Feature Article
Ten Trends to Watch in 2006
Those
who say that business success is all about execution are wrong. The
right product markets, technology, and geography are critical
components of long-term economic performance. Bad industries usually
trump good management, however: in sectors such as banking,
telecommunications, and technology, almost two-thirds of the organic
growth of listed Western companies can be attributed to being in the
right markets and geographies.
Riding the current
to success
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DeKaser's Financial Market Outlook
The Myth of the Over-Extended
Consumer
It's often
said that indebted American consumers are the Achilles heel of our
economy. After years of borrowing to the hilt, some see a
tipping point ahead. And when the bills come due-any day
now-spending will slow sharply, with broader economic
repercussions. Fortunately, this depiction is flawed and the
risk of a serious constraint on spending is
minimal.
Aggressive borrowing, not
necessarily a bad
thing
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Don't
Miss Richard DeKaser's Seven State Tour!
Join Chief Economist Richard DeKaser with Economist Ryan Reed
to find out the economic status of your state. This free,
seven-state webcast tour of the midwest region will give you the
critical news you should know for '06. Here are just some of the
upcoming dates:
Missouri, Tuesday, April
4
Pennsylvania, Thursday, April 6
Kentucky, Tuesday, April
11
For more information, additional dates or to
register, click
here!
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Business Planning & Strategies
America for Sale
Once
again, foreigners are heeding the call to "Buy American."
Acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign firms rose 27 percent in
value in 2005. In 2004, acquisitions in the U.S. financial-services
industry, as well as the banking and manufacturing sectors, boosted
the value of foreign purchases 31 percent to $72.5 billion, the
third annual increase in a row. To be sure, that is still less than
a third of the recordbreaking $322.7 billion posted in 2000, when
foreigners poured money into a roaring economy. But all signs
suggest that the buying spree continues.
Creating concerns on Capitol
Hill
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Legislative & Regulatory
USTR: Companies Fight Trade
Problems
U.S. companies seeking help from the Office of the
U.S. Trade Representative in resolving trade disputes with foreign
countries must be prepared to commit resources to back up their
case, whether that means hiring lawyers or consultants for relevant
legal or economic analyses, according to USTR General Counsel James
Mendenhall. It could also mean taking the risk of possible
retribution from a foreign government for having criticized its
trade barriers, he said.
Resolving trade disputes with foreign
countries
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Human
Resources & Benefits
Plan Sponsors
Lower Discount Rates to Soften
Expenses
As regulators' attention to pension accounting increases,
defined benefit plan discount rates continue to drop, according to a
report from financial firm SEI Investments. "Discount rates are at
record lows, and pension expenses are at record highs," says Jon
Waite, SEI's lead actuary. Employers use discount rates to determine pension expenses. A
lower discount rate usually means a higher pension
expense.
Lower rates, means higher
expenses
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Finance & Treasury
Diminishing Returns for
Outsourcing?
The benefits seem
obvious indeed. To the extent a company can cut its costs by turning
over non-core services to an outside firm, its earnings and stock
price may increase. And consultants contend the impact can be
transformational. The trick is to identify costly but ancillary
functions that can be outsourced without sacrificing the quality of
the support.
Benefits may be harder to come
by
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Personal Investing
A
Replay of 1995?
This should be another good year in the stock market.
Maybe it will be a great one. Yes, I've been too optimistic since
2003. Last year I predicted the Morgan Stanley Capital International
World Index would be up 20%. It was up only half that, at 9.5%.
Still, relative to bonds or cash, equities have been the place to
be. Stocks could end 2006 like 2005, up a little, or like 1995, when
they went up a lot--37%.
Another good year in the stock
market
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Economics
The World
Economy: Testing all Engines
Larry summers, a Treasury secretary under
Bill Clinton, once said that "the world economy is flying on one
engine" to describe its excessive reliance on American demand. Now
growth seems to be becoming more even at last: Europe and Japan are
revving up, as are most emerging economies. As a result, if (or
when) the American engine stalls, the global aeroplane will not
necessarily crash.
The world relies on American
demand
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Sales &
Marketing
Ford puts consumers at
center of 'rebirthing'
Chairman-CEO Bill Ford is boldly gambling that he can turn
around the slide in the automaker's century-old North American auto
operations by putting the consumer front and center. Mr. Ford, in
outlining his company's ``The Way Forward'' revitalization plan,
said the automaker will ``sharpen our focus on those who count the
most-our customers'' and would return to an approach to build what
buyers want.
Bill Ford to build what buyers
want
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International
& Trade
Bush Recommended
Decreasing USTR's Budget
President Bush proposed a $2 million decrease in funds
in fiscal year 2007 for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
compared with the FY 2006 estimates for the agency's appropriated
spending. Bush's budget request released on Feb. 6 estimates that USTR
will receive $44 million in appropriated funds in 2006, up from the
$41 million USTR received in FY 2005. However, the president
requested that USTR funds drop to $42 million in FY 2007.
The budget calls for
the agency to receive $36 million for pursuing trade coordination
and negotiations in FY 2007. The agency was appropriated $39 million
in 2006 for trade coordination and negotiations.
Decrease in '07 for U.S. Trade
Representative
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Trends & Technology
Holy Chip
The Cell chip, based on a design inspired by
supercomputers, runs at least ten times as fast as Intel's most
powerful Pentium. More important, Cell boasts a staggering fiftyfold
advantage in handling graphics-intensive applications that will
define the next generation of visual entertainment--blindingly fast
and seductively immersive games, virtual-reality romps, wireless
downloads, real-time video chat, interactive TV shows with multiple
endings and a panoply of new services yet to be dreamed
up.
IBM wizards chip in on new
microprocessor
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Women
Business Owners
Pro Tech Auto
Glass
With numerous years of
experience in the auto glass industry, we wanted to create our own
business, and National City was able to help put our plan in motion.
Pro Tech Auto Glass is now one of the only female-owned auto glass
repair shops in the state.
More about Robin
Blockson & Janell Jones,
owners
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Small
Business
Small Business Q&A: How
to Build Your Brand
Q: I would like to build a brand but I don't know the first
thing about it. Where do I start?
A: One mistake many small
business owners make is that they think that branding is a concept
exclusively reserved for the "big boys." I could not disagree more.
Whether you like it or not, whether you know it or not, and whether
it is strong or not, you already have a brand.
Read more on
building your
brand
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