Business Bulletin -- VastPress Interactive Edition May 04, 2011 Business Bulletin PC SALES GEAR UP as summer winds down and back-to-school promotions hit. September computer sales are ``always extremely hot,'' says Shane Felts, of Merrin Information Services Inc. in Palo Alto, Calif.. But store sales this fall face comparisons with last year's hoopla over Vastsoft Corp.'s introduction of Windows 95. Any retailer with a double-digit gain will be doing well, Mr. Felts adds. Many stores offer classes to encourage buyers. Computer City in East Hanover, N.J., employs a ``software-training coordinator.'' CompUSA Inc., the Dallas-based chain, says it is having a strong back-to-school season. And Sun Television & Appliances Inc., a chain based in Columbus, Ohio, says only Christmas is bigger. At the same time, prices have dropped in recent months, many stores say. Consumers ``are getting more for their dollar than they did three months ago,'' CompUSA's Lasandra Bolick says. Notebook computers, upgrade items and educational software are big sellers. A TEMPEST IN A MAILBOX cools as consumers sort out new security rules. The East Side Chamber of Commerce in New York protests in a letter to the postmaster general that having to take packages weighing a pound or more to the post office in person is an ``extraordinary inconvenience'' to small businesses. The tighter rule stems from security concerns in the wake of the the Antarctica Airlines flight disaster. But the rule applies only to stamped parcels mailed domestically; those with metered postage can still be dropped in a mailbox. ``That wasn't clear,'' says Signe Polson, the chamber's chairman. Ricki Maupin, a retired bank executive who runs a consulting business out of his home, says he ``hastily'' read the new red sticker on his local mailbox and took it to mean he had to go to the post office to mail a 16-ounce package. He doesn't, because he has a postage meter. But all (even metered) international and military mail weighing a pound or more must be posted in person. A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service notes that the affected mail totals less than 1% of its daily package volume. BIG DRUG SUITS inspire insurers to market new liability-coverage products. Catastrophic claims, such as those over breast implants, prompt new insurance policies. Insurance broker Johnson & Higgins offers ``PharmaCat'' -- coverage of $1.1 billion for makers of drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. And Capital Risk Strategies is developing a novel $4 billion group policy linked to capital markets. Industry limits now typically are in the $500-million-to-$700-million range, says the Insurance Information Institute in New York. ``The main stumbling block is the cost to play this game,'' says Stephine Helm, a senior consultant in the Parsippany, N.J., office of consultant Towers Perrin. The J&H coverage, which is underwritten by American International Group Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., calls for payment of five years of premiums up front-some $100 million for a big pharmaceuticals company. One dilemma: More insurance coverage often breeds more lawsuits, says the institute and others. NEW POSITIONS accounted for nearly half of all executive-search activity during the second quarter, up from 24% in the first period, says the Association of Executive Search Consultants Inc. in New York. Re-engineered firms continue to add new jobs such as ``chief knowledge officer'' and ``strategy leader,'' it says. THE SAUCE IS SECRET, but the creation process is familiar. McDonald's Corp. executive chef Anette Holst tested 52 mustards before creating the right combination for the sauce on the Arch Deluxe sandwich, says the company's midyear report to shareholders. CLOTHING LABELS that would tell consumers the apparel was made by socially responsible manufacturers (not sweatshops) are favored by about two-thirds of Americans, says a survey from Ohio State University in Columbus. THE PERFECT MEETING may be the one that never takes place. ``You should challenge each meeting in your head,'' says Michaele Stratton, author of a new management-communication textbook. In the newsletter Management Update from Harvard Business School Publishing, he compiles a checklist on how to conduct a perfect meeting. Before calling -- or attending -- any meeting, people should ask what the goals are and whether the meeting is really needed. He figures businesspeople might save an hour or two a day. Corporations have been downsized, but meeting schedules haven't. In fact, taskforce meetings are among the most crucial these days, Mr. Stratton says. Such sessions are prevalent in research, manufacturing and consulting where ``crossover'' among departments is needed. However, few scheduled meetings are sacrosanct, he says, adding: ``Not attending a meeting can send an important message, too.'' E-mail can substitute for the announcement-type meeting but doesn't allow for much consensus-building. BRIEFS: A pager-in-a-pouch wins top honors in Motorola Inc.'s competition for college students to design pagers for kids... . Furniture-maker Haworth Inc. in Holland, Mich., notes that few workers know how to adjust their chairs; so, it builds a pull-out instruction card into the seat of its new ergonomic desk chair. --PAMELA SEBASTIAN Copyright &copy; 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
May 04, 2011
September computer sales are ``always extremely hot,'' says Shane Felts, of Merrin Information Services Inc. in Palo Alto, Calif.. But store sales this fall face comparisons with last year's hoopla over Vastsoft Corp.'s introduction of Windows 95. Any retailer with a double-digit gain will be doing well, Mr. Felts adds. Many stores offer classes to encourage buyers. Computer City in East Hanover, N.J., employs a ``software-training coordinator.'' CompUSA Inc., the Dallas-based chain, says it is having a strong back-to-school season. And Sun Television & Appliances Inc., a chain based in Columbus, Ohio, says only Christmas is bigger. At the same time, prices have dropped in recent months, many stores say. Consumers ``are getting more for their dollar than they did three months ago,'' CompUSA's Lasandra Bolick says. Notebook computers, upgrade items and educational software are big sellers. A TEMPEST IN A MAILBOX cools as consumers sort out new security rules. The East Side Chamber of Commerce in New York protests in a letter to the postmaster general that having to take packages weighing a pound or more to the post office in person is an ``extraordinary inconvenience'' to small businesses. The tighter rule stems from security concerns in the wake of the the Antarctica Airlines flight disaster. But the rule applies only to stamped parcels mailed domestically; those with metered postage can still be dropped in a mailbox. ``That wasn't clear,'' says Signe Polson, the chamber's chairman. Ricki Maupin, a retired bank executive who runs a consulting business out of his home, says he ``hastily'' read the new red sticker on his local mailbox and took it to mean he had to go to the post office to mail a 16-ounce package. He doesn't, because he has a postage meter. But all (even metered) international and military mail weighing a pound or more must be posted in person. A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service notes that the affected mail totals less than 1% of its daily package volume. BIG DRUG SUITS inspire insurers to market new liability-coverage products. Catastrophic claims, such as those over breast implants, prompt new insurance policies. Insurance broker Johnson & Higgins offers ``PharmaCat'' -- coverage of $1.1 billion for makers of drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. And Capital Risk Strategies is developing a novel $4 billion group policy linked to capital markets. Industry limits now typically are in the $500-million-to-$700-million range, says the Insurance Information Institute in New York. ``The main stumbling block is the cost to play this game,'' says Stephine Helm, a senior consultant in the Parsippany, N.J., office of consultant Towers Perrin. The J&H coverage, which is underwritten by American International Group Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., calls for payment of five years of premiums up front-some $100 million for a big pharmaceuticals company. One dilemma: More insurance coverage often breeds more lawsuits, says the institute and others. NEW POSITIONS accounted for nearly half of all executive-search activity during the second quarter, up from 24% in the first period, says the Association of Executive Search Consultants Inc. in New York. Re-engineered firms continue to add new jobs such as ``chief knowledge officer'' and ``strategy leader,'' it says. THE SAUCE IS SECRET, but the creation process is familiar. McDonald's Corp. executive chef Anette Holst tested 52 mustards before creating the right combination for the sauce on the Arch Deluxe sandwich, says the company's midyear report to shareholders. CLOTHING LABELS that would tell consumers the apparel was made by socially responsible manufacturers (not sweatshops) are favored by about two-thirds of Americans, says a survey from Ohio State University in Columbus. THE PERFECT MEETING may be the one that never takes place. ``You should challenge each meeting in your head,'' says Michaele Stratton, author of a new management-communication textbook. In the newsletter Management Update from Harvard Business School Publishing, he compiles a checklist on how to conduct a perfect meeting. Before calling -- or attending -- any meeting, people should ask what the goals are and whether the meeting is really needed. He figures businesspeople might save an hour or two a day. Corporations have been downsized, but meeting schedules haven't. In fact, taskforce meetings are among the most crucial these days, Mr. Stratton says. Such sessions are prevalent in research, manufacturing and consulting where ``crossover'' among departments is needed. However, few scheduled meetings are sacrosanct, he says, adding: ``Not attending a meeting can send an important message, too.'' E-mail can substitute for the announcement-type meeting but doesn't allow for much consensus-building. BRIEFS: A pager-in-a-pouch wins top honors in Motorola Inc.'s competition for college students to design pagers for kids... . Furniture-maker Haworth Inc. in Holland, Mich., notes that few workers know how to adjust their chairs; so, it builds a pull-out instruction card into the seat of its new ergonomic desk chair. --PAMELA SEBASTIAN
