Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
JP Morgan's World Cup Analysis
JP Morgan has tried to predict the winner, the 1st and the 2nd runner ups. Hmm.. Being a vivid soccer fan, I was taken back by this terrible prediction. In addition, it seems like reality is agreeing with me. England was the predicted winner and they are out. Perhaps we should reevaluate on how JP Morgan's does her analysis. For all soccer fans, the report is below. Enjoy! :)
JP Morgan - Quantitative Guide to World Cup 2010
JP Morgan - Quantitative Guide to World Cup 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Apple's iPhone 4
With the release of Apple's new iPhone - iPhone 4, Apple's stocks were soaring as everyone expects the new iPhone to be a best seller in no time. This is not an unrealistic expectations as every time Apple unveils her new products, Apple's share prices reaches to a whole new frontier. Why so? This is simply because the new products (most of them) tend to sell like hot cakes. Take the iPad as an example, there are numerous reservations made prior to it be available. Or even Apple Air, the laptop which is the thinnest in the world, made its debut with a huge bang. We cannot deny Apple does a great job in selling its products.
So why is Apple so successful? Well, for one, Apple is successful because she is not an innovator. Sounds like a reason for failure? On the contrary, as new revolutionary products tend to not sell as well as it fails to convince mainstream audiences to purchase it. Apple on the other hand is a fast second which implies she comes in quickly, after they notice a good product, and mimics the product. Apple is able to combine many technology to give the user a great experience. She did not come up with the wheel in the iPod (Creative Technologies did that), she did not invent a front camera to chat with people (in the new iPhone 4) and she did not invent the touch screen either. Yet, Apple is associated with these items simple because she can convince consumers to purchase them.
What has this got to do with stocks and shares? With consistent sell-ability of her items, Apple has convinced investors that her company will continue to do well. Hence, this creates much positive sentiments and sky rockets her share prices. So what has this got to do with the firm? With more expensive share prices, Apple can sell new shares at this premium price with many willing buyers of the company's stock. This allows the technological giant to have more money for research and development which, in turn, allows the firm to expand into many more new products. Therefore, Apple's initial successes has help lead her into being a gadget superpower.
So why is Apple so successful? Well, for one, Apple is successful because she is not an innovator. Sounds like a reason for failure? On the contrary, as new revolutionary products tend to not sell as well as it fails to convince mainstream audiences to purchase it. Apple on the other hand is a fast second which implies she comes in quickly, after they notice a good product, and mimics the product. Apple is able to combine many technology to give the user a great experience. She did not come up with the wheel in the iPod (Creative Technologies did that), she did not invent a front camera to chat with people (in the new iPhone 4) and she did not invent the touch screen either. Yet, Apple is associated with these items simple because she can convince consumers to purchase them.
What has this got to do with stocks and shares? With consistent sell-ability of her items, Apple has convinced investors that her company will continue to do well. Hence, this creates much positive sentiments and sky rockets her share prices. So what has this got to do with the firm? With more expensive share prices, Apple can sell new shares at this premium price with many willing buyers of the company's stock. This allows the technological giant to have more money for research and development which, in turn, allows the firm to expand into many more new products. Therefore, Apple's initial successes has help lead her into being a gadget superpower.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Goldman Sachs Conspiracy?
Hmm.. Seems like new conspiracy but I am not too sure how true it is. Perhaps you could watch the clip and decide? Enjoy :)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
BP woes
British Petroleum (BP) has made a huge blunder by creating the biggest oil spill in United States history. Besides this error of theirs, they made matters worse by being incapable of removing the mess they created. This is not their first mistake for they have caused many errors too in the past. For example, in 2005, BP’s Texas City oil refinery had an explosion and killed 15 workers. Another example would be in 2006 whereby a pipeline leaked spilling over two hundred thousand gallons of oil into Alaska. Such numerous errors have made the Obama administration debate over punishing the oil giant. They are looking over taking away BP’s oil licenses in America.
But what does this all imply in the financial world? Is this not it merely an environmental issue?
Sadly, no, it is not simply an environmental issue for BP. This is because BP, being a blue chip company, has sold shares to the stock exchange and with problems after problems, their share prices have been downward sloping – a steep downward fall. Why is this an issue, you ask? Well, with share prices plunging, a wealthy (or a few rich) investor can come and buy up all the shares in the market making him (or them) the dominant shareholder. If so, the initial major shareholders may lose their say in things. This is how transfer of power may happen.
This is a major problem to current shareholders as they become fearful of losing their power. So why wouldn’t the purchase more shares? This is may have various answers, but the common answer is they are unable to purchase more stock options as if they may lack liquidity (in other words cash – they may have assets like properties and vehicles but not cash).
Therefore, when problems occur in a company and causes the shares to fall, it may lead to problems for the management as the new major stockholders may plan to revamp the firm to their desires.
But what does this all imply in the financial world? Is this not it merely an environmental issue?
Sadly, no, it is not simply an environmental issue for BP. This is because BP, being a blue chip company, has sold shares to the stock exchange and with problems after problems, their share prices have been downward sloping – a steep downward fall. Why is this an issue, you ask? Well, with share prices plunging, a wealthy (or a few rich) investor can come and buy up all the shares in the market making him (or them) the dominant shareholder. If so, the initial major shareholders may lose their say in things. This is how transfer of power may happen.
This is a major problem to current shareholders as they become fearful of losing their power. So why wouldn’t the purchase more shares? This is may have various answers, but the common answer is they are unable to purchase more stock options as if they may lack liquidity (in other words cash – they may have assets like properties and vehicles but not cash).
Therefore, when problems occur in a company and causes the shares to fall, it may lead to problems for the management as the new major stockholders may plan to revamp the firm to their desires.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Voice Thread What Is It?
I have been introduced to a new website called Voice Thread by my Hyper Media professor. Well, some of you many have the following questions in your mind - What exactly is Voice Thread? Why should I use it? Where can I join this free service? Wait?! Did you mention "Free"? Yup! Voice Thread is a free service whereby you can create your personal video and post it online whereby others can comment on your art works. You can create videos from powerpoint presentations, photo albums, etc.. The possibilities are endless. You can use it to education the community in Voice Thread, to create a presentation video to your peers or simply just to have some good clean fun with video making. You can get all this from voicethread.com
For me, I was interested making my powerpoint slides into Voice Thread videos as I have many slide shows on powerpoint and it would be really great to convert them into videos. This way, I can insert my voice over the video and "ta-dah!" I can present my slides without being there! I created a presentation slide show on, "Why Apple Failed In China - Reasons for iPhone's Failure in the Largest Consumer Market". With that, I simply added it into Voice Thread and got my Video up and ready.
The level of discussion on my Voice Thread is low. This could be because the topic is too dry for the mainstream audiences. It could be more interesting from a marketer's forum and not for a general audience. Yet, there were nice comments made on my Thread. An example would be - "Can Apple change the monthly subscription plans to pre-paid plans just in China?? Isn't it the company's job to fit there product into the condition of the country that they are trying to sell?? >_<" This is interesting as from a marketer's point of view, this could cover 2 important aspects - Brand equity and Sales volume. Failure to adapt to China's market (even if we make exceptions towards the Chinese Consumers) may lead to terrible sales and hence, brand equity may be weaken in China. Apple being an international brand needs to have a strong brand equity in China and this plays to her disadvantage. While, if we did adapt to the local culture, would our markets feel ostracized? This may every well affect International Brand Equity too. Hence, both could bring about trouble yet, we have to look at the lesser of the two evils and decide.
Voice Thread could serve as an alternative to essays and presentations. Yet, this may be difficult (but not impossible) to achieve fast discussions as one may have to wait for another to raise points. But, this can be overcomed by watching the clip at the same time and creating a forum to address all the question raised. Hence, Voice Thread can be a possible replacement, but we may need to add in additional components like forums.
For me, I was interested making my powerpoint slides into Voice Thread videos as I have many slide shows on powerpoint and it would be really great to convert them into videos. This way, I can insert my voice over the video and "ta-dah!" I can present my slides without being there! I created a presentation slide show on, "Why Apple Failed In China - Reasons for iPhone's Failure in the Largest Consumer Market". With that, I simply added it into Voice Thread and got my Video up and ready.
The level of discussion on my Voice Thread is low. This could be because the topic is too dry for the mainstream audiences. It could be more interesting from a marketer's forum and not for a general audience. Yet, there were nice comments made on my Thread. An example would be - "Can Apple change the monthly subscription plans to pre-paid plans just in China?? Isn't it the company's job to fit there product into the condition of the country that they are trying to sell?? >_<" This is interesting as from a marketer's point of view, this could cover 2 important aspects - Brand equity and Sales volume. Failure to adapt to China's market (even if we make exceptions towards the Chinese Consumers) may lead to terrible sales and hence, brand equity may be weaken in China. Apple being an international brand needs to have a strong brand equity in China and this plays to her disadvantage. While, if we did adapt to the local culture, would our markets feel ostracized? This may every well affect International Brand Equity too. Hence, both could bring about trouble yet, we have to look at the lesser of the two evils and decide.
Voice Thread could serve as an alternative to essays and presentations. Yet, this may be difficult (but not impossible) to achieve fast discussions as one may have to wait for another to raise points. But, this can be overcomed by watching the clip at the same time and creating a forum to address all the question raised. Hence, Voice Thread can be a possible replacement, but we may need to add in additional components like forums.
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