Tag Archives: economic

“The Economics of Happiness” Byron Bay hosts major international conference

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Ancient Futures: Learning From Ladakh is one of my favourite books, and I loved the documentary, “The Economics of Happiness“, so I really wanted to bring the Economics of Happiness conference to your attention.

Prominent economists, bestselling authors and indigenous activists from more than a dozen countriesare coming together for a conference entitled ‘The Economics of Happiness’, to be held in Byron Bay, NSW, from March 15 to 17, 2013.

The conference will highlight the social and environmental impact of economic globalization, and explore the potential for more localized economies worldwide.

The focus will be: “We know what we are against; it’s now time to decide what we’re for.”

Speakers include:

  • Mark Anielski, the author of The Economics of Happiness: Building Genuine Wealth and an advisor
    to numerous governments and corporations.
  • Keibo Oiwa, the co-author (with David Suzuki) of The Japan We Never Knew: A Journey of
    Discovery and professor of International Studies
  • Manish Jain, a Harvard-educated grassroots activist, focusing on radical alternatives to
    conventional development and education.
  • Winona LaDuke, co-founder of the Indigenous Women’s Network and Ralph Nader’s two-time
    presidential running-mate.
  • Charles Eisenstein, the author of Sacred Economics and a world-renowned speaker on the ‘gift
    economy’.
  • Michael Shuman, the author of Local Dollars, Local Sense and director of research and economic
    development at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.

“Economic localisation is the key to sustaining biological and cultural diversity – to sustaining life itself.
The sooner we shift towards the local, the sooner we will begin healing our planet, our communities, and
ourselves.” – Helena Norberg-Hodge

 

There will also be live Skype presentations from two of the world’s foremost environmentalists,
Vandana Shiva and Bill McKibben.

The conference is the second in a series of three events organised by the International Society for
Ecology and Culture (ISEC). The first took place in the USA in 2012; the final conference will be in Japan
in 2014.

ISEC’s Director, Helena Norberg-Hodge, is a pioneer of the localisation movement and recipient of the
2012 Goi Peace Prize. She is the author of the bestselling Ancient Futures and producer of the award-
winning documentary, The Economics of Happiness.

March 20 of each year is designated by the United Nations as the International Day of Happiness.

For more details, including a full list of speakers www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org

Black Friday needs to have an effect in the UK

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The US Retail sector enthusiastically braces itself for a horde of bargain hunters

Today, Black Friday, so-called as it is the day when a vast swathe of the retail sector head out of the red and into the black, may make an economic turning point in the run up to Christmas. With half of the entire US population, some 152 million people, expected to hit the shops over the course of this weekend, up 10% on last year- the spike in trade could mean good news across the economy.

Black Friday usually sees shopping chains throw open their doors in the early hours. But this year that rush has crept into Thanksgiving Day itself. The effect isn’t limited to the US however, as Britain’s biggest and most well-known retailers have started “mega sales” early this year in an attempt to boost Christmas shopping amongst cash strapped shoppers. Amazon, in the run up to Black Friday is offering bargains for its ‘Black Friday Deals Week’ and Comet are offering a 5day Frenzy super sale. In effect this has turned black Friday into one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.

In the run up to Christmas consumers are expected to spend a whopping £7.75 billion on online shopping according to e-tailing trade association IMRG. An estimated £13 billion will be spent across all sectors online, however figures on the high street are expected to fall by 2.1 per cent in spite of so many sales starting early. It is clear that this year’s success stories will be told with a distinctly online lilt.

Kevin Flood, CEO of the leading social shopping website Shopow said, “Retailers that were desperately in need of a reversal of their fortunes have found that they now have an encouraging platform on which to build in the run up to Christmas. High street stores have had to pull out all the stops to make their shops attractive by reducing prices early and creating imaginative promotions to increase footfall and more activity at the tills. It is still far from plain sailing and there is still a lot of pressure on retailers and as long as business and consumer confidence remains low, the battle will continue to persuade shoppers to return in their droves.

“Online activity has emerged as a vital area that will only continue to grow in importance over Christmas. We are expecting a significant amount of Christmas activity online and those who have introduced innovative shopping tools that make shopping easier and more cost effective will take capitalise.”

For the past six years, a combination of increasingly early opening times and an array of discounts have helped make the day after Thanksgiving the biggest shopping day – and cement the term “black Friday.” It will be nonetheless difficult for chains that have struggled with sales declines lately, including the likes of Topshop, to see a benefit from thoroughly deep discounting. Many have opted instead to move into the social shopping environment in order to drive sales through peer to peer reviewing and sustainable discounting.

Social shopping has emerged as an exciting trend in online retailing as many of these high street stores look to engage consumers. It involves the use of social networking to share recommendations, share discounts, post reviews and ask for advice on products before purchase.

Mike Harty COO of Shopow (www.shopow.co.uk) said “Regular web shoppers are now empowered to talk about their purchases in an honest way. Social shopping enables shoppers to use their trusted networks to make informed decisions but also makes online shopping more interactive, enjoyable and indeed sustainable.”

Why the Economy Could Take Another Downturn—and What the Average Investor Can Do To Protect Themselves

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Why the Economy Could Take Another Downturn—and What the Average Investor Can Do To Protect Themselves

The following article was written by Daniel A. White, CLU, ChFC , President, Daniel A. White & Associates:

To the casual observer, the economic headlines look promising. To be fair, there are a few positive indicators. Unemployment figures are gradually improving, retail sales are on the upswing, corporate profits are up and consumer confidence is surging. Unfortunately, the reality is much more complicated. To many financial advisors and investment professionals–myself included at Dan White and Associates–there are reasons to be cautious. A closer look at historical comparisons and advanced metrics behind the rosy headlines reveal cause for concern.

Trouble looming?

One of the biggest underlying reasons I suspect we might be headed for another 2008-type bubble in the not-too-distant future—is my skepticism regarding the pace of the current recovery and the factors driving it. Standard and Poor’s (S&P) earnings are on pace to hit $91/share by August; up nearly 13 fold from the March of 2009 lows of $7/share and surpassing the all-time high of $90/share in the 3rd quarter of 2007. There is nothing wrong with profits, but why are we seeing those profits?

The short answer is pretty simple: the government is printing more money as part of a strategy called Quantitative Easing (QE2); monetizing the national debt by purchasing securities and turning government bonds into circulating money.

So what happens when the government turns off the spigot? We can get a pretty good idea by looking at other government incentive programs. Whether it was a home-buying tax credit or a “Cash for Clunkers” promotion, the markets dropped off sharply when programs ended. It’s also worth noting that after the last round of Quantitative Easing–in the months after April 2010–the market plunged.

PE ratios and commodity oddities

Since QE2 began last August, the price of Silver is up 70%, crude oil and coal are up close to 40%, and a number of other commodities are up sharply. And when you see the U.S. Dollar down 10.6% at the same time, that’s a recipe for trouble.

Perhaps most concerning, is the historical pattern of the price to earnings (P/E) ratio and what it means to investors. When you get in the market at a low P/E ratio, things tend to work out well, and when you get in when the P/E ratio is high, that doesn’t bode well. The current S&P 500 P/E 10–is at about 24. It has only been at 24 a handful of other times in history.

What can you do?.

* Be conservative. Investing in healthy companies with large cash reserves is fairly safe, but commodities and other risky assets are a bad idea.
* Plan ahead, be cautious and don’t get overextended. The first sign of trouble is likely to be short-term interest rates starting to tick up. If you see that happening, reduce your exposure.
* If you are retired or almost retired, all of this is particularly relevant. Be extremely vigilant and pay close attention to the subtleties of the marketplace.

Founded in 1987, Glen Mills, Pa.-based Daniel A. White & Associates is a financial planning firm specializing in asset protection and transitional and retirement planning. Through a team of knowledgeable experts, Daniel A. White & Associates provides comprehensive financial planning for retirees and pre-retirees in estate planning, asset protection, wealth management and wealth transfer strategies.

www.danwhiteandassociates.com