Archive for April 19th, 2011

About those corporate tax loopholes …

April 19, 2011

Punch line: After adjusting for so-called “loopholes” and consolidating all tax returns, U.S. companies (including GE)  pay 40% higher income taxes than foreign-based companies.

How do you spell competitiveness?

According to Portfolio.com …

American businesses have long complained that our 35 percent corporate tax rate — the second-highest in the developed world—makes them less competitive globally.

Critics respond that most U.S. corporations pay much less than that to Uncle Sam — in General Electric’s case, reportedly nothing — because of various loopholes.

The Business Roundtable released a study on the average effective tax rates for the world’s 2,000 largest corporations. The effective tax rate is the share of global pretax income that actually is paid in taxes to various levels of government in the U.S. and abroad.

The study, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, found that U.S. corporations paid an average effective tax rate of 27.7 percent from 2006 to 2009, compared with an average of 19.5 percent for foreign-based corporations.  The U.S. effective tax rate was the sixth-highest among the 61 countries that are home to large corporations, behind Japan, Morocco, Italy, Indonesia, and Germany. 

Thanks to SMH for feeding the lead

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Tanning salons say thanks to S&P …

April 19, 2011

Can you imagine the amount of government scrutiny and pressure that will be laser-focused on S&P after the ratings agency responded to Obama’s “in your eye” speech by putting the United States of America on a rightly deserved credit watch?

It’ll be interesting to watch what Moody’s does.  On one hand, Moody’s completely missed the mortgage meltdown, so I’d expect them to be conservative and follow suit.

On the other hand, Obama’s BFF —  Warren “Please let me pay more taxes” Buffett — owns a big stake of Moody’s.  So, I’d expect some respectful crony capitalism.

For now, the tanning salons are finally out of the spotlight. 

First, the poker sites … now S&P.

Been a good week for the salons …

Posted in Debt - Deficit | Leave a Comment »

Carlsberg Beer: “Brand recognition is good, but sales are better” … call in the brand repo guys

April 19, 2011

TakeAway: Carlsberg Beer is repositioning its brand and widening its distribution channels to boost sales in the competitive beer market.

* * * * *

Excerpted from BrandChannel.com, “Carlsberg calls for New Brand Positioning,” by Barry Silverstein, April 5, 2011

Carlsberg, arguably one of the world’s premium beer brands, is getting its most significant makeover since the beer’s origination in 1847…

In the beer category, the world’s four largest brewers account for over half the global market for beer. Denmark’s Carlsberg is number four, behind Anheuser-Busch InBev, SAB Miller, and Heineken…

Khalil Younes, SVP of Global, Sales, Marketing and Innovation, says, “Carlsberg is a fantastic brand, but the brand has even more potential that can be cultivated…

Carlsberg is introducing a new tagline that the company says will celebrate the brand’s heritage and values, while connecting it with today’s “active, adventurous” generation of beer drinkers.

The brand proposition encourages consumers to ‘step up and do the right thing,” rewarding themselves with a Carlsberg for their deeds. Hence the tagline: “That calls for a Carlsberg.”…

The Carlsberg logo…has been refreshed and modernized. The Danish Royal crown has been made more simple and distinctive. The dominant green has been made more vibrant.

The brand’s logo now carries three elements: the Brewer’s Star, the Hope Leaf, and the inclusion of “Copenhagen 1847,” indicating where and when the beer was first brewed… New packaging is currently being rolled out this year across all 140 markets…

Carlsberg’s CEO says that while Carlsberg’s famous green logo is known all over the world, its sales simply do not measure up to its brand recognition.

“Although international recognition is good, it is not enough. We are investing significantly in the Carlsberg brand, widening our distribution channels and making every effort to get closer to our customers and consumers.”

The company says “by 2015, Carlsberg anticipates that the Carlsberg brand will have doubled its profits.”

Really? Well if it happens, that definitely calls for a Carlsberg.

Edit by KJM

 

Posted in Beer & Liquor, Beverages - Soft Drinks | Leave a Comment »