Gist: More and more businesses are turning to the website Groupon to lure customers to their place of business. Typically, Groupon targets small, local merchants for their deal of the day. Due to Groupon's immense popularity, these neighborhood businesses can have trouble handling a large number of new customers. This can lead to a bad experience for the new customer.
If people have to wait in long lines to redeem their coupons, there is a small likelihood of them being a repeat customer. A new eco-friendly automobile shop offered a discounted oil change. They had 700 new customers in one day. Groupon took half of the companies profits from the deal. Groupon should be seen as a marketing tool to get people in your store and not necessarily a way to make money.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Interview with Ellen Zentner
Gist: There is dissension within the Federal Reserve. The chairman Ben Bernanke has 12 regional Federal Reserve presidents all voicing different opinions on what he should do about the economy. They need to come to a group consensus. Ellen Zentner is a senior economist at the bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi.
Zentner:
1) Confusion reigns the day. As a result, markets are confused as well. If the Fed moves with confidence, the markets are more confident.
(Red Flag: Is this always true?)
2)The Fed has had to do some unprecedented things to try to get the economy moving again. Naturally, there will be some dissension within the Fed on how monetary policy should be conducted. They are essentially just shooting the dark.
3)Bernanke has come out and said he wants to lower the rate the Fed pays banks in order to hold excess reserves at the Federal Reserve. By lowering the rate, his idea is that the banks would then start to lend money. This would actually be a disincentive for banks to lend when the banks can borrow from the Fed at .25% interest and dump it into treasuries at 2.5-3%. This essentially ties up 1 trillion dollars in available credit.
(Red Flag: How was the 1 trillion dollars calculated? Even if it was not tied up, would banks be willing to lend it out?)
Zentner:
1) Confusion reigns the day. As a result, markets are confused as well. If the Fed moves with confidence, the markets are more confident.
(Red Flag: Is this always true?)
2)The Fed has had to do some unprecedented things to try to get the economy moving again. Naturally, there will be some dissension within the Fed on how monetary policy should be conducted. They are essentially just shooting the dark.
3)Bernanke has come out and said he wants to lower the rate the Fed pays banks in order to hold excess reserves at the Federal Reserve. By lowering the rate, his idea is that the banks would then start to lend money. This would actually be a disincentive for banks to lend when the banks can borrow from the Fed at .25% interest and dump it into treasuries at 2.5-3%. This essentially ties up 1 trillion dollars in available credit.
(Red Flag: How was the 1 trillion dollars calculated? Even if it was not tied up, would banks be willing to lend it out?)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Interview w/ John Challenger
Gist: According to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, the job market in the US is recovering faster than in the 1991 and 2001 recessions. In 2001, it took 21 months before the economy began to add jobs vs. 6 months in 2010.
Challenger:
1) We are averaging 481,000 jobless claims, which is 85,000 less than we saw one year ago.
(Red Flag: look at long-term unemployment and how this skews this number).
2) The export economy is crucial--particularly supplying emerging and growing countries.
3) Health care will be a very strong industry
(Red Flag: is this a spiral?)
Challenger:
1) We are averaging 481,000 jobless claims, which is 85,000 less than we saw one year ago.
(Red Flag: look at long-term unemployment and how this skews this number).
2) The export economy is crucial--particularly supplying emerging and growing countries.
3) Health care will be a very strong industry
(Red Flag: is this a spiral?)
HP and Dell bid for 3PAR
Gist: HP and Dell, although traditionally computer manufacturers, have identified the importance of secure data storage on the cloud. 3PAR is a leader in this area, and has attracted a $1.6B bid from HP to purchase the company--1/3 more than Dell's bid last week.
Cloud computing enables rental of data storage space so that people and firms don't have to buy it. Cloud storage also allows people and firms to store and retrieve from almost anywhere. According to Karan Mehandru, an early stage VC (Trinity Ventures), it would take five years for HP or Dell to develop 3PAR's product.
Cloud computing enables rental of data storage space so that people and firms don't have to buy it. Cloud storage also allows people and firms to store and retrieve from almost anywhere. According to Karan Mehandru, an early stage VC (Trinity Ventures), it would take five years for HP or Dell to develop 3PAR's product.
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