US Finance Review

Higher Prices will Benefit Partners at Starbucks

Starbucks customers will be paying about 30 cents more for their coffee soon. Patrons should be pleased to know than rather than filling the pockets of executives at Starbucks, the increased revenue will be used to give employees a pay raise of at least 5 percent beginning in October.

Starbucks is famous for making the development of its employees a high priority. Workers at the coffee house giant are fondly referred to as ‘partners,’ and they have a nice list of benefits offered to those partners, including comprehensive health care benefits, stock rewards, tuition reimbursements, and training. The company also offers development opportunities to its employees.

Finance Professionals Facing Pay Cuts After New Regulations Kick In

After long-delays it looks like regulators will finally have their way; legislation to restrict bonuses were proposed by financial services watchdogs are about to come into practice.

Payouts are being limited as one of the last parts of the Dodd-Frank reforms which were instituted to prevent financial disasters. The new rules will apply to a wider range of employees at large banks and not just the top tier execs, in addition to those working at other kinds of institutions.

The new rules will mostly affect those who are designated as “significant risk-takers.” They include those on the top 5 percent of earners at the largest banks or others who put at risk large amounts of an institutions capital.

Weaker Loonie Luring Tourists North

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf. 1 troy ounce. Reverse. Photo by Basketbread

Despite an exchange rate that only pays 70 Canadian cents on every US dollar, Canadians will still travel to the US twice as much as Americans heading north to Canada.

That declaration comes from a study conducted by the Toronto-Dominion Bank in which economist Derek Burleton analyzed travel between the two countries. The study was focused on how the weak Canadian dollar is effecting travel between the world’s longest undefended international border.

Last year, as most Canadians know quite well, the loonie lost 16 percent of its value last year compared to the US dollar. The Toronto-Dominion Bank believes this figure should remain stable for most of this year, 2016. Therefore, all of the study’s conclusions are based on this assumption.

Burleton found that the weaker Canadian dollar has indeed persuaded Americans to head north. Total visits by Americans to Canada went up by 1.6 percent during the first 11 months of 2015, compared to the same period the year before.

“American visits to Canada are finally picking up,” Burleton said. “With a similar momentum likely to carry over in 2016, American spending in Canada is poised to rise to $9.6 billion Canadian,” Burleton said, “the highest level in over a decade.”

Canadians also will spend much more in the USA than Americans will in Canada.

“Canadian visits south will continue to overshadow American visits north, and Canadians are expected to spend in the U.S. at least double the aggregate amount that Americans will spend in Canada,” Burleton noted.

Keane Buys Trican’s US Division in a $247 Million Deal

Despite the precipitous drop in oil prices, the Keane Group will purchase the US division of a Canadian oil field services company in a bid to grow the company.

James Stewart, CEO of Keane, said that the purchase will more than double the size of the small oil field company.

Last month the two companies, Keane and Trican Well Services, a pressure pumping business based in Calgary, announced that they were in advanced negotiations discussing purchase. The final agreement features Keane paying $200 million in cash for Trican, plus a 10 percent stake in the shares of Keane Group Holdings. The total value of the deal equals $247 million. The deal should be finalized by the middle of March.

“We’ve been a small, well-capitalized completion services company,” Stewart said. “And now is a good time to consolidate. We’re in a unique position … to potentially roll up more companies.”

The finalization of the deal will allow Keane improved access in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and some of Oklahoma and Kansas. It will also allow Keane a stronger presence in the Permian Basin in West Texas and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota.

“As the market rebounds, we’ll be well positioned,” Stewart said, emphasizing the importance of the “untapped potential” still remaining in the Permian.

The Rugged Rugby of Geoff Richards

Savannah's Katie Thomen tackling Lauren "Speedy" Buslinger Raleigh Venom vs. Savannah. Photo by By kelseye — Savannah’s Katie Thomen tackling Lauren “Speedy” Buslinger Raleigh Venom vs. Savannah. Photo by By kelseye

Rugby is a form of football (not soccer) most popularly played in countries throughout the British Commonwealth. First developed at the Rugby School in Warwickshire in the 1830s, it became widespread and popular in the mid-19th century. Today there are two main types of Rugby played; rugby league and rugby union. These two forms of the game are quite similar, but they diverge with different sets of rules.

Geoff Richards is a former rugby union player and also served as a coach. In 2006 Geoff Richards was England Women’s Rugby coach when he challenged New Zealand in the last game of the IRB Rugby World Cup. The match took place at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.

This match was incredibly a deja vu of a game that took place four years earlier, in 2002. That tournament finale ended with a score of 19-9, the Black Ferns taking the championship. Sadly, the Red Roses of England did not have even one victory over their arch rivals from New Zealand since their win in 2001 at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium.
Geoff Richards said this about the upcoming game:

“This is our best and strongest squad and certainly a very exciting team. We are solid up-front and we have a lot of pace in the backs.

“There’s a very positive mood in the camp, from the players all the way through to the management team, but this is going to be our toughest challenge yet.

“To beat the Black Ferns, primary source of possession is crucial and also how we defend. The battle up-front is where most games are won and lost so if we can really put pressure on them and get into their faces then let’s see how they handle things under pressure.”

Learn About Finance from Halloween Candy

Not only is Halloween a great day for kids and their dentists, it also presents a wonderful opportunity to teach the next generation about managing money.

Many people don’t realize that Halloween is often and expensive occasion for families. The National Retailer Federation says that consumers will most likely spend almost $7 billion on all the trappings of a “proper” Halloween. Into the budget go items such as decorations, costumes, and candy. Even pets sometimes get costumes- to the tune of $350 million. The NRF says that each shopper will spend an average of $74 on the holiday.

Don’t despair. Get your kids in on the planning, and you can teach them some great lessons about watching where their money is going.

1. Comparison shopping- using great apps like ShopSavvy or RedLaser, or by simply comparing prices on-line and in stores, children can learn that there is often a great deal of variance in what stores charge for their goods.

2. Never pay retail- watch for specials, reduced-price sales and other events that can slash prices way down.

3. Buying in bulk- stores like Sam’s Club or Costco discount items when purchased in larger quantities. This is a great way to buy all the candy you need.

4. Delayed gratification- one great lesson to impart to children is the importance of not acting impulsively, especially when it comes to spending money. If you see something you like, but don’t really need, wait a day or two, or even longer, and see if its appeal hasn’t faded. This is a great way to save lots of money.

You can decide ahead of time with your children how much money you think a reasonable amount to spend on Halloween, and curb spending to match your budget. This is a great lesson in the value of hard-earned dollars versus the frivolous nature of a holiday like Halloween.

International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Since 1983, when the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews was founded, nearly a billion dollars have been raised to help Jewish communities across the globe. The majority of the aid comes from Christians around the world, especially the United States.

With the generous support of Christians, IFCJ has become one of the largest organizations anywhere in the world that supports Israel and its neediest people. IFCJ is also the largest non-profit philanthropic organization in Israel.

The main goals of IFCJ are to promote understanding and reconciliation between the Jewish and Christian communities while at the same time binging humanitarian aid to Israel’s neediest communities and Jewish communities outside of Israel who are at risk.

The IFCJ has more than two million people backing up the work that they do, raising over $140 million each year in support of that work. There are offices in Chicago, Jerusalem, Toronto, and Seoul, South Korea, giving the IFCJ a truly global reach.

In order to promote better understanding between Christians and Jews throughout the world IFCJ broadcasts radio programs on 3,745 radio stations reaching over 24.6 million listeners every week. There is also television programming, and a strong presence on social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Stand for Israel is an advocacy group with a Facebook following of almost 1 million people, supporting Israel’s right to peace and security.

IFCJ is the most prominent organization around the world that promotes understanding and good relations between Jews and Christians. Every day, it seeks to create an atmosphere of cooperation, understanding, and support between two great communities of faith.

Big Business Sure to Benefit from Iran Nuclear Deal

The ministers of foreign affairs and other officials from the P5+1 countries, the European Union and Iran while announcing the framework of a Comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme. Hailong Wu of China, Laurent Fabius of France, Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Federica Mogherini of the European Union, Javad Zarif of Iran, an unidentified official of Russia, Philip Hammond of the United Kingdom and John Kerry of the United States in the "Forum Rolex" auditorium of the EPFL Learning Centre, Écublens-Lausanne, Switzerland on 2 April 2015. — The ministers of foreign affairs and other officials from the P5+1 countries, the European Union and Iran while announcing the framework of a Comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme. Hailong Wu of China, Laurent Fabius of France, Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Federica Mogherini of the European Union, Javad Zarif of Iran, an unidentified official of Russia, Philip Hammond of the United Kingdom and John Kerry of the United States in the “Forum Rolex” auditorium of the EPFL Learning Centre, Écublens-Lausanne, Switzerland on 2 April 2015.

The nuclear agreement carved out by Iran, the United States and five other world powers, if ratified, will lift an international embargo on Iran that will benefit not only the people of Iran economically, but some major corporations.

Iran has the fourth largest crude oil reserves in the world, and the second largest natural gas reserves. For the past several years this treasure has been largely unavailable due to the international embargo which was placed on Iran due to its illegal development of a nuclear weapons capability. A signed and sealed agreement will open these vast stores of resources to the world market, benefiting the corporations that do business in energy-related niches.

“Most likely European and Asian energy companies will see an increase in business—so companies like Total and Shell,” said Alireza Nader, senior international policy analyst at the Rand Corporation. “For American energy companies, it’s going to be tougher for them to go back in Iran.”

US companies are likely to avoid doing business in Iran for political reasons; companies don’t want to be associated with an extremist Islamic dictatorship, and will most likely stay away.

Tankers and oilfield services are also going to reap rewards from the opening of the Iranian economy. Chris Wetherbee, an analyst at Citi Research, said the embargo lift is a “net positive” for international tanker companies. Iran’s own aging fleet simply will not be able to compete, especially with additional energy supplies on the market. Investors agree: Scorpio Tankers and Navios Maritime Acquisition stocks both rose on Tuesday.

New Regulations Hope to Disable Mexico-US Money Laundering Schemes

New Regulations Will Help to Curtail Money Laundering. Photo courtesy Images Money

In response to what the Financial Times reports as over $10 billion in illicit funds that are laundered each year in the US, the US government has recently placed tough new controls on banks. The move is designed to slow down, if not stop, the entrance of narcotic profits from Mexican drug cartels into the US banking system. In their efforts to comply with the regulations several large US-based banks have recently begun to shut down their branches near the US-Mexican border.

The FT article, entitled “Mexico: Clearing Out,” describes members of the US banking industry claiming that legal, legitimate businesses and above-board financial transactions are being dragged into the fray, causing damage.

“The crackdown on money laundering has not necessarily curtailed the practice, but instead may simply have pushed it further underground. The up to $10bn in illicit cash that used to flow through the system is still going to the US, the senior Mexican banker says: “It’s just no longer on the radar.””

The final straw that forced US regulators to take strong action was revealed in an article in Breitbart Texas, discussing Mexican cartel money laundering within the US banking industry.

“World banking giant, HSBC, got caught with its hand in a money laundering scheme that helped drug cartels turn nearly a billion dollars in narco-cash into gold. HSBC only faced a fine for their complicity, but members of money-laundering organizations (MLO) are now facing up to twenty years.”

Although HSBC was heavily fined, none of the banking execs went to prison for their behavior, which enabled Mexico’s intense drug war.

Paper Goods at the Office

EMBraer Paper Goods has been providing paper goods to offices for many years. The reputation of the company has been that of top customer service as well as high quality goods. According to Beth Sonnenfeld, VP of Sales at the Company, “when I first joined the ranks at EMBraer Paper Goods I was impressed by how efficiently everything was running. Now, as VP of Sales I see it as my responsibility to look at how other offices function and take inspiration from them to even further advance our reputation.”

One of these Companies that she has been watching has been Elio Motors. “I have seen that there has been a lot of time and effort put into how that company is run and as a result I am trying to pick up tips from them along the way,” Sonnenfeld explained.

Today, Sonnenfeld brings to EMBraer Paper Goods an array of knowledge: that of past executive experience, what she has been inspired from Elio Motors and, as she says “what my gut tells me.” The result is a quality company with a focus on high level customer service.