U.S. retail sales for February are to be reported on Friday the 12th. The big snow strorms in the northeastern United States are the big factor as many communities were completely shut down for as much as two weeks.
Most economists are not worried about the report as it’s most likely factored into the markets already. When a slow February hits, a good March usually follows. The dollar was lower vs. the euro, but higher against other currencies.
The Tea Party movement has been getting much attention and when one goes to “nail down” just what the Tea Party is all about, it gets difficult. Seems they’re all over the map, both geographically and politically. That’s not easy to digest, but the movement is mostly in need of more definition.
The movement has gotten the media attention. The defining moments for the Tea Party has been done on the fly with puzzling results. Take Ron Paul for example. So much for being left on the shelf to collect dust. Recently he has gained more support which lacks a political party foundation. His supporters seen to want it that way. Well and good, however can Paul’s support continue to lift him to the White House? Most likely no, because there is too much fragmentation. Is Paul the candidate to bond that support together and keep it together? I’ll let you answer that.
Republican PAC’s are getting money to the Tea Party movement. This shows that a party structure is waiting on the sidelines to jump right in. That’s fine, however buyer beware. The very core of the movement are form those who are turned off by the political party system and feel it’s time for change. When more party people step in they might get a rude awakening. We’ll have to see what transpires after the Tea Party Tour ends later this spring.
Sara Robinson wrote an interesting article on ourfuture.org that plainly “populist” might be a wrong term to use in describing the Tea Party. When you read it be aware that politics has a tendency to work in orbits that can spin seemingly out of control; if not “tamed” for a forward movement.
The dollar remained steady today. The dollar was the safe haven after some tough economic news hit the streets. A lack of buying interest for other currencies helped the dollar to stay steady against the euro and sterling.
The Commerce Department’s home sales report had unexpectedly reported new home sales falling 11.2% in January. Germany’s economic recovery came to a halt. Ben Bernanke told lawmakers that flat oil prices will keep inflation in check. He went on to say that an increase in goods and services in the private sector only can aid further sustained growth in the U.S. economy.
The dollar is looking better technically against the euro.
Crude oil prices went up for two weeks in a row as the April contract hit just over $80 for the week. A strong Euro against the Dollar helped as a boost in manufacturing aided the rally. The U.S. Department of Energy reported figures that added to oil and gasoline inventories, but refineries reported running just shy of 80% capacity. This lent support to the bullish underlying tone and helped the market go up.
Consumer optimism is improving according to the oil traders and they brought that into play. Expect a pullback before prices continue higher. The key is $76.70 as a price below could spark a sell-off as the bears would pay attention again.
Harvard Business School’s Ranjay Gulati has studied customer relations in business and has found that putting customers first hasn’t always been a priority. A big surprise though true. This customer aspect is known as the “outside-in” approach. Customers are put first in all decisions made. The products and services created brings value to customers.
One example is bagged salad. Customers just didn’t want the packaging of their lettuce changed. They wanted the salad made for them. What started out as a novelty is now a mainstay business in most areas of the United States. This might be simple, but I can hear you (and me) say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
The goal is to bridge gaps rather than create them. One store that brought in this concept was Best Buy. They did some customer research and found that 55 percent of their shoppers were men. The research went another step and asked women why they didn’t shop at Best Buy more. The answer was that Best Buy was a store for men designed by men and manned by men. When the women shoppers were asked what a big turn-off was, they responded that they were given too much technical information about a product rather than how to operate a product and its function.
Best Buy had to shrink the core customer base rather than expand it. Store were redesigned and store floor employees were trained more on the function and operation of store products. This allowed for a new connection with the customer. Align the tasks and information around the customer.
Most important, they must also guarantee precisely the reverse: that the line of sight from the customer into the organization is equally unimpeded, and in a final twist that the companies see themselves from the outside, with their customers, so that they can help wherever their customers are, in their hours of greatest need.
Businesses needs customers and customers have to have work. Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor in Clinton’s first term, says government has to prime the pump. His suggestion is a second stimulus package aimed at states and locales. Local governments especially need the boost because many are laying off people and are raising taxes and fees at the same time. The raise in taxes isn’t popular and the lay-offs aren’t usually making local government more efficient because several offices in local government are understaffed to begin with.
The President hasn’t proposed anything to boost overall demand. Reich wrote that The President needs to get the second stimulus going and explain why.
The U.S. is still bleeding jobs which isn’t going to turn things around soon. The deep recession is still here as major employers scramble to take a serious look at their employee numbers. Four million jobs have been lost and another two million could be gone before this is all over. Employment COULD hit 10%.
Economic growth numbers for Q4 of 2009 went way up. However inventory reductions are still underway by major corporations. The GDP growth number to watch for 2010 is 3.6%, as the “growth baton” will be passed from the government stimulus package. The big question is if the U.S. government plan will stimulate the economy as President Obama and the mostly Democrat U.S. House has said it will. Watch for numbers in March. If numbers are improving the 3.6% growth in GDP could happen. But this would be tough if unemployment gets to 8.5% in March.
The stock market took another hit today as the Dow fell below 10,000. Seems Wall Street wants results instead of words. Go figure!
There are three areas of analysis that business intelligence need to be focused on.
Business intelligence is moving forward with more on-the-fly decision making tools. The determination of risk exposures in open trades will give operations a boost. This also enables the better allocation of operational revenues.
First customized real-time data must be available so reaction to changing market dynamics is fast. If financing organizations is at the apex of the strategy, hedging risk is a must. This means the ability to capture data is vital to success.
President Obama announced a Small Business Lending Fund which was based on a transfer of 30 billion dollars for TART funds. The program is targeted for small banks. The banks generally have less than 10 billion dollars in assets and offer about half of the nation’s small business loans. Obama wants the lending start very soon.
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