b2 gurus | business news

Heres an update of what’s going on with b2logs!

After our launch, the website has been slowly picking-up with more and more visitors each day. The team is still marketing hard and we have had success.

A few days ago, I was interviewed by Miki Saxon of Leadership Turn. Miki Saxon runs a popular blog on leadership and it’s featured in the management section of b2logs. I had the honor of being interviewed by one of the most intelligent minds on leadership. During our conversation I learned many things on management, leadership, and communication. You can view the interview on her blog.

Here is a screenshot of that interview:

Edit: Since this post, the interview has also been translated into Spanish and featured on a popular student website: http://www.destudio.com.co/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=356

Thanks a ton to: Alejandro Moreno Azcárate

Moving on, recently I contacted Timothy Ferris (author of 4 hour work week). This is what I wrote:

Hey Tim,

I want to say I really enjoyed your book and I love your blog. I am a 16-year old high school student living in Canada. I have recently started my own company, KarmaDesignStudio.com. I have been working hard developing strategies for a successful and stress-free life.

I was so inspired by your work, I created a tool to help people with information overflow. My tool is b2logs.com a website for business professionals to get the latest news fast with a quick scan through the top 10 blogs in each category. Please check out my website: b2logs.com and let me know what you think.

Thank you so much for the 4 hour work week. Ram

And this was the response from Tim:

Hi Ram! I’m inspired that you’ve taken such a head start at 16! I like B2logs.com. Nice design. I might suggest only displaying the top 2-3 posts from each blog, though, with a “more posts” link below them. Just a thought to cut down on any visual overload. Keep it up! Pura vida Tim

Tim had a great response and I will test to see if I can implement his suggestion. This might not sound like a big deal, but it means so much from a person who I think of as a role-model.

In conclusion, the blog has been doing great and we have a few dedicated readers - check out the # of readers in the newsletter sign-up box - and the response to some of our articles have been awesome! The team has been making constant improvements to the website. Some of the things we are currently working are:

• Desktop version of b2logs.com
• Job listings website
• Added features to our website such as bookmarking of individual articles

Plus, I am planning on moving to a new server, I’m currently looking at media temple as a possible server provider.

So, thats about it, if there is anything else you would like to see on the website, let us know!

Stay Tuned,

Ram Sharma

What a fast moving 2 weeks in the markets. Auto industry news, more credit scares, energy prices still rising causing everything to be volatile. Today, on City 24, there was a live video feed from the Economic Club down in Ottawa and it features Mr. McCain from the USA Now for the elections down south, I am all for Obama, and I hope I will get to meet him one day. Well, back to McCain, he said many good things about Canada and keeping NAFTA in tact. It was very clear that he did his homework on our trade and energy policies. I assume that he also talked about tax cuts to battle the recent rise of inflation and the imploding housing industry. What I was watching, was an educated man, surprisingly from the same party as Mr. Bush. A few years back, Rick Mercer made a fool out of Bush when George agreed our Prime Minister “Poutine” was smart for siding Republican.

But, a few months ago, McCain started that gas tax fad along with Clinton. The way Obama shut them down, I wonder if Obama is the only one who has taken economics. Gas tax cuts would only create shortages, and unbelievable lines at gas stations. But I read in articles, that once Obama is elected, investing will decrease because he is a Democrat. However, I believe that he would be good for the economy through spending large funds on government programs. This money would circulate through the economy and increase consumerism. The other Rupublican solution of tax cuts, and declaring war does not seem to working all that well. Although, I bet Obama will use a mix of all three, increase spending, tax cuts, and declaring war on POVERTY :D, to turn the economy around. If you really think about it, a Democratic party would benefit the public the most, but down South, religion plays a huge part, and clouds judgement. Well, I hope Obama gets in, because its about Time for CHANGE!!!!!

Now, to recent news, negative pick-up truck numbers. Canada is still brewing over the GM shut-down of pick-up truck plants in Ontario. Until this year, the number one selling car in America surprisingly was the Ford F-150 pick-up truck, but now is being replaced by the classic Honda Civic. The fact that GM shut down the plant right after signing a union contract to freeze wage increases, and then numbers revealed that the Windsor plants were some of the more efficient GM plants in North America. I would not be surprised if GM is doing this to embuzzle more financing from our fed. I know we finance them to keep jobs in Canada, but their green strategy was the last to hit the market. From an economic viewpoint, we are financing bad business, because fewer and fewer people are buying GM gas-guzzlers. If GM leaves, I am sure our skilled, and efficient labour workforce will attract other car companies.

Crude looks to be stabilizing due to positive news from China, and the Saudis. Then again, credit scares destroyed all hope. Many more billions in financing, but in crisis, there is opportunity. Look at the numbers of JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, awesome numbers and almost undervalued. As an intelligent investor, I will be looking at some reports, apply some number crunching and in my next post I will take you along for a closer look at some investing possibilities.

In the meantime check out this video on Mayor Bloomberg’s disguised support for Obama!

Signing out,

ZEZ

Hello, this is your captain speaking, flight 101 appears to be having some technical difficulties, please do not panic, and SCREW everybody else over. Well, I am not really a captain, but with all the panic and fear in the markets this week, I really hope the public can keep their pants on. McDonalds salmonella scare, the sell-off of Lehman Bros, rising energy costs - rising unemployment - Maybe Buffett’s prediction is coming true ……

A long recession? At least 5 years, ughhh! Well, maybe when I graduate from university, it will be the next Golden Age, with the sun shining bright, and the birds chirping, (you get the picture). But for all the regular folks out there, why shouldn’t they worry. Well this recession, or market adjustment, provides many opportunities. I had the honor of meeting inspiring billionaire, - Mr. Micheal Lee-Chin, aka the ROM crystal man (he provided the capital for it), anyways I remember a quote he would always say, “In crisis, there is opportunity.” So don’t panic, do some math, and find some undervalued stocks. Over the next few weeks, I will be digging deep.

So do not panic, don’t go and sell everything and then hide that money under your mattress, that is not going to help. In a recession, even when prices are deflating, we need to buy! BUY! and BUY! IF our economy wants to stay afloat. So what would be an innovative way to improve our economy? In economics, I am currently learning about the money supply, aggregate demand and all that. The soaring of energy prices in the 70s and the salvation of the microprocessor. How does this all tie together to today?

Well, when energy prices go up, your aggregate supply curve shifts left, unemployment and inflation rise. To shift it outwards positively towards the holy grail of economics, you need either technological advancements, capital manipulation (interest rates), or new discoveries of resource supplies. These are the most common three. During the 70s, the microprocessor (new technology) increased efficiency, decreased labor time, and shifted aggregate supply right. In the graph, you can see that unemployment dropped, and inflation dropped as well. What we need today, is some new technology as well, because those interest rates are just not working. Maybe one day, we will have nuclear fusion. I think that will be the answer to all of today’s problems.

Well, back to the summary, the sell-off of Lehman Bros. should have been forseen. It was one of the highest shorted stocks on the markets. So down these banks tumble, unguided, and uncentralized. Good thing up here in Canada, everything is controlled. I always thought government intervention was horrible, until I learned of the numbers of bank bankruptcies, compared between USA and Canada. Quite staggering. Maybe Obama can change that. Maybe he can turn everything around. But for now, everyone can only hope, and try not to panic, and jump off the plane, because who knows…

Meanwhile, watch this quick video about some of the places where you can put your money.

Whew, this week, it seemed for a second that the crude oil bubble was finally going to drop, due to a recent falling to $125/barrel. Just last week, it was soaring above $135 a barrel, an all-time record. This drop in oil has caused a short economic bull surge. Stocks are starting to pick-up, but the question comes back, is this drop going to STAY? I heard that in these few months, the oil prices were fluctuating due to speculative investors, and now, they have all turned negative. However, Goldman Sachs thinks otherwise, they predicted prices to go above $150 due to a shortage of supplies, and rising external demands eg, China and India.

What does this all mean for the average consumer? Well, most likely, you are going to be cutting corners. Saving as much as you can here, there, everywhere. Unless, of course, you have deep pockets, like oil-well deep. Consumer spending on a whole is going to drop, and then we are all going to go into recession. And oil prices are going to go higher, and we are going to suffer even more. For the time being, oil is going to drop, and investors are all shorting, but wait until a crisis comes, and the word “cover” rings on every trading floor, then its going to bull fast, real fast.

As for the recession, many high profile investors think it is going to come hard, and stay for a very long time.

For the time being check out this great video on the ideas for the future and what fortunes or disasters it may bring.