Posts Tagged ‘coffee’

Designer Coffee to the Rescue

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November 2nd, 2011

Keep drinking coffee and help save America

Widely criticized for putting small local coffee shops out of business, Starbucks has launched "Create Jobs for USA," a program to raise funds for American small businesses. In an interview with AOL/Huffington Post, CEO Howard Schultz cited his concerns about government gridlock and the unemployment crisis as his reasons for creating the program. Schultz also called on corporate leaders to help solve the jobs crisis.

The campaign

The marketing tactic is that which was first made popular by Lance Armstrong, colorful wristbands. Starting today, Starbucks customers will be able to buy $5 bracelets along with their lattes, woven in red, white, and blue, inscribed with the word "indivisible" etched on a metal charm. Schultz emphasized that the bracelets were made in America.

The proceeds

Proceeds of wristband sales will go to the “Opportunity Finance Network”, a nonprofit umbrella organization that supports hundreds of Community Development Financial Institutions, local organizations that lend money at low interest rates to small business owners in underserved areas. The Seattle-based coffee brewer has already given $5 million to the cause.

Opportunity Finance Network

Schultz said he hopes to raise "tens of millions of dollars." In 2008, the Opportunity Finance Network estimates that these financial institutions loaned out $5.53 billion to small businesses. While banks claim the demand for small business loans has fallen significantly, Schultz said the numbers on the ground disagree: Demand for Opportunity Network micro-loans has been increasing for 13 consecutive quarters, he said.

Available

The current Starbucks campaign, Schultz acknowledged, is more about spreading the word that these loans are available. Most small business owners and Americans are largely unaware that there’s money available. According to some small-business advocates, however, increased access to capital may not address the full problem. "From the research we’ve conducted, we haven’t found a great appetite among our membership for business loans," said Cynthia Magnuson, spokeswoman for the National Federation of Independent Business.

A sense of solidarity

"Create Jobs for USA" employs a marketing tactic, the bracelet, that is usually used by charities, to fund a micro-loan program, a concept that was pioneered in the developing world. But as the choice of inscription indicates, Schultz hopes the idea will energize a sense of the national solidarity, as every American can feel that they are doing their own small part to heal the country in a way the government, Schulz believes, has failed to do. "People want human connection," he said. Starbucks, despite selling what most would consider a luxury good, has been doing very well since the recession, Schultz claims. He believes a large part of that is the sense of community fostered in its stores, some of which he claims have become informal job centers.

Lay offs

Starbucks wasn’t totally immune to the recession, however. The chain closed 600 U.S. stores in 2008 and laid off 12,000 employees. However, in the ensuing years, people have kept buying coffee. While the overall economy is still soft in the wake of the recession, Starbucks has been performing well. In the third quarter, profit was up 34%. Schultz said customers are still buying the same expensive drinks that there were gulping before the downturn started.

Tags: Business loans, coffee, loans, Small loans, Starbucks
Posted in Business, Economy, Employment, Finance, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

It’s Time to Lay in Stocks, Prices Are about to Rise

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April 26th, 2011

Four-dollar gasoline is just a part of it.
You guessed it: On top of all the ongoing bad news we are about to be hit by price increases as companies pass along the higher costs of raw materials, transportation and other expenses. When prices at the pump rise and wages don’t, already strained budgets show the pain,” says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago. Let’s take a look at some areas where prices are rising. More hints of what’s in store are due as corporations report quarterly earnings over the next several weeks.

Airfares
Airlines have been raising ticket prices steadily to pass on the expense of higher fuel costs. Domestic round-trip fares were boosted a half dozen times this year by $4 to $10 each. Over the six months that ended in February, fares jumped 22%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ index.

Chocolate
Hershey’s raised its wholesale prices nearly 10% in late March. Consumers may not feel the pinch until after the big Easter season, because many retailers will be able to make purchases at the old prices for about eight weeks.

Coffee
Coffee prices jumped 27% between December and March as companies passed along their record cost of unroasted beans. Starbucks boosted the prices it charges retailers for packaged coffee up to 12%. J. M. Smucker, which sells Folgers and Dunkin’ Donuts brands, has raised prices several times during the past year. Sara Lee, Kraft Foods and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters also have hiked prices.

Fast Food
McDonald’s, like many of its peers, is dealing with higher ingredient costs and expects to raise U.S. prices this year. Rival Wendy’s/Arby’s is expected to raise prices later this year because of what it says will be 15% higher beef costs.

Fruit and Vegetables
Even adjusting for seasonal factors, the cost of fruits and vegetables has risen 23% in three months, including bananas up 10% and potatoes up 39%.

Gasoline
$5 gas, anyone? Not yet, but it may be coming. Gasoline prices leaped 6% last month and have risen 28% in the past year. Consumers paid an average price of $3.81 a gallon nationwide on Friday, according to the travel group AAA.

Household Products
Diapers, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, trash bags and many other everyday items all have been targeted for price hikes as companies from Kimberly-Clark to Procter & Gamble to Colgate-Palmolive respond to rising ingredient costs.

Juice
Tropicana, owned by PepsiCo, raised prices on some of its juices 4% to 8% to cope with higher costs due to cold weather damage of Florida citrus crops. That means shoppers are paying more for Tropicana and Dole fruit juices.

Packaged Foods
Rising prices for corn, wheat and many other ingredients, along with fuel, have led to higher prices for packaged goods. Safeway, Supervalu and other supermarkets are passing the higher costs along to customers.

Soft Drinks
Big beverage makers are hiking prices because of higher costs for packaging, ingredients and transportation. The price of carbonated drinks was up 14% from December to March.

Tires
U.S. tire prices climbed 6% in the six months ended in March. Cooper Tire & Rubber boosted prices 8% to 9% last month. At the time of the announcement the company said natural rubber prices had increased more than 75% in a matter of months.

Tags: coffee, Consumer prices, Food prices, Gas price, Price increases
Posted in Economy, Finance, Money, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

Everyone Can Use Cash Advances

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April 10th, 2011

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