IMSBarter Appears On CBS Evening News

IMSBarter (OTCBB:INLM) was featured on the CBS Evening News “Weekend Journal” Saturday, December 13. Don Mardak, CEO of IMS, was interviewed as were several members of IMSBarter.

The program can be viewed at www.IMSBarter.com.

Daughter Of TradeAmericanCard Owner Receives Raves From Whoopi Goldberg

Allison Ames, daughter of Mike Ames (founder of TAC) and Sondra Ames, is the founder of Newport Beach-based Wonderland Bakery. Her gingerbread cookie was chosen the best from across the U.S. by Whoopi Goldberg on “The View,” a morning TV talk-show aired nationally. Within 30 minutes of the airing Wonderland Bakery had processed 700 orders.

For more information see http://www.WonderlandBakery.com.

Barter Party Organized By Women

The Boston Herald reported that women are shopping from their closets! HUH? Clothes-swap parties of a dozen women are meeting in homes to trade their “better stuff” for other niceties desired. Some women even purchase designer clothes at thrift stores (at huge discounts), then trade those clothes for something more desirable at the party.

10% Of Retailers Could Face Restructuring

Colin McGranahan, a retail analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., says potentially 10% of retailers could face significant restructuring, bankruptcy or liquidation in 2009. The International Council of Shopping Centers projects 148,000 storefronts will be shuttered this year by retailers of all types, including mom-and-pop stores, based on data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That would be the largest since 2001 when 150,000 locations closed.

Countries Barter To Solve Challenges

Worldwide food shortages mixed with a global credit crisis has some countries getting by bartering food for other essentials. Thailand, for example, one of the world’s largest producers of rice, is trading that foodstuff to Iran for oil. Iran was having difficulty getting the necessary letters of credit so they and Thailand agreed on prices and volumes, before bartering the exchange of the goods.

Saudi Arabia was finding difficulty getting paid on a cash debt from Pakistan, so to get paid the Saudi’s are following the strategy, “If you can’t get blood out of the turnip, take the turnips!” And the Saudi’s are doing just that, as payment is forthcoming in the form of various foodstuffs.

Blixseth Willing To Trade Caribbean Island For Gulfstream Jet Or Manhattan Digs

A barter deal with the U.S. government, wherein he received 100,000 acres in the Bozeman/Big Sky area, gave Tim Blixseth his start. He subsequently built an elite Montana ski and golf community with his now-former wife. (Bill Gates and his family were members.)

Blixseth later sold his share of Yellowstone to his ex-wife. Now he is looking to trade his private five-acre Turks & Caicos island, with a 30,000-square-foot-home, for $75 million of other valuable assets. He said he’s open to bartering his island for a Gulfstream G550 jet or a New York apartment.

Swiss Bank Pays Top Management With Junk Bonds Rather Than Cash

Top management at Credit Suisse Group will be receiving a substantial percentage of their 2008 compensation in forms other than the traditional cash-and-stock payment. This year they will be receiving junk bonds, mortgage-backed securities and corporate loans in a “Partner Asset Facility”...and they won’t receive a return on the PAF program for eight years. The move was necessary because the Swiss bank posted a $4.6 billion loss this year.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...12/16/2008

TIME magazine Looks At Alternative Currencies

TIME has published an extensive article on alternative currencies. Read about the growth of these currencies and their growing popularity...  Click here

Research Group Says Consumer Bartering Doubled In One Year

According to the American Research Group, a think-tank that talks to thousands of consumers every week to assay their spending habits and how they feel about the state of the economy, barter’s use is booming! The research group says 67% of consumers have bartered this year, compared to 33% in the fall of 2997.

Craigslist Barter Queries Growing

Craigslist reported that more than 150,000 barter queries pervade Northern California listings on the popular classifieds web site at http://www.craigslist.org.

Match-Value One-On-One Trading

Cynthia Eakin, an associate professor at Stockton’s University of the Pacific, says its legal to have matched-value trades without documenting anything. However the IRS requires barterers to list any profit made as taxable income. Eakin frequently gives lectures about bartering to her students.

Column On “The Daily Paul Blog” Looks At ITEX

A blog that is produced by Ron Paul devotees authored an article about ITEX CEO Steve White’s comments during his appearance on the Fox Business show. The blog writer was “given hope” because, as he stated, the use of barter and trade currencies will be desired by people, especially in these trying times, and will be very hard to control by the government.

SBA’s Loan Programs Changing

The U.S. Small Business Administration loan programs are being dramatically changed. Previously they were demographic-based, but now are geographic-based programs. Applicants are now being required to provide more information as well as mandatory attendance at technical and financial-assistance classes.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...12/09/2008

ITEX Holiday Barter Fair Pulls Sellers From Across USA

A business from Toronto was selling golf clubs, while a Florida-based jewelry retailer traveled to Ontario (CA) to make holiday sales.

Vendors took possession of the 200 available booths to move their wares. This Southern California Holiday Fair is the largest ITEX one held in the United States.

Steve White, ITEX’s CEO, flew down from Seattle to view the flurry of sales occurring at the Ontario Convention Center this past Sunday. Peter and Neita Brooks, owners of the San Dimas-based ITEX Inland Valley stage this ever-growing, impressive event every December.

To view a short video of this holiday fair click here.

U.S. Small Businesses Still Upbeat

Michael Alter, President of Sure Payroll Services, sent me his latest findings showing that although the stock market hit the skids, how we view the economy is based on our personal circumstances. And the small business marketplace in November was surprisingly optimistic.

To read the report see: www.surepayroll.com/scorecard/2008/november

“Stocks Aren’t Cheap Yet” Contends Pimco’s Bill Gross

Pacific Investment Management Company’s Bill Gross, the manager of one of the world’s largest bond funds, said stocks aren’t cheap when viewed in relation to the direction the market is heading...with more regulation, lower leverage and higher taxes.

Gross said he believes in stocks for the long run, but only when bought at the right price. He said 14000 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stretch, since about 20% of bank capital is now owned by the U.S. government.

Sports Illustrated “Sportsman Of The Year” Believes In Barter

History’s greatest Olympian, U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, is endorsing a new protein drink called PureSport. It’s hardly as well known as competitor Gatorade, but with Phelps’ name behind it (along with fellow Olympic swimmers Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Ian Crocker) the University of Texas spin-off is off to a dizzying start.

Last month PureSport hit the shelves at Chicago’s Sports Authority, one of a 400-store sporting-goods chain. Phelps and the other Olympians agreed to endorse the protein mix before Phelps earned his eight gold metals. The foursome took a 5% equity stake in the company in exchange for their endorsement.

Yahoo Barters With CBS To Lower Costs

Yahoo is plugging its Internet radio service into CBS Corporation’s webcasting network in a move driven by dramatically higher royalty for airing music online.

Yahoo’s radio channel, called Launchcast, will combine with CBS beginning in February. Under the arrangement Yahoo will depend on CBS Radio to power Launchcast as well as sell all the ads on the service.

Barter comes into play as, in return for the helping hand, Yahoo’s high-traffic news and sports sections will feature some of CBS’ top-rated radio stations, including WFAN in New York and KNX-AM in Los Angeles.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...12/02/2008

Ad Week Publishes Excellent Article On Bartering Media

Articles about barter are being written about barter in all the media. Here’s an excellent one that Ad Week published on media trading... click here

Construction Loans Under Pressure

Soured construction loans continue to pile up on banks’ balance sheets in the recent quarter, as residential-development loans failed in even larger numbers. Data cruncher Foresight Analytics LLC, of Oakland (CA), estimates that construction loan delinquencies among all property types reached 9% in the quarter.

Electronic-Goods Manufacturers Take Action

The U.S. electronics industry last year spent about $13.8 billion to re-box, restock and re-sell returned products, according to a study by technology consultant Accenture Ltd. Defects aren’t even in the top three reasons for returns, surprisingly. (The primary reason consumers return products is because they didn’t meet expectations.)

The industry is now focusing on including more information on its packaging to help consumers avoid buying the wrong product.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...11/11/2008

Lasater Re-elected

Gary Lasater, CEO of eValues (www.eValues.net) and a barter industry pioneer, won a citizens mandate for re-election to the Parker Town Council in Colorado. Parker is in the southeast Denver metro area, with a population of 50,000. The two other incumbents running were not elected.

$300 Million Real Estate Available On Part-Barter Basis

Mountain resort home sites as well as cabin and pedestal homes are available on a part-cash part-trade basis. The properties are located within fine communities in the mountains of northern Georgia.

For further details go to http://barterforrealestate.com.

Wonderland Bakery Promoted Voting With A Twist

Wonderland Bakery (www.wonderlandbakery.com), a specialty bakery and gift concierge in Irvine (CA), helped get the votes with “good taste” in the recent national election. Customers could purchase cookies depicting their favorite presidential candidate and political party.

Allyson Ames, founder of Wonderland Bakery, noted, “We have made thousands of politically decorated cookies since we received the 2008 California Business of the Year award in May from Senator Harman and Governor Schwarzenegger in Sacramento.

PepsiCo Considers Multiple Opportunities

PepsiCo’s CEO Indra Nooyl, an Indian-American, said her company considers as many as 30 acquisitions globally at any one time. She says it’s important as a company today to see yourself as a global citizen, making sure to understand the world around you.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...11/04/2008

Bartercard Thailand Looks For Bullish Growth

Continued above-average growth of 20%, to 1.2 billion baht, next year is expected by Bartercard Thailand. The company has 3,000 members and anticipates a 15% membership increase as well. Their present membership is about 1% of the 3.5 million small and mid-size enterprises in Thailand.

Hedge Funds Shrinking

According to Eurekahedge, a hedge-fund research company and consultants, hedge-funds experienced $44.5 billion of investment losses in September and $34.5 billion of investor withdrawals. Whereas, $10.5 billion of new money was received.

For the third quarter as a whole, hedge-fund assets shrunk by a record $210 billion, or more than 10%, an amount that exceeds the $194 billion that flowed into the industry in all of 2007. Aggregate hedge-fund assets now total $1.72 trillion.

Bank Of England Governor Anticipates Another Crisis

Bank of England’s Governor Mervyn King, anticipates another financial crisis between 2013 and 2018. According to King, human nature doesn’t change. Therefore future crises can’t be prevented, as memories dim and lessons learned will be forgotten.

Average Tech Entrepreneurs Are Aging

The Kaufman Foundation says the average tech entrepreneur isn’t a 20-year-old whiz kid, but 39 years of age. The average founder is now pushing middle age, with nearly five times as many founders over 45 as were younger than 25, when their companies got off the ground. These new entrepreneurs had plenty of time to learn on the job: On average 16.4 years passed since they finished school and started their companies.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...10/28/2008

Australia’s BBX Temporarily Waives $65,000 Franchise Fee

BBX CEO Michael Touma has announced the temporary waiving of its franchise fee due to the tightening credit market. (Terms and conditions apply.)

Trump’s Paperclip

Donald Trump’s paperclip, being traded by an economic professor in Missouri, has been traded numerous times as the professor strives to reach his goal of ultimately bartering the paperclip for a SUV.

To see the latest trade go to www.goldenpaperclip.com.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...10/21/2008

Your Services For Room & Board

Immersion Travel USA by Sheryl Kayne is a book about her travels and experiences. Included in the publication is specifics about where she traded her time and skills for various experiences, as well as room and board. Listings are included for the reader.

The Barter Company Expanding

The Barter Company (www.thebartercompany.com) announced the hiring of Randy Wolfe and Basil Bethea III. Both will be developing areas outside of greater Atlanta for the trade exchange. Wolfe will be focusing on Columbia (SC) as well as Charlotte and Greenville. Bethea will be working the Gulf Coast; where, as a lifetime resident of the area, he has worked in his family’s commercial real estate business.

ITEX New England Holiday Trade Fair

ITEX New England’s Trade Fair will be held Sunday, November 9, from 9am to 4pm at the Norwalk Inn, 99 East Avenue, Norwalk (CT).

For more information call 888-294-6393.

BizXchange Expands Barter Finance Services

The Seattle-based barter company is expanding its business-member finance services to those companies where bank financing isn’t available. BizXchange (http://www.bizx.com) will pre-qualify each member applicant for loans and lines of credit.

Criteria for a loan will focus on companies’ size, the quality of the product or service they have to offer, and their appeal to other BizXchange members.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...10/14/2008

Entrepreneurs Look To Three Areas For Financing

Small businesses are turning to angel investors, suppliers, and personal credit cards as the financial crisis spreads to Main Street and access to commercial loans becomes more restricted. Today’s environment is such that smart entrepreneurs will move toward more barter to increase their sales and cash flow.

ITEX Arizona’s Holiday Barter Expo Date Announced

Terry Brandfass reports this year’s Holiday Barter Expo will be held at Brett’s Barn on Sunday, November 30, from 11am to 3pm. For more information call (480) 946-2929.

Office Space Now Available

Businesses are dumping office space at the fastest pace since the months after the September 11 attacks, increasing the financial stress on commercial real estate owners and their lenders. Many of them are already ailing financial institutions.

Because real estate moves slowly, the financial turmoil of the past few weeks hasn’t shown up in the numbers. Look for bank failures and consolidations to be reflected in office space availability later this year and in 2009.

Transaction Volume Increases For Barter Company

Catherine Cohen of Premier Barter in Arizona, reports that her company’s transaction volume is up 114% for the first half of 2008, compared with 2007.

Financial Woes Will Affect Ad-Spending

Automotive retail and financial services have already been affected by the financial sector’s ills. Further declines will be coming from credit-card and insurance company ad spending, which is $9 billion a year in or about 6% of the total ad spending.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...09/30/2008

Jet Blue Barters With Texas University

In exchange for advertising, Jet Blue will provide the University of Texas athletic department with tickets and vouchers for air travel. The University of Texas athletics will in turn provide video board animation advertisements for JetBlue at sporting events, which will include football as well as men’s and women’s basketball games.

Airlines have previously been sponsors for UT athletics...the Longhorn Sports Network had agreements with American Airlines and Southwest Airlines in the past.

Swap Your Clothes...Change Your Wardrobe

Looking to make a clothing change without spending a lot of cash? Check out these web sites http://www.bigwardrobe.com and http://www.whatsmineisyours.com.

Fifty Percent, Or More, Of Homeowners Income Going For Housing!

Fifteen percent of American homeowners with a mortgage (7.5 million households) are spending 50% of their income or more on housing costs, according to 2007 data released this month by the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s up from 7.1 million from the year before.

Scheduled Holiday Fairs

·       San Diego ITEX Trade Show will be held Sunday, November 2, from 10 AM to 4 PM at Party Pals. Contact Charissa.novak@itex.net.

·       On Sunday, November 23, Trade American Card will hold their 30th Annual Holiday Barter Expo. The affair will be from 10 AM to 5 PM at the Grove of Anaheim. Call (714) 532-1610 for more info.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...09/23/2008

What’s New!

The National Small Business Association conducted a poll recently among 500 businesses and found that forty-four percent had used credit cards to meet capital needs in the previous six months. And fifty-seven percent said their credit card terms had worsened over the last year.

Banks are gouging their small business customers because they need the interest for earnings, and they know that firms of modest size have nowhere else to go. Look for rising credit costs and interest rates on your cards, as well as credit tightening. Do we need any more reasons to put on our barter hats?

Holiday Fair Announced

The first Holiday Barter Fair has been announced, coming from Southern California’s BXI Inland Valley. It’s scheduled for December 7, 9 AM to 4 PM at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario (CA).

For more information call the BXI Inland Valley office at (909) 592-7727.

Bartering Boards Established In Supermarkets

The Asda supermarket in the community of Colne, Britain, has established an innovative “bartering board” on its premises to help customers share their skills and cut costs by utilizing barter. Following shortly will be other Asda stores with boards in Tonypandy (Wales), Elgin (Scotland), and Einiskillen (No. Ireland).

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...09/16/2008

Oops!

BarterNews has been informed that the GrandLuxe Rail Journey, as reported in last week’s Tuesday Report, is no longer in operation as of August 29, 2008.

Small Business Owners Aren’t Political

Own your own business? Then you’re working too hard to be concerned about the coming election. That’s what the new Discover Card Small Business Watch survey reports. Furthermore, you don’t believe it matters much who gains the White House as the small business community, lacking lobbyists, lacks any power in Congress.

Looking For Flowers On Barter?

A new site, www.barterflowers.com, will provide flowers—up to $50—on trade. But over that amount it’s cash, plus all delivery charges are cash. They will accept several barter currencies.

Your House Or Your Business?

According to a study by Experian, the credit-rating service, business owners in financial trouble will sacrifice their homes to save their companies. The study of 2.7 million small U.S. businesses showed that the most severely delinquent business owners continued to pay their company’s bills, even as they skipped their mortgage payments.

Slipstream Radio Available For Barter

A division of the Triton Media Group will launch Slipstream Radio. Based in Chicago, the new company will help terrestrial radio stations create customizable Internet radio stations online.

Triton will offer Slipstream to broadcasters and other content providers for a flat monthly cash fee or for barter.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...09/02/2008

Barron Sells Barter Connections

Ken Barron, who ran Barter Connections for the past 24 years, has sold his 1,000 member Newton Center (outside Boston) trade exchange to 59-year-old businessman Steve Romsey. The price was for a reported “just under a million dollars.”

For more information see http://www.barterconnectionsinc.com.

Alan Zimmelman Coordinating ITEX Regional Conferences

ITEX Executive VP Alan Zimmelman is on the road, working behind the scenes for the largest barter company in the nation. He will be in three different areas coordinating ITEX regional conferences, sharing his three decades of experience.

Bonanzle Is An eBay Alternative

If you are looking for an eBay alternative or wanting additional distribution for your wares, you will want to check out http://www.bonanzle.com.

Trading Collectibles A “Like-Kind Exchange”

We have often heard of like-kind exchanges for real estate investors, allowing one to defer capital-gains tax. Such exchanges can also be used with stamps, coins, gems, and other collectibles. The key is being an “investor” rather than a collector in order to benefit tax-wise.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...08/19/2008

Record Month For IRTA’s Universal-Currency Use

Trade exchange owners used the International Reciprocal Trade Association’s “Universal Currency” in the month of July to close $403,419.53 in sales. besting the previous best month’s record of $367,782.51 back in July 1999.

For more information on the Universal Currency system see: http://www.ucci.biz.

Steven White Gives Presentation At Technology Conference

Steven White has the honor of presenting at the 4th Annual Summer Technology Conference hosted by Security Research Associates, on Monday, August 18, 2008. The conference is being held at the Omni Hotel in San Francisco.

During the presentation, White will provide insight about the ITEX web-based trading platform, business strategy and initiatives. The presentation will also be broadcast live over the internet, and a replay will be archived in the Investor Relations section of the ITEX web site http://www.itex.com.

Over 80% Of Workers Saving Too Little For Retirement

According to the Hewitt Associates study, four of five workers save too little to maintain their lifestyle after retirement. The study looked at the projected retirement levels of nearly 2 million current workers of varying ages at 72 large U.S. companies and used actual employee balances.

People need to save from 10% to 12% of their income throughout their career to keep up the same lifestyle after retirement, the study reported. (Most people contribute an average of 8% of their income into savings plans.)

One-Third Of Homeowners Are “Under Water”

According to www.Zillow.com, about one-third of U.S. homeowners who bought homes in the last five years now owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth. (For those who bought at the 2006 apex of the housing market, 45% are now under water.)

Zillow is a Seattle-based service that offers values on more than 80 million homes.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...08/05/2008

Bob Bagga Getting Married

Bob Bagga, barter industry veteran and co-founder of www.BizXchange.com, will be marrying Anita Ninan on Saturday, August 9, at the Hotel Del Coronado. (The famed hotel was the site for “Some Like It Hot” starring Marilyn Monroe.)

Australia’s BBX Offers Insurance On Cash-Blend Basis

Members of Australia’s BBX can now buy various forms of insurance (business, homeowners, etc.) with cash and trade dollars. Up to 30% of the premiums can be paid with trade dollars.

New Barter Site Announced

Jeff Henderson announces a new site designed for bartering. It’s a classified ads site (like Craigslist) that allows people to post barter items and services for free: www.barterzap.com.

This IPO’s Unbelievable Story...

Since its initial public offering (IPO) in 1970, Wal-Mart stock has increased over 5,300 times...turning a $10,000 investment into $57,000,000!

Had you invested $10,000 in Southwest Airlines in 1980, you’d be sitting on $916,000. While $10,000 in Dell, as recently as 1990, would be valued at $4.4 million.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...07/22/2008

Bartercard’s Tony Falkenstein Inducted Into New Zealand Business Hall of Fame

The hall of fame recognizes business leaders who have made significant contribution to New Zealand business over the past 200 years. Congratulations to Tony Falkenstein, owner of Bartercard New Zealand, who was inducted into the Fairfax Media New Zealand Business Hall of Fame by the Governor General.

For more information visit www.Bartercard.com.

American Travelers Liked By Many

According to www.gadling.com, the world’s most obnoxious tourists—after a survey of employees in 4,000 hotels in Germany, the UK., Italy, France, Canada and USA—were French travelers, followed by India and China.

The stereotypically obnoxious American tourist, out of 21 countries, got an impressive 11th place. Americans got the top spot for trying to speak the local languages the most.

Medical Missionary Uses Trade Dollars

Andrew Jerrigan, a trader for 15 years, is now a medical missionary in Africa. He accepts trade dollar donations through Marc Albano’s www.transmediatrade.com.

For more on Andrew Jerrigan’s work go to www.jerriganblog.com.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...07/08/2008

World’s Largest Mall Is EMPTY!!

A seven-million square-foot mall in China is an unbelievable financial flop. The South China Mall, located in the Pearl River Delta (China’s wealthiest region) opened in 2005 with space for 1,500 stores. Currently 12 are occupied—with a vacancy rate of 99.2%.

80-Year-Old Billionaire Says Today’s Economic Period Worst Of His Lifetime

Eli Broad, retired home builder in California, says this is worse than any recession we've had since World War II and he does not think the housing market will recover for years. He also sees a sharp rise in unemployment.

Broad contends that as home sales keep dropping, most of the equity people in the U.S. have built over the last twenty years melts away. As jobs disappear, defaults rise and the matter becomes worse.

Women Helping Women

Amy Swift, is Editor-In-Chief of Ladies Who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com), a national women’s organization which helps countless women across the country embark on their own careers and companies through incubator programs. Their national LIVE events and online resources have helped other women launch their own successful business.

Super-yachts Still Very Popular

The Luxury Institute and Camper & Nicholsons International—a yacht broker and charter company—found that new orders for yachts of longer than 130 feet are up 18% in 2008. There were 254 new orders for such yachts last year.

The report shows the astounding growth over the past decade for jumbo yachts. In 1997, there were just 241 yachts of 80-feet or more under construction around the world...last year 916 such boats were being built.

Interestingly, the biggest constraint to the industry’s growth isn’t the economy...it’s the staffing. The report says about 25,000 crew members are necessary for today’s super-yachts, but only about 15,000 currently work aboard yachts. Shortages of captains and engineers are especially acute.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...06/24/2008

Ozone Barter Becomes BarterVista

Ozone Barter has changed its name to Barter Vista. The company is focused in Singapore and the Asian region.

For more information see www.bartervista.com.

High School & College Graduates Want To Be Entrepreneurs

Half of all new college graduates now believe that self-employment is more secure than a full-time job. And with 80% of the U.S. colleges and universities now offering courses on entrepreneurship, 60% of Generation Y business owners consider themselves to be serial entrepreneurs, according to Inc. magazine.

Eighteen to twenty-four-year-olds are starting companies at a faster rate than 35 to 44-year-olds. And 70% of today’s high-schoolers intend to start their own companies, according to a Gallup poll.

IndyStar Publishes Barter Article

Stretching cash in an economic downturn is a popular idea. Examples here show how members of trade exchanges are avoiding dipping into cash reserves and taking out loans. (Click here.)

World Population Will Hit 7 Billion In Four Years

As the global community struggles with finding enough natural resources for today’s population of 6.7 billion people (we hit the 6 billion number in 1999), in a few short years we will hit 7 billion.

The first billion was reached in 1800, and it took 130 years to reach 2 billion. The U.S., presently with 304 million, is the third largest nation after China and India according to the Census Bureau.

Private Jet Fleets Expanding

Fast-growing private aviation company XOJet, started back in 2006 and backed by buyout firm TPG, is expanding with new secured financing of $2.5 billion. XO schedules about 1,000 flights per month.

NetJets, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, is the largest player in the private-aviation industry. With some 750 aircraft, they log over 1,000 flights per day.

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Sino Fibre Signs Joint Venture With European Exchange

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Sino Fibre and German Barter Exchange. Both parties agree that German Barter Exchange (GBE) will become an affiliate of Sino Fibre.

GBE will act as a barter trade-making arm in Germany for the joint venture company, to promote Sino-European barter and to serve as a gateway to processing the transactions to and from China, Germany, and eastern European countries.

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Barters With Comcast SportsNet

Comcast SportsNet New England wanted the best, most-prominent “Laker” to serve as an on-air analyst before the first two games of the National Basketball Association finals. CSN used barter to secure the deal—trading two 30-second spots to Kareem Abdual-Jabbar, which he used to advertise his latest video product. 

Curry Ingredients Bartered For Plastic

In India an enterprising company is bartering with women’s groups, providing ginger and garlic to housewives in exchange for scrap plastics, which are non bio-degradable toxic killers.

Ladies Trade Cosmetics Via Internet Site

Ladies here is your chance to swap cosmetics that you own, but don't use, for ones other members have and you want. We’re talking about name brand cosmetics...the expensive stuff. Members are only responsible for covering the shipping costs for the cosmetics that they are swapping.

MakeUpAlley.com (www.makeupalley.com) allows members to read product reviews or write a review on the products they have used. Interested parties can participate in forums and meet other members, so as to know the people that one might want to trade with later. Membership is free and required.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...06/10/2008

President’s Club Winners At 2008 ITEX Convention Revealed

ITEX’s (www.itex.com) convention recently held in Las Vegas reported its new President’s Club winners. Here are the six brokers who had beaming smiles along with a brand new DELL laptop computer and earned plaques:

Ronnie Graham (Highest Cash Collections)
Duncan Banner (Highest New Member Enrollment)
Peter and Neita Brooks (Highest Net Growth)
John Castoro (Highest Cash CTV)
Shawn Christian (Rookie of Year)
and Jim and Carolyn Young (Brokers of Year)

In addition, Chris Christenson and Philis Santello proudly accepted their 2008 Brokers Choice Award at the convention.

Barter Articles Popping Up

Newspaper article about using barter in tough times appeared in Florida’s Sun-Sentinel on Tuesday, June 3.  Click here

Entrepreneur.com had an interesting article on how to slash startup costs by using barter.  Click here

Microsoft’s Ballmer Foresees No Print Media In 10 Years

In an interview with The Washington Post, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer riffs on the future of media, claiming that in ten years, all media will be delivered over the Internet.

“In the next 10 years, the whole world of media, communications, and advertising are going to be turned upside down — in my opinion,” Ballmer stated. “There will be no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network. There will be no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paper form. Everything gets delivered in an electronic form.”

California Housing Prices Have Biggest U.S. Drop

California is the nation’s worst housing market, with housing prices falling 24.37% annual rate as of late April. (California has held this distinction since May 2007.)

Following California in April price drops are Florida at 17.11%, Nevada 16.61%, Arizona 15.78%, and Ohio 13.41%.

The best growth rate was Utah, up 4.13%, and Montana, up 4.12%.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...06/03/2008

Barter Deal Offers Food Security For Malaysia

Malaysia plans to build a stockpile of 500,000 tons of rice for food security, and is looking to import the staple from India. In exchange they will supply palm oil in a barter transaction.

Peter Chin Fah Kui, Malaysia’s minister of plantation, industries and commodities, told a conference in Mumbai he was likely to meet Indian Farm Minister Sharad Pawar to discuss the possible barter deal, as his country is in short supply of rice, their staple diet, and prices are rising.

Tradia Expands Network In Utah

CEO Matthew Humphreys reports that Tradia will have six full-time franchise operations in the state of Utah. This will be the first time a single group or company outside of Tradia Commerce Network has owned more than 2 of its franchises.

“We’re particularly excited about this expansion because our Utah franchisee is a dedicated and professional organization that brings excellence to our company and the barter/trade industry,” affirmed Humphreys.

For more information on Tradia see http://www.tradia.net.

Barter Those Toys You No Longer Use

Toy Swap (http://www.toyswap.com)is the perfect web site for anyone who has old or new toys that are no longer wanted or played with, and that can be swapped for old or new toys that other Toy Swap members have available for swap with you. Membership is free and required.

Barter Your Skills For One You Need

Do you have a skill that you want to swap in exchange for a skill that someone else would like to barter? SwapaSkill (http://www.swapaskill.com) is a web site for individuals who possess a ability such as artistic, musical, engineer, plumber, electrician...or just about any type of talent that you can think of. Basic membership is free, but there are some costs associated with membership upgrades if you so choose.

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From the desk of Bob Meyer...05/27/2008

Globalization Isn’t The Driver For Today’s Accelerating Change

Many people (and companies) around the globe are struggling to adapt to change, which is accelerating. A McKinsey study suggests that today's leading companies—top performers in every industry—drop out of leadership at a rate that is four times greater than in the 1970s.

Years ago you could bust your tail to achieve success, then put your company or career on autopilot and face little risk of upset. That’s not true today. The paradox is that economic