A Little Perspective on Technology: The Versateller, the Cell Phone, Hybrids, and the IPhone

It never ceases to amaze me to consider the collective power of individuals as consumers as they go about their lives, spending their money, and using devices and appliances, which serve to “innovate” them. (Which is synonymous with “speeding up”.) When people decide to buy something en masse, markets change, companies adjust their marketing, governments change tax and municipal, and even adjustments to international policies have been made to adhere to these human and consumer behaviors.  The technology movement has resulted in changes in society as a whole.

In my lifetime and career, I can name a handful of these “sea changes” that have swept through my personal and business world without even trying to recall them. I’ll name a few of these and pose the question, “When is the next BIG thing?”

The first innovation that had major impact, once I got out into the working world, was the electronic delivery of ‘cash spending money’. It’s hard to imagine a time when you could not find cash at a moment’s notice, but this has not always been a prevalent convenience. And it was not too long ago, when if you forgot to go to the bank, you were stuck without cash for an entire weekend. Now there are a multitude of locations, both bank and non-bank, that allow access to your accounts around the clock, and around the world.

The next big thing has been cellular telephones. I could go on for hours about this one, but we all know that William Shatner’s Star-Trek “communicator” was a fantasy at that time, although mobile communicating wasn’t a problem, we just never thought it would size down to a deck of cards or wristwatch size. We also didn’t imagine that voice conversations would be joined by the need for written messages and the transfer of video and photographs to our very person regardless if we were at the top of a ski lift or sailing off the coast of Santa Barbara…nor did we think it would be important to receive and send these messages for anyone other than the captain and his officers of the Starfleet. How about ten-year old girls at a mall? To report junior’s first hit in tee-ball to mom, who might have missed it? At least she is able to know about Johnny’s hit within seconds of its occurrence…

If the next best thing is better power sources and engines for all the transporting we are doing, I am enthusiastic for private enterprise to come up with a million different solutions for these power plants to roll onto the market. BMW has had an operable Hydrogen Car for years. Logistically, solutions for fueling still need to be worked out. Hybrid cars are being received enthusiastically, even if they don’t make total financial sense. I thing exciting developments with hybrids will be coming quickly in the coming months, as automakers try to out-do each other in the competition for leadership. A lot is at stake as we try to innovate ourselves out of the addiction to oil. Consumers will decide –and when they do so en masse, profits will drive even more innovation.

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BofA Sues Over $21 Billion Takeover

The U.S. banking giant filed with a U.S. federal court to keep its $21 billion deal with ABN Amro alive.  A Dutch court blocked the Bank of America deal for Amro’s North American LaSalle Banking unit.  Amro planned to sell the unit and then sell the rest of the company to Britain’s Barclay’s for about $91 billion.  Bank of America argued in the New York court that it had entered an exclusive sale agreement with Amro, which it is contractually obligated to complete.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo says they will be buying Greater Bay Bancorp in a stock swap worth about $1.5 billion, strengthening its San Francisco presence.

Fremont Receives Credit Upgrade

Shares of troubled lender Fremont General Corp. gained more than 23 percent on May 23rd, after Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said the firm’s decision to sell its commercial real estate lending business will have a positive effect on the company’s ratings.

S&P said that despite Fremont’s plans to shift its focus to retail banking, the Santa Monica firm’s future remains uncertain, but S&P did change the rating from a “negative” outlook to “developing,” boosting Wall Street’s confidence.

Countrywide Makes a Move on Housing Slump

The nation’s leading home mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. has announced that they plan to hire 2,000 employees and open 100 retail locations across the country which has made some in the industry wonder if the mega-lender is seeing an end to the sour market.

“We see it as an opportunity to seize market share,” said Countrywide spokesman Rick Simon.  “The market is at a low point now, but it will rebound.  It always has.  And when it does, we’ll be in a better position than we were before the slump began.”

Merrill Lynch: 'If you can’t beat them, join them'

Merrill Lynch & Co. is taking a minority stake in GSO Capital Partners LP, an $8 billion hedge fund and investment firm that is known for helping private-equity firms finance deals.  GSO is part of the growing niche of credit boutiques that compete with Wall Street investment banks.  Merrill will own slightly less than 20% of GSO.

Charles Schwab Lowers Minimum Requirement 

The asset management company lowered the minimum initial investment requirement for Schwab Funds to $100.  Charles Schwab Investment Management’s initial requirement for investments had ranged from $1,000 to $2,500.  Schwab is trying to attract more customers and diversify beyond stock trading commissions.

Money Management Firm Rankings

The L.A. Business Journal has ranked the top three money management firms:

1. Capital Research and Management Co. - $1.1 trillion
2. Western Asset Management - $256.6 billion
3. Capital Guardian Trust Co. - $161.9 billion

Job Growth Hits Low

Job growth in the U.S. hit a low in April with only 88,000 jobs being created, the fewest since November 2004.  The financial services sector cut 11,000 jobs, which most believe is due to the housing market woes.

Slowing Economic Growth in L.A.

Economic growth in L.A. County will slow through the rest of 2007 and into 2008, but the county will still perform better than surrounding counties that have been hit harder by the slowdown in the housing market, according to a forecast from California State University Long Beach.  The annual forecast projects job growth in L.A. County to slow to 1.3 percent in 2007, and 1.2 in 2008.

MySpace Additions

MySpace will begin rolling out branded news and entertainment content from National Geographic, the New York Times and Reuters on its social-networking Web site.  The media companies involved hope to use the popular platform to build brand recognition by posting their content, and no money will be exchanged for the deal.

Stricter Emission Rules in California

Officials from California demanded that federal regulators allow the state to impose the strictest automobile and light truck emissions rules in the nation.  The New York Times reports that officials said that new regulations were needed to lessen the threat of global warming and threatened to sue if the government did not allow them to go forward.

California’s attorney general, Jerry Brown, told an Environmental Protection Agency panel that the proposed standards on greenhouse gases were the most comprehensive effort in the nation’s history to address issues experts attribute to the gradual warming of the planet.  While caring for the environment is a good thought, it does come with a potential price to pay: rising cost of cars, costing jobs, and imposing inconsistent auto emissions standards around the country.

Minimum Wage Increase

Congress has approved a $2.10 raise in the federal minimum wage, which is the first increase in almost a decade.  The increase will come in three increments of 70 cents over two years.

Planning

It is a mistake to look too far ahead.  Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.
–Winston Churchill, British prime minister

Realizing Potential

Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.
-Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker

Peace

If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends.  You talk to your enemies.
-Moshe Dayan, general

Performance

When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.
-George Washington Carver, inventor

Motivation

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
-Charles Kingsley, clergyman

Ego

Don’t let your ego get too close to your position, so that if your position gets shot down, your ego doesn’t go with it.
-Colin Powell, statesman

Options

Companies should trust people to work at home more.  Commuting kills so much time and energy that could be spent creating.
-Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder