- New Coke
Coke is thinking of partnering with Monster Beverage which is an energy drink manufacturer. Coca-cola intends to partner with the company or possibly invest in the company.
The Purchase of Glaceau’s Vitamin water cost Coca-cola $4.1 billion.
Coca-cola has 15 billion dollar products. Some of the products include coke, fanta, sprite, minute maid, dasani water and powerade.
Coke is the number one soft drink in the US. Diet coke is the number two drink after ousting Pepsi out of that position.
Coca-cola Company restored its bottling operations in North America. The C.E.O. Mr. Kent was able to do his after he executed a $12.3 billion deal which aided the company to do this.
Coke brands which have been born outside the United States are Minute Maid Pulpy, Delvalle, Acquirius, Georgia, and Sokenbicha.
- Renting Property
In the United States, rent has always symbolized striving. Renting is considered under achieving.Americans are giving up ownership (the American Dream) for _renting.In the United States, the consumer spends about 32% of his income on shelter.
The peak home ownership rate was 69%. This rate was in the year 2006. In 72% of the metropolitan areas, it is cheaper to rent a house than to own a house.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have reluctantly acquired ownership of over 200,000 properties as a result of the foreclosure crisis.
The second largest cost for Americans is private transport which entails owning and running owns car. It accounts for 16 % of the total expenditures.
AAA’s calculation for spending in one year is $8588 for an individual who drives himself or herself 15,000 miles per year. The calculation is based on a midsized Sedan.
Zipcar is an auto sharing firm which uses information technology to manage its large fleet of cars. The firm rents cars to individuals at a specific fee. As at November 2011, the company had a fleet of 9500 cars.
Buying a test book is expensive as opposed to renting it. Ideally, renting gives one an opportunity to have a temporary ownership of a book for the specific period of time which he or she wants to use it. Owing to the fact that the book may be of no minimal use after the period of use, it is advisable to rent it instead of purchasing it.
The rent market is increasing. With the high cost of ownership, I expect that more and more people will resort to renting as opposed to owning.
C. Oil
What are the positives of Bakken crude?
Bakken crude has led to the economic growth of individuals and cooperates (responsible for minting millionaires).
The downsides of Bakken crude includes rendering people homeless, leading to loss of life and its drilling affects the environment negatively.The Bakken formation is approximately 2 miles below the surface. The Bakken is a layer of dense oil bearing rock. Hydraulic fracturing free oil form the dense oil bearing rock by cracking it at high pressure using bursts of sand, water & chemicals.
In multistage fracking, the short segments are perforated independently. In so doing, it is possible to concentrate the hydraulic assault which leads to the creation of longer cracks which allow a larger amount of oil to flow to the well.
When trouble looms in the Middle East, the European countries look for more reliable oil suppliers. This ultimately leads to hiked oil prices.
The U.S. reliance on the Middle East and suppliers for oil is a result of the inability of the US to move crude oil efficiently around the country.
The U.S. regional price variation is as a result of the differences in clean air and city standards among the different cities.In regard to the North Dakota Bakken field, comment on pipeline accessibility for:Midwest – there is limited access. Tankers have to haul crude oil to the 8 major pipelines linked to the region.Gulf – the pipeline link to the region is low. This makes the supply low, hence not being able to satisfy the demand.East – there are no pipelines connecting the Bakken fields to the region. This leads to the haulage of the crude oil which reduces supply drastically. Rockies – it has better pipeline connectivity than the rest.West – the pipeline connections to the region are poor. This necessitates the rail and road haulage of the crude oil.
- Great Fall of China
The case of Bo Xilai threatens to weaken the political leadership of China. It is a threat to the strength and competence of the government which the country’s leadership has continuously portrayed
Robinson predicts that China’s miracle will fail because its government which is obsessed with security is likely to continue resisting the creative destruction which is important for innovation. He states that the central concentration of power will produce instability ripple effects when factions struggle for victory leading to the fall of China.
- U.S.The amount of goods and services exported by the U.S. as at 2011 is valued at 2.1 trillion.The U.S. is losing primacy in Geopolitics.After losing its primacy in geopolitics, what remains are the systems which the country’s companies had put in place. They steer the country’s economy and ensure that the country remains a powerhouse in the world.
The length of the previous 3 expansions were 73, 120 and 92 months
This time will be realized in a regeneration of the economy.
- Exchange-Traded FundsExchange-traded funds (ETF) – They are stock market traded entities which invest mainly in the sovereign and corporate financial liabilities which is mostly aimed at replicating the benefits of a market index.TIP – Toronto Stock Exchange Index Participations are entities which can be redeemed for an underlying asset. They can be used in place of money. Closed mutual funds – are financial intermediaries whose number of shares is fixed.Open-end mutual funds - are financial intermediaries whose number of shares is not fixed.
It is advisable to pick ETF’s when one wants to redeem shares instead of cash which is associated with mutual funds.
