Business & Strategic Ideas - Blog Bisnis Perniagaan & Strategi

Singapore-based Container Terminal Operator #1 in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:10:00 -0700

PSA is the world’s busiest container terminal operator in 2010, beating Hutchison Port Holdings to first place, according to new research.

Drewry Maritime Research’s Global Container Terminal Operators’ annual report revealed that PSA, the busiest container operator so far this year, handled a total 51.3 million teu in 2010 – 9.4% of total world throughput.

Hutchison came second after handling 36 million teu, or 6.6% of total global throughput, DP World was third, with 32 million teu, and APM Terminals fourth, with 31 million teu.

In total, the top 10 terminal operators accounted for 40% of world throughput in 2010, or 219 million teu.

The Top 10 container terminal operators according to Drewry's Survey:
1.PSA (51.3 million TEU)
2. Hutchison Port Holdings (36 million TEU)
3. DP World (32.6 million TEU)
4. APM Terminals (31.6 million TEU)
5. Shanghai International Ports Group (19.5 million TEU)
6. Cosco (13.6 million TEU)
7. MSC (9.9 million TEU)
8. China Merchants (8.9 million TEU)
9. Ports America (8.1 million TEU)
10.Modern Terminals (8.0 million TEU)

Drewry said that one of the most surprising findings from the report was the strength of the regional players.

Neil Davidson, Drewry’s Senior Advisor, Ports, said: “We have decided to add a new analysis of the industry to this year’s report, giving a broader perspective than just focusing on those operators that we class as ‘global’.

“There are many other significant terminal operators around the world, a number of which have international ambitions.

“This new league table puts them into perspective and highlights the sheer scale of ‘local’ operators such as Shanghai International Ports Group (SIPG), China Merchants and Modern Terminals.”

Of the local operators mentioned by Davidson, SIPG ranked fifth overall (19.5 million teu), China Merchants eighth (8.9 million teu) and Modern Terminals tenth (8 million teu).

(Source:IFW and Drewry)

USD1,4 Billion Project of New Container Terminal at Sabang Port

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:01:00 -0700

Sabang Port of Aceh in Indonesia is constructing a new container wharf of 423 meters at Sabang Bay. The management board of Sabang freeport and freetrade zone (BPKS) plans to have several container wharf to accommodate future size super container. Blessed with nutural deep sea at its quay side of 22 MLWS in average has made the port as one of the deepest port in the world.

Sabang is located strategically at the most western tip of the Malacca Straits, the busiest shipping routes in the world with more than 55,000 ship use the strait every year. Sabang is like a gate to enter the strait from Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea.

The construction of the new wharf of 423 meters will be completed at the end of this year. However, to start the operation, the container terminal still need another one yaer to equip itself with necessary things such as quay crane (ship-to-shore), container yard, and other types of crane for container handling at CY.

According to BPKS, the port still need a huge investment to make it as international transhipment hub to avoid congestion at the Malacca Straits. According to the port authority, the intent to build the port is not to be a rival to current transhipment port in the region such as port of Singapore, Port Klang and PTP, but to complement one another. The port, according to a source, will start the operation in 2013 or 2014.
(Subhan/Aceh)

Rotterdam terminal sale to Rhenus for USD35 million

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:09:00 -0700

DFDS is to sell its redundant Maasvlakte port terminal in Rotterdam to Rhenus Logistics for Dkr182 million (US$35m).

The sale follows the Danish shipping line’s acquisition of Norfolkline in July 2010 and the integration of its operations in the North Sea.

At the beginning of the year, DFDS’s ro-ro route between Rotterdam and Immingham was transferred from Maasvlakte to the Norfolkine terminal in Vlaardingen.

Following the sale, DFDS will increases its pre-tax profit expectation for this year to around Dkr595 million from Dkr550m.

DFDS entered a concession agreement for operating the Maasvlakte port terminal in 2002 and, following development operations, commenced in 2003. The terminal covers an area of 200,000sq metres, including three warehouses.

Rhenus Logistics has a business area focused on port terminal operations.
(Source: cargosystems)

UK ports ready for greener future

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:05:00 -0700

UK ports can play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the industry’s hugely complex supply chains, according to new research by the University of Hull (UoH).

The university mapped the environmental actions of 72 UK port locations and compared them with those carried out by leading ports overseas.

The research said that with more than 50% of global container traffic being controlled by 20 major ports companies, ports could take a leading role in bringing about major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from shipping.

Although shipping is a relatively clean form of freight, in 2007, international shipping accounted for 2.7% of global carbon emissions, according to report by the International Maritime Organisation.

Dr Patrick Rigot-Muller, from the UoH Business School, said: “There is scope to reduce carbon emissions in the maritime industry by between 25% and 75%, using a range of technical and operational measures,” he said.

Existing measures include the use of “green passports” that offered reduced port fees for vessels meeting specified environmental requirements for emissions. This is currently used at four Dutch ports.

Cold-Ironing is another measure currently in use. The report said: “This is far more efficient than generating power on board ships for heat, lighting and other operations

“If energy from the grid is from sustainable sources, the environmental benefit is even greater.”

Truck control and vehicle booking systems are in use at the US port of Los Angeles. This reduces carbon emissions by providing time slots for haulage vehicles to be at the quayside, limiting the amount of time spent in port with engines running. It has reportedly reduced port truck emissions by 70%.

David Gibbs, a Professor at the UoH said: “There is a good track record of shipping companies working in partnership with port operators to improve environmental standards, given the right incentives.”

However, he said, for agreements to be effective, they would have to be adopted at a Europe-wide level.

“The UK, such as any country, should act carefully on taking unilateral decisions, since the ports industry is a very competitive market.

“For example, an environmental levy through UK ports could divert traffic to continental ports with the final leg being done by road. This scenario would be much worse in terms of carbon emissions.

“So, as always, there is a balance to be struck.”
(Source: Cargosystems.net)

Shipping lines suspend calls to worst-hit Japanese ports

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:20:00 -0700

(ifw-net.com) Shipping line services to Japan’s ports worst-hit by the recent disaster have been suspended, while other major terminals continue to suffer from congestion.

Maersk Line said services to and from Sendai, Hachinohe and Onahama had been suspended following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the country on Friday.

And it warned that services to the ports of Tokyo and Yokohama could be delayed because of congestion caused by their closure on Friday and Saturday.

“We are following the authorities’ recommendations on safety matters,” the Danish carrier said. “There are no commercial restrictions in booking with Maersk Line to or via Japan.”

“Depending on how the situation develops, it may be decided to deviate vessels. Specific contingencies will be communicated on a vessel basis. We are following the situation intensively.”

OOCL said its services to all Japanese ports, except Sendai, Hitachinaka and Kashima, were returning to normal.

Bookings to those three ports would be suspended until further notice, it said.

“All cargo on its way to the affected areas, will be discharged at the ports of Tokyo or Yokohama until the situation becomes more stable.”

It added that “force majeure” had been declared for one vessel, the NYK Themis (pictured), that had been carrying cargo destined for the port of Sendai.

The line said the cargo would be discharged at Tokyo, “and it is customer’s responsibility to make arrangements for cargo delivery. OOCL will contact affected customers individually for details”.

It added: “We are still evaluating the impact of the export cargo from the affected areas. We will keep you informed of the latest updates of the situation.”

Hapag-Lloyd said its staff and offices, major vendor facilities and cargo operations were largely unaffected, but bookings had been suspended for Sendai, Hachinohe, Ofunato, Onahama and Hitachinaka.

“At this point, we do not expect any vessel diversions, however, schedule delays are possible and we will keep [customers] informed about any schedule changes,” it said.

CMA CGM said its services were not affected, but vessels would avoid the North-east of Japan.

The brief closure of all of Japan’s ports was expected to cost the country more than US$3.4 billion in lost seaborne trade, according to IFW sister publication Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Does Size of Containership Really Matter?

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Fri, 4 Mar 2011 21:32:00 -0800

(IFW-net.com) Maersk’s new ships have been ordered from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and are scheduled for delivery between 2013 and 2015.The deal includes an option for 20 more such vessels, which would make it worth $5.4 billion – the largest single contract in the history of shipping.

Possibly the main reason for so many headlines about the ships, known as Triple-E vessels, is their scale: they have a capacity of 18,000teu, 16% more than the current largest vessel, Emma Maersk; they will be 400 metres long; 59 metres wide; 73 metres high; and have a draught of 16 metres.

They will be the largest ships sailing the world’s oceans. Not however the largest ever built, this was the tanker Knock Nevis, which was 458 metres long. And while the Triple-Es are 16% larger than the Emma Maersk in terms of capacity, they are only four metres longer, three metres wider and half a metre higher. The extra carrying capacity is due to their u-shaped hull, as opposed to the current v-shape of most ships today.

The ships’ environmental credentials are also impressive: the Triple-Es will produce 20% less carbon per container moved than Emma Mærsk, and 50% less than the industry average on the Asia-Europe trade lane.

This is largely due to increased economies of scale. A smaller engine will produce a lower top speed, of around 19 knots, a heat recovery system will capture and reuse energy from the engine exhaust gas for extra propulsion and they will have two propellers as well as their specially optimised u-shaped hull.

Maersk Line is also introducing a ”cradle-to-cradle passport” for the Triple-E ships. This means all the materials used to build them will be documented and mapped, so when they are retired from service, the document will ensure all the materials can be recycled or disposed of in the safest, most efficient manner.

Daryl Ridgway, Maersk customer Kuehne + Nagel’s Senior VP of sea freight for North-west Europe, believes KN could use the environmental credentials of the new ships to win business from customers concerned with the impact their supply chain has on the environment.

The economies of scale offered by the Triple-Es’ capacity should also result in cost savings. CEO of Maersk Line Eivind Kolding says the new vessels will reduce transport costs by around 20-30% per container.

But members of IFW’s LinkedIn group are questioning whether the reduced costs will be passed on to shippers.

One member, from a shipping firm, points out that freight rates are based on supply and demand, meaning bigger ships do not necessary equate to lower rates.

Kolding says the ships will only call at around three or four ports in North Europe and has named Rotterdam, Felixstowe and Bremerhaven as three potential calls. But this has caused concerns that there will be an increase in transhipment and cause congestion at the ports because of the time it will take to unload the ships – issues that could be exaggerated if other carriers follow suit and order ships of the same size.

Andrew Traill, Policy Director at the European Shippers’ Council and MD of online forum Shippers’ Voice, says: “Has anyone stopped to ask what impact these ships will have on service for those shippers whose goods will need to be transhipped?”

A shipper adds: “We can’t afford to risk waiting for connecting vessels that might be four or five days after arrival at the transhipment point. And if there is a delay to the connection, will the lines accept responsibility for claims on product we can’t use?”

Regarding delays caused by congestion, there seems to be consensus that ports will need to step-up and increase berth productivity, something Maersk Line’s General Manager of Terminal Strategy, Soren Thomsen, recently indicated was an area of concern.

On the question of whether containerships will keep getting bigger, Kolding says: “We have raised the bar again, and it is our belief that this size of ship will be the largest you will see for quite some time.

“Theoretically, you could make ships longer, but that would mean certain ports would need to expand their capacity. And making them wider would be more difficult, because container cranes today can only reach across 23 or 24 rows.”

However, he adds: “But we cannot exclude the possibility that we will be standing here in the future announcing a new record.”

By Damian Brett
(IFW-net.com)

Maersk will have containership of 18,000 TEUs

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:56:00 -0800

(Source: Cargosystems)

After many months speculation, Maersk Line has signed a contract for 10 of the world’s largest container ships, with an option to buy another 20.

The Danish shipping line said the 18,000teu capacity ships, built by Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), will be the most efficient container vessels.

At 400 metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres tall, the Triple-E will be the largest vessel of any type known to be in operation.

However, the dimensions of the new ships will mean that many major container ports will be able to accommodate them without major adjustments to existing infrastructure.

Many key terminals in Europe, Asia and the Americas already have sufficient a draught and there has been an increase in sales of high capacity STS gantry cranes with longer waterside outreach in recent years.

With each ship costing US$190 million, the confirmed order is worth $1.9bn. If the options for a further 20 ships are exercised, the value of the deal would be $5.7bn, making it the largest container ship contract ever.

Maersk said that it has today paid a 10% down payment on the 10-ship order and will pay four 10% down payments in all, with a final payment of 60%. The shipping line confirmed that financing had been arranged, but it did not explain details of the finance arrangements.

With deliveries from DSME shipyard scheduled from 2013 to 2015, the giant container vessels will be known as Triple-E.

Maersk Line said that the ships were based on “economy of scale, energy efficiency” and being “environmentally improved” – hence "Triple-E".

With capacity to carry 18,000teu, the Triple-E will be 16 % larger (2,500teu) than the Emma Maersk.

Maersk Line explained that it is buying the ships to position itself to profit from an anticipated 5-8 % growth in the Asia-Europe trade through to 2015, and to maintain its leading market share in the trade.

As well as setting a new benchmark for size, Maersk said the new ships will help it achieve its goals at the lowest possible cost, while producing the lowest possible amount of CO2 emissions.

The vessels promise an impressive 50% less CO2 per container moved than the industry average on the Asia–Europe trade and 20% less than the Emma Maersk. Maersk also claimed that the Triple-E would consume 35% less fuel per container than the 13,100teu vessels being delivered to other container shipping lines in the next few years.

“One of the biggest challenges we face in the world today is how to meet the growing needs of a growing population and while minimising the impact that is going to have on our planet,” said Eivind Kolding, Maersk Line CEO.

“International trade will continue to play a key role in the development of the global economy; but, for the health of the planet, we must continue to reduce our CO2 emissions.”

“It is not only a top priority for us, but also for our customers, who depend on us in their supply chain, and also for a growing number of consumers who base their purchasing decisions on this type of information,” he added.

(Source: Cargosystems)

Journal Call for Paper from Asia Pacific Journal of Strategic Development

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:32:00 -0800

Call for Papers

The greatest emerging economies of the World in this century, namely China, India, and the ASEAN region, which is in Asia continent as well as the fantastic growth of the Latin-American economies, have marked and labeled this century as the Asia Pacific century. All countries of the world are now in a full-alert of the greatest achievement. Strategy and development need to be shared for all to get a better life for human being as well as for the environment.

The Asia-Pacific Journal of Strategic Development (APJSD) seeks to become a leading yet supportive forum for intellectual exchange among experienced and early-career researchers and academia. APJSD also welcomes professional and government involvement with submissions that stimulate engagement between academics and practitioners interested in research in the area of strategic development.

We invite qualified and state-of-art original conceptual and research papers, review papers, technical reports, case studies, management reports, book reviews, research notes, and commentaries in all aspects of social sciences, arts, technology, economics and businesses that are related to subject coverage of this journal.

Journal Coverage

The following topics are among those of interest but not limited to APJSD:
• Strategic studies
• Green growth strategy
• Sustainable development issues
• Adapting strategic planning to development
• Management of strategy
• Strategic alliances and collaboration
• Strategic infrastructure development
• Strategic resource development
• Strategic human resource development
• Strategic technology development
• Competitive strategic development
• Strategic change management
• Leadership and governance
• Building community capacity
• People involvement in development
• Market strategy and development
• Competence-based strategy

How to submit a paper:

Submissions from experienced and young researchers, professional, consultants, government officers are welcome. APJSD also make available an opportunity for less-experienced and young but talented authors to work with an editorial team which acts in a mentoring role to enhance the quality of work seeking to be published. Final paper submitted by authors will be double-blind peer reviewed to ensure quality, rigour and relevance of the final product.

All manuscripts should be submitted by email to the editor-in-chief.

Muhammad Subhan, Ph.D (Editor-in-chief)
Executive Director
Institute for Aceh Strategic Development
Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Email: subhanaceh@yahoo.com

Asia Pacific Journal of Strategic Development

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:29:00 -0800

New Academic Journal on Strategic Development is Launching Soon

A new academic journal named 'Asia Pacific Journal of Strategic Development' will be launched very soon. The journal is published by the Institute for Aceh Strategic Development. Dr. Muhammad Subhan, as the journal's editor-in-chief said that the journal will have its initial printed and online version and will be published twice a year. The journal is expected to have its initial publication before October 2011.

The Asia Pacific Journal of Strategic Development (APJSD) is devoted to identifying, mapping, understanding, and interpreting new trends and patterns in strategic development especially within Asian countries as well as other parts of the world. The journal endeavors to highlight strategic development from different perspectives. The aim is to promote a broader dissemination of the results of scholarly endeavors into a broader subject of development and to establish an effective means of communication between academic and research institutions, policy makers, government agencies and persons concerned with the complex issue of strategic development.

The Journal is a peer-reviewed journal. The acceptance decision is made based upon an independent review process supported by rigorous processes, provides constructive and prompt evaluations of submitted manuscripts, ensuring that only intellectual and scholarly work of the greatest contribution and highest significance is published.

Type of Publication

The journal will be published in form of printed as well as online (electronic) version.

Contents

The APJSD publishes original conceptual and research papers, review papers, technical reports, case studies, management reports, book reviews, research notes, and commentaries. It will occasionally come out with special issues devoted to important topics concerning strategic development issues.

Subject Coverage

Mohd. Hasanur Raihan Joarder, Ph.D (United International University, Bangladesh)
Muhammad Abubakar, Ph.D (Malikussaleh University, Indonesia)

Editorial Board:

Jimoh Rasheed Gbenga, Ph.D (University of Ilorin, Nigeria)
Fu Xiaowen, Ph.D (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Yi-Chih Yang, Ph.D (National Kaohsiung Marine University, Taiwan)
Ahmad Bashawir A. Ghani, Ph.D (University Utara Malaysia)
Simme Veldman, Ph.D (ECORYS Transport Rotterdam, the Netherland)
Mohammad Noorman Masrek, Ph.D (University Technology MARA Malaysia)
Muhammad Shabri A. Madjid, Ph.D(International Islamic University Malaysia)
Mohammad Ali Ashraf (United International University, Bangladesh)
Kang Eng Thye, Ph.D (University Utara Malaysia)
Chen-Dong Tso, Ph.D (National Taiwan University, Taiwan)
Muslim Amin, Ph.D (University Technology Malaysia)
Abubakar Eby Hara, Ph.D (University Utara Malaysia)

International Advisory Board

Malcolm Tull, Ph.D (Murdoch University, Australia)
Juhary Haji Ali, Ph.D (City University College of Science and Technology, Malaysia)
Nam-Kyu Park, Ph.D (Tongmyong University, Korea)
Syurkani Ishak Kasim, Ph.D (Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia)
Jose Tongzon, Ph.D (Inha University, Korea)

The World needs a new paradigm, a balanced economic growth

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:56:00 -0800

"Let us seize the opportunity in the current crisis to correct imbalances by working together towards more balanced global and regional economic development," he said in his speech titled "Achieving Balanced Growth. What We Must Do."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the world needed a new paradigm, namely balanced economic growth.

He made the statement here on Friday before around 500 business leaders at a CEO Summit held ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

He said it was important to maintain the Asian trade and investment open as well as between Asia and other parts of the world to overcome global imbalances.

"I am convinced businessmen who are represented here in this room would agree," he said.

The Indonesian head of state said to overcome imbalances in economic development surplus countries had to invest their resources in the most productive investment areas such as infrastructure, education and health to spread productivity.

"Countries suffering a deficit meanwhile have to save more and adopt structural changesn in an effort to reset the mode of unsustainable economic growth," he said.

President Yudhoyono also said the international community also needed to pay attention to countries calling for protection.

"We must face the fact that some countries are facing high unemployment," he said.
President Yudhoyono said the founders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum had been a step ahead in the area.

"Indonesia has always considered that APEC vision is not only an open region for liberalization and facilitation but also capacity development," he said.

President Yudhoyono said trade among APEC members was 40 percent of the total value of the world trade and following the implementation of free trade and investment the total value of the gross domestic product of its members had risen from 47 percent to 56 percent of the world`s GDP in the past 20 years.

"Furthermore, the value of 67 percent of trade among APEC members is even far bigger than that of the European Union," he said.

APEC which was established in 1989 in Canberra, Australia, now has 21 members.

Source: Antara

Indonesia's currency 'Rupiah' strengthens against US dollar

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Sun, 8 Nov 2009 23:18:00 -0800

The rupiah strengthened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Monday morning as investors hunted the local unit.

The Indonesian currency traded Rp9,405-Rp9,415 per US dollar, up 35 points from Rp9,440-Rp9,455 per US dollar at the market`s close at the end of last week.

The rupiah gained as foreign investors were active in the domestic market, according to Rully Nova, a foreign exchange analyst of PT Bank Himpunan Saudara Tbk.

However, foreign investors were still worried about the ongoing rivalry between the National Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) which was not showing signs of resolution, prolong, he said.

Foreign investors were closely following developments in a number of high-profile cases happening in Indonesia, especially the Bank Century bail out case, he said.

Problematic Bank Century has changed its name into Bank Mutiara after the government injected it with Rp6.7 trillion in fresh funds.

The market was still positive because basically Indonesia`s macro economic fundamentals were quite sound, and the country`s foreign exchange reserves had increased, he said.

Meanwhile, Krisna Dwi Setiawan, a domestic money market observer of PT Valbury Asia Securities, said the current position of the local currency was quite sound but it would be hard for the rupiah to reach the level of Rp9,200 per US dollar.

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Source: | Antara |

Indonesia economic growth will reach 6 percent in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 23:37:00 -0800

State Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Armida S Alisjahbana said in 2011 the government will step up economic growth to six percent.

She made the statement at a meeting between the media and Bappenas in Bogor Friday.He said that the acceleration in 2011 was made as the world economy may have been restored to normal, increasing exports and investments.

In the meantime, most economic obstacles may have been overcome in 2010, meeting the initial targets of the new government, so that in 2010 economic growth may at least reached 5.5 percent.

He said that under these circumstances, acceleration is possible, so that in 2014 economic growth is expected to reach at least seven percent.

He also said that the acceleration can be successful if no external shock had occurred, such as the price of oil increasing up to 160 US dollars per barrel, or a financial shock like what happened in 2008.

In the meantime, to stabilize the economy, Armida said she will focus on a synergy of national development, as well as intensifying synergy between the different regions and thereby boosting domestic connectivity.

She also said that in December 2009 she will hold a consultative meeting on national development planning for a national middle-term development plan.

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Source: | Antara |

Strategy for charitable giving

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Sun, 1 Nov 2009 19:58:00 -0800

By Linda Stern* | Reuters |

Charitable giving tends to peak in the last two months of the year as donors are doubly inspired by the holiday spirit and the prospects of boosting their year-end tax-deductible spending. But they often diminish the power of those donations by not carefully targeting their gifts or by making them in a less tax-advantaged way.

That's not good, especially this year when charities really need the help.

Nonprofits are bracing for a grim season because job and stock market losses have hurt their donors. Major nonprofits are expecting donations to drop by 9 percent this year, after falling almost 6 percent last year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Meanwhile the charities are being squeezed from both directions: They have more clients needing more help, so it becomes even more important that donors act smart about their giving.

"Many folks are trying to do more with less," says Lisa Philp, head of Philanthropic Services at JPMorgan's Private Bank in New York. "We spend a lot of time helping people doing triage and thinking through their gifts."

Here's how to do the right thing, in the right way.

-- Concentrate your gifts on fewer groups. Sending $20 here and $20 there dilutes the power of your gifts, and your influence on how they are used. And it guarantees that you'll be on many, many mailing lists going forward. Instead, take the time to think of the two or three causes most dear to your heart. Look at Guidestar.org, CharityNavigator.org or the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org/us/charity/) to find groups that fit best. Write bigger checks there.

-- Think large and small. Big national charities do offer economies of scale. For example, the Better Business Bureau notes that Feeding America, a large national hunger-relief organization, says it can produce up to $30 in food for every $1 that gets donated, because of connections and economies not available to the public. On the other hand, you can maximize your impact and involvement by donating funds to a small, local group that is aimed at the cause you care about.

-- Aim for governance. Traditionally, donors have tried to give to charities that spend the least amount of money running themselves, giving out the highest percentage of cash in direct aid. But Philp says that smaller charities in particular can benefit most from gifts aimed at helping the charity build capacity. Making a grant specifically earmarked toward having the charity board attend classes on management or fundraising, for example, could give the charity a big boost. If you're going to invest in a big way like this in a small group, it's a good idea to ask the group for a business plan or a strategic plan for how it will spend your money, says Philp.

-- Give stocks and mutual fund shares. If you have a gain in a stock or other security, you can give it to a charity and maximize its value. You won't have to pay taxes on the gain (as you would if you sold the stock and donated the proceeds), and neither will the nonprofit charity. You'll get a tax deduction for the full value of the security.

There's another strategy that bears mentioning: This year, many mutual funds will log big capital gains that they will hand out to shareholders as taxable distributions. If you hand over shares of the fund to a charity, you may avoid being taxed on those gains. You would have to make the gift before the fund makes its annual distribution.

-- Retirees get a special deal, too. If you are over 70 and don't itemize deductions, you can transfer money directly from your IRA to the charity of your choice and you will not be taxed on the IRA withdrawal. This is a special tax break that expires after this year, so if you have a sizable IRA and were considering making a big gift in the future, this would be a good time to do that.

-- Car donors have to take an extra step. Giving away your clunker doesn't get you a deduction for the Kelly Blue Book value of your car unless you give it to an organization that uses it as a car. Other organizations may hire someone to sell the car for you, and you would only get a tax deduction for the amount of cash the charity actually pockets from its sale. So if you have a usable car that you would like to donate, give it to a group that will offer it to a needy family that needs a car or will use it directly in some other way.

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(editing by Gunna Dickson)
Picture source: Reuters
* -- Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are hers. You can follow Linda Stern's financial notes on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lindastern --

Europe witnesses its biggest market share drop

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Sun, 1 Nov 2009 19:32:00 -0800

European shares sharply fell on Friday, with a key index recording its biggest monthly decline in eight months, as financial stocks lost heavily on mixed U.S. economic data a day after better-than-expected GDP numbers.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares provisionally closed down 2.3 percent at 974.45 points.

The index, which is up more than 51 percent from its lifetime low in early March, fell 2.3 percent in October. The index had gained in the previous three months.

"I think today a lot of people are settling up positions for the end of the month. A lot of people are using yesterday's gains as an opportunity to close out profits at a higher level," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index.

The market was knocked after U.S. consumer sentiment slipped this month, though business activity in the U.S. Midwest expanded in October to the highest level since September 2008.

Banks retreated from earlier gains and took the most points off the index. Banco Santander (SAN.MC), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) were down 3.4 to 4.5 percent.

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(Reporting by Joanne Frearson, editing by Atul Prakash for REUTERS)

Picture source: Reuters

World's Larget & Most Expensive Cruise Ship Launched

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Sun, 1 Nov 2009 19:09:00 -0800

By JAN M. OLSEN, Associated Press Writer – Sun Nov 1, 2009

The world's largest cruise ship cleared a crucial obstacle Sunday, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark.

The Oasis of the Seas — which rises about 20 stories high — passed below the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage to Florida.

Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a 2-foot (half-meter) gap.

Hundreds of people gathered on beaches at both ends of the bridge, waiting for hours to watch the brightly lit behemoth sail by shortly after midnight (2300GMT; 7 p.m. EDT).

"It was fantastic to see it glide under the bridge. Boy, it was big," said Kurt Hal, 56.

Company officials are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success. Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 billion ship has seven neighborhoods, an ice rink, a small golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.

Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 1,600-square-foot (487-meter) luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.

The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.

Oasis of the Sea, nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.

It was built by STX Finland for Royal Caribbean International and left the shipyard in Finland on Friday. Officials hadn't expected any problems in passing the Great Belt bridge, but traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes as a precaution when the ship approached, Danish navy spokesman Joergen Brand said.

Aboard the Oasis of the Seas, project manager Toivo Ilvonen of STX Finland confirmed that the ship had passed under the bridge without any incidents.

"Nothing fell off," he said.

The enormous ship features various "neighborhoods" — parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale.

In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater — modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater — doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot (10-meter) high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.

One of the "neighborhoods," named Central Park, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.

Once home, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging U.S. economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of traveling.

It is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.

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Pictures by: The Associated Press and Reuters

Bandung to Plan its Own International Seaport

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:48:00 -0700

West Java province is planning to build its own international seaport in Muara Gembong, Bekasi district, a provincial businessman said.

"The new seaport is expected to accelerate the flow of goods and services between West Java and other parts of Indonesia and abroad," Agung Sutrisno, chairman of the West Java branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said here on Thursday.

He said the decision to build a seaport for West Java was made because Tanjung Priok port in north Jakarta that was until now also serving West Java had become too remote and costly in terms of transportation expenses.

"The existence of illegal costs during the journey of our goods to Tanjung Priok has also added to the financial burden of businessmen in West Java," he said.

The new seaport would be built under the coordination of the West Java provincial administration and in cooperation with private investors.

"The project is estimated to cost Rp 4-5 trillion and will be finished in about 3 to 4 years from now," Agung added.

Source: Antara | Friday, October 30, 2009 05:13 WIB |

Malacca Straits still Save for More Future Vessel Traffic

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:40:00 -0700

A preliminary shipping study on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore has shown that the Straits had sufficient capacity to handle more vessel traffic to accommodate future maritime trade.

Commissioned by Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), the study showed there was still substantial room for vessel traffic growth without affecting either efficiency or navigational safety.

The study, presented to the shipping industry here, assessed the capacity of the Straits based on 2007 data of actual ship reports and radar information from the MPA's Port Operations Control Centre.

In a statement, MPA's Group Director (Policy and Planning) Yee Cheok Hong said a clear and accurate picture of the carriage capacity of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, would allow the organisation to work with the littoral States as well as other interested stakeholders, to identify strategies to enhance capacity while maintaining navigational safety.

The Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) that runs along the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, between One Fathom Bank off Port Klang in the west and Horsburgh Lighthouse in the east, measures about 250 nautical miles (463 km).

The narrowest points in the TSS, along which international shipping travels through the Straits, lies just south of St John's Island within the Singapore Strait and measures 530 metres westbound, 1617 metres eastbound and 2150 metres overall in width.

The MPA said based on the efficiency and safety indicators, the current traffic level in the Singapore Strait could be increased by at least 75 per cent, if the existing processes and operations remain unchanged and there were no advances in technology.

Source: Bernama | October 29, 2009 15:16 PM |

Germany will launch 'Sharia Banking' very soon

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:28:00 -0700

By Christoph Pauly | Businessweek |

There are four million Muslims living in Germany. They eat, drink and pray in accordance with the precepts of the Prophet Muhammad. But when it comes to monetary transactions, the principles of the Koran have played hardly any role in Germany. That is about to change.

Early next year, the first Islamic bank in Germany to offer products that are in compliance with Sharia law will open its doors. The bank, Kuveyt Türk Beteiligungsbank, will open a branch in the downtown area of Mannheim, a city in western Germany, and branches in other cities are also planned.

The regulators with Germany's Federal Financial Services Authority, known as BaFin, recently issued a limited license to the subsidiary of a Turkish-Kuwaiti bank. It is only permitted to collect funds that are transferred to accounts in Turkey that conform to Islamic rules.

In other countries, the banking industry initially catered to Muslims on an equally small scale. But less than 10 years after first entering the market, all major banks in Great Britain now have Islamic divisions, and there are also five Islamic banks in the country.

The Prophet Muhammad's Prohibition of Interest

Worldwide, assets worth well over $700 billion (€470 billion) are now being managed in accordance with Islamic principles. In Germany, on the other hand, virtually no banks have so far even addressed this market.

The underlying concept of the Islamic banking business is the Prophet Muhammad's prohibition of interest. Like Jesus in the New Testament, Muhammad took action against the usurers of his time, who exploited their contemporaries by charging them exorbitant interest, sometimes well over 100 percent. Muhammad summarily prohibited charging interest unless something was provided in return. Since the 1970s, Islamic banks have sought to satisfy this requirement by offering their customers financial services on the basis of interest-free transactions.

Instead of interest, customers are promised a share in the profits of the bank. However, commercial activities can also be financed in which the Islamic saver collects a surcharge at a level similar to conventional interest.

Instead of taking out a loan to build a new factory, for example, a company would offer its investors a share of its profits. The important aspect of all of these transactions conducted in the name of Allah is that they are in fact based on a real exchange of goods or services. "The connection to reality must be clear," says Michael Saleh Gassner, a financial expert with the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.

Since the financial crisis, the principles of Islamic investors have also attracted the interest of conservative Christian investors. After all, the underlying concept seems so pleasantly removed from the speculative greed of Western financial executives.

Besides, the stock indexes that contain companies selected according to Islamic principles have sometimes outperformed comparable indexes without the religious association. Sharia-compliant banking transactions are "in a position to assume a global leadership role," says Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of the world's most populous Islamic country, Indonesia.

No Investment in Gambling or Sex Trade

Investments that comply with the Koran still represent only 1 percent of the total market, but the market is growing is by 15 to 20 percent a year. Customers from the oil-rich Persian Gulf region, in particular, insist that their capital must be invested in accordance with religious criteria.

In addition to the prohibition of interest, it is also important to ensure that funds are not invested in gambling or the sex trade. Companies that are heavily in debt are excluded, because the large amount of interest they pay is seen as the work of the devil.

The Munich-based insurance giant Allianz (AZ) and Deutsche Bank (DB) have set up funds and certificates to satisfy Sharia-based criteria, but these products are only actively marketed in Islamic countries. "It is a business requirement in the Gulf region to offer products that conform to Sharia," says Hussein Hassan of Deutsche Bank in Dubai. The bank's Gulf region division is already responsible for 20 to 25 percent of profits.

There is no absolute certainty over which transactions conform to the principles of the Koran. Banks address the problem by appointing well-known Islamic scholars to so-called Sharia supervisory boards, which examine all bank products. In the Gulf region, there are about 10 religious scholars who provide consulting to almost every major Western bank and now have their own large staffs.

This leads to the creation of quasi-religious rating agencies, whose pronouncements have many a London investment banker shaking in his boots. Because different religious leaders interpret the Koran in every country, Deutsche Bank has appointed different Sharia supervisory boards for its businesses in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region.

Markets Paralyzed by a Fatwa

It is clear that clerics can paralyze entire markets with a fatwa, as Muhammad Taqi Usmani demonstrated in 2007. The renowned religious scholar from Pakistan decided that most modern versions of Islamic bonds, known as Sukuks, were not in compliance with Sharia. He imposed a ban, which affected a booming market in which governments, real estate developers and companies raised about $50 billion in capital in 2007 alone.

The business collapsed. The Dubai-based real estate developer Nakheel is currently fighting to survive. The company had borrowed $3.5 billion to build dozens of artificial islands off the Dubai coast for tenants like football star David Beckham. In December, it will become clear whether the largest Sukuk ever issued can be disbursed. Muslims worldwide hope that Dubai will intervene on behalf of the borrower.

This investment sector is at least showing initial signs of recovery. Deutsche Bank introduced two Sukuks, for the Kingdom of Bahrain and for the Islamic Development Bank, into the market this year. Within a few years, the German bank has become one of the major players in the Islamic banking business. Its investment bankers are considered to be particularly creative when it comes to complying with the interest prohibition, while nevertheless offering investors the greatest possible security.

"The products the investment bankers dream up are sometimes bizarre," says Volker Nienhaus, the president of the University of Marburg in western Germany, who has been studying the Islamic banking industry for 30 years. The circumvention of interest stimulates the fantasy of financial engineers, says Nienhaus. For example, an important part of the platinum trade on London's derivatives exchange is indirectly attributable to Sharia. Because platinum, unlike gold and silver, was not a means of payment in Muhammad's day, the precious metal is now used as collateral for short-term financial transactions.

With some creative finesse, a surprising number of Western financial products can be executed in accordance with Islamic law. "The key Sharia products could be offered in Germany," says Robert Elsen, an advisor in BaFin's international division. According to Elsen, there are "no insurmountable obstacles."

Inspired by the British Model

The German financial regulators plan to host a major international conference next week in Frankfurt am Main to address the issue in Germany. If only to attract more business to German markets, BaFin, inspired by the success of the British model, is now eager to approve more financial institutions that offer Islamic products.

Although the Islamic banks were originally established for wealthy Arabs from the Gulf region, British Muslims are now among their most devoted customers. There is also political support for the development of Islamic financial centers in Paris, Zurich and Geneva.

So far the boom has bypassed Germany, despite the results of new studies showing that no other country in Western Europe has such a large Muslim population. The official explanation is that the Turks living in Germany are not particularly interested. But German financial professionals also fear that they could lose more of their existing customers by introducing Sharia-compliant products than gain new customers.

That argument, says Zaid el-Mogadeddi of the Frankfurt-based Institute for Islamic Banking, is pretty arrogant. He cites surveys that conclude that 75 percent of all Muslims in Germany would like to avail of Islamic financial products. According to Mogadeddi, between 1995 and 2002 Turks lost many billions of euros with "Islamic" shares in companies that had been floated by swindlers, and they now have a strong interest in products from established banks.

Islam-compliant real estate financing arrangements are considered particularly promising. In these situations, banks and customers purchase real estate together, with the customer contributing a share corresponding to his equity. The bank pays rent for the rest, gradually acquiring the remaining shares. As a result, no interest accrues, but the property acquisition tax is charged twice.

Sharing the Risk

The same problem used to exist in the UK. Then Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was finance minister at the time, insightfully abolished the double tax burden. The Central Council for Muslims is now calling for similar measures to be taken in Germany.

A second stumbling block can also be removed with a bit of good will. Under Sharia law, Muslims who deposit money with a bank must also participate in the bank's risk. But what happens to the deposit insurance, which is set by the government? It comes into effect when a bank becomes insolvent. In fact, consumer advocates across the board have welcomed a recent increase in the deposit insurance limit to €50,000.

In Great Britain, a Muslim customer can expressly waive the insurance of his deposits in an individual agreement. The fact that the British government, in the course of the financial crisis, has nationalized entire banks is probably something like an Act of God under Islamic law. At any rate, there are no signs so far that a significant number of Sharia supporters have legally challenged the government's bailout of their bank.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

ASEAN to Establish ASEAN-G20 Contact Group

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:56:00 -0700

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plans to establish an ASEAN G20 Contact Group to coordinate the regional grouping`s position ahead of G20 summits.

The contact group will comprise the ASEAN chair, the ASEAN secretary general, and Indonesia, the only G20 member from ASEAN, ASEAN heads of state/government said in a joint statement issued at the 15th ASEAN Summit here on Saturday.

G20 which groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain, the United States and the European Union has convened three times since 2008 to seek a solution to the current global financial crisis and discuss regulations to avoid a recurrence of similar crises.

At its several meetings, G20 also had invited ASEAN as the representative of a regional grouping.

In the 57-point statement, the ASEAN leaders also agreed to assign the ASEAN chair and the ASEAN secretary general to attend every G20 meeting to deliver the regional grouping`s collective position and views as well as to promote its role at a global level.

The ASEAN leaders also asked their respective finance ministers to coordinate with one another in formulating ASEAN member states` collective views as part of efforts to create economic and financial stability either at regional or global level.

In their joint statement, the ASEAN leaders also expressed support for the continuity of the domestic stimulus package to ensure sustained recovery from the current global financial crisis.

In his opening address to the 15th ASEAN Summit on Friday, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called for ASEAN`s greater role in G20 to represent the developing countries` interests.

ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Source: Bernama | Saturday, October 24, 2009 22:44 WIB |

Installing a Shout or a Chat Box for a Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:55:00 -0700

Do know that one of the most effective means to increase a blog traffic and keep existing visitors to spend more time on your blog is by installing a shout box or a chat box in your blog. A Shout or a chat box will allow your visitors communicate with you while you are online and allow them to find other visitors of your blog. If they the communication works, it means that you make your visitors ti spend some time on your blog. It is a fine strategy in showing to SEO that your blog has dedicated visitors.

How to install a shout box?

Yes. It's a free shout widget. Follow this instruction to install a shout box for your blog:

Open this URL: http://www.shoutmix.com/main/
Click "Create Shoutbox" button. Then a following form will come up.

Fill the form completely and hit "continue" button. Don't forget to check terms of service button before you proceed.

Follow all instructions step-by-step accordingly. It's very simple and easy. After finishing all the steps, still in www.shoutmix.com, go to "Control Panel" tab. Click "Get Codes". A script containing code will appear. Copy the script.

Now, you need to login to your blogger. Click layout tab then choose Page Elements. Click "Add a Gadget" in accordance to which you want to put your shout box. Choose a gadget "HTML/Java Script". Then paste the codes or the script in the gadget. Click "Save".

Now you have a shout box that allow you and your visitors communicate each other.

For Bahasa Indonesia instruction, please click the link below:
Buat Shout Box | By Masdoyok

A Great Momentum for Mobile Commerce

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:15:00 -0700

By Olga Kharif | Businessweek

Mobile commerce is gaining momentum as consumers get comfortable with ordering all sorts of products by cell phone and companies such as Papa John's watch sales climb.

It's never been easy making mobile-commerce predictions. Researchers who tried to forecast how much we would spend on goods and services via cell phone came up with all sorts of projections that were wide of the mark. Early in the decade, published reports cited forecasts that by 2006 more than one-quarter of U.S. cell-phone users would use the device to buy content and physical goods.

Turns out that by the end of the second quarter, only about 7% of U.S. consumers bought goods or conducted financial transactions via cell phone, according to a Nielsen Mobile survey of more than 90,000 people.

Yet, m-commerce may finally be hitting its stride. And some analysts who in recent years became more conservative in their forecasts are now having to make upward revisions. In January, consultant ABI Research projected North American sales of physical goods ordered via cell phone would reach $544 million this year, up from $346 million in 2008. Now, Mark Beccue, senior analyst at ABI, is considering updating his 2009 forecast to $800 million. "I thought hockey-stick growth was going to come in 2010, but it looks like it's already a hockey stick," Beccue says. "Next year, it will double again."

From Ringtones and Apps to Physical Items

Beccue and other industry watchers are becoming more bullish on m-commerce thanks to the experience of companies such as Papa John's International (PZZA). In mid-2008, the pizza chain began letting customers order food and drinks on a Web site tailored to a cell phone's small screen. By December, customers had used their cell phones to order $1 million in Papa John's products. Papa John's says mobile sales now are rising at an annual tenfold pace. "We continue to be amazed at the velocity of growth," says Jim Ensign, a Papa John's vice-president.

Consumers for years have been placing orders right from their cell phones for such downloadable items as ringtones and games sold directly from service providers including AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications (VZ) and Vodafone (VOD). More recently, they've begun using mobile phones to purchase downloadable applications developed by third-party programmers for use on smartphones such as Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Research In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry.

And now, thanks to the growing popularity of smartphones with rich, detailed Web browsers and easy-to-use keyboards, consumers across the country are finally using wireless devices to buy physical items—not just pizzas and sodas, but also books and clothes and the sorts of things typically associated with in-store browsing or online shopping via personal computer. Retailers that make it easy for customers to place mobile orders and purchases stand to gain, assuming they can ensure the security of transactions and information. So do wireless carriers that make Web surfing part of their monthly service bundles—though they need to ensure networks can handle the extra traffic generated by m-commerce.

Retailers Catching On

Much recent m-commerce growth can be traced to eBay (EBAY) and Amazon.com (AMZN), which last year accounted for about 70% of all mobile sales of physical goods. In September, eBay said its iPhone application alone facilitated $380 million in sales this year. The tool lets cell-phone users search and bid on auction items, receive alerts when they are outbid, and to pay for goods via eBay's iPhone application. At Amazon, which doesn't release mobile sales figures, phone shopping "is becoming more popular all the time," says Howard Gefen, director of the Amazon Mobile Payments Service, which lets consumers pay for purchases via mobile.

Other retailers are getting the m-commerce religion, too. By the end of 2009, about half of established retailers may have mobile Web sites, up from less than 20% in 2008, Beccue estimates. "Really, it's us keeping pace with our customers," says Mike Dupuis, a vice-president for marketing at apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), which launched its mobile Web site in September. "We believe this is a critical place for us to focus our attention."

Mobile content stores' sales are rising at double and triple digits as well. Apple's App Store, which began selling games, e-books, and productivity applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch more than a year ago, in September passed the milestone of 2 billion app downloads.

Smartphone Penetration Increasing

Retailers such as Pizza Hut and Starbucks (SBUX) are using apps to goose sales, too. In mid-September, Starbucks debuted an app that lets customers replenish and check their Starbucks card balances and pay by phone at 16 stores in Seattle and Silicon Valley. This and another new app, which allows fans to find the nearest open Starbucks and to browse its menu, were downloaded more than 500,000 times in their first week, says Starbucks Chief Information Officer Stephen Gillett. "We've seen a very, very high interest from customers," he says. The coffee chain is developing applications for Research In Motion's BlackBerry and Nokia (NOK) phones as well.

A big m-commerce driver is increased adoption of smartphones capable of Web browsing. In the second quarter, 28% of all handsets sold in the U.S. were smartphones, up from 19% a year earlier, according to consultant NPD Group. And more Americans will be able to gain access to the mobile Web soon. One-third of consumers without a Web-enabled phone plan to purchase such a device within the next year, according to a survey of 3,305 U.S. consumers conducted in March by comparison shopping site PriceGrabber.com. The site plans to release its own iPhone app by the first half of 2010.

Many consumers use their smartphones for shopping when they are nowhere near a PC or a physical store, such as during the work commute, while waiting in line for a cup of coffee, or while taking the dog for a walk. "It just allows them to do more during the busiest part of their day," says Laura Conrad, president of PriceGrabber.com.

Visa Rolling Out a Mobile App

Others are moving away from PCs. "A large portion of the customer base is totally replacing their online experience with mobile," says Ensign of Papa John's. "We think a lot of the times they were customers of Papa John's [before] but ordered from other restaurants, too. But now there's a new convenience with Papa John's, and we are getting a greater percentage of their purchases."

To succeed at m-commerce, retailers and carriers need to persuade consumers they can be comfortable giving sensitive information over mobile phones. "The biggest hurdle is privacy and security," says Paul Kultgen, a director at consultant Nielsen Mobile. "Consumers haven't embraced supplying their credit card." Many carriers let users charge purchases to phone bills. Payment providers such as eBay's PayPal and Amazon are trying to make mobile purchasing more convenient. On Oct. 5, Amazon introduced its Mobile Payments Service, which helps mobile app developers and mobile Web site owners let customers pay using shipping and credit-card information stored on Amazon.

Credit-card companies are working to make using cards via mobile device more convenient as well. Later this year, Visa (V) will release an app that stores a user's credit-card information on a mobile phone and, when a consumer goes to a retailer's mobile Web site to pay, "pre-populates" the payment field, says Tim Attinger, global head of product innovation at Visa.

Carriers Must Boost Capacity

M-commerce success will also hinge on reliability and affordability of wireless broadband. U.S. wireless carriers' networks are getting overloaded as users adopt bandwidth-thirsty devices like the iPhone. In an Oct. 9 note, Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett notes that the iPhone is "morphing into a kind of predator parasite on the wireless network, sucking out the value and leaving networks gasping for air."

AT&T, the U.S. iPhone carrier, has taken steps to improve the reliability of its network. It and other service providers will need to ensure their equipment can continue to handle what's likely to be much greater demand as consumers make more transactions via mobile phone.

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Kharif is a senior writer for BusinessWeek.com in Portland
Source: Businessweek

If US Dollar Crashes ...

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:43:00 -0700

By Peter Coy | Businessweek

The financial crisis taught us that markets can drop further and faster than anyone expects. Housing prices, for example, fell for three straight years starting in 2006, even though the conventional wisdom right up until the bust began was that prices would not fall even a little bit.

Let's apply some of our hard-won knowledge to the dollar, which is also supposed to be resistant to a bust. After weakening gradually since 2002, the greenback rose during the financial crisis last year. It has fallen roughly 15% since March as investors moved to higher-yielding currencies. The conventional wisdom is that at these levels the dollar is cheap and, if anything, due for a rebound. "Currencies don't go much more than 20% from their long-term averages in real [inflation-adjusted] terms. We're there already," says Michael Dooley, an economist who is co-founder and research chief of Cabezon Capital Management, a San Francisco investment firm.

But it's worth at least thinking about the possibility of a dollar bust. The reason the housing bust had such devastating consequences was a failure of imagination: Lenders, regulators, credit raters, and others simply couldn't believe that house prices would ever fall the way they did, so they were blindsided.
Bank Blowups Possible

Let's imagine the dollar quickly dropped by a further 25% against each major world currency, roughly parallel to housing's unprecedented 30% decline. That would mean it would take $2 to buy a single euro. On the good side, U.S. manufacturers would find it easier to compete globally, and foreign tourism would boom in the U.S. On the bad side, inflation in the U.S. would zoom because of the rising cost of imported products. Americans would have even more trouble getting a loan as foreign buyers pull out of the debt market.

Abroad, the cheap dollar would make it harder for other nations to export to the U.S., hurting their growth. China could face social unrest. Trade wars could break out. And there could be blowups at overexposed banks whose risk managers were sure no such dollar bust could happen. As investor Warren Buffett once said: "You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out."

Federal regulators are monitoring banks for a wide variety of risks, including the threat of a dollar bust: "We're not looking quarter to quarter, we're looking hour to hour and minute to minute at what those risks are," says one regulator who requested anonymity.

From its spring peak, the dollar is down 11% against the Japanese yen, 16% against the euro, 21% against the Canadian dollar, and about 30% against the Brazilian and Australian currencies, which are benefiting from a commodity price spike. Against a broad market basket of all U.S. trading partners, and adjusted for inflation, the dollar has fallen 15% from its spring high.

Deficits Depress Dollar

Behind the dollar's weakness are near-zero short-term U.S. interest rates. As they once did with yen, investors are borrowing dollars cheaply, then selling them to buy currencies of countries whose stocks and bonds promise better returns. The Federal Reserve is keeping the federal funds rate at a rock-bottom zero to 0.25% to stimulate the U.S. economy and heal the banks, but a side result is the dollar has turned into the preferred fuel for an international speculative play that is weighing down the greenback.

Another force driving down the dollar: continued U.S. trade deficits, which the U.S. is paying for by borrowing from the rest of the world. Some economists and traders believe that eventually the U.S. will be forced to devalue its own currency to make its global debt more affordable. While the trade gap has narrowed to less than 3% of gross domestic product in the second quarter from 6% at its peak in 2006, it is still high by historical standards.

Now, some of the foreign central banks that have propped up the dollar seem to be getting cold feet. Instead of buying just dollars for their foreign-exchange reserves, they're diversifying into other currencies. The countries that reveal the composition of their reserve holdings put 63% of their new reserves into euros and yen in the second quarter, according to an analysis by Barclays Capital (BCS). Says Steven Englander, Barclays' chief U.S. currency strategist: "Their incentive is to try to do stealth diversification, not 'get me out of here at any price.' " (China, with more than $2 trillion worth of reserves, doesn't reveal what currencies in which it holds the funds.)

The Bearish Case

Obama Administration officials don't seem perturbed by the dollar's slide so far. A weaker dollar helps shrink the trade deficit by making American-made goods more competitive in world markets. Drew Greenblatt, owner of Marlin Steel Wire Products in Baltimore, which makes high-tech baskets for assembly lines, says he's winning orders from countries that are better known as exporters. Exults Greenblatt: "We are shipping ice to Eskimos."

This state of calm would vanish overnight, though, if the financial markets got a sense that the dollar's decline was starting to snowball out of control. At that point, the invisible "force field" protecting the dollar would fade away, says Martin D. Weiss, chairman of Weiss Group, a financial data and analysis firm in Jupiter, Fla. Says Weiss: "We would become more like ordinary mortals and more vulnerable to attacks on our currency."

The bearish case for the dollar is that the decline takes on a life of its own. Selling begets more selling. The world's central bankers and finance ministers intervene to prop up the currency, but speculators, having tasted victory, aren't scared off. Princeton University economist Paul R. Krugman once called this the Wile E. Coyote scenario, after the character in the Road Runner cartoons who runs off a cliff but doesn't start to fall until he looks down and sees there's nothing beneath his feet.

Speculation that the dollar is headed for a tumble can become self-fulfilling if traders rush for the exit. Ashraf Laidi, chief foreign exchange strategist at CMC Markets, a London currency and commodity brokerage, says "right now there is around a 30% to 40% chance we are going to see the dollar falling toward a crisis point."

Dollar bulls like to point out that the currency rallied strongly last year during the worst of the financial crisis. But Laidi says that was no show of support for the dollar or the U.S. economy. Rather, he says, investors retreated from all types of risk and put their money into the most liquid, short-term instruments they could find—which just happened to be U.S. Treasury bills, which are held in accounts all over the world. Agrees Barclays' Englander: "It wasn't a long-term bet that the U.S. economy would be the most dynamic in the world."

Inflation Could Emerge Quickly

Currency traders don't put much stock in the statements of support for a strong dollar by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and other Administration officials. They note that Treasury chiefs dating back to the Clinton Administration have said they support a strong dollar, yet the U.S. has not supported its currency through purchases since 1995.

If the dollar did tumble, import prices might rise faster than most economists now expect. New research by Columbia University economists Emi Nakamura and Jon Steinsson shows that the "pass-through" from a cheap currency to high import prices was underestimated because of poor data. In other words, inflation could emerge more quickly than is commonly believed. It would be disastrous for the economy if the Federal Reserve had to jack up interest rates to cool inflation or defend the currency while growth remained weak. A lower dollar makes Americans poorer by cutting the purchasing power of their currency. And there's no guarantee it would bolster U.S. industry, says David Malpass, president of New York research firm Encima Global. Malpass says the fall of the dollar in the late 1980s hurt rather than helped Detroit by giving Japan the buying power to strengthen its automakers. Says Mallpass: "We can make ourselves poor enough that we can't import very much and we'll have balanced trade. But how would that be good for the U.S.?"

In the short run, the biggest risk would be the failure of some firm that made a highly leveraged bet that was vulnerable to a falling dollar. A dollar plunge would affect not only currency trades but also interest-rate derivatives and credit default swaps. Five big banks accounted for 88% of the credit-risk exposure from derivatives in the entire U.S. banking system in the second quarter.

No one knows whether the dollar is headed for disaster. But assuming the best is perilous.

Source: | Businessweek |

What is a Blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:10:00 -0700

By: BizStra

Blog, also called a weblog or web log is an internet web-based facility for publishing that allow a blogger to publish posts, receive comments, selling products or advertisement or get involve in online communication. A blogger is a person who maintains and runs a blog. A good blog provides its blogger with of course a post or article writing tool, and some widgets that allow a blogger to put things such as text, followers, search engine, script, and many more. All the facilities in a blog has been created automatically making it easier for a blogger running a blog, although he does not know anything about the internet world.

Not like a website that requires programming HTML or PHP to be able to show an interesting website. With a blog as it facilitated at your fingertips.

What is the difference between blogs and websites?

Basically they are the same. Just on the blog, everything has been made so easy that allow a person to write and type just like in MS Word. All programming on a blog has been created automatically and it is hidden by a blog template creator.

Is that the only ability of a blog?

No, it was only the ability or the basic functions of a blog. Depart from here, creative bloggers have started to create a blog as a principle for making money. How? It is by making a blog as a platform for advertising. We called this function as ‘monetize’ a blog. So, in addition to write a posting such as an article to put in his blog, a blogger is selling advertisements through their blogs so that they earn lot of money through their blogs.

How much of a blogger make money from monetize a blog?

More or less it depends on the efforts and creativity of a blogger. Some bloggers get USD50 a month, some get 300 dollars, some get 1000 dollars or 5000 dollars and some get even up to 500.000 dollars a year. Wow! Is it little or a lot? You know the answer.

So, I want to start a blog now and I want to create money through my blog. What should I do?

One has to have Google mail in order to create a blog using www.blogger.com facility? Is it the only platform for creating a blog? No, there are a lot of other platforms that allow you to create a blog. For example, you can use www.wordpress.com. But most of bloggers, they use www.blogger.com as their platforms. Why? Perhaps it is easier and everything is there, and it's linked with Google!

Read my post on how to create a blog step-by-step.

Apple versus Microsoft. who will win the competition?

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:50:00 -0700

By Peter Burrows | Businessweek

The entire personal computer industry is gearing up for Microsoft's (MSFT) Oct. 22 release of Windows 7, by most accounts the best version of its operating system in years. Yet Apple (AAPL), Microsoft's nearest competitor, is quietly planning to capitalize on the launch, too. "It presents a very good opportunity for us," says Philip W. Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president for marketing.

The Cupertino (Calif.) company sees Windows 7 as its best chance in years to win over longtime PC users. Millions of PC owners are expected to head to stores over the next year to replace their aging machines. The surge is expected to be unusually large because Microsoft's last operating system, Vista, was so poorly reviewed that many people simply stuck with machines running the eight-year-old Windows XP system.

In the coming weeks, Apple is expected to hit those computer buyers with advertising aimed at luring them to its Macs. It will likely make the case that Macs are less susceptible to viruses and are best suited to its popular iPods and iPhones. And look for it to poke fun at Microsoft for making XP owners go through an arduous process to upgrade to Windows 7—one that includes backing up all their files to an external drive, reformatting their PC, and then reinstalling all of their old programs, assuming they still have the CDs. "Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out. If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?" says Schiller.

No question, Microsoft and partners such as Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell (DELL), and Acer will benefit from the Windows 7 debut. PC makers will be rolling out a raft of eye-catching new models—from $300 netbooks to sleek desktop computers with touch-sensitive screens. Microsoft downplays the hassles of upgrading to the new operating system and says most people are going to buy new PCs anyway, which means they won't install the software themselves. "For the vast majority of people that get Windows 7, most will move to new hardware," says Parri Munsell, Microsoft's director for consumer product management.

PC makers are likely to benefit from their machines being much cheaper than Apple's, especially given the soft economy. The average price of a Windows PC is $537, compared with $1,434 for a Mac, says analyst Stephen Baker of researcher PC Data. "I just don't think you're going to have a huge influx of people who have perfectly good XP machines deciding they need to buy an all-new Mac," he says.

Schiller won't say if Apple is planning to cut prices, which would certainly attract a flock of new buyers. He points out that the company already has programs for helping PC users switch; people who pay $99 a year for its One to One training program can bring their PCs to an Apple Store and have all their files transferred.

Schiller says the success of Apple's operating system is indicative of the changing fortunes in the tech industry. While less than 20% of Windows users have moved to the three-year-old Vista, more than 70% of Mac users have upgraded to the Apple operating system introduced at about the same time. He has similar hopes for Apple's four-month-old Snow Leopard OS. Says Schiller: "I expect Snow Leopard will have an amazing upgrade rate, and Windows 7 won't."

That's Apple—calm, cool, and confident that the tech world is marching in its direction. "We've been through these transitions before, and no matter how you look at it—it's still Windows," says Schiller. "When all is said and done, the Mac picks up share a bit at a time."

Burrows is a senior writer for BusinessWeek, based in Silicon Valley.

Making a Rotating Banner for a Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Business Strategy Developer) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:34:00 -0700

When we have a lot of banners to be put on our blog, sometimes it creates a problem for us because a lot of banner will consume a lot of space of our blog. This will make our blogs seemed not comfortable for the readers. This happen especially when we want to put a lot of ads for example. This is a dilemma. On one hand we want a lot of ads appears on the blog, but on the other hand we want our blog looks neat. Therefore, one of many solutions for this is making a rotating banner. Our banners will automatically appear alternately in the same place.

To make it you only need to enter the following script in the gadget's HTML code: