Doron's Take:
Wal-Mart continues to post huge profits while Target continues its slide. I guess consumers care more about having the lowest prices than as to how the companies operate in their drive to thrive. How do Wal-Mart's employees feel about their company's record profits?
The Wall Journal reports that Target Corp. posted its fourth consecutive quarterly slide in profit, which fell 24% as strapped shoppers were unswa yed by the retailer's pitches for fashionable apparel and home goods. While Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest private employer, is reaping big gains from the souring economy even as consumers cut back, retail chains struggle and thousands lose their jobs.
Will Wal-Mart's success continue?
Friday, November 28, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Google and RIM on Rise
Doron's Take:
Wow, if there's two technology stocks that don't seem to be phased by the current economic downturn, it's definitely Canadian based Research in Motion and Silicon Valley's Google. At the end of last week, Google gained almost 15 dollars to close at $583.00 and RIM (maker of the BlackBerry smart phone) rose over a dollar to close at $138.98.
In another side piece of news, Apple's new iPhone will likely go on sale on June 18th according to various reports, while phones running Google's Android operating system aren't set to launch until late summer or fall. So it's in Google's best interest to do whatever they can do now to woo audiences. If people like what they see, they might wait for Android phones before they decide which, if either phone, to buy. So at Google's developer conference last week, they demoed some sneak peeks of Android to entice people to wait and not buy the latest 3G iPhone.
What about you? Will you wait till the Google Android phone are out or are you a hardcore Apple supporter that couldn't care to wait?
Wow, if there's two technology stocks that don't seem to be phased by the current economic downturn, it's definitely Canadian based Research in Motion and Silicon Valley's Google. At the end of last week, Google gained almost 15 dollars to close at $583.00 and RIM (maker of the BlackBerry smart phone) rose over a dollar to close at $138.98.
In another side piece of news, Apple's new iPhone will likely go on sale on June 18th according to various reports, while phones running Google's Android operating system aren't set to launch until late summer or fall. So it's in Google's best interest to do whatever they can do now to woo audiences. If people like what they see, they might wait for Android phones before they decide which, if either phone, to buy. So at Google's developer conference last week, they demoed some sneak peeks of Android to entice people to wait and not buy the latest 3G iPhone.
What about you? Will you wait till the Google Android phone are out or are you a hardcore Apple supporter that couldn't care to wait?
Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
You Tube Makes Lonely Girl Famous
Doron's Take:
What started off as a lonely girl's video diary ended up being revealed as a hoax created by a Hollywood talent agency. It could have backfired but instead led to fame and fortune and the cover of Wired Magazine and stories in NYT, etc. What does this say about our society and new media? It means the balance of power has shifted to us as Time Magazine said last year when it voted YOU the Person of the Year.
Read the story in Wired: "She is a high school girl with swooping eyebrows, boy problems, and a webcam willing to listen. The room behind her could be anywhere in America – there's a pink floral-print bedspread, a half-dozen stuffed animals, and a framed picture of a rose on the wall..."
What started off as a lonely girl's video diary ended up being revealed as a hoax created by a Hollywood talent agency. It could have backfired but instead led to fame and fortune and the cover of Wired Magazine and stories in NYT, etc. What does this say about our society and new media? It means the balance of power has shifted to us as Time Magazine said last year when it voted YOU the Person of the Year.
Read the story in Wired: "She is a high school girl with swooping eyebrows, boy problems, and a webcam willing to listen. The room behind her could be anywhere in America – there's a pink floral-print bedspread, a half-dozen stuffed animals, and a framed picture of a rose on the wall..."
Edelman Releases Trust Barometer: Who Do We Trust?
Doron's Take:
It's not a big surprise that we trust our friends and relatives for purchase decisions, etc. more than we do companies like Apple, Microsoft or Procter and Gamble and people like doctors or academic experts.
Edelman released a study that says: "Global opinion leaders say their most credible source of information about a company is now “a person like me,” which has risen dramatically to surpass doctors and academic experts for the first time, according to the seventh annual Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of nearly 2,000 opinion leaders in 11 countries. In the U.S., trust in “a person like me” increased from 20% in 2003 to 68% today. Opinion leaders also consider rank-and-file employees more credible spokespersons than corporate CEOs (42% vs. 28% in the U.S.)."
It's not a big surprise that we trust our friends and relatives for purchase decisions, etc. more than we do companies like Apple, Microsoft or Procter and Gamble and people like doctors or academic experts.
Edelman released a study that says: "Global opinion leaders say their most credible source of information about a company is now “a person like me,” which has risen dramatically to surpass doctors and academic experts for the first time, according to the seventh annual Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of nearly 2,000 opinion leaders in 11 countries. In the U.S., trust in “a person like me” increased from 20% in 2003 to 68% today. Opinion leaders also consider rank-and-file employees more credible spokespersons than corporate CEOs (42% vs. 28% in the U.S.)."
New Media Boot Camp
I'm in NYC this week for Eric Schwartzman's New Media Boot Camp. Hopefully I'll learn everything I did not know but that there is to know about blogs, search engine optimization, podcasts, RSS and social media.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Japan To Bail out America?
Doron's Take:
In a move to expand out of Japan, senior sources at the “big three” Tokyo megabanks told The Financial Times today that they had readied a combined cashpile of as much as $10 billion and were open to negotiation with any struggling Wall Street bank that approached them for a cash infusion. You might ask why Japan? I think the Japanese banks are smelling opportunity here to expand overseas operations after over 20 years of operating in the strict confines of Japan's domestic market after the bursting of the Japanese bubble.
In a move to expand out of Japan, senior sources at the “big three” Tokyo megabanks told The Financial Times today that they had readied a combined cashpile of as much as $10 billion and were open to negotiation with any struggling Wall Street bank that approached them for a cash infusion. You might ask why Japan? I think the Japanese banks are smelling opportunity here to expand overseas operations after over 20 years of operating in the strict confines of Japan's domestic market after the bursting of the Japanese bubble.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Oracle Buys BEA
Doron's Take:
Oracle continues on its buying spree. The acquisition of BEA propels Oracle ahead of IBM and makes them the number one player in middleware. Middleware is a general term for any programming that serves to "glue together" or mediate between two separate and often already existing programs. Middleware is typically used for messaging so that different applications can communicate together. Looks to be a great deal for both companies. Interesting to see what the two companies' customers think?
Oracle continues on its buying spree. The acquisition of BEA propels Oracle ahead of IBM and makes them the number one player in middleware. Middleware is a general term for any programming that serves to "glue together" or mediate between two separate and often already existing programs. Middleware is typically used for messaging so that different applications can communicate together. Looks to be a great deal for both companies. Interesting to see what the two companies' customers think?
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