Blog 31

So last week taxes were due. Do you really think everyone ran and paid their taxes in this recession? Are you kidding me. I think that people are struggling so bad in this economy there is nothing they can do. Some just can't swing the taxes because they are unemployed. There are no jobs, no work. What do we do? They are going to tax us for the rest of our lives and people will be in debt until infinity. The middle-class average citizen is in trouble and the only way we can start saving ourselves is getting the congress cleaned out. Start fresh with everyone. I am really scared as a 22yr old and there is no money flow in the U.S.

Post 30

Toyota is really going to be hurting if something comes up while they are testing all of there SUV's for similar problems. The company is already going to fail in my books but they are just looking for ways to get the customer to buy again. Most people prefer the highest rating for safety now and toyota is dead last on that list. Everytime I see a toyota on the road I get out of the way know matter what kind of vehichle it is. Toyota will be owned by government very soon we jsut need to give it some time.

Blog 29

The reason why there are so many unemploymed in the U.S is because the immigration rates that have been increasing over the years. If companies can pay someone under the table and bury that expense to there benifit to produce more profit then they are going to do everything they can to do that. Wouldnt't you if it was going to make you more money. The mexicians have been sneaking through Arizona and are dispursing all over the U.S. and thats why the unemployment has increased. We have to filter them out otherwise its just going to get worse.

Blog 28

Why does everyone go crazy when there is elections and are so supportive of congress? They just screwed 10,000 jobless Americans out of unemployment because they failed to enact an extension last month. They really care about us dont they? I think they just dont care what happens to the middle class citizens of this country and nothing is going to change unless there is a draft and we get some new congress representatives going. We need a change in the U.S. and we need to let them know that we need it now. There are no jobs, they are taking are money, and people are left holding their hand on there ass. What do we do? We need to stand up for ourselves now!!

Blog 27

Apple Inc. sold over 300,000 Ipads on the first day it came out.Thats big bucks!! My brother who drives for UPS said he was so nervous when he had to sign for delivering 30 of those on saturday which range from 600-900 dollars a pop. If they were lost it was on his tab not ups. He payed attention that day. Many analaysts said that they expected more to sell then they expected which I think they are crazy because not everyone can pull out $900 dollars out of there pockets right now because of the government is taking over everything and us consumers arent doing anything about it yet. We need to get eveyoe out of office that is in there right now because they are just bringing us down the tubes. WE discussed this in class today and if our generation doesnt do something were all screwed..Apple seems to be making profit though so why cant everyone else......

Blog 26

Toyota had to pay a good chunk of change because it tried hiding these crazy safety problems for so long. The consumer had to pay the price too, some there lives were taken. Toyota had to pay a fine of 16.4 million dollars for these actions. I dont feel any sympathy for this company because they hurt the american people and didnt even have the courage to confess up to there own mistakes. I hope toyota sinks so far in debt that they have to stop producing the automobiles.

Blog 25

Taco Bell is certainly on top of things after opening its first International fast food restaurant in Bangalore, India on March 16th. This is brilliance because you have a young population with improving standards of living and enthusiasm to sell too. There menu starts with 40 cent items but attract over 2500 people a day. This is only the first one too. This is smart by taco bell, I think because they know the U.S is in a hole and they need to find a way out. This is definetly going to be the start of getting out of that hole. They are doing everything they can to increase sales and I think that by opening in India its just the beginning.

Crude Oil just doesnt seem to stop rising but I dont understand why we depend on foreign countries when we have all the natural resources in our own continent. Why spend all this money over there and not use our own natural resources. Crude oil rose 3% and a barrel is now $82.17. This is ridiculous I think. We are wasting so much money getting oil from Iran and the Middle East. I think we need to cut these expenditures off and start using our own oil. The prices are ecomincally outrageuos for the middle class of the U.S. and someone needs to stand up for these people. This generation is not going to make if it if somthing doesnt happen soon.

Blog #22 3/30/10

The new iPhone might be supported by other corporations other then AT&T Service's and be able to sell it as well. I think that if they want the consumer to keep buying they have to adapt to these changes. They must make the conusmer and middle class people happy not just the wealthy. If Sprint and Verizon offer these then Apple Inc. will make more money in the long run. I don't know why people are freaking out about this because it will prolly be cheaper for them to have a smartphone that they always dreamed of having. It will open up a whole new market of sales for Apple Inc. Its an awesome idea and this bussiness is going far by thinking creative and making the consumers happy.

Blog #21

Toyota is really in trouble if you want my opinion. They are trying to do anything they can now to grab on to most of there customers. They just started a new sales campaign to bring the consumers back hopefully. I think its too late. They are offering 0% loans, free insurance, and fuel, and even free roadside assistance? That's just insanity. How do yo even survive making profit on those terms? It sounds convincing but I think its already too late for them. They are trying to reflect the seriousness of there crisis. Like I said before Toyota will be nothing shortly. Just give it a little more time.

Blog #20

In order to sales to go up in Ct, it needs to snow more according to the sales increases in febuary. People had nothing better to do on these snow days so they went out and purchased all the new spring arrivals. Last year the consumers didnt help out the outlets and had a huge fall in sales, but right now they are up to a 4/1% increase in sales. American Eagle, Nordstrom. J.C. Penny, all reported an increase in sales in febuary. They said people are coming out of hibernation. I wouldnt get too excited though. There isnt too many snow days in march and throughout rest of year. So hopefully, they will still keep rising.

Blog #19

Finally Apple Inc's will have some competiton as Sony produces some new gadgets in 2010. They are coming out with a new smart phone tht will be capable of playing video games on it as well s all the features on other smartphones. It was designed to compete against the new Ipad tablet. I personally don't think Sont will be successful in keeping up with Apple. They are trying to counter Apple's wide range of products but after having a 41% decrease last month alone, they are really going to have to impress the consumer in this rough time. Time will tell for Sony though.

Blog 18

Banking on Sunshine States can have its dark clouds as well. California, Texas, and Florida are always impacted by the sun, but also withered. They are in some deep waters with some fiscal problems and growth of these states is diminishing. No one has any money. According to the loan rates, geography matters. States can slip into long term underperformance. Fiscal problems are serious in these states right now, and the rebound will be challenging. They defiently are at risk for tax increases which is nothing new to anyone. Hopefully we all get out of this recession and are succesfull in life, but that time is far from here I think.

Blog 17

Of course investing oversea's is getting scarier, but still makes perfect sense because of the outcome of the U.S. dollar. They have already dropped more then 33 billion dollars into international stock markets and that was in 2009 alone. This year was expected to be way more because of the 13.2% annual profit gain. I can understand why they are scared because of the other international currencies are not equivalent to ours. Sometimes you just have to live on the edge, and take a chance. They have been making profit that is reasonable so why stop now?

Blog 16

So now they are blaming snow storms for a decrease in sales. Toyota is suspected to see losses of about 25% but other corporations are expected to see 25% increases in sales. Ford, Nissan, and Hyundai Motor Corporations are the way to go. I personally drive a ford and always will. I dont trust any of these european built cars especially toyota. I buy american and something thats built ford tough. We have had some big storms hitting the eastern coast, but you can't blame the storms for not selling cars. We are just in a tough time and no one has any money to buy new cars. Don't blame it on the snowflakes, a real business would just say its a rough time period but keep on striving for sales.

Blog 15

Burger king can't hold down the $1 cheeseburger for much longer according the corporate news. In March the price will jump back up to 1.19, and they even take off some of the toppings. Earlier in my Blog I thought that burger king would be the company to come out on top of others in the end. I guess i was wrong seeing as they are raising prices that made a killing in previous terms. Why are they doing this is a good qiestion. If something is pulling in good profit, why take it off or change it? You never know whats going to happen in business. Everyday is a new day and without change, nothing can be figured out i guess.

Blog 14

The Ipad has some rivals building up after reading the article on the 18th of february. Hp, Dell, Son, Microsoft are trying to grab attention of consumers sut as apple will in March. I dont think any of the PC Makers will be able to top this new gadget that sells between 499-829 dollars. I think this is just the beginning for apple. They are going to be distant from other after these start to sell.

Blog 13

Toyota chief Akio Toyoda should have testified a long time ago nevermind agreeing to it last week. This made me realize that Mr. Toyoda should not only be confident of defending its company but to tell us why he wouldnt testify beforehand. Was he scared. Now hes confiden? Half of the nation doesnt even know which cars are being affected. The prius is still shinging in japan though so maby this is why he doesnt care so much for people getting killed in america. Too me it doesnt seem to be a big deal for Akio, he seems confident it testifying now but time will tell to see if his company makes it..

Blog 12

Coca-Cola is one of America's top sold beverages. But it seems that India and Brazil are devolping strong economies and adapting to this soda as well. These outside countries gave the corporation a 55% increase in profit last quarter. I think that's awesome. I think coke is using outside resources because of hard time economic times in North America and making the best out of it. In fact there killing it. A slow recovery is expected for our nation but i just wanted to say that coke isn't going to let hard times bring them down. They are expanding business which most of us cant do right now.

Blog 11

Last week was the last thread for Sprint/Nextel for me as well. It's kind of relavent that I came across this article because I was one of the 148,000 customers that they lost in the past month. I never will go back to them for phone services again after what they did to me. I now own the Iphone and its been doing its job. It is genius phone. They lost over 980 million dollars in the past year. I have no sympathy for them because the way they treat there customers. I hope they continue declining. I feel much better after seeing this article.

Blog 10

After reading that two of the nation’s largest auto-dealership chains believe that Toyota took a small hit from its major recall, I just can’t come to an agreement with them. AutoNation Inc. and Group 1 Automotive think that they will win back all customers around March- April. I don’t see how it’s possible that Toyota will dig itself back out of the hole they buried themselves in. In January alone its sales fell 16%. These businesses are just benefitting off of this crisis and that’s why I think they are supporting Toyota. Both of their sales percentages increased so it’s a given.

Blog #9

I think that Toyota should go back to the old style gas throttle system. The cable that controlled velocity was reliable and never had failures of sticking. The sensors on the new designs are the cause they think. Why not save money, lives, and not depend on technology for once.We diepend on so much technology these days and we don't need to. This will be better and more profitable for them if they ever make it out of their hole.

Blog #8 Toyota

It doesnt surprise me that Europe had these problems with Toyota's gas pedals over a year ago. And now its appearing in the U.S. Are they mentally stupid to not check it out and see where this part has been distributed and warn us. Why would they sell it, or even buy it? They didnt even tell us it seems like Other market's are just the same as ours. Knowing of these problems beforehand just makes it looks worse for Toyota. They will fail shortly.

Blog #7 Toyota

After 6 millin veichles in the U.S alone, finally the Chief of Toyota is stepping up to the plate. Yoshimi Inaba took over the Toyota business in North America last year, and would never of thought he would be testifying before congress to discuss the failures in Toyota's manufacturing. If i was pitching, you know what i would throw to him. Its about time this happend! Over 2.3 million vechicles over sticky gas pedals have been recalled over the past ten days. How can someone take so long to act on a nationwide crisis like this. I dont feel bad for toyota, I dont drive a toyota, and I just know that they will be nothing soon. Well done Mr. Inaba.

Blog # 6

Health is costly but in order to live you need to be in good health. Obama's idea of expanding health insurance to nearly all americans was on the path of success until legislators tore it apart. They really care about your health right? In 2009, the health-care tab was 2.5 trillion!! Every year it is going to rise because of the expansion and growth of the U.S. I dont think its fair for the tax paying citizens, workers, and employers. Since health is so important, everyone just keeps paying.

Blog #5

Finding a job is extremely hard considereing the decline in the private sector. It just lost 22,000 jobs in January alone. Time are real tough and sluggish. I guess it all depends on how big your business is. I think staying small as a business is smart and efficient because you can control the outcome of employers, profit, and costs. Being a huge business is a risk these days and jobs are being slayed by the second. There was a saying time is money but you can't follow that to well these days. Its rough out there.

Blog #4

Credit cards just seem to be booming these days according to VISA, and its rivals Mastercard, American Express. Visa earnings increased 33% but I dont think they are going to keep jumping as the consumers payments keep increasing. In fact I think its going to get bad and no ones going to be able to pay them fully back. I think its just the beginning of credit card debt and its going to turn into something serious shortly.Credit cards are helpful but also scary. Personally I only own one of them and have a set limit of 2,000 dollars. I dont buy something if i dont have the money for it. Thats just pure stupidity and most americans are completely opposite of me and they do spend. They will regret soon though as Visa increases percentages of payments as they say they are going to soon.

Wall Street Journal Blog #3

Toyota is going to hit rock bottom pretty soon because they took long enough to get going on the defects that are killing people all over the nation. Regulators said that they are dragging there feet on this crisis. This is a serious problem that not only puts a driver at risk but the people around them like us. I think they should ban these recalled toyotas and prius until they are fixed. Why risk more? This is bringing there business down the tubes and they arent going to be able to help themselves even if they tried. They might as well pack it in and let the government take over cause thats whats going to happen. No ones going to buy a toyota after hearing previous problems that caused fatalities.

Wall Street Journal Blog #2

Abercrombie & Fitch is also on the decline but that doesnt even surprise me one bit. You walk into that store and they try to sell you a pair of jeans for $90.00 bucks. Are they out of there minds? Neverless the jeans are ripped in ten different places. Then you make your way over to the shirt section and they cost around $40.00 bucks. This place is mentally insane. After a 19% decline in sales, dont you think they might try and sell clothing for less amount? They are heading right down the tubes if you want my opinion. They are not going to make it out of this rough economic time. I rather buy a pair of jeans that has no rips in it for $30.00 bucks at walmart with there rollback prices. Just me though.

Wall Street Journal Blog #1

Wall Street Journal- Feb 1st, 2010

Super fans not only of Burger King,McDonalds,and Wendys better start whoofing down more food because the fast food industry is definetly feeling the effects from the recession. No one is chowing down like they used to . Sales have dropped 4.6 % in the last three months, said Brian Gies the vice president of burger king. People are starting to conserve there money and are tryig to eat a more nutritional meal.If these meals didnt come with a side of a heart attack, I would eat them more and spend the money on them. Out of all the fast food chains, I think burger king has the best chance of coming out of this decline of its affordability spectrum. Its way cheaper then most places. Even with the dollar menu the consumers arent spending what they used to on these lunch spots. The recession is playing a big role in the fast food industry and I dont think some places are going to make it if we dont get out of these rough times.

Auto-Biography

Hi my names Brian James Brandt and I am 21 years old. I was born on September 3rd, 1988 in Bristol Ct. I am 1 of 4 children of my parents Jed & Mary. I have an older brother named Jason who is 22, and sisters that are twins and are currently seniors. I graduated from Thomaston High School, played basketball, baseball and ran cross country for 2 years. I went to uconn waterbury for a year and then transferred to storrs, and now im finishing up at NVCC. Some of my favorite things to do are play basketball and go fishing on the ocean. I also just finished getting certified for the State of Ct as a firemen. I have 5 classes left to graduate and get my associates degree in horticulture, and i finished getting my landscape design certifcate already. That pretty much wraps it up.