http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20130303/NEWS/130309950/1087&parentprofile=1058

Article By:

Cody Heimerdinger

Article By:

Cody Heimerdinger

If you have been paying attention to commodities over the last few months, the U.S. just experienced one of the worst droughts in over half a century. 57.2% of the country was reported “dry” in the month of July, the highest since 1956 when it was recorded at 57.6% (Sullivan, 2012). Prices on commodities like corn and soybean have skyrocketed. The price of corn has gone up 56% in just a couple of months. As of July 20, Soybean prices are up 20%. (Yousuf, 2012)

The United States is the largest producer of corn in the world, about 40% of the worlds’ production, and its uses far exceed the typical corn on the cob you may find in your local grocery store. In fact, corn can probably be found in multiple aisles of your local grocery store. High fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, is a cheaper substitute for sugar and is the key ingredient to making your Coca-Cola and Pepsi products so desirable. Corn syrup, used as a sweetener, is used for most mass-produced foods in the U.S. including candies, sodas, fruit juices, and a multitude of processed foods as opposed to sugar. Sugar is rarely produced in the United States, and therefore switching to corn syrup is the inexpensive choice for producers since it is produced and supplied domestically. In regards to fast food, corn products are found on almost everything on the menu, The Omnivore’s Dilemma might be a good place to start if you want to
dive into more detail.

Corn also has an indirect impact on the variety of other foods that we consume regularly. The United States is one of the largest consumers of meat per capita. Farmers have to keep up with the demand by supplying the beef and poultry to your local grocery store. The animal feed used in feeding these cows and chickens are made up of mostly, you guessed it, corn AND soybean. With the exception of other ingredients, the two main ingredients found in animal feed happen to be the two grains that are suffering
the most from the drought. Soybean is a key ingredient in soybean oil, which is used for cooking, and it accounts for nearly 79% of all edible oil in the U.S. (Major Crops Grown in the United States, 2012)

Ethanol, on the other hand, plays a crucial role in keeping our gasoline clean. Milling plants around the country use corn alongside water and other ingredients to produce ethanol. In recent years there have been multiple talks about fuel ethanol completely replacing gasoline in the U.S. motor fuel industry. As millions of automobiles head to the gas station every day to fill up on gasoline, most of us probably have no idea that we are also putting corn in our vehicles.

By now you should have a general idea of the various things in which corn and soybean have an impact on. As the growing season approaches the end, we won’t find out the true effects of this drought on commodity prices until harvest (October-November). These two main crops produced in the U.S. have ties not only to the food we consume, but also the modes of transportation we use on a regular basis. Is a food crisis just around the corner? We will have to wait and see.

Commodities like corn and soybean play a significant role in the market and the price of processed foods, animal feed, and ethanol are likely to rise. If droughts like this are something we run into in the near future it can have unpleasant effects on our economy. These effects on our economy may be something that no Wall Street professional or Washington politician have control over. We will all have to side with each other and see what Mother Nature has to offer in the coming years.

If you are interested in learning more about corn, its history, and its production in the United States, consider reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

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Blog By:

Josh Smith
Works Cited

Major Crops Grown in the United States. (2012, June 27). Retrieved August 20, 2012, from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/cropmajor.html

Sullivan, B. K. (2012, August 15). Lower Temperatures And Rain Won’t Be Enough to Ease U.S. Drought. Retrieved August 16, 2012, from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-15/lower-temperatures-and-rain-won-t-be-enough-to-ease-u-s-drought.html

Yousuf. (2012, July 20). Corn, soybean prices shoot up as drought worsens. Retrieved August 15, 2012, from CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/19/investing/corn-soybean-prices/index.htm

It is important to have a well-balanced ratio of professional-to-pleasure content on any social networking site. The “pleasure” portion shows the personality side of the person and the “professional” portion shows the person’s intelligence uniqueness. Some employers’ will value personality as important as professionalism in order to determine if that individual is a “good fit” for the company’s culture. Sometimes it may be difficult to integrate the “pleasure” content in professional social networking sites, like LinkedIn. For example, I would show my personality side on sites like LinkedIn by describing my interests in a specific career, my interests in a past job, my interests and involvement in organizations, and my interests in hobbies and recreation. Posting appropriate pictures is also a good way to show a personality.

So, in conclusion, I would like to challenge anybody to integrate some “professional” content into their “Facebook” or “Twitter” pages, while still enjoying the entertainment value of these sites, maintaining a unique personality. I believe that this combination of fun and professionalism will equal success and establish an online brand that potential employers cannot refuse. Remember…It is all about mixing business with pleasure!

Article By:

Cody Heimerdinger

Finish Strong

Okay, so I didn’t get to meet Tim Tebow as I had wished for in my previous blog. I considered the option of rushing the stage, but I thought that might be inappropriate in a church.

Anywho, something Tebow talked about really got me thinking, and I thought I would share with you all what insight he gave. In 2008, the University of Florida had a heartbreaking loss to Mississippi, stealing away their so-far undefeated season. When Tebow came out of the locker room, this is the speech he gave:

I just want to say one thing.

To the fans and everybody in Gator Nation, I’m sorry, extremely sorry.

I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this.

You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season, and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season, and you will never see a team play harder that we will the rest of the season.

The Florida Gators went on to win the championship that year, they finished strong. These are words that Tebow lives by. Everyone always says “finish strong,” but I never took the time to process what that means. I’ll use a running example. For anyone who has ever ran a race, you have probably heard someone tell you to run hard through the finish line, to not slow down until you’re past it.

This can be applied to goal setting, work, school, or even everyday activities. The mindset that we all need to have involves working through something in its entirety. What it all comes down to is the end result, and do you want to be seen at the end barely trying? No. We want to give our all, every second of the way, especially at the end. That’s where it really counts. Even when obstacles get in our way, we have to overcome them and finish strong. If it’s a project, finish strong to get an A. If it’s work, finish strong to get a promotion. If it’s a game, finish strong to win it.

“All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. The fight to the finish spirit is the one… characteristic we must posses if we are to face the future as finishers.” – Henry David Thoreau

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Is a New Market Shift Coming?

2012 so far has been a phenomenal year for the stock market. The Dow Jones recently reached
the 13K mark, which was last seen in May 2008 (it had met the 14K mark in 2007). This boost
came off of a great end to 2011, and now has some people looking at possible pullbacks and
even major adjustments, as this was the level met right before the 2008 downturn. The Dow,
however, is just a small look into the market. It is important to do a whole market analysis before
switching from bull to bear status, or vice-versa.

The S&P 500, which is often used as the market benchmark, has been meeting resistance at the
1.35K mark since 2011, and it is currently at that point. In May 2008, it was at the 1.4K level,
down from the highs around 1.55K in 2007. It is not quite at the pre-crash level in 2008, but it is
close.

The NASDAQ, which some argue is the best index to measure the state of the economy because
all of its companies are producers, is currently near the 3K level. This is above the levels seen in
2007 and 2008, and has actually not been seen since the dot com boom in 1999 and 2000.

So if the economy is producing, should we really be concerned about a correction? The answer
is “slightly.” Investors still remember the pain and volatility that the Greek debt crisis brought
in the summer of 2011, and so investor psychology may persuade them to take some profits,
and there could likely be some small adjustments. As noted earlier, it is important to do a whole
market analysis before worrying if another crash is coming. One way to judge the economy
is how financial companies are doing. In 2007, there was a divergence between the three big
indices and the financial index, XLF. While the market as a whole was in an uptrend, financials
were in a downtrend, preceding the crash that would follow. This was true again before the
summer 2011 volatility. Starting in February, the XLF began a downtrend, while the rest of
the market was in a slight uptrend. This of course was caused by foreign influences, but the
financial companies were still tied to it, and what affects them will eventually affect the domestic
companies that rely on them. For this month, both financials and the rest of the market are
relatively flat.

The recent strong momentum in the market may be over, and it could even be that some slight
pullbacks will happen as investors take the profits. However, there is currently little to no
indication that major losses like those seen in 2008 and 2011 are coming. The situation in Greece
will keep some volatility in the market, but recent news has been more promising than bad. The
XLF is holding steady, and recent reports are announcing that the housing market may have
hit its bottom and may be recovering. The XLF should continue to be watched, and if it has a
divergence from the rest of the market, that would be the time to become concerned.

The market is constantly changing based on news, outlook, performance, psychology, and
many other factors. It is important to pay attention to many of these factors, because what looks
promising one day may not look promising in a relatively short amount of time.

Article by: Kyle Burchert

Building Relationships in Your Network

Networking in the business world is like an art. Networking does not simply mean to attend an event and exchange some business cards, creating an online profile, and constantly working on your resume, it takes more than that. Developing key relationships is very important when developing your network. A true and very effective network does not consist of just like minded business people but rather a network of developed relationships in which you can comfortably state what another persons skill sets are. By taking the time to realize what another individual can offer and really getting to know them, you then realize their full potential and can pinpoint what that person can offer to you. Now a true business relationship will return the favor and really get to know your own skill set. This is a win win situation because that person will be able to translate your skills to other individuals in that persons network, picture two sets of a domino effect heading in opposite directions. Knowledge and your own expertise are key in developing your professional career but every other college graduate is doing that already, in order to set yourself apart you must be able to communicate those skills through your network effectively.

Your resume, your Facebook, your blog, and your LinkedIn are all basics in marketing yourself nowadays. None of these things are options anymore and you must use all of these things effectively just to stay in competition. Going back to face-to-face contact and really focusing on your interpersonal relationships will enable you as an individual to be remembered. We cannot rely on social media to market and promote ourselves since the masses are already doing this. Concentrating on your personal development and really caring about the relationships you create will get you where you want to be.

Article by:

Home Depot made headlines everywhere Tuesday morning after announcing an astounding 32% growth in 4th quarter earnings for 2011. They also claim that they expect to see continued growth in 2012 with signs of an increasing home-improvement market. Some of the recent sales and customer traffic gains may be attributed to the unusually warm winter months being experienced. However, Florida stores outperformed the company average, and California locations were on cue with the average, which shows promise considering both of these states were hit hard by the housing crisis². Taking into account these factors, could this mean that we have reached a housing bottom?

While there is still obvious uncertainty about the future of the housing market, the fact that the housing sector is not getting worse suggests large upside and has come to the surprise of some analysts¹. Early Tuesday, shares of Home Depot reached their highest levels in 9 years and analysts contribute this to an overall positive sentiment in the community for the housing recovery². Henry Blodget, CEO of Business Insider and co-host of The Daily Ticker, stated “at least we’re back to average” when it comes to prices of homes relative to what people are earning and the cost to rent¹. On the subject of stock appreciation and the current optimistic economic outlook, Blodget states that this may simply be “expectations catching up with reality².”

The current spike in shares for Home Depot and their impressive 4th quarter earnings certainly suggest that we are on the verge of recovery. The question remains whether we have indeed reached a housing bottom, or is this one more sign that increases optimism only to disappoint in the end? The picture is still not clear, but ideally we can hope that the bottom has been reached for both housing and the US economy as a whole.

Other home-improvement companies to watch:

Pier 1 Imports (PIR), Lowe’s (LOW), Orchard Supply Hardware Stores (OSH)

Works Cited:

1 Macke, Jeff. “Home Depot Earnings Surprise: Sign of a Housing Bottom?” Yahoo! Finance. 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2012..

2 Solsman, Joan E. “THE HOME DEPOT, INC.” Home Depot 4Q Net Up 32% On Strong Sales. 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2012..

Article By:
Ryan Wallace