December 13,
2005
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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Barter?s Use Grows Among Corporate America With ?Product
Philanthropy?
According to a survey by the Conference Board, a New
York business research think tank, for the first time ever, more
than half of all charitable contributions by U.S.
companies?54.2%?were in the form of merchandise not cash. That?s up
from 35% in 2002, at which time total corporate charitable
deductions reached $10.3 billion.
The recipients, nonprofit organizations, charities
and churches, especially those offering assistance to the poor, say
they welcome the trend and that their clients are grateful for
receiving free products.
Trading Products In Exchange For
Tax Advantages
The growing trend stems in part from the 1976 tax
provision by Congress that allows major companies to take up to
twice the tax deduction normally received if they donate goods to
charity, instead of discarding them. (Generally, companies that
discard unsold items can only expense their cost.)
In short, companies can deduct up to double their
manufacturing cost (their cost basis) when the products go to a
nonprofit organization, ?solely for the care of the ill, the needy,
or minor children.? By law, the products received by the nonprofits
can?t be resold or bartered.
Providing products in exchange for added tax
deductions is only half the benefit. Another important consideration
comes into play...the chance to reduce excess inventories brought
about by obsolete or improved products and packaging, or returned by
customers and no longer salable at retail.
It should be noted that many companies make in-kind
donations of their goods and yet don?t spend the time necessary to
pursue the added deduction.
Of course, as more
excess inventories are moved in this manner, they won?t be available
to the corporate barter marketplace, heretofore one of the outlets
for Corporate America?s excess inventories. Factor in the growing
proliferation of outlet stores across the country and the burgeoning
use of the Internet as a liquidating mechanism, and one can envision
changes occurring in the corporate barter world.
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Free Trade Fatigue Evident
The world economy today is more seamlessly integrated
than ever before and most governments believe that trade boosts
growth...yet trade negotiators at this week?s meeting of the World
Trade Organization in Hong Kong are no longer assured of a
preliminary agreement. In fact talks are in such disarray, that a
victory may be claimed if they can just agree to meet again early
next year!
In the U.S. there?s a growing furor over outsourcing,
as jobs that had long been considered domestic preserves?in fields
such as computer programming, bill collection and radiology?suddenly
aren?t.
What?s the problem? Free trade has made world
business even more competitive and employees (also known as voters)
increasingly worry that they?ll lose their jobs to foreign
competition.
More and more around
the globe there is an awareness of the same calculation?imports
equals job losses. The game now is to push the other guy to make
concessions first. And nearly every country has an agenda.
Get
New Money-Making Ideas And Valuable Contacts!
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useful, informative ideas and contacts in every available back-issue
of BarterNews.
Hotel Industry Outlook Bullish
Robust business and leisure travel, combined with
42,000 hotel rooms knocked out by Hurricane Katrina and continual
condominium conversions of hotel rooms, all contribute to an
extraordinary outlook for the hotel industry.
Revenue per available room?an indicator of industry
health?is expected to be up 8.1% this year and continue growing
through 2007.
PKF Hospitality
Research in Atlanta reported that the average daily room rate at the
end of the year will be about $105.16, except on the West Coast
where it will be $114.92. The supply of new hotel rooms will be only
1.4% in 2006. Every
barter company in the world is listed on our web site,
click through to our Global List
of Barter Companies.
International Monetary Systems Upgraded To ?Strong Buy?
Investrend Research analyst Gary Vassalotti has
upgraded the IMS stock (OTCBB:INLM) to a ?Strong Buy/5.? The full
report, including important disclosures and disclaimers, is
available at
www.investrendresearch.com.
IMS is enrolled in Investrend?s pioneering
professional research program, which facilitates independent
analysts to provide coverage for shareholders in companies that
otherwise would have little or no analyst following.
International Monetary Systems? President Don Mardak
is pleased with the latest rating. ?We believe that Investrend?s
projections are well in line with our own. Furthermore, as a result
of our recent presentations at the EdgeWater and Arch Investment
Conferences, along with our continuous flow of good news, our
stock?s trading volume has been steadily increasing.?
DailyTrends.com
Also High On IMS
On December 7, Chris Lahiji, President of Small Cap
Research at
DailyTrends.com, selected INLM as his ?Stock Pick of the Week,?
placing a $0.55 twelve-month price target on the International
Monetary Systems? stock. He? a regular guest on Fox Business
Television and the founder of
Lahiji.com.
Lahiji?s investing talents were written about in a
Business Week Magazine feature article in 2003.
DailyTrends.com is an
Internet based financial web site that provides self-directed
investor information on selected public companies that in the
opinion of
DailyTrends.com have great investment potential.
For more information
visit:
www.DailyTrends.com.
Low-Priced Brokerage Aims To Shake Up Real Estate Industry In
California
Seventy-four-year-old Hal Ellis, a former originator
of Grubb & Ellis Realty, is now bucking the established way of
selling homes and openly mocking his rivals.
Ellis is the founder and CEO of CataList Homes, a
well funded company that?s engaged in a sometimes caustic campaign
to upend the traditional way homes are sold in California.
His strategy: charge home sellers half of what most
commission-based brokerages do?3% of the sales price, instead of
6%?without scrimping on service.
Ellis further bucks the established brokerage system
by paying his agents as full-time employees, instead of independent
contractors, and using the CataList web site as a consumer-friendly
portal for all local housing-price data. Such information until
recently had been for brokers? eyes only.
According to Ellis, CataList is no different from
Charles Schwab & Co. and Southwest Airlines?companies that have
attacked entrenched commission-based business models to become
low-cost leaders.
While lower-priced real estate brokerages are nothing
new (consider Help-U-Sell, Assist2Sell,
ForSaleByOwner.com, and ZipRealty), CataList?s model is designed
to bridge the gap between low fees and full service.
To survive in the
long run, Ellis has corralled a stable of top-flight private
investors. Real estate investment firm Marcus & Millichap has an 8%
share, strategic consultant Bain & Co. has taken an equity stake in
lieu of fees, and two other Silicon Valley venture funds have also
chipped in. Give
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& There...
-
David Johnstone, managing director of Bartercard
Australia for the past two years, is leaving that position. He
will move into a newly created role within the company which
will focus on corporate trading and international development.
Replacing Johnstone as managing director will be Trevor Dietz, a
12-year veteran of the company. Dietz joined Bartercard in 1993
as general manager, and most recently worked for Bartercard
International as a director.
-
The SEC has proposed a plan that would let
publicly-traded companies post their corporate election
materials on the Internet rather than sending them out in mass
mailings to shareholders. It?s a move that could save as much as
$1 billion a year.
Under a separate rule, now in effect, companies
will be able to release the final prospectus for new securities
offerings on the web. The new SEC Chairman, Christopher Cox, is
trying to make the modernization of the SEC?s communications a
priority of his tenure.
- Robert J. Coen,
high-profile forecasting director at Interpublic Group?s Universal McCann, has
once again revised his prediction downward for U.S. advertising growth in 2005.
The latest number is a rise of 4.6%, dropping from the previous 5.7% prediction
in June and 6.4% in January. The reason for the lower prediction, Coen says, is
a result of cautious attitudes toward ad spending by major advertisers.
-
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- Gift card usage
continues to grow, as shoppers are increasingly spurning traditional gifts such
as jewelry and clothes. Last year gift cards represented 13% of spending, or
about $30 billion in holiday sales. This year?s projection is that gift cards
will account for 15% of holiday spending, says the International Council of
Shopping Centers. (Fifty-nine percent of consumers said they purchased at least
one gift card last year.)
- There?s a
new software program on the market, created by a patent
attorney, costing less than 10% of the typical $5,000-plus
patent charge. PatentEase (www.inventorprise.com)
simplifies the process of filing for a patent, letting you
prepare and file your own patent application with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office?all without having to hire an
attorney.
- In our November 1 issue we
reported that General Electric is the world?s largest landlord with a portfolio
valued at $29 billion. The following week we noted that GE?s in-house law firm,
with 1,150 lawyers, ranks the company among the largest global law firms.
Now this: GE is the nation?s largest issuer of private-label credit cards, with
36.6% of the nation?s 500 million private-label cards, according to the Nilson
Report. Plus GE is working to make it even easier for consumers to obtain credit
by installing self-service kiosks at Ikea and Wal-Mart stores, where a consumer
can apply for?and receive?a temporary credit certificate that can immediately be
used at the store.
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