ROCKEFELLER

We all know by now that China a contender among developing nations like India and Brazil, that is possibly going to be a global superpower like the USA. China has invested heavily US government debt in return for bonds and treasury bills that amount to hundreds of billion dollars. But the country is facing a small setback due to the bear market in the construction and infra-structure segment which was partly caused by the fluctuations in steel prices. But China apparently understands the importance of eco friendly energy, also known as green energy, and thus they have made an announcement to double their steel output for at least the next decade.

The shanghai securities news said in a statement that China currently underestimated the importance of solar power and only have around two gigawatts of energy installed. But after the earthquake that hit Japan caused a nuclear fallout that devastated the country, China has decided to concentrate less on atomic energy and more on solar energy. So based on that China plans to increase their solar output to 50 gigawatts by the year 2020. China has been criticized by many nations for being the worlds largest polluter and greenhouse gas emitter, so this criticism has come of as a wake up call to the Chinese. They came into a moment of epiphany and started constructing the prototypes right away. The concerned Chinese officials refused to comment further.

This can be a very good investment opportunity for all the Chinese and non-Chinese people out there. It is obvious that there is no such thing as a sure investment as any investment, no matter how lucrative or safe, will never have a guarantee as there is always a chance that somebody will lose some amount of money. This is a sign that shows that the country is finally bouncing back from its setbacks which is a good sign for all those people who have invested in Chinese currency or bonds.

(rockefellernews/yk)

 

Groupon.com as, as we know it, is an online retailer that was launched in late 2008 by Andrew Mason. In just a span of two year, Groupon was worth more than $300 million dollars due to its unique business model and aggressive expansion strategy, and was named as the hottest start-up of the year in 2010. Its business model is not all that complicated, and it starts of by a food retailer for example, who wants to sell pizza to his customers via groupon. Regardless of its actual price, if the retailer decides to sell the pizza( as a coupon) at a specific discount, Groupon will guarantee purchases by certain number of customers and the retailer and Groupon will split the profit in two equal halves. Groupon has revolutionized the ‘daily deal’ business model which, while still a developing concept, has already faced opposition from many small business retailers who feel that groupon brings them customers only when the sell their products at a unreasonable discount. But a study from Rice university confirms how groupon can be benificial for start-ups.

The rice university study which was led by Utpal Dholakia, confirms that although Groupon is definitely not for every business, it can be a goldmine for small local start-ups who want to seek more customers. Since the local start-ups will be more connected and known to the local people rather than the non local ones, they will have somewhat of a customer loyalty when they purchase from them. Mr Dholakia is also a co-founder of a company named GPM inc. He did a analysis of the companies cash flow and turnover since last year and came to a realization, that even by selling a $25 worth of meals for $12, he could substantiate the cash flow and stabilize his profits. This showed that before using Groupon, the company did make profits but they were unstable and inconsistent.

Just like how different people have different tastes and preferences, just because Groupon worked for this company, does not imply that it will work for all. Groupon is just not for everyone. Groupon may be a reputable and reliable company, but it is very important to understanding the core values of your company like customer base and mission before using it as there are several disgruntled business owners who use groupon for the wrong reason and end up blaming it instead of themselves. But if you know your place and have realized that you can manage having a sudden out burst of customers buying at a severe discount, then Groupon will be right for you.

(rockefellernews/yk)

 

Almost all of us have read about the sudden outburst of the Chinese economy since the year 2009. China is rapidly building up its infrastructure, making astute investment decisions and is a heavy investor in US government treasury bonds and debt and has reduced its poverty at an astounding rate. But as every rose has its thorns, China is facing a lot of burps and stumbles along its vast journey to become the worlds most powerful economic and political power. The Chinese steel industry is currently facing a lot setbacks and glitches and it seems to be going downhill at an ever increasing pace.

A STUDY shows that the demand for steel and related products and raw material has been falling at a rate big enough to start worrying about. The primary reason for this decline is due to an increased price for iron ore products which are the main raw materials required to manufacture steel. There is an unstable balance between the distribution chain between the international suppliers and the domestic Chinese suppliers. This unstability has caused the demand and supply to become uneven and thus it kicked up the price level of iron ore by more than 500% and the demand for steel could not keep up with that pace because it had risen by a relatively tiny level and they also have rising transportation costs to go with it.

ACCORDING to some eminent business tycoons and researchers, the shortage in supply of iron ore, which was a problem some time back seems to have rebounded at a jaw dropping rate but this will not be very useful to the overall economy, if the demand for steel fails to materialize and keep up with the demand for iron ore, but as stated above, this has already happened. Prominent steel companies in China like Angang steel co faced a net profit plunge of over 90%! due to the side effects of the reduced demand for steel.

If you ask me, this whole fall in demand thing is more or less a vicious cycle. As we all know that nothing can be permanent and perfect, the Chinese economy also faces pit falls on its way. But these pit falls cause a bear market in the infrastructure industry and leads to decline in the stock prices and loss of jobs. This leads to decreased activity in the infrastructure segment and thus bring a drop in steel demand and rise in prices. But since China has heavily spent billions to fix its infrastructure, this will hamper its economic growth and repeat the aforementioned cycle.

But if I had any say in Chinese politics, I would suggest the government to work towards the growth of technologies like the internet and place less strict laws regarding small business administration and taxes, and encourage the aspiring population of China to start good quality business firms as small businesses are the backbone or foundation of every economy.

(rockefellernews/yk)