Fedex Instead of Check

Extra charges for checked baggage is becoming more and more expensive.  They started out by charging for a second extra bag and now they charge for even one.  People are starting to try to save money now by mailing their baggage through Fedex instead of checking and thereby paying more for their bags.

Now with new regulations regarding carry on bags because of new security measures, storing stuff in the checked bags has become all the more important.  Many people are finding that in many cases, mailing their bags through Fedex is actually cheaper and easier than checking the bags at the counter.  It saves them a few bucks, which can really add up if you travel a lot, and you don't have to lug your baggage around the airport anymore.  It just shows up at your hotel when you arrive.  Investors and traders are putting money on Fedex for this very reason that this might become a growing trend that sees little signs of turning.

Google and China

Google announced yesterday that they are considering leaving the Chinese market due to continued censoring by the government and also instigated by recent cyber attacks in which gmail accounts of human rights activists and political dissidents were hacked.  But probably the main reason that trumps all of those is that someone hacked into Google and stole a chunk of their source code.  Now for a software company, their source code is their primary commodity and asset.  Without that, you don't have a business.

Google currently does not have a large market share inside China and so they won't be losing out on a lot of profit in the short term.  Of course, anyone who is entering the Chinese market knows that you don't enter this market for short term profits.  China has a fast growing economy and will soon be a global economic super power.  And with 1.3 billion people, it's the largest national market in the world.  You can read more at CNN about Google and China.

Jobless Recovery is Not Sustainable Recovery

Retail numbers have been good and rising.  The holiday shopping season was pretty good considering our economic state.  So even if we're not completely out yet, those stats told us that consumers are optimistic about the future, enough to cease their hording and continue their spending.

Manufacturing numbers at the beginning of the year was good as well.  It signaled a growth in the manufacturing sector which sent stocks soaring as the opening bell of 2010 was still reverberating in the traders' ears.  This signaled that companies are confident that they will find consumers for the products they were producing, though they have yet to do so.

But in spite of the good signs and positive economic numbers which seem to be signaling a recovery, jobs are still in a dire straight.  Though everything else in the economy seems to be picking up, jobs still are not.  And now some people are calling this the jobless recovery.  But I doubt that there can be a sustainable recovery without jobs recovery.  We are still losing jobs, albeit the decline as slowed, we are still losing jobs not adding them.  And without jobs, consumers don't have the income to spend, and this economic state becomes a vicious cycle.  What's holding it up?  It seems like the same old story, government intervention.

Businesses Reluctant to Hire Because of Government

CNBC.com reported today that business owners are reluctant to hire due to the impending expiration of the tax cuts that were instituted by George W. Bush and the upcoming health care reform bill.  In spite the good retail numbers and signs that the economy might be on track for a recovery, these two factors have kept businesses from hiring.

Small businesses provide two-thirds of the jobs in the US which makes this private sector one of the most important factors for job creation and economic recovery.  CNBC reported that the small business confident index put out by the National Federation of Independent Business today showed another decline.  While retail sales are up, business confidence is still low, keeping jobs from being created.  They sited that the number 2 reason businesses aren't hiring is that they are waiting to see how government policy plays out in 2010.

In spite the reassurances by the White House about the health care reform's affects on small business, owners are waiting for it to pass and see how it will actually affect their business, and to see if it will lead to their employment costs to go up.  The article sited new regulations and fees by federal and state governments as one of the reasons businesses are not hiring.

The economy and consumer spending seems to be on the rise, but jobs are following and it is being held up by the government.  If the White House could reassure the small business community that they won't raise taxes in this tights economy and hold off on health care reform until the economy is out of recession, the businesses would be automatically hiring right now.  You can read the article on CNBC.com.

China Innovation

China has been pirating, copying and ripping off the inventions and innovations of the west for the last 15-20 years.  You can go to any movie store in China and get a pirated copy of Titanic for less than a $1.  You can go into a computer store and buy a pirated copy of Microsoft Windows, with the packaging perfectly copied, for chump change compared to what it costs in the US.

In addition they have been the producers of the goods that the US has innovated and invented.  Made in China has often meant it was designed and created in the mind of an American, European or Japanese.  Now in the wake of their quick rise, China is now wanting to go from producing and pirating us to innovating and creating themselves.  They've already made strides in this area and will soon catch up to the rest of the world.  What will the world do when 1 billion minds are at work together.  Here is a CNBC interview of the authors of China Megtrends that I watched today.

China's Economic Bubble

China's GDP growth, according to some, might be inflated.  Jim Chanos is a billionaire hedge fund investor who profits from the decline of companies.  He accurately predicted, and profited from, the downfall of companies like Enron, Tyco and Boston Market.  Now his next target?  China, the largest conglomerate in the world.

China is claiming GDP growth of 8-10% a year.  And today they announced that they expect GDP growth to be at 10.2% in 2010.  Figures like that among other things is making investors like Chanos skeptical that this is a real economic growth or just an economic bubble.  He believes that growth numbers like this is driving foreign investment capital from flooding in.  And this on top of China's half a trillion dollar stimulus investment is causing investors like Chanos to believe that there might be a bubble looming in China.

He has a good point.  How can China's economy grow this fast unilaterally while the world economy is growing at a snail's pace or not growing at all.  Basically, who's going to buy all the stuff that China's producing?  That is the big question.  Here is the article from the New York Times about Jim Chanos and the China Economic Bubble.

Jobs Report Released Today

The jobs report was released today by the Labor Department showing a 85,000 job loss for December 2009.  Forecasters expected the first job growth in 2 years on this report.  It's much better than the 700,000 a month job loss we were seeing at the beginning of the recession, but it shows that recovery is still slow.

The major job losses were in the construction sector which had a loss of 53,000 jobs followed by the manufacturing sector which lost about 27,000 jobs.  Both of these aren't a surprise as the construction sector is still correcting from it's over inflation and as the manufacturing sector is still shipping jobs overseas.

Although many major sectors lost jobs, many sectors actually added jobs in December.  Professional and business services led the way by adding 50,000 jobs followed by the health services sector which added 27,000 positions.  See the CNBC report.

That means that if you're in one of these sectors, you got good news today, especially if you're looking for these types of jobs.

People Making Money Online

There are many people who are making money online.  There are thousands upon thousands of people all over the world who are engaged in these Internet endeavors.  The Internet has indeed made the world flat for everyone.  Never before has business people from India and China been able to start Internet businesses that make money from the Western world.

Same for the average Joe working a normal 9-5 blue collared job.  Many normal people have been able to make good money on the Internet.  It's a great opportunity for people who can't find a job, especially those with a business background.

Making money online is a business just like anything else.  You have to find a market, provide a product or service, effectively manage your costs, do sales and marketing and exploit opportunities.  And it's hard work, but it's doable.

Many people start making money online with no money at all.  There are many scams out there claiming they can teach you to do this, which has caused many people to think that it can't be done.  The truth is there are many people online making money and they started with little or no investment, except of course their time.

I just wrote a hub on Hubpages that goes over how people are making money with no money online.  I suggest that people start out this way because it forces you to produce and it forces you to only engage in tactics that actually bring in revenue.

Good Investment - Vancouver Tourism

Investors might want to look at investing in Vancouver tourism.  Why?  The Winter Olympics 2010 is coming to Vancouver, BC in about a month from now.  Many people will visit Vancouver in that time, but more importantly, people all around the world will see beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia on television.

Vancouver has long been a great destination for tourists, but it has also been a bit of a secret get away as well.  Vancouver has everything you need for a booming tourism industry, but it's been under rated in my view.  Once everyone sees how beautiful and cosmopolitan and sexy this city is during the Winter Olympics 2010, they will come here in droves as tourists.

Vancouver has everything you want in a vacation spot.  Vancouver's a cosmopolitan city famous for it's dining, bustling downtown, beautiful parks and ethnic diversity.  And the ethnic diversity influences the food here.  You can get pretty much any type of ethnic foods you can think of here, authentic Chinese, Persian, Afghan, Indian, Korean, Dutch, great sushi and the list goes on.

So I would invest in companies that specialize in tourism here in Vancouver as a money making investment.

Sales Conferencing Webinars Now Common

Sales conferencing is a new method of doing sales presentations and seminars that many companies, sales forces, consultants and executives are currently using.  With the cost both monetary and time that comes with traveling, doing webinars can be a very cost-effective and efficient way of doing presentations.

Companies are also using sales conferencing as a meeting platform for their teams.  Multiple people can be in a board room with a projector showing the visual presentation over the Internet through a webinar service.  Another team of people can be in a board room in another state conducting the sales presentation over a speaker phone and controlling the PowerPoint presentation from their computer and sending it over the Internet.

Sales conferencing is now a common practice now with most companies, especially those in the technology and software sectors.  Although there are many benefits of this method of using webinars, there are many challenges as well.  Here's a guide to using sales conferencing webinars that will summarize the benefits and advantages to using this method.  It will also go over the challenges that most companies face using the webinar method and how they are facing those challenges successfully.

In the end, the companies that learn how to use sales conferencing effectively will get the edge over the competition on speed and quantity of sales presentations.  Everyone in sales understands that sales is just a numbers game.  By using the webinar method, companies can increase the quantity of presentations dramatically and therefore make more sales, even if conversion rates suffer a bit.

Car Jump Starters

Car jump starters are handy things to have sitting in the trunk of your car, your home or in your business.  Even if your car is brand new and never has any problems, the car battery could still die on you if you leave your lights on.  It's a simple problem that happens to everyone at some point in their lives.  Having a car jump starter really helps in those types of situations.

Of course you can always find a Good Samaritan to jump start your battery, but it's so much more comfortable to be able to do it yourself.  You never if people will help or not.  Even when they do help, it can be awkward if you can tell they are doing it reluctantly.  Also, you can feel terrible if you know you're inconveniencing someone.

Additionally, you're not always parked in a convenient area to be able to get a jump.  Prime example is the parking garage at the mall.  Well, any parking garage for that matter.  It's already cramped as it is, it can be very difficult to get a jump in those things.  It can be especially difficult if you're parked against a concrete wall.  You have to put the car in neutral and push the car back. That can be very difficult, especially in a cramped space like that.  That's when you wish you had a car jump starter with you.

In any case, having this car jump starter in the trunk really puts the mind at ease.  In addition, you may also be able to help someone in need where you can't get to their car battery for whatever reason.

Jobs Report on Friday

The jobs report for how unemployment is doing in the US economy will come out this Friday.  It's going to be a very significant report following the good report from the manufacturing sector on Monday that shot stocks sky high to begin the year.

Many analysts believe the jobs report will be positive and may even show a jobs growth for the month of December 2009.  It would be the first signs of job growth in two years.  If that happens, there will be certainly a stock market frenzy.  Investors have been waiting for this moment.

If you trade indexes or sector ETF's, I would buy right now and sell it off by the end of next week.  I can almost guarantee there will be a buying frenzy on Friday if it is a positive report.  If the jobs report is disappointing, you can keep the shares and wait for the next big psychological boost.

The market has pent up energy to buy and is waiting for a good excuse.  If it's not this time around, it will come soon I'm sure with one of the upcoming reports.  I tend to think the market's reaction to Monday's manufacturing report was an over reaction, but I believe it's being sustained by the market's expectation and high hopes for Friday's all important jobs report.

If you're into forex trading, you should open up a free forex demo account and try trading the USD for this Friday's report.  If the jobs report is good, the USD forex market will decline dramatically.  But as traders and investors realize their over reaction, the forex market will correct itself by mid-next week.

*By the way, I am not an investment adviser and I am not giving trading or investment advice of any kind.  By using this website you acknowledge that all your trading and investing decisions are completely your own and that any losses that are incurred are your own as of no result of this website.

Simple Accounting for Windows Vista

I do some contract work doing accounting for a few different organizations.  They were all previously using some form of Intuit like Quicken and Quickbooks.  Those accounting products are good but it has some limits in capacity.  The newer versions might be different, but when they were using these software packages Quickbooks didn't really have stuff like an audit trail and capacity to do international transactions.

Anyways, now we're using Simply Accounting Premium 2009 installed on Windows Vista, developed by a company called Sage.  It was a bit of an adventure to get it installed.  The bookkeeper spent 2 days trying to figure it out.  Installing Simply Accounting on Windows Vista can be a little bit difficult.  At the time Simply Accounting didn't have a solution I could see online and they charge for technical support.

You can find the solution here on Installing Simply Accounting on Windows Vista.  I could understand why companies and people were downgrading from Windows Vista to Windows XP.  Hopefully either of those companies were able to get a fix out because it's not clear what the problem is when it happens.

Airbus May Scrap Military Plane Project

Airbus announced today that it might scrap their development of the A400M European military airplane due to 'constant drain on resources'.  The $28.8 billion project has been troubled since the beginning, riddled with cost overruns.

An Airbus executive that runs the A400M program said today that the European government partners needed to step up to cover the budget overruns that Airbus is currently burdened with.  This has been a sore spot of Airbus and the European nation partners particularly with Germany and the UK.

I don't know.  The failure of this project could be a huge embarrassment to Airbus, but at the same time, it's all about the money.  If Airbus goes down because of this project, who cares about embarrassment.  Either way, this may be a bluff on the part of Airbus to put some pressure on to get government funding for this project.  Or it may be a genuine threat.

Airbus would have to pay the European governments back $8.2 billion in development funding it's received so far, but if projected costs exceed that amount, it might be worth it to scrap the program.

Again, it could just be a bluff.  Let's see if the EU gives.

In the mean time, the Americans are saying 'I told you so.'  Probably because they told them so.  The US government discouraged this program.  Many think because the US didn't want to lose their air superiority, even to allies.  The US say they wanted funds pumped into NATO technology upgrades.  Who knows, maybe a bit of both.

Stocks Up As New Year Begins

After the fifth straight month of positive manufacturing numbers, investors were optimistic and bullish about the US economy as 2010 began with a great bang today.  Production is up which means that not only are consumers buying, but companies are optimistically projecting that they will continue to buy even beyond the holiday shopping season.

I noticed this right away as gas prices spiked where I'm at to almost 40 cents more per gallon than last week.  As manufacturers produce more and as consumers buy as it seems like this is suggesting, there will be more consumption of oil.  As demand for oil rises, so will the price of gas.

Economic prosperity unfortunately comes at the cost of higher oil prices, which might have a significant hand possible inflation, unless the Fed steps in soon.  The Consumer Price Index, that thing economists do to measure inflation by taking a huge survey of how much daily household stuff costs, doesn't include the gas.  I'm still not sure why the price of gas isn't included in the CPI and the rate of inflation when this is a major percentage of the monthly household budget for most Americans.  I don't get it.  If someone could explain it to me, I would really appreciate it.

I track the USD/CAD currency exchange for various reasons.  Okay, I'll tell you.  I'm an American currently living in Canada and a lot of my business and therefore much of my income comes in USD.  So depending on commodity prices, because the Canadian economy is very much involved in the commodities sector, as well as the health of the US economy, the USD/CAD forex market can do some crazy things.

The USD/CAD spiked at like 1.04 today, but it's been tanking because of the rising US stock market.  No worries, I found a Chinese currency exchange place that gave me a decent rate, a much better rate than the big banks around here that rob you when you do exchange foreign currencies.