Archive for December 6th, 2012

Gotcha: About those rosy unemployment stats …

December 6, 2012

First, glance at what’s been going on with government employment the past couple of months

… about 1 million employees were added to government payrolls from June 2012 until election day.

Hmmm.

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Now, take a gander at Gallup’s  daily tracking of unemployment.

Note that Gallup’s unemployment rate dropped by about a point in the run-up to the election.

Virtually all of that drop is attributable to the bump in government employees.

Double hmmm.

And, Gallup’s unemployment rate is up about 3/4’s of a percentage point since the election.

Triple hmmm.

I thought that Team Obama had this economy turned around …

Oops.

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Question: Tell me again how higher tax rates will help a faltering economy?

Unless the BLS fudges the number tomorrow, the GOP may finally have an arrow in their fiscal cliff quiver.

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Posted in BLS, Economy, Employment - Jobs, Unemployment | 1 Comment »

Nums: The millenials’ real fiscal crisis is still ahead …

December 6, 2012

No secret that spending is out of control … exceeding tax revenues by 10 percentage points of GDP

Dems are saying “don’t touch Social Security, Medicare or any other entitlements”

Some folks are saying “Keep borrowing, rates are low”.

Here’s the predictable outcome …  no budget left for ANYTHING except entitlements and interest on the debt … and, it can’t be solved by simply taxing the millionaires and billionaires who make more than $250,000..

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Source: Mary Meeker KCPB

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Posted in Entitlements, Fiscal cliff, Taxes | 2 Comments »

Has Starbucks cracked the code in China?

December 6, 2012

Punch line: Many Western retailers have attempted to cash in on China’s 1.3 billion consumers, with limited success.  Starbucks’s plan to localize the menu and experience might be the key to success.

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Excerpted from brandchannel.com’s, “Starbucks Incorporates Local Tastes with China Expansion”

Western retailers have been completely bombarding China with products and sales pitches in recent years.

Having more than 1.3 billion consumers living within its borders can make a country’s citizens targets of such things.

Starbucks is about to go overdrive in its efforts to get the Chinese populace as dependent on their brand as plenty of Americans are, but the sell may not be so coffee-driven, but leverage the brand’s tea drinks and food menu.

China is still a tea-drinking nation.

So Starbucks established a research-and-development unit in the country in order to figure out what it could do to attract a larger audience than those looking for a cup of joe.

Starbucks China is serving up localized beverage and food items including a red bean frappaccino, green tea tiramisu, a Hainan chicken and rice wrap, a shredded ginger pork panini, and a Thai-style prawn wrap.

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Here are some other winners & losers in the Chinese market.

(more…)

Posted in China, Mktg - Global - BoP, Mktg - Market Development | Leave a Comment »