I must have been in second grade when my parents first showed me “Trading Places.” Some might argue against my parents’ choice to ignore the R-rating, but my dad thought the opportunity to teach us about commodity trading was too valuable to pass up. In retrospect, I know he just couldn’t tolerate kids movies but at least I was able to learn early on about the orange trade. The economic lesson was simply supply and demand - the more oranges the crops produce in any given year, the less they will cost. The bonus lesson from the movie was about the workings of another market - prostitution.
Back to oranges though - this year’s crop trade appears to be a bit more complicated. In fact, it seems less logical than Eddie Murphy dating a Spice Girl. Orange production is up. Consumer demand is down. Yet prices remain up. According to AC Nielsen, “Retail sales of orange juice… fell 12.3% from the comparable year-earlier period, while retail prices were up 13.5% from last year.” So what gives?
The traders sure aren’t giving anything. Citing potential risks to oranges like fatal citrus greening disease (is this just a fancy term for ripening???) and worried that the smaller size of the oranges this season might call for more needed to fill the standard box, producers aren’t lowering the raised prices.
I don’t really understand how the markets work sometimes but I guess that’s where an education on commodities earned through watching “Trading Places” leaves you. All I know is that on entry level salary, I won’t be able to purchase much orange juice this year. On the bright side, Sunny D contains less than 2% concentrate - stock up.
Inspired by “Juice Prices Defy Crop Recovery.” By Tom Sellen.
The Wall Street Journal. Wednesday, January 2, 2008.
One day when we become successful and rich, we will buy a large house. When we move in, those 13 foot high walls will be bare and begging to be decorated with the world’s most coveted art. So why not learn about it now?
2007 was a big year for the art market. Sotheby’s and Christie’s International came in around $5 and $6 billion respectively in the auction sale of fine and decorative arts. The best sellers? At Sotheby’s - Mark Rothko’s “White Center (Yellow, Pink, and Lavender on Rose)” for $72.8 million. At Christie’s - Andy Warhol’s “Green Car Crash” for $71.7 million.
Oddly enough, my entry level day dreaming about a future lifestyle among the rich and famous never once included writing a $70 million dollar check for a pastel picture that looks like the slice of three-tiered cake at every corner bakery or a blurry photo of an upside down car accented with that trendy teal best known for its overuse on the 1991 Ford Explorer. I found the most shocking sale to be a 3-inch limestone statue of a lioness that went for $57 million. It might be ancient but it’s still smaller than my computer mouse and made out of a material on sale at Home Depot.
I hope my houseguests aren’t offended when I bypass insanely overpriced art and hang up the collectable I acquired in college - that classic piece of photography featuring John Belushi wearing a sweater labeled “College.” They’ll be grateful when the sixteen dollars I spend a hammer and nails leaves me enough leftover in the decorating budget to serve them filet mignon for the rest of their lives.
Inspired by “Buoyant Art Market Draws International Buyers” by Kelly Crow. The Wall Street Journal. Wednesday, January 2, 2008.
No matter how you party politically, there’s something to be learned from Senator Hillary Clinton’s primary run in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Boooooooooo who? Not Hillary. On New Hampshire Primary Eve, Hillary was caught on camera tearing up. The press spent all of Tuesday speculating the pros of showing her unknown emotional side, the cons of a leader showing vulnerability, etc. etc. etc. Then she won the primary. I think the lesson here is that even taking the pros and cons into consideration, crying proved to not really matter. Whether it was planned or unplanned, it happened. At the toughest of times in our careers, our emotions might get the best of us, and you might end up in tears on the job. Get it out, invest in Kleenex and a co-worker’s shoulder (preferably in that order), get back on your feet and move on to the next state of business.
Don’t stop believin’! Senator Clinton must be hanging out at the same venues as our generation - due to the amount of times this Journey song has been overplayed, the message has been engrained in all of us. Against the Gallop polls, against her own associates’ suggestions, against the odds, Senator Clinton didn’t lose sight of her mission, and she went on to win the primary. Unlike crying (we hope) sticking to your beliefs and not giving up on your goal is a test you might have to undergo on a daily basis at work. Politicians throughout the ages have shown us that prevailing demands persistence. Musicians have too and if you’re succeeding on the Journey, try switching tracks to Tom Petty and sing “No, I won’t back down!”
I wish that “What happens here, stays here” had been applied to Sin City’s newest advertising slogan - ”Your Vegas Is Showing.” That’s pretty much all that needs to be said on that subject.
Inspired by “Vegas Plans a New Push to Attract More People” by Tamara Audi.
The Wall Street Journal. Monday, January 7, 2008.
In February of 2006, Consumer Reports rated McDonald’s as serving up the best coffee. If the Golden Arches managed to beat Starbucks on basic brew, isn’t it expected that they would thirst for more?
And the quenching begins now as McDonald’s nearly 14,000 locations will begin serving gourmet coffee beverages, complete with espresso bars and personable baristas. Hey! Starbucks started it by adding drive-thrus and breakfast sandwiches.
In truth, McDonald’s has waged the battle of the beverages. The Cola Wars are beginning to look flat. The chain is going up against convenient stores by adding a variety of bottled drinks to its line - Coca Cola, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lipton, Red Bull, etc. But countertops along Main Street better be on-guard as well - McDonald’s is going after them the old fashioned way - with shots to make flavored fountain sodas.
McDonald’s is really just doing what any competitive capitalistic company would do - catering to its customers’ tastes. Right now we are seeing a boom in specialty drinks - most notably coffee beverages. Convenience is at the core of fast food so why wouldn’t they want to save their customers an extra trip when they want to accompany their favorite burgers and fries with their preferred types of beverages?
My question is - why stop there? Between building a brain for business and holding onto the spirit of college late nights, I have to wonder why McDonald’s doesn’t look into a liquor license. If you really want to appeal to the gross consumer market when serving up greasy food, your beverage should be beer. You would hit the tastes of every single customer - well, except the kids but they’ve been enjoying toys with every meal forever. It’s time adults get their kicks too.
Bottoms up. Starbucks, your turn to add Irish Coffee to the menu.
Inspired by “McDonald’s Takes on a Weakened Starbucks” by Janet Adamy.
The Wall Street Journal. Monday, January 7, 2008.
