Investing and Global Finance News

Monthly Archives: November 2012

RingCentral Creates Business-Class SMS

As technological means of communication become more and more popular, businesses have to choice but to keep up. These days, most people prefer texting to actual phone calls, leaving retailers and other service providers with a tough challenge.

RingCentral, a cloud telephone systems business, has come up with a solution: business-class SMS. Matt McGinnis, director of product marketing at the company, explained the idea to Venture Beat.

“This is the industry’s first SMS for business phone systems,” he said. “Texting for work giving you much more efficiency, flexibility and empowerment. You can really leverage your business numbers to improve customer contact, colleague collaboration, etc.”

The innovative solution uses cloud-based technology to work across a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets and PCs. Highly flexible, the business SMS program will allow businesses to text both customers and employees alike.

“Being able to text individual departments is a key feature,” McGinnis explained. “You could broadcast that there’s a meeting at 2 p.m. or give them thanks on a job well done.”

Small Business Saturday in Connecticut

Small Business Saturday, recently celebrated by shoppers throughout the U.S., was a lucrative event for both residents and local businesses. In Milford, Connecticut, many dedicated consumers ventured into boutiques late on Friday night to get a head start. The day was designated to support small businesses during the momentum of Black Friday, and has been… Continue Reading

China’s Economy Sees Growth, Stocks Climb

Many experts believe China’s economy is headed for a turnaround. Recent analyses of the country’s manufacturing activity show that this may in fact be true. This month saw an increase in the preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, which reached 50.4 compared with a 49.5 reading in October. Fox Business explains that a reading… Continue Reading

Small Businesses Cautious but Optimistic

According to a Bank of America survey, Boston-area small business owners are feeling optimistic, if cautious, about the upcoming fiscal year.  Many expect to increase sales as well as workers throughout 2013. Though 9% of small businesses in the region expect revenue to fall in 2013, more than half of those polled project significant increases.… Continue Reading

Integrative Approach for Private Equity Companies

According to a study undertaken of 50 private equity firms, when investing in lesser-known EMs, more ground work is required than for developed markets.  The solution is to adopt a full integration approach – less necessary for developed markets investments. This is because EMs come with additional risks than developed markets. What are the benefits… Continue Reading

Small Business Advocacy Groups Rally to Avert the Fiscal Cliff

Small business advocacy groups have been appealing to Washington to call off the $607 billion tax increases and spending cuts set to start in 2013 immediately. Aside from the fiscal cliff issue, many organizations have put forth complaints regarding federal contracting reform and the never-ending government investment into clean and renewable energies. The National Small… Continue Reading

Company Focus: Eagle Bulk Shipping

Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc., a Marshall Islands corporation, is one of the leading owners of Handymax dry bulk vessels in the United States. Focusing mainly on ocean transportation of both minor and major bulk cargoes, the company ships iron ore, coal, grain, cement, fertilizer and many other commodities on global shipping routes. Founded by Sophocles… Continue Reading

Focus on Companies: Oasis Investment Limited

Despite what some observers see as a slow-down in the Asian investments sector, there are several hedge funds that have proven these observers to be too pessimistic. Take for example the recently launched Oasis Investments Limited fund, which had an extraordinary beginning. During the first 14 months of investing with its internal funds the global… Continue Reading