Archive for the 'Trends' Category

Here’s the Top 50 list.
The US is #22 in part because the criteria used to determine the list considers our 2nd Amendment freedoms to cause “instability”.
Not to mention all the drugs coming over the Mexican border the article says.
Here is the full list:
1 Vatican
2 Sweden
3 Luxembourg
4 Monaco
5 Gibraltar
6 San Marino
7 Liechtenstein
8 UK
9 Netherlands
10 […]

Though we fear the word “recession” for many good reasons, Advertising Age reminds us Recession Can Be A Marketer’s Friend
Why? Slumps spawn innovation. Here were some examples I found interesting.
Previous recessions have provided big opportunities — spawning the brand-management system, soap operas, modern cable networks, airline loyalty programs, the IBM personal computer, the iPod, Crest […]

Since gas prices seem to remain high, even when ordinary consumers are using less defying free market theory (which only holds if the market is free by the way, that increasingly leaves ours out) consumers are at the end of their rope. Using less hasn’t worked.
The price of gas has been spread through the entire […]

Pizzerias Get $6 to $9 more on web orders according to the San Jose Business Journal. Evidently it’s a global phenomenon. By using the web, buyers can spend more time and don’t feel as rushed. So they spend more money.
This means that local, independently owned pizzerias can get a huge bang for their buck by […]

In case you need some good news to keep you enthusiastic about your work at home business efforts or prospects, here’s some from the Tea Leaf (Click through to read the whole list).  Some of the points are open to debate, but overall there’s at least some good news in here to perk up your […]

Here’s an interesting article by Joel Kotkin about Texas.
It’s starts out with the story of a small business venture that quickly blossomed. It reminds me of the old saying, “serve the masses, live with the classes.” May you be surprised by success!
In 1995, during his senior year at Texas Southern University, a predominantly black school […]

This is a victory for all websites with user generated content!
From Online Media Daily 

In a ruling that has implications for all companies that publish consumer-generated content, a federal appeals court found Craigslist not responsible for discriminatory ads that were placed by users of the online classifieds site, and stated that the federal Communications Decency Act […]

“Think Twice Before You Swipe That Card, Because Everything Is Being Tracked” is the subheading for this ABC News article in the wake of the Eliot Spitzer downfall.
It’s an overview of the “fraud protection” measures banks use to protect themselves even though credit card fraud is 1/10th what it as in the 80’s according to […]

Surging gold prices is hurting businesses. And not just jewelry stores either, though the price of gold jewelry is going up. Other business sectors being affected are dentists,aerospace, glassmaking, electronics and computer industries.
Added to the mix is where companies buy their inventory… If the price of gold is going up worldwide, and the source of […]

According to the NFIB, more small businesses fear inflation than the lack of business credit.
That’s a fairly rare phenomenon in the US because it’s usually funds for expansion that are the limiting factor in business expansion.
But when inflation is the worry, the question becomes not just “can we bring in more dollars?” but rather “after […]