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| Industry Buzz | | |
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- Caterpillar posts quarterly decline in global sales
Caterpillar's worldwide sales declined 4% in the three months that ended Jan. 31 compared with the same period a year ago. The company cited a 12% drop in Asia-Pacific and an 11% decrease in North America. However, sales increased 3% in Latin America and 1% in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Bloomberg Businessweek
(2/20)     
- Honda's robot mower among 4 devices to keep the garden green
Four garden devices have emerged in the marketplace to make maintenance work easier, writes Daryl Nelson. They include the "Miimo" robotic lawn mower from Honda, which can trim grass on its own and stay within bounds with the help of a border wire. The machine is expected to become available in the U.S. this year and retail for about $1,600. ConsumerAffairs.com
(2/21)
| Economic Indicators | | |
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- First-time jobless claims climb by 20,000
U.S. initial unemployment claims increased by 20,000 last week, reaching a seasonally adjusted 362,000. The total is consistent with a slow recovery in the job market, the Labor Department says. The four-week rolling average, viewed as a better indicator of labor-market conditions, has fallen 7.5% since mid-November. Employers added an average of 200,000 workers in each of November, December and January. USA Today/The Associated Press
(2/21), Medill Reports (Northwestern University)
(2/21)
- U.S. leading indicators continue to look up
Despite higher payroll taxes and the prospect of budget cuts, the U.S. economy appears on track for sustained gains through the first half of the year, according to the Conference Board's index of U.S. leading indicators. The indicator was up 0.2% in January after a 0.5% rise in December, based largely on gains in the share and housing markets and small but steady employment gains. Bloomberg
(2/21)
| Inside & Out | | |
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- Use tough love to keep your team on schedule
If your team keeps blowing deadlines, it doesn't help to keep quiet, writes Patty Azzarello. Public accountability and tracking show that being late is unacceptable, and they usually result in more projects being on time, she writes. "It's not about coming down hard on someone or being disrespectful or nasty. It's about moving the business forward," Azzarello writes. Fast Company online
(2/20)
- A better way to think about your target audience
You should think about your customers as individuals rather than as members of demographic groups if you want to create effective marketing messages, writes James Archer, CEO of Forty. He suggests creating a customer persona, giving that persona a name and understanding his or her habits and preferences and what motivates them. In meetings, he writes, your team would "no longer have to try to hold an abstract customer profile in their heads; they can simply ask, 'What would Sarah think about this?'" Inc. online (free registration)
(2/20)
| Policy Update | | |
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- Obama and Republicans break silence and restart budget talks
The White House and Republican leaders have restarted talks on how to avert across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect March 1. President Barack Obama spoke with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the conversations were "good" but didn't give any details. Reuters
(2/21)
- Analysis: Business should back Obama's call for EU trade pact
U.S. businesses should quickly express support for a free-trade agreement with the EU, as endorsed by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address, according to The Economist. "The only reason for business not to throw everything it has behind [the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership] would be if there were a bigger global trade pact to be had," the magazine notes. "Sadly, there is not." The Economist (tiered subscription model)
(2/16)
| Diversion | | |
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- Attack of the "night people"
In the mid-1950s, a late-night radio host named Jean Shepherd rallied his listeners -- who called themselves "night people" -- and ordered them to bombard bookstores with requests for a non-existent book called "I, Libertine." The surreal prank became a global sensation but got out of hand as the mainstream media began to investigate. "In our time of memes, virality, and reality blurring, the hoax Shepherd dreamt up seems extremely modern and prescient in its contours -- as does the fact that, eventually, it got out of his control," writes Matthew Callan. The Awl
(2/14)
| OPEI News | | |
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