“Extreme couponers,” well-known for saving big bucks on groceries and other items, have surged in numbers during the current economic recession. But their cost-saving, deal-making obsession is translating into profit losses for some retailers, who are also struggling in this economy. By Timothy W. Martin Wall Street Journal Under a futon in her Charleston, S.C., apartment, Stacy Smith has stashed boxes of soy bars, bags of potato chips, bottles of vitamin water, canned vegetables, soup, barbecue sauce and antibacterial wipes. Her bedroom closet is jammed with soda and shampoo, her bookcase with garlic salt and meat marinades.
The redemption of coupons spiked 27% from 2008 to 2009. WSJ’s Timothy Martin has more insight on the craze, which appears to be about more than just saving money.
No, Ms. Smith isn’t stocking up for a hurricane. The 39-year-old’s apartment is stuffed with groceries because she’s one of a growing flock of “extreme couponers.”
These discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge. Click here to read the rest of the article.
This morning on KFWB, Bill Barnett addressed privacy and security concerns regarding YouTube video interviews for college applicants. Barnett is CEO of MYCOLLEGEi, which offers a private and secure platform for kids all over the world to submit video interviews to the colleges of their choice. Check out what he had to say below.
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In the March/April issue of CalCPA, Ernst & Young’s Darl Rhoades and Robert Malyska discuss the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Robert Malyska, CPA is a partner with Ernst & Young LLP in Irvine. Darl Rhoades, CPA is an executive director with Ernst & Young LLP in Denver. Read the article below or click here to read the article on CalCPA.com. Alternative Funding in Tough Times By Robert Malyska, CPA & Darl Rhoades, CPA
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is making millions of dollars available to jump-start the economy by funding projects that will create or retain jobs, especially in science, engineering research and infrastructure, education, alternative energy, energy efficiency and other green projects.
Our experiences across the United States tell us that there is a high level of corporate interest in ARRA funding and incentives.
For some companies, ARRA grants represent a way to retain employees and survive the recession; for others, the grants are a way to partner with the government to bring advanced technology to market or to acquire additional capacity. Regardless of why they are attracted to these incentives, many companies are making their first, eye-opening foray into navigating the U.S. government procurement system—and they’re scrambling to find a compass that will guide them through the process.
Whether previously initiated into the government’s unique business environment, understanding the ARRA’s specific reporting and compliance requirements will allow you to help your clients whose projects receive these funds to stay on course and, most importantly, speed the receipt of money without running afoul of the myriad regulations associated with doing business with the government. Getting—and Keeping—ARRA Funding
Demonstrating compliance with requirements is critical to successfully dealing with the government, whether when applying for a grant, managing ARRA funds received or reporting the status of activities performed using these funds. Companies receiving ARRA funds must ensure that their internal control and business systems are capable of satisfying ARRA requirements. In fact, agency-specific rules may require that recipients make their systems available for government audit within six months of the grant to allow the government to evaluate the recipient’s ability to manage and protect government funds and any capital assets that are acquired using ARRA funds. In some situations, the receipt of funds could be contingent on the correction of deficiencies identified during this assessment.
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MYCOLLEGEi is an innovative tool for students to differentiate themselves and offers a unique opportunity for schools to interact with applicants via short, student-submitted video interviews that link to either the Common Application supplement or the university/college website. Interviews are stored on a secure website available only to the institution where applicants interviews can be accessed anywhere, anytime in simple formats that are easy to open, search while remaining private. For more information, visit www.MYCOLLEGEi.com.
Schools throughout U.S. look to www.MYCOLLEGEi.com as free, centralized and secure alternative Los Angeles – College bound seniors and juniors are Internet video savvy, but the spate of YouTube videos aimed at college admissions offices draw concerns among admissions directors and parents with regard to privacy and protection, according to www.MYCOLLEGEi.com – a free-to-students Internet video platform that colleges and universities throughout the U.S. are using as a way to engage and learn more about applicants.
“Students and parents need to protect their online presence, especially on video. YouTube videos have no expiration date,” said Bill Barnett, CEO of www.MYCOLLEGEi.com. “Video is a dynamic way for admissions officers to see another dimension of applicants, but it’s important that students safeguard their good names and avoid cyber fraud. All of the videos on MYCOLLEGEi.com are removed after one year.” www.MYCOLLEGEi.com is a secure, easy to use platform created for domestic and international students to build an online interview profile. College admissions offices draft their own questions, and students respond to those questions with custom videos created just for the interview process.
“We offered applicants the option of creating a video interview that addresses key points that impact our admissions decisions, so students are providing usable information that truly enhances their application,” said Angel B. Pérez, director of admission at Pitzer College. “The guidelines are good and provide relevancy for decisions and cues for students that further ignite creativity and individuality, but we would not do this if we were not also assured a very high standard of student privacy and security. That’s why we could not leave this to a simple YouTube.”
Barnett cautioned that forwarding a YouTube link to an admissions official can be risky, especially if there are other videos on the site that the student doesn’t want them to see.
“We hear a lot from admissions officials about damaging videos they inadvertently stumble across while viewing footage the student actually wanted them to see from YouTube and other sites,” Barnett said.
Below is an excerpt written by Teresa Dixon Murray of the Cleveland Ohio Business News on the Credit CARD Act that goes into effect tomorrow. To read the article in full, click here.
“Companies won’t be allowed to promote credit cards on college campuses or to send pre-screened card approval letters to anyoneunder 21.
Even if young adults hear about credit cards through other sources, they won’t be able to open an account unless they can document theyhave income to repay the debt. Otherwise, they’ll need a cosigner.
Jerry Welch, chief executive officer of nFinanSe Inc. of Florida, whose company sells reloadable debit cards, expects an explosion in his business, in part from young adults who will have difficulty getting credit cards. The college population alone is 18 million, he said.”
TAMPA, Fla. – nFinanSe Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: NFSE), a leading reloadable prepaid card provider, in conjunction with its entertainment partner, Inspire, today launched its online music site, http://www.nfinansemusic.com/, which provides FREE downloads of new artists and is intended to appeal to young adults aged 18 to 25.
“Music is an integral part of each of our lives and we want to use it to connect the nFinanSe brand with the young fans of the emerging, cutting edge artists featured at nFinanSeMusic.com.” said Jerry Welch, Chairman and CEO of nFinanSe.
“We’re excited about creating a win-win for all parties involved,” said Jimmy Dunne, President of Inspire. “Artists and labels have an opportunity to leverage their digital songs in return for the opportunity to get in front of a meaningful, targeted new demographic and psychographic audience of nFinanSe potential and existing customers.”
According to Mr. Welch, “For years, large consumer goods marketers have sponsored concert tours and other large events in order to connect their brands with specific consumer demographic groups. We are doing exactly the same thing but in a new, innovative fashion by combining music with the power of technology and the use of social media. By triangulating the Internet with music downloads with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, we will connect the nFinanSe brand with thousands of young music lovers in a very powerful way that is familiar and comfortable to them.”
A snapshot of nFinanSe's new site.
Featured songs span a wide variety of musical artists from alternative rock to electro-pop, hip-hop, soul, folk, ambient and dance music. Visitors to the site will be able to download music FREE from an initial collection of eight artists and view music videos. Every six to eight weeks, a new group of artists and music will be available FREE to visitors.
A sampling of featured artists includes:
Fort Worth rockers, Green River Ordinance, recently wrapped a Fall/Winter tour with American Idol winner David Cook. Their EMI/Virgin Records debut, Out Of My Hands, included the smash single, “Come On,” which cracked the Top 20 on Billboard’s Hot Adult Rock chart. The single is being played in such heavyweight markets as Los Angeles & Chicago and the video can be seen on VH1, Teen Nick and MTVU channels. Their songs can be heard on MTV’s The Hills and Real World/RoadRules Challenge: The Duel.
Londoner Noush Skaugen has built up an incredible one million fans on the social networking site Twitter – including Coldplay and Leona Lewis. A mainstay on college radio, she offers a fusion of story-driven American and British rock music that comes from the gut.
Popular underground artist in Los Angeles and Orange County, V.I.T.A.L. Emcee bridges the distance between underground and mainstream hip-hop genres as well as the positive and negative aspects of human nature with lyrics about consciousness and socio-economic issues with an undercurrent of positivity and relatability.
A wife and husband indie folk-pop duo, The Woodlands, craft songs of lyrical poetry, lush melodies and lingering revelry. Two of their songs are featured in a feature film from Greenland called “Nuummioq” that recently premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, SPIN Magazine featured them as an emerging artist to watch.
“We view nFinanSeMusic as a revolutionary new approach to brand marketing. Simply put, it is event marketing meets technology and social media,” closed Mr. Welch.
Lyle Elias IPayments News Click here to read the full article.
In a January 31st Huffington Post article, Jerry Welch, CEO of nFinanSe, claims that “In the past several decades, the way we pay for things has made plastic, not cash, king.” Jerry makes a case in the piece for the new Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act and how in his own words, “This sweeping legislation cracks down on rate increases, eliminates certain tricky practices, improves transparency and protects arguably the most vulnerable among us – young consumers…anyone under the age of 21 will be much more protected from the dangers of credit cards. However, there are consequences they may not like.” He went on to predict that the restrictions imposed on under 21 year old consumers will make it more difficult for them to obtain credit cards and thus they will increasingly turn to prepaid debit cards as an alternative payment method. It is on this topic that I interviewed Jerry, to further explore with him how the new credit card legislation that goes into effect this month will impact the open-loop prepaid card industry.
Tesla Motors, which makes an all-electric Roadster, unveiled a prototype of the Model S, a four-door electric sedan, at the SpaceX factory in Hawthorne in March. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times
Clean-tech companies raked in just $564.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, a 45% plunge from the previous quarter, according to research released Monday.
But the number of deals jumped 21% to 62 total, according to analysis from Ernst & Young, using data from Dow Jones VentureSource. California dominated, with 32 deals over the course of the quarter, pulling in $333.72 million.
In all of 2009, investment in the clean-tech sector hit $2.6 billion with 193 deals, a 50% plunge in dollar amount and a 16% slide in the number of deals compared to 2008.
The San Francisco Bay Area led the charge, with $1.2 billion in investments pouring in throughout the year; $295.6 million coming in during the fourth quarter. Southern California came in next, raising $329.5 million in 2009, with $30.5 million invested in the last quarter. New England brought in $283.7 million for the entire year, $38 million of it during the fourth quarter.
Advanced Bionics® recently introduced several new accessories that will make using their behind-the-ear (BTE) sound processors more convenient, comfortable and connected for adult and pediatric recipients alike. Valencia, CA, February 5, 2010 – Advanced Bionics® recently introduced several new accessories that will make using their behind-the-ear (BTE) sound processors more convenient, comfortable and connected for adult and pediatric recipients alike.
Designed to keep AB recipients in style and on the go, these new accessories include:
– The Kinder Clip™, which allows Harmony® BTE sound processors to grow with pediatric recipients by enabling the processor to be worn completely off the ear and on the collar or shirt instead
– The Snuggie™, which securely fits over little ears to keep the active child’s or adult’s processor in place
– Skinit device covers, which allow recipients of all ages to dress up their processors with unique designs ranging from sports and fashion to art and “Create Your Own”
“We know that our recipients want more ways to wear and customize their sound processors,” said Jeffrey H. Greiner, CEO of Advanced Bionics. “These new accessories are great additions for both active kids and adults who want to make sure their processor stays in place while they’re playing sports, exercising or taking part in other lively activities. And with the recent launch of Skinit designs, we’re excited to now offer far more customization options than any other cochlear implant manufacturer.”
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