| Q3 ROUNDUP: Good, Not Great, Times for Brokerage Firms
CB Richard Ellis Inc., Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., Grubb & Ellis Co. and HFF Inc. continued to report growing transactional, management and outsourcing revenue at paces well ahead of this time last year. However, their third-quarter results also clearly signaled a change is coming. Going forward, the publicly held brokerage firms report that they may not see the heady peaks of revenue generation from the buying and selling frenzy that characterized the past few years. Without exception, all of the brokerage firms noted the beginning of a deceleration of leasing activity and said they were expecting investment sales to drop off in the fourth quarter. In short, revenue just isn't going to be as easy to come by -- however, the reports also show where the firms could make up some of the drop off in their transactional business.
Magazine makes GOOD on charity lifestyle
It was an unusual business model for any magazine, let alone one trying to get off the ground: Recruit subscribers not through direct mail or paid advertising, but by allowing them to earmark their $20 subscription to one of 12 charities.
But to Ben Goldhirsh, the brains and bread behind GOOD magazine, the plan was perfect. He and his friends had never responded to direct mailers, which typically cost about $30 per new subscriber. The "choose GOOD" campaign would save money, benefit a handful of charities and, most importantly, make subscribers feel like they're doing something, well, good.
"This creates brand allegiance, and that is what we want," said Goldhirsh, the company's 27-year-old founder and CEO. "We want people to say, 'GOOD is ours.'"
After a year, 30,000 people have done so, sending $600,000 to charities that include Malaria No More, Natural Resources Defense Council and Teach for America.
ATM scam hits region
John Evans said he regularly checks his bank account online and found something quite odd Wednesday. According to his transaction list, he recently took money out of an ATM near Rockefeller Center. Just one problem: Neither Evans nor his wife has been anywhere near downtown Manhattan recently. Wachovia employees have told Evans he was probably the victim of something called ATM skimming. And he might not be alone. Skimming refers to someone stealing personal identification numbers and bank account information at ATM machines. It often involves some kind of device placed either on an ATM card slot or inside a machine that reads or hears information as a transaction happens, said Bob Bucceri, spokesman for the Electronic Funds Transfer Association. Also, a camera can be employed to watch potential victims enter their PINs.
RDS SPECIAL: Jack Henry & Associates Announces Mobile Banking Solution JHA’s goDough introduced as firm’s new ...
Jack Henry's new goDough is a browser-based m-banking solution that is device and carrier independent, making it compatible with any web-enabled mobile phone, regardless of make or model, and with all mobile phone carriers, claims the company. With goDough, users can conduct traditional in-branch and online transactions such as balance inquiries, funds transfers between accounts, and transaction viewing. goDough is designed to support all account types, including checking, certificates-of-deposit, money markets, loans, and lines-of-credit. Jack Henry & Associates' proprietary solution will also enable users to initiate bank-to-bank funds transfers, receive designated alerts, and make mobile payments to entities other than the offering financial institution.
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CURRENCIES: Dollar Mixed But Sticking To Narrow Ranges Ahead Of Fed Forecasts
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- The dollar was mixed against its major counterparts Monday, losing some ground as stocks extended losses, but it held to narrow ranges against most rivals as investors were reluctant to take aggressive new positions in a Thanksgiving holiday-shortened week. On Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its Oct. 31 meeting as well as its new economic forecasts through 2009. "Tuesday's inaugural release of the Fed's three-year forecasts should, by design, reveal a relatively encouraging growth path for inflation and output," predicted Michael Englund of Action Economics. Investors will be searching the forecasts for clues as to whether or not the central bank will cut interest rates again to follow up its total of 75 basis points of cuts made since mid-September.
Facing a Global Threat to Farming and Food Supply//
Climate change may be global in its sweep, but not all of the globe's citizens will share equally in its woes. And nowhere is that truth more evident, or more worrisome, than in its projected effects on agriculture.Several recent analyses have concluded that the higher temperatures expected in coming years � along with salt seepage into groundwater as sea levels rise and anticipated increases in flooding and droughts � will disproportionately affect agriculture in the planet's lower latitudes, where most of the world's poor live. .
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