call center and distribution center at Lillian Vernon supported for Time life.

Lillian Vernon is hoping to rehire many of the employees as seasonal shifts could pick up later next fall.  In years past the company is typically hired up to 3000 additional workers.

Lillian Vernon had supported Time life since 2004.  However the acquisition of Reader's Digest magazine by Time life is now enabled time like to consolidate this business in one location.

Distribution Online in Dallas

Sponsored Article

When you think of distribution and you think of Texas you might think of some of the major distribution hubs such as El Paso or Fort Worth and Texas.  Dallas is however one of the original business centers of Texas and growing rapidly is the online segment of business for Dallas.

If your local and Dallas and you're looking for web development services, our sponsor Dallas Web services provides dallas internet marketing and full-service web design to local clients in the Texas area.  According to their latest release their versed in all of the latest design and management tools that can help you get ranked highly in search engines such as Yahoo or MSN or even Google.

Pet Death Reports Could Push 10,000 - 100,000 deaths

Reports of pet related deaths as a result of the unknown

poison killing pets across the United States and Canada could go up significantly.

There is no central repository for reporting pet deaths.  Several unofficial websites and groups have initiated efforts to accept information from pet owners wanting to report an animal that has passed away or is sick.

Several of these sites are reporting deaths of pets in the range of five to 10,000 dead animals.  They are also reporting hundreds of thousands of animals that appeared to be very sick as a result of eating tainted pet foods.  The FDA and other researchers have not yet determined what is causing the illnesses and deaths of these animals, however they have identified two potential sources at least so far.

This is raised questions of the pet manufacturers potential liability as a result of the situation.  If 10,000 animals do die or have died, and each pet accumulates a vet bill of $200 as they have attempted to be treated, and if we assume that each pet is worth $200 as well, then pet owners would have a total value and cost invested in these animals of $400 each.

For dead animals alone that would total $4 million and doesn't include pain and suffering nor does it include higher vet bills nor expensive animals.

If we separately look at a number of 100,000 sick animals with vet bills of the same amount of $200, that cost goes up to $20 million for that group alone.  If half of those animals subsequently pass away that would be an additional $10 million.

Those numbers are somewhat conservative but might approximate reality when compared to the number of pet owners that do not take their animals to the vet for this illness or animals that pass away so quickly that Medicare is not needed.

If the contamination spreads further, or if reports continue to grow behind the scenes at these rates things could get dramatically more expensive.

Note. I'm only attempting to estimate the potential cost of this issue and legal ramifications, I'm a pet owner myself and I am sure that the emotional and psychological impacts will also come significantly in to play here.

Petfood Recall Expands to China

The pet food recall continues to expand this week.  Purina added a variety of Alpo wet dog food and now dry dog foods are also coming under fire (the specialty variety sold in vets offices).

The FDA has been unable to confirm reports of Canadian rat poison in dog and cat food, however they have found a Chinese pesticide named Melanene that is commonly used in Chinese wheat production.  The chemical has been found in the dog and cat food as well as in cat and dog livers that have become ill or have deceased.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

TJX Card Heist

TJX Cos. has released a regulatory filing describing in detail the extent of the credit and debit card thefts that were perpetrated earlier this year. It turns out that the thefts were much more widespread than initially thought. Over 45.7 million credit cards and debit cards were "stolen" over the previous 18 months. Some of the data which was stolen can be traced all the way back to 2002.

TJX spokeswoman Sherry Lang tried to assure customers that the majority of the data was corrupted so instead of actual credit card numbers being stolen; the majority was encoded with asterisks. Being dubbed as the biggest credit card heist ever, TJX Cos. will have its work cut out for them reassuring customers of their safety in their stores.

Attorney Up to the Plate

Sponsored Article

From time to time companies need to make a decision on hiring illegal firm to represent them.  It's important to look for a firm that has several characteristics.  You need a firm that not only has big guns that are capable of leveling the playing field, preferably in your favor, but also has a group of attorneys capable of thinking up alternative solutions that don't create a battlefield out of your business.

Our sponsore simmons jannace & stagg provided us with a recent press release detailing their ability to provide both big guns when they're needed but also creative solutions that consult a problem without creating a lot of collateral damage.  They serve Fortune 500 companies Fortune 1000 companies medium to small companies and everything in between.  They cover the states of New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey and have built up a strong reputation over a number of years.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Business Travelers Web 2.0 Tips

Business travelers should take note of this next article.  I came across a terrific right up in this week on a site that covered 25 great Web 2.0 sites that can make your travel experience a lot easier.  Business travel got a lot easier a few years ago when some Web 1.0 sites emerged such as MapQuest.com.

Things get even easier when GPS devices started coming out and when Hertz rent a car started putting those devices in some of their rental vehicles.

Now you can get the benefits of some of the new web technologies that can make your travel experience even better.  These Web 2.0 technologies combine many sources of information in a way that helps to synthesize the thought process that you would make if you were traveling in an area that she knew.

 For example if you live in the Atlanta area and you know that at certain town today a certain area LAN a is going to be extremely congested with traffic you will avoid that area otherwise you will make it to your destination on time.  That is not information that you can pick up from using a map for MapQuest that will chart your shortest route straight through the middle of congestion.

A website called VroomVroomVroom.com  published a great report targeted towards geeks, but you don't have to be a geek to benefit from the great tools they offer in the report.  They identified 25 of the more useful travel tips for geeks that are really just Web 2.0 tools that synergize information from multiple sources.  I can guarantee that you're going to find at least two or three tools in that report that you'll want to use in some of your future business travel.  If you don't find a useful tool there in your business traveler drop me a comment I want to hear why! 

Friday, March 23, 2007

KeyLinkSystems Distribution Business Assets to be Sold

KeyLink Systems will be sold to Arrow Electronics for $485 million in cash according to Agilysys the current owner of the KeyLink Systems distribution business assets. The announcement followed a March 12 vote by the Board of Agilysys which provided overwhelming support for the sale. The company had intended to sell the business assets since January the required a two thirds majority vote to approve the transaction. The company also received good news just a few days earlier when they learned that the Federal Trade Commission had terminated its Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review.
Thursday, March 22, 2007

Web Based 360 Degree Appraisal System

We'd like to welcome a new sponsor, Appraisal360.co.uk a provider of a new web-based 360 degree feedback and appraisal system.  In a recent release they describe their new system that is taken the concept of providing a 360° review and molded into a simple web-based solution that is affordable and available to small medium and even large sized companies.

Moving the system online reduces the cost of deployment and training necessary for organization to run a successful 360° review process.  For years expensive to ruse and high-priced consultants have sold companies on custom solutions and software packages that run at prices of hundreds of thousands of dollars and are often times barely compatible with the company's existing systems.  This web-based solution however can cut through those obstacles and provide a simple easy and cost effective means of gaining the benefits of a 360° review process for employee evaluations.

Rumors of Ikea moving to the Midwest

The home furnishings retailer IKEA is planning to move to the Midwest.  They are planning to open up ace 650,000 ft.² distribution center in Joliet Illinois by 2009 to support five major stores in the Midwest area including two in Chicago.

The plan is still in the early stages, as the property owner and development companies are still putting together the final solution.  The new distribution center to bring new jobs for 150 employees in the area, but there are still many hurdles to cross before becomes a reality according to Gunther Lubben a director of development at Ryan Companies, the current owner of the property in question.

The city of Joliet was chosen for its sophistication and potential to handle a distribution center of this size.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Real Estate Correction Will Help Businesses Find Better Construction Partners

A Word for our Sponsors . . .

As the real estate market correction proceeds forward, businesses are about to receive an unexpected benefit.  Over the last few years of the real estate boom, many contractors and construction companies have been popping up like mushrooms in a pasture.  They come out of nowhere and bid on jobs and and close deals that they don't have any business being involved in.  Regulations and licensing in many states and cities is extremely lax or weak.  Due to the extreme demands of many businesses and individual home buyers, it has been very difficult to find a reliable contractor.

Now that the demand is starting to decrease, some of the better builders are going to be quite as busy and people have more time and take more time to shop around and find a good partner.  Over the last few years I've witnessed and heard of many different construction horror stories from developers and construction companies promising to complete multi-unit condo projects, subdivision developments, and office buildings.

At best many of these projects are coming in severely late and over budget and at worst some of them are not being completed at all.  Our sponsor is providing an e-book that can help identify several preconstruction secrets that might help your business avoid some of the pitfalls and benefit from some of these trends that are starting to rapidly change in the marketplace.

Daimler HQ Unable to Get a Labor Break

Daimler Chrysler back until corner over the last few years.  The takeover of Chrysler by Dina Meyer has been one of the worst examples of how to integrate culture and create synergy amongst two businesses.  The German parent came in an attempted to perform a mix of culture indoctrination over its American acquisition, while at the same time cutting out costs as would happen in many different types of mergers.

Unfortunately they learned too late that the glue that held Chrysler together was its culture born of a Lee Iacocca age filled with many middle and senior managers that kept the ball rolling throughout the business.

Now is the rest of the auto industry is experiencing some of the worst years they've seen in decades, Chrysler's competitors including Ford and General Motors have both received concessions from auto worker unions.  Chrysler has been unable to get those same concessions putting them at a cost as advantage as compared to their competitors.  Labor unions have been politically taking stands that are very protectionist take and this could be an example of politics on an international level exercised by a US labor union.  It's probably more likely however that this is a little bit more of revenge against a parent company that didn't want to work with any of its stakeholders until it was too late.

DivaBeautyProducts Number 1 Senegence Retailer

Sponsored Article

Our sponsored divabeautyproducts.com recently provided a press release describing their successful history retailing Senegence LipSense products.

They have been a retailer of senegence products since 2003, and over the last four years they have risen to become the number one retailer of these products.  Senegence products provide lip stain products that enable women to apply lip protection and lip coloration products to their labs.  The products are applied to multiple layers which increase the duration of color, and it increases the perception of glossy laps.  In addition the multiple layers enable women to create their own favorite colors, while improving the level of protection from dry weather and lip chapping conditions.

Launch of Top10Tech

This month softduit partners has launched a new website called Top10 Tech.com.  The new site will feature product reviews and a great deal of information on many different aspects and categories of technology from Web tips to gadgets to online marketing the new site launched by softduit will gather together a number of writers from many different disciplines and backgrounds.

In addition the site will cater to existing online publishers providing them an outlet for marketing their own product reviews, tips and information in the world of technology.

Dedicated Servers to Protect Your Customers Initial Impression

if you're running a small business today with a website to attract and hold customers, you may have your website running on a hosting plan. Typically these plans cost about $100 a year. They're excellent for sites that just need to provide some information about your company including contact information and descriptions of your services. You might even run a simple shopping cart from a host plan or a blog or a discussion forum. However if you're going to run more than one website including possibly a site for your customers in a separate site for your employees and maybe another site for your e-mail or even a series of sites on many different businesses, you should consider running a dedicated server. I'm not talking about making an investment where you install a server room in your business and higher in IT support person comes at watch server 24 hours a day. Instead I'm talking about leasing a dedicated server from a hosting company. Our sponsor DMG Dedicated Servers provides exactly this type of service solution for customers that need to maintain their sites in an environment capable of dealing with a high number of customer visits, extended bandwidth, or just resting with the secured out that your site is protected and backed up and ready to be brought back online in case of an emergency.

Qualcomm and Broadcom Dismiss Patent Suits

QUALCOMM and Broadcom both agreed to dismiss patent suits this week.  The suits since around patent and trade secret claims infringements brought by each other.  This only a settles if you love the skirmishes in this wireless technology battle according to the Wall Street Journal today.

This particular settlement eliminates five jury trials.

Suits Dropped

  • allegations that QUALCOMM violated six patents
  • allegations that Broadcom and infringed upon four

This settlement has nothing to do with a larger dispute going for the international Trade Commission which has resulted in public hearings in Washington starting this Wednesday.

Power Password Systems for Enterprise Servers

Sponsored Article

Symark Software recently provided a release discussing their brand-new Symark Powerbroker and PowerPassword software solutions. These products work with both UNIX and linux systems. They have been designed to run their software Powerbroker and PowerPassword  solutions on HP server systems, including the HP integrity servers and the HP UX 11i version 3 operating system.

Their power program and password systems are designed restrict to  Access Control for proprietary information systems enabling customers running multiple separate systems to provided a holistic solution.  This process helps IT managers execute the privacy and security policies as set forth by the organization. This also provides an excellent setting for both financial hosting resource and many other key system tools within small medium large companies.

Wii Wins Game Against Sony and Microsoft

Nintendo's hit product the Wii gaming console be out both Microsoft and Sony in unit sales during the month of February.  Nintendo's Wii sold almost as many units as Xbox and Sony combined.  The Nintendo Wii sold 335,000 units, while the Sony PlayStation 3 only sold 127,000 units in the Microsoft Xbox came in second selling 228,000 units.  Microsoft remains in the cumulative year long sales total race as they started selling the Xbox 360 a year prior to their competitors.  Microsoft is so far sold 5.1 million consoles.

Microsoft strategy might be one of if you can be the best console on the market make sure you're their first.  That's a very old lesson in consumer electronics in some ways it's a bit surprising that Nintendo and Sony missed the boat.  It's a lesson directly out of both of their playbooks.

60 Million Containers of Dog Food on 48 Brand Names at risk in Recall

An initially limited wet dog food product recall seems to be growing as it was reported in the Wall Street Journal this morning that Canadian pet food supplier menu foods Inc. working with Cornell University provides wet dog food to over 48 different brands.  It's thought that the potential recall could impact as much as 60 million different containers of wet food products in the distribution pipeline in the US, Mexico and Canada today.

A few of the brands covered include the following:

  1. Food Town
  2. Food Lion
  3. Safeway
  4. Wal-Mart
  5. Purina's Mighty Dog
  6. Hill's Pet Nutrition

Scientists have not yet been able to determine what caused the deaths of 10 different house pets prompting the mass of product recall.

 

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Credit is Tightening But Credit Card Deals Remain

A Word from our Sponsors . . .

Global credit is tightening around the world last few weeks.  The markets have been correcting on several continents, and there is a significant amount of fear in the states about subprime loans in the mortgage industry.

So could occur companies banks and mortgage lenders are going through a natural cycle of credit retraction in the form that they are tightening up their lending standards cleaning up their portfolio and reducing the amount of available funds in general.  That doesn't mean credit is disappeared altogether. 

In fact there are still many good deals to be had with many different credit cards.  Our sponsor CardGuide.co.uk offers some great ways for credit card shoppers to find good deals even in this tightening market.

They provide services allow people to compare credit cards and offers to identify the best offers from different companies in categories such as balance transfers, cash back, 0% credit cards, reward offers, and just plain low rates.

If you are in the market for a new credit card and United Kingdom, you can visit their site review the available offers and apply for credit cards there.

Coca Cola Bringing Fresh Water and Wells to Africa, but will the Gods Go Crazy?

Coca-Cola is working on improving its public image. A company that used to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony was recently beat up in India markets, where both Coke and Pepsi was accused of providing tainted water in its soft drink and other beverages(note. There were also allegations that local politics played a role in these accusations which saw a local soft drink company win the day).

However, Similar claims had been made in the past about its water products in the United Kingdom.

Now, Coke is reaching out to emerging markets where the media has previously only shown Coca-Cola products in such quirky movies as 'The Gods must be crazy' during which, a Coke bottle falls from a plane hitting a local villager on the head. The villager is then charged with taking the evil bottle to the end of the Earth and throwing it off the edge.

Coke is going to remote areas in Kenya and other African countries and installing water wells and water purification systems without CO2 and beverage dispensers. They are also setting up educational programs to teach local children about water purification and clean water. The children take these lessons home and share them with parents and extended family.

There are real benefits to improving the water supply around the world. Coke seems to be working to get in at the ground-level in these new markets. At the same time they are paying down some of their bad karma from India and possibly building some new equity in these untapped regions.

The question becomes can they regain their good image? Or will the villagers have to make another trek to the end of the Earth?

 

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Wirefly Deals on Ebay without any Carrier Strings

A word for our Sponsors . . .

Wirefly offers some great deals on cell phone plans from most of the major carriers.  They're normal website allows customers to browse for the right plan and the right phone combination.

On occasion however many of us don't want to change plans and were not looking for those teaser rates on the phone.  We just want to find the best rate on a phone.  Wire flight also has some excellent deals on cellular phones through their Wirefly eBay Store.

Through their eBay store you can find our bid on cellular phones in cellular accessories including Bluetooth headsets.  They've got a great selection of phones and their prices are very straightforward.

You can pick up the new LG chocolate for only $249, or you can pick up a Motorola eight 500 pink Bluetooth headset for $59.  My personal favorite is the Sony Ericsson W300I walk on cell phone and it's available for only hundred $179.  The phones come in brand-new in the box with full warranties and 100% guarantees.

For those of you that don't want to get locked into another two-year contract with your cellular carrier, Wirefly's eBay store may be the perfect solution.  Plus, you can get all of the benefits and security that normally come with purchasing products through eBay.

Frigid Same Store Sales for February

February was a bad one for US retail stores. Wal-Mart missed their mark prizing analyst bringing in an increase of 0.9% compared to their predictions missing their prediction of one to 2%. And compared to last year's numbers when they saw their gains of 8.1% that number was pretty chilling.

An index of 45 major retail chains as compiled by the Lazard capital markets LLC showed that crossed the border was only 1.9% increase in same-store sales compared to a 3% gain in February of last year. There are several factors that contributed to this decrease in great change. Chief among them was the extremely cold weather of February. Any retailers already put away their winter clothes replaced him with warmer spring here. So stores that heavily relied on clothing sales saw a big drop-off as they were unprepared for the type of demand that they would see or did not see.

Wal-Mart however has analysts concerned about the potential for recession. Wal-Mart doesn't relies heavily on clothing sales and the miss at Wal-Mart indicates additional problems hidden in the economy and in the area of consumer confidence, which drives spending.

Wrong Wal-Mart Move at the Wrong Time

Wal-Mart is trying to make the larger move into clothing so it to port to make this move, as spring fashions hit in the middle of a frigid February.  However, frigid temperatures and records knows cannot account for the entire mess.

Consumers snowed in chilled out are probably a big part of the problem is that many shoppers just opted to stay home warm and safe rather than go shopping. Those that did go shopping couldn't find the winter wear clothing that they were looking for.  Let's hope that the weather doesn't bring a frigid spring as well!

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Virginia Real Estate

Sponsored Article

Our sponsor Virginia1realestate.com recently provided an interesting press release on fairfax va real estate.  Our sponsor serves the Northern Virginia real estate market and specializes in Fairfax Virginia.  They can help homebuyers and sellers obtained the goals that they're looking for in these markets due to their long history of experience in the area.

The site is sponsored in part by Keller Williams Fairfax Gateway and well-known real estate service provider.  They provide their clients with great deal of help dedication and service in the real estate market not only in Fairfax Virginia but in neighboring Virginia cities and towns in outlying areas.  Whenever you're buying or selling a home you should does consider the services of a real state professional proven in that area that you're going to buy or sell.

Peanut Butter Recall Gets Stickier with Extension

The FDA extended a recall on peanut butter relating to salmonella.  The new extension will cover products but as early as October of 2004.  Originally the recall covered Peter Pan peanut butter in Wal-Mart's great value brands of peanut butter with a patch code of 2111 bought sense May 2006.

At the end of the week last week the FDA came out and extended that recall over the same products dating back to 2004.  The products are made by ConAgra Foods Inc. a US manufacturer. They are distributed globally.  The FDA added that the outbreak from salmonella poisoning seems to be ongoing and is not halted.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Marijuana Distribution System in Forbes

I read a slighty peculiar article in Forbes Magazine this weekend.  The article is titled "Inside Dope."

The article details the business process behind marijuana distribution in New York City.  Following the crackdowns under the Rudy Giuliani administration, a great deal of drug sales were moved off the streets and into a more refined process, out of sight and out of mind almost.

The process is extremely elaborate utilizing local growers, think of something along the lines of a cellular structure like Al Qaeda except for its growing or manufacturing pot.  Along with a secure call center wholesale distributors, an executive management team, packagers, courier managers, couriers and of course customers.

The distribution system is similar to a secure ordering process that you would find through an online merchant.

In other ways it's very similar to a double-blind research study, where each cell of the organization doesn't know the other cells, but overlaid just enough to function.

Regardless this illegal business is big business.  Forbes estimates that 25 million Americans smoked pot in the last 12 months.  The marijuana crop grown in the United States is also estimated at $36 billion, and the growth of the business increases by 9.6% each year and has over the last 25 years.  With that much money at stake it's no wonder that Rudy Giuliani's attempts to remove the unsightly aspects of the drug trade off of the streets, only resulted in the drug trade being moved into a more professional setting.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Market Correction Corrects Gold Pricing

Sponsored Article

Oour sponsor the Mondex deposit Company (MDC) recently provided an updated press release regarding investments and gold.  Their press release highlights their abilities to help investors by itself and store gold.  Last week the markets saw a major corrections around the world in various different stocks investments commodities and bonds.

Gold and other precious metals saw a correction, and their prices are down off of some of their recent highs.  For investors that are watching the correction and looking for an opportunity to move into gold the time may be approaching quickly.  It's not good to buy into gold when it's at record highs, however at the bottom point of a correction investors might find an optimum time to take up a position in gold.

Regardless all investments should be balanced throughout a portfolio, and we always recommend that investors in precious metals should invest in the actual commodity and not in artistic renditions of various collectibles.  Collectors and investors should keep their projects separate in our humble opinion.

CBC Partners with IODA on Digital Distribution

Canada's National public broadcaster, CBC records, has formed a new distribution partnership with IODA, a company that specializes in digital distribution marketing and other technology solutions.

IODA offers a distribution capability covering him more than 300 digital retailers.  While CBC records has a vast library containing music from Canada's orchestras and symphonies and many other artists that they've gathered together over the years.  The new digital distribution agreement will enable CBC records to reach more of its customers in Canada as well as new customers from around the world.

ZDNet Identifies Microsoft's Distribution Failure with $100 laptop Project

At the beginning of the year I saw a version of the $100 laptop on display at CES.  From a distance the laptop looked rather cheap and almost like a toy.  However when I took the laptop for a spin, I quickly realized that despite its toys like look it was definitely a usable machine. 

The laptop comes loaded with Linux for its operating system and several other open source and free programs.

ZDNet today called out the failure of Microsoft to get on the bandwagon with hundred dollar laptop project.  The problem for Microsoft is that if the $100 laptop project succeeds, children all over the world will learn how to use laptops computers that run on Linux.  They won't learn how to use Windows they won't learn how to use it the new Vista operating system.

This is going to prove to be a troubling problem for Microsoft.  Microsoft earned its market dominance by pushing out its operating system on cheap IBM computers and the 80s.  Now Lenexa's going to be pushed to every child around the world, and those children will learn how to use computers with extremely cheap and often times free software.  Those same children will likely grow up to be business users that don't need to pay for $500 for an operating system and another for $500 for office products and several thousand dollars per server products.  That spells for to slow growth for Microsoft in the years to come.

CardFusion.com Helps Source Business Credit Cards

Sponsored Article

Our sponsored CardFusion.com helps provide business people with access to a business credit card aggregation service.  Their online tools and forms can help you rapidly find a business credit card.  You can narrow down your search with several different types of filters, and identify the card that is just right for your purposes.

You can see the latest offers from the top credit card companies, and you can pick and choose which programs offered by those companies suit your business and your needs.  Card fusion recently provided a press release describing the upgrades that they performed on their site, and the results speak for themselves.  The site is much easier to navigate and to use and to find the credit card that will become the perfect tool for your business.

Wal-Mart Moves to Sell HD Digital Radios in Automotive Section

Wal-Mart announced this week that it will begin to sell

HD digital radios.  High Definition (HD) radios are digital radios that enable users to receive more channels than they can normally fit into an analog car stereo or portable radio.

These radios also allow greater interactivity from the users or listeners that is to the radio station.  Furthermore the radio stations can deliver a stream form digital information about the songs that are being listened to.  Instead of just hearing the song and reading the channel, listeners can read the name of the song the artist the album gets a mother additional information from the song.

In theory the sound quality should also be better on these broadcasts and on these radios.  As in the case of any digital product, this is possible but not necessarily assured.  Wal-Mart's move into HD digital radios comes at a time when Internet digital radio broadcasters are being hit with royalty increases that are set by a board within the United States Congress.

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