Business & Personal Finance

Warren Buffett as a Cartoon Character?

That's right!  Warren Buffett is featured as a cartoon character in charge of a Secret Millionaires Club at AOL.Kids.

Children can now get money smart as they watch an animated Warren Buffett mentor a team of kids on the Secret Millionaires Club.  Young learners can watch the episodes, play games, and learn online at http://www.smckids.com/.

The different pages at the Secret Millionaires Club include Portfolio, Episodes, Characters, Games, Blog, Ask Warren, and Learn & Earn.  There are also activities at the Learn & Earn page for teachers, parents, and volunteers.

For the 'young at heart', here are some recent titles regarding Warren Buffett and his investment strategy at the Toronto Public Library:

Buffett, Mary and David Clark.  The Warren Buffett Stock Portfolio : Warren Buffett Stock Picks : Why and When He is Investing in Them.  1st Scribner Hardcover ed.  New York: Scribner, c2011.

Buffett, Warren and Lawrence A. Cunningham.  The Essays of Warren Buffett :  Lessons for Corporate America.  2nd ed.  New York: L. Cunningham, 2008.

Hagstrom, Robert G.  The Warren Buffett Way.  2nd ed.  Hoboken, N.J.:  John Wiley, c2005.

Jain, Prem.  Buffett Beyond Value : Why Warren Buffett Looks to Growth and Management When Investing.  Hoboken, N.J.:  John Wiley & Sons, c2010.

Janjigian, Vahan.  Even Buffett Isn't Perfect : What You Can - and Can't - Learn from the World's Greatest Investor.  New York: Portfolio, 2008.

Rittenhouse, L.J.  Buffett Bites : The Essential Investor's Guide to Warren Buffett's Shareholder Letters.  New York:  McGraw-Hill, c2010.

Thank you for reading the Business & Personal Finance blog in 2011.  Wishing All a Happy and Prosperous New Year!  Cheers!

 

Beauty for sale

Cosmetics have been used by both men and women for thousands of years. Roman slaves whose function it was to bathe men and women in perfume were called "cosmetae".  From face painting mentioned in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 23:40) to the use of eye shadow and kohl in Ancient Egypt for ritual purposes, the use of cosmetics dates back as far as 10,000 BCE.  As trade expanded throughout the world the assortment of cosmetics increased and people had many more choices available to them. Although the use of cosmetics was frowned upon by some, they continued to be very popular with women. They helped improve their looks in poor lighting conditions, made them look younger and hid imperfections.

With the establishment of beauty salons around 1900, the cosmetics industry expanded by leaps and bounds and has never looked back. Today the cosmetics industry is a multi-billion dollar industry with Canadian sales alone totalling $730 million (MarketLine industry profiles available online at the North York Central Library and Toronto Reference Library only).  Companies such as L'Oreal, Maybelline, Avon and Elizabeth Arden compete with each other by bombarding us daily with advertising.

Are cosmetics your thing?  Do you want to know more about your favourite brand? If so, then read one of these great titles available at the Toronto Public Library:

 

Holiday entertaining on a shoestring.

The holidays are fast approaching and while shopping and gift giving make up a large portion of your budget (and your time), it is a time to reconnect with family and friends.  Most people will either be invited to or will host a holiday bash.  But how do you do that without breaking the bank, or your budget? 

This year has generated many articles and blogs on this topic.  Food prices have gone up, and let's face it, eating is just more expensive then it was a year ago.  So at the risk of sounding like Martha Stewart (which I really am NOT), check out a few of these resources and try and save a bit of money this holiday season.

• Do menu planning based on grocery store sale flyers or other on-line sources, cooking in advance and freezing dishes.  "How to keep your food bill low during the holidays"
• Trim down the drink and food options.  Ask friends to bring a dish, or an inexpensive bottle of wine to share. "How to host the party and stick to the budget"
• Host away from home - many daily deal sites offer deals that involve restaurants or have the party catered, again using Groupon or other sites to shop for a deal.  "Holiday Entertaining on a Budget"
• Borrow what you don't have or consider co-hosting a party.  Check out Kiplinger's "Holiday Entertaining on a Budget" for 10 ideas for parties that can be done on a shoestring budget.
• Plan ahead - don't try to pull off a party at the last minute.  Try to keep the mood casual and informal.  "Holiday Party Planning: Pull Off a Swanky Seasonal Bash"

 And perhaps a few books will help:

         

Happy Holidays!

 

 

Protecting Customer Privacy

Do you have a privacy plan for your business? If not, it's time to create one. How can you learn more how to do this important task? Here are some ways to begin.

1. Check out the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada website. It has a section that includes a tool that will inform you of the issues involved in customer confidentiality. It will also show you how to deal with those issues effectively, by helping you build your own privacy plan.

What kind of information might you be collecting about customers that needs to be properly managed and protected? Here are some examples listed on the website:

• contact information
• customer demographics
• financial information
• purchase information history
• interests and opinions
• health information
• drivers license number
• security tapes.

The tool consists of a series of questions about how you collect and treat personal information. When you are finished with the questions, "you will receive:

• An information audit of your business
• Consent provisions required specifically for your business
• A security plan for protecting personal information in your care
• A sample privacy brochure for your customers
• A training needs assessment."

It takes 30 minutes to complete.

2. Have a look at the following book (available at the Research and Reference libraries of the Toronto Public Library) for detailed information on the topic. Click on the book cover for location information.

 3. Enterprise Toronto is hosting a seminar on 19 January 2012 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am entitled Securing Your Small Business Data. It covers two aspects of information security: what to do if you lose access to your small business information because of some unexpected happening, and how to prevent the information you've collected falling into the hands of those unauthorized to access it.

Become informed about this important aspect of running your business!

 

 

The Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program

As a small business person, you may often wonder: would any of the new technology that's out there make my company better? How do I find out? And once I've found out, how can I afford it?

You'll be glad to know that the Government of Canada officially launched the Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program (DTAPP) on November 14th 2011. The program is meant to help Canadian businesses reach their full techological potential.

Through The National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), the Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program will:

• provide advice and guidance to small businesses on what types of digital technologies are best suited to their business objectives
• provide financial assistance to more than 600 firms to support the integration of the technology into their oerations after they made the decision to adopt a digital technology
• partner with colleges to support firms with digital technology adoption.

According to IRAP, "If your firm is incorporated, has 500 employees or less and is currently seeking opportunities to adopt digital technology with a goal of increasing your firm’s productivity, you could be eligible to receive assistance from NRC-IRAP through our DTAPP team".

Call 1-855-453-3940 for more information on this exciting program!

 

 

Holiday Season Donations : A Win-Win Situation

The holiday season is a time of giving.  Many are interested in making a difference to their communities or contributing to issues or causes that they feel passionate about.  You may decide to offer your time, money, and/or support. 

Financial contributions offer an additional bonus at this time of year.  According to Brad Offman, vice president of strategic philanthropy at Mackenzie Financial, there are tax benefits that "simply cannot be ignored".  The following advice is provided in relation to giving:

• Sit down and make a list of causes and institutions that have meaning to you. 
• Decide how much you are able to give.
• Speak to your financial advisor and accountant about the tax advantages to donating to your favourite cause.
• For longer term charitable commitments, consider a donor-advised giving program.  This allows you to set up a long-term giving program with an initial donation.  It is similar to a private foundation, but without the upfront costs and administrative responsibilities.
• Look at participating in an event for a charity such as a run or walk - you can be active and make a donation.
• Volunteer.  Donations are not only about money.  You can also give time.

Charitable donations may also provide you with a "larger return later".  To obtain more information about the tax benefits of charitable gifts, you can:

• Contact your financial advisor.
• Visit the Canada Revenue Agency's web page Giving to Charity : Information for Donors.
• In the Certified General Accountants of Ontario's free booklet entitled Your Personal Tax Planning Guide, see Part Three:  Tax Credits and Related Items - Charitable Donation Credit.  The 2011-12 edition is now available online or in print at various Toronto Public Library branches.  Contact your local branch to determine if they have print copies.   
   

Ride the Rails and Discover the Cost of Christmas for 2011

You are invited to "ride the rails" and travel from town to town in this year's whimsical presentation of the PNC Christmas Price Index; an interactive train ride through a "winter wonderland".  Collect each of the 12 gifts from the song The Twelve Days of Christmas and "find out the cost of Christmas for 2011". 

To get onboard, click on the following link:  http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com

For those unable to take the short train ride, the cost to buy each of the gifts will be $24,268.18 for 2011 according to The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.  Their Christmas Price Index reflects a moderate gain of 3.5 percent or $823.80 more to purchase each gift in comparision to last year. 

The "True Cost of Christmas" which is the total cost of items gifted by a True Love who repeats all of the song's verses is $101,119.84 for all 364 gifts, the first time the "total cost of Christmas" has exceeded $100,000.  This cost represents a 4.4% increase compared to 2010. 

Economists seem to enjoy analyzing each year's index.  For example, there is a detailed analysis of the PNC Christmas Price Index at PNC Christmas Price Index On Track with Economic Indicators.

For the past twenty-eight years, the PNC Finacial Services Group, Inc. has been figuring out how much it would cost to buy each of the gifts in the holiday song The Twelve Days of Christmas as an entertaining approach to "teach basic economic principles to students".  Click HERE for more information.

According to the fore-mentioned article, "educators who visit the site will also find lesson plans on the Christmas Price Index from The Stock Market Game(TM)(SMG), a program of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation for Investor Education (www.sifma.org/education)."  The article continues "the enhanced activities are specially designed to help students identify economic trends and to project their impact on this year's index, giving them the opportunity to make predictions and check their success against actual results".

For those interested in how the magical, interactive train ride was made, view the following video:

 

For those interested in information on the Consumer Price Index in general, the Statistics Canada web site has a page dedicated to the topic.  Click HERE to visit.

For those interested in learning more about the Consumer Price Index and/or inflation, search the Toronto Public Library catalogue using the following subject heading Consumer prices indexes; Price indexes and/or Inflation (Finance).

"It's not easy being green"

Deciding to green your business doesn't need to be overwhelming. Getting started is actually easier than you think.  According to RBC's "Greening your business: a guide to getting started" there are 5 basic steps to becoming a green organization. The first and most important step is to commit to change.  Then, you need to look at what your environmental impacts are and use these to make your case for change. Next, create a vision of what your environmentally sustainable organization should look like and identify priority issues. Then it's time to create a strategic plan, prioritize actions and develop a path to achieve environmental sustainability.  Finally, these steps need to become mainstream in your organization.

Things as simple as having recycling bins everywhere or using compact fluorescent lightbulbs to conserve energy or even encouraging your employees to take public transportation to work are excellent first steps that will improve your organization's ecological footprint. From there you can change the way you deliver products and services by eliminating packaging or by becoming a community partner that helps to improve the ecological and social health of the area in which you do business. The benefits of becoming green are varied: cost savings for your business, environmental benefits, high worker morale, quality products and services.

You can start learning about greening your business at the Canada Business Ontario site and at the Canada Business Network. Both sites provide numerous tips, links and resources for greening your business. As well, the library has some excellent books that can help you improve our planet while improving your business:

 

2011 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year

Book award season is upon us, and while many people are familiar with the Giller, Booker, and Pulitzer Prizes for literary works, there is also a competition for Business Book of the Year.  This year's winner, Poor Economics - A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo was announced on November 3, 2011 at a dinner in London, England.

In the book Poor Economics, the authors make use of a new form of research, using randomized control trials in development economics, to determine the best methods for NGOs (non government organizations) to conquer poverty in developing countries.  Based on 15 years of research in the field, the authors have identified new aspects of behaviour of people in poor countries and the way that financial aid and investment affect their everyday lives.  Their book covers a wide range of assumptions made about developing countries, including micro-financing, education and poverty. 

The panel of judges were “blown away by the thoroughness of [Banerjee and Duflo’s] empirical research. This is going to be a real basis for innovation in policy, innovation in government, and a guide to intellectual debate. This is a business book in the broadest sense”.

To learn more about the competition, and past winners, visit the Financial Times website.

Check out the 2011 winner, as well as the shortlisted finalists - all available at Toronto Public Library.

     

     

Discover a good business book!