Economy Jumps Ahead June 29, 2006
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The U.S. economy jumped further ahead than expected in the first quarter of 2006. At 5.6 percent growth, it was the fastest in 2 1/2 years and better than thought.
According to this article,
The stronger GDP figure mostly reflected an improvement in the country’s trade deficit, which was much less of a drag than previously estimated.
Wall Street got a good boost from the news, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq jumping up in early trading.
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Vacation
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Sorry the news has been lacking the last few weeks. It was a nice break.
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Disney Magic Turns to…Fruit? June 9, 2006
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Disney has begun licensing fresh fruit in supermarkets in Europe. Attaching collectible stickers to the fruit which can then be placed into a sticker book, customers are already able to purchase satsumas, with plans to branch out into apples and bananas soon.
From the item via MSNBC:
Disney also licenses baby tomatoes at French retailer Champion, and plans to launch more fruit and vegetables shortly. It says mini bananas are on sale in Germany at retailer Metro and that it will launch several stone fruit items this month in the US in partnership with Imagination Farms.
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Vegas Real Estate Not a Sure Thing
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An interesting item appeared in the Los Angeles Times the other day about real estate in Las Vegas. While nothing in real estate is ever a slam dunk, the Vegas area has been so hot for so long that many were starting to believe it was a no-brainer.
The latest to throw in his hand was actor George Clooney, who announced an agreement with his partners Monday to sell his stake in a proposed $3-billion condo-casino project near the Strip.
Clooney and other latecomers are learning that they can’t compete with big-name casino-hotels for workers, building materials and brand identity.
But other ambitious high-rise housing and hotel projects from well-established players are going strong, thanks to their deep pockets and access to experienced developers. Others are benefiting from having entered the game earlier in the boom.
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Online Newspaper Ads Catching Up With Print June 8, 2006
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While the sheer amount of advertising in print all but dwarfs online newspaper ads, “as Colby Atwood, a newspaper analyst and a vice president at Borrell Associates, put it, ‘The tail is beginning to wag the dog.’” So says, of all places, the New York Times.
According to them, spending on print advertising in the first quarter of 2006 increased just 0.3 percent, to $10.5 billion, while online advertising spending during the same period increased to $613 million in online advertising, up 35 percent from $454 million in the same period last year. Yes, you read that right: online newspaper advertising is growing 150 times faster than print newspaper advertising.
And if the idea of online newspaper advertising becoming more lucrative than print advertising isn’t obvious enough for you, the item continues:
On average, advertising accounts for roughly 75 to 80 percent of a newspaper’s total revenue. Mr. Morton estimated that online advertising would make up 6.5 percent of newspapers’ total advertising revenue in 2006, up from 5 percent last year. “What a lot of people don’t understand about online advertising for newspapers is that it can be highly profitable,” he said.
And now, we interrupt this post for some more breaking news: Neil Armstrong has landed on the moon!
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UK Manufacturing Numbers Best in 10 Years
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The second quarter of 2006 looks good for UK manufacturers according to this article.
Prospects for Britain’s manufacturers have continued where they left off in the first quarter of 2006, with more companies increasing output in the second quarter than at any time in the last 10 years, according to one of the leading barometers of industry published June 5.
Strong growth in the global economy as a whole, as well as in Europe, was cited as the reason for the rosy outlook.
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Voice of the Fishing Industry Silenced
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Nelson R. “Hammer” Beideman, founder of the Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, a strong proponent of working fisherman, died on May 25th of heart disease complications.
According to this article,
As president and executive director, Mr. Beideman spoke out on commercial fishing issues, sometimes clashing with environmental activists and government officials. He argued that a nationwide boycott of swordfish disproportionately hurt working fisherman in the United States. He testified before Congress and served on international commissions.
Memorial donations may be made to the Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, Box 398, Barnegat Light, N.J. 08006.
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Good Times Continue for Mining, But Challenges Lay Ahead
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, finance, mining , add a comment
According to an annual review released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), the mining industry has another spectacular year in store. But there are some serious challenges ahead. According to this article, the challenges include:
- Lack of equipment availability, people issues, administrative “red tape” and cost pressures (especially energy costs) are becoming issues;
- Existing operations have been running at, or near, full capacity and the sustainability of production is questioned and starting to be seen in recent production reports;
- Companies are increasingly focused on labour relation matters to ensure sustained production, contractors are pricing their services more aggressively and governments are unable to resist looking at royalties, taxes and the level of foreign ownership, and;
- Access to prospective land is increasingly difficult. Local communities are highlighting their needs for social dividends and new entrants are capturing available ground.
The overall view is that the industry is in very good shape and dealing with these challenges now will allow the industry to continue to prosper for many years to come.
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Commercial Whaling Making a Comeback
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Commercial whaling is set to make a comeback thanks to pro-whaling nations Japan, Iceland and Norway. The three nations are poised to take control of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), according to this article.
The pro-whaling lobby was expected to gain the numbers last year with the induction of Nauru, Gambia and Togo to the 66-nation organisation. However Togo and Gambia failed to arrive in time to cast their votes. This year, Japan has been able to lure Guatemala to become pro-whaling so as to ensure its margins.
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