Discover the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Berlin!

With two distinct sides to its character and a wealth of history, both ancient and modern, Berlin is one of the most interesting cities in Europe. Visit Berlin and you’ll find a zest for living that is irresistible and an energy that will infuse anyone. See most of Berlin’s interesting sights in the half day panoramic coach tour.

Includes:

• Roundtrip Private Transfers between Selected Airport and Hotel
• Four Nights Accommodation at the 5-star Concorde Hotel
• Breakfast Daily
• Super Berlin Tour
• Hotel Tax and Service Charges

Terms & Conditions: From Price is per person based on double occupancy in a standard room in a 5 star hotel at the lowest price-point during the validity period and is subject to change and currency fluctuations. Other properties are available at both higher and lower rates. Standard terms and conditions apply. Once booked, package cannot be modified Valid through 3/31/2010.

From our family to yours. Now that’s family-friendly!

Families come in all shapes and sizes. And luckily for you, so does American Express Vacations’ extensive collection of certified family-friendly hotels and resorts featuring benefits designed exclusively for you! So whether you need one room or connecting rooms, have toddlers, teens or no kids at all, want to chill by the beach or be part of the action, We’ve Got Your Family Covered.

• Guaranteed connecting or adjoining rooms at select resorts
• Kids stay, play or eat free
• Exclusively negotiated benefits may include: complimentary room upgrade, 50% off second room, resort credit, free night stay, free kid’s club, complimentary babysitting, guaranteed early check-in (varies by property)

The Destination Family Program is available at more than 160 family-friendly hotels and resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

Vacations with infants and toddlers are now easier than ever thanks to American Express Vacations’ new online service partner Babies Travel Lite. Simply place your order with them and they will make sure all of your family’s vacation purchases are waiting for you at your hotel when you arrive.

Terms & Conditions: American Express Vacations tours operated by Travel Impressions, a subsidiary of American Express TRS, Inc. Offers valid on 3-night minimum stays for new Destination FamilySM from American Express bookings made and traveled through 12/31/10.Offer must be booked with an American Express® Card. Promotions are accurate at time of publication and are subject to changes, exceptions, cancellation charges and restrictions. Certain restrictions may apply. 1Guaranteed adjoining or connecting rooms are based on availability at the time of booking. 2For kids stay or eat free, age requirements vary by hotel. 3Terms and conditions apply to bonus value offer and vary based on the property and package booked. Please ask your travel agent for details. 4International shipments are subject to the customs regulations of the destination country and many have restrictions that apply to baby products. In addition, most international orders are subject to customs duty, taxes and/or other fees. To shop for Babies Travel Lite services and for full terms and conditions, please visit www.babiestravellite.com/aev. American Express Vacations is not liable for the actions or inactions of Babies Travel Lite. We want you to be aware that certain suppliers pay us commissions and other incentives, and may also provide incentives to our travel counselors.

Auch hier beißt die steigende Arbeitslosigkeit… Gefunden bei bloomberg.com:

Late Card Payments Rose in October, Moody’s Reports (Update1)

By Peter Eichenbaum

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) — U.S. credit-card delinquencies climbed last month to the highest level since February as five of the six biggest card lenders posted increases, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Loans at least 30 days overdue, a signal of future defaults, rose to 6.12 percent in October from 5.97 percent in September, Moody’s said in a report dated Nov. 20 and distributed today. So-called early-stage delinquencies, payments 30 to 59 days late, were unchanged at 1.66 percent.

Banks typically write off card loans after 180 days, and defaults fell last month to 10.04 percent from 10.72 percent in September, reflecting lower delinquency rates earlier in the year. Credit-card defaults and delinquencies tend to track U.S. unemployment, which climbed to 10.2 percent in October, the highest since 1983.

“Weak job creation, elevated bankruptcies and rising unemployment continue to weigh on results,” John McDonald, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said in a Nov. 17 research note. “It still feels too early to declare victory.”

Write-offs may peak at 12 percent to 13 percent in 2010, Moody’s analysts Will Black and Jeffrey Hibbs said in the report.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest U.S. card lender, as well as Capital One Financial Corp. and Discover Financial Services this month posted October data that included their highest delinquency rates for 2009. American Express Co., the top performer this year in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was the only of the six that didn’t report a rise in delinquencies.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Eichenbaum in New York at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 23, 2009 13:25 EST

It could be the stagnant economy or just a sign of the times, but customer loyalty programs and rewards are not only popping up everywhere, but they are evolving, too. In general, I try to keep my shopping to a minimum, just the necessities. Yet when I do spend money, I have now been conditioned to expect it to do something for me.  There are numerous customer rewards programs out there, but let me write about four that I feel are excellent because they are easy to utilize and a good deal to boot.

1.  Winn Dixie / Shell Fuelperks.  I have a Winn Dixie loyalty card, which I always use when I shop there.  However, it is my second choice destination for groceries; I usually go to Publix for their selection and better produce. I must admit though, my thoughts are changing as this gas discount perk is huge for me. Winn Dixie has a ways to go to meet my vegetarian wife’s food options, but if I can do a little more shopping at Winn Dixie (especially with the renovated stores—much better deli and produce) and a little less at Publix, which has no loyalty program, that would be fine with me. Two trips to Winn Dixie and I accrued a 40 cent-per-gallon price reduction in gas. Grocery shopping and gas fill ups are also roughly correlated on a frequency standpoint for me, so I can grocery shop and then immediately go fill up my car for cheap.

2. Southwest Airlines.  It is an oldie, but a goodie. Long ago, before LUV even arrived in Baltimore, I flew USAir’s Metrojet—and loved it.  Cheap direct flights from BWI to JAX, where my then-girlfriend, now-wife (TGNW) was. I think they had something going like ‘fly six earn a seventh free’.  Southwest’s program is similar and simple.  You fly to earn credits; credits earn you free flights.  Sixteen credits equals one free roundtrip; no points, no tiering.  Affiliate partners have complicated things, but have also allowed flyers to add a half-point here and there—even double or triple depending on the offer.  SWA’s website is easy to understand where you are with your points, and they are easy to redeem. On top of that, they are my favorite airline, even with the old cattle call system.

3. USAA Platinum Cash Rewards MasterCard.  Call me old fashioned, but I like getting cold, hard cash back. Any shopping method that promises this will automatically get my attention. But not all cash rewards programs are created equally. I have an American Express card with similar cash rewards, but the spending structure is set up so that you have to spend serious dollars to crack the high return threshold of 1% cash back.  For instance, you might get .25% back on the first $5k spent, .5% back on the next $5k and 1% back on all spending above $10k.  I never give my plastic that kind of workout, so I never see the big returns.  USAA’s card, even with its most recent adjustment to its similarly-tiered spending arrangement, offers more cash back while spending less…and I like that.

4.  Staples Rewards Ink Cartridge Return.  Ever since the birth of our daughter, Quinn, and my wife’s budding Etsy art endeavor  (http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=5545525), we have been using our HP printer like mad. Thus, we plow through ink cartridges like crazy, and those run $12 a pop unless you buy them in a set—cha-ching. No sooner had I lamented the frequency of spent ink cartridges hitting the trash, than Staples started this cartridge return program.  I believe it is only for Rewards card customers and I think Staples also has other return programs. In this case, if you return an ink cartridge, you get a $3 rebate for each one, and you can make returns with no purchase required. The only negative is that you have to wait for a rebate check to be cut from the mother office, but they do it once a month after tallying all your returns for that month, and the checks are good for about 60 days. I routinely get checks for between $9 and $15, so it definitely keeps me coming back to buy more ink there.

On the other hand, it always irritates me when you sign up for something hoping for a benefit and you get nothing. One program I think is a total waste up to this point is my Petsmart Pet Perks card. I think I signed up because the cashier asked me, but I hardly ever see even an opportunity to use it.  I scan it every time I buy my dog and bird food, probably $60 every ten weeks, so I am not the most frequent customer but no stranger either, and am not sure if I ever received one discount in over two years. I have never had a coupon mailed to me, no special sales, and rarely see anything in the aisles I frequent that offer a discount with the card. The one time my dog’s favorite food was discounted with the card, they were sold out.  I was able to get a similar discount with a smaller bag thanks to the store manager, but I shop for six or eight weeks’ supply, not two.  I went back five days later after restocking to load up and the discount was off, only to be told they typically last through the end of the month—and it was the 30th of September, so what gives?

Rewards programs should not be a crutch counted on to meet your budget; however, it is not unreasonable to expect to be able to accrue some long-term benefits with store loyalty.  Be wise when snooping around for benefits programs and guard your personal information. I eschew affinity credit cards because credit cards are a double-edged sword.  I shop with the idea that I am going to buy it anyway, so I may as well get something back when possible.  Good luck finding your just rewards.

Below is a video of Seth Godin discussing YouTube for businesses and marketing.  What are your thoughts?

If you’re already a Costco member, Sign up for automatic membership renewal with your American Express Card and they’ll extend your membership for two months – free! Call 1-877-258-6032 and provide your Costco membership number and American Express Card number. Two free months will be credited to your Costco membership within 30 days.

If you’re not a member, go here to get the same deal.

‘Plastic’ corporate payment card for Orange. Naming and card design by me, with help from Orange Sourcing and American Express.

Research shows that emotionally intelligent leaders are more effective at driving talent engagement and organizational performance. You’ve got a large global enterprise and want your leadership to develop and apply EI competencies – where do you begin? How do you check for success along the way? If you knew in advance lessons learned from leading organizations, how would you incorporate those into your implementation? If your C suite gives you 25 weeks to complete a pilot that improves leadership effectiveness what would you do? Join us online on December 2nd at the Human Capital Institute to hear the American Express success story of developing emotionally intelligent leaders and teams, told by Talent Development Manager Deanna Coffin, an early adopter who helped set a standard for this large global enterprise.

Don’t miss these webcast take-aways; leave with insights to:

• Assessing your stakeholders
• Building a case, drawing on research and track records where EI has become part of a performance culture
• Designing an implementation to develop EI competencies in individual leaders and leadership teams
• Measuring and evaluating results against objectives

(GiaVang.com.vn – Giá vàng Việt Nam và Thế Giới) – Chứng khoán Mỹ tăng giá, chỉ số MSCI World tăng ở mức cao nhất trong năm nay. Dự trữ hàng hóaThị trường hàng hóa tăng giúp phục hồi tăng trưởng.

Giá dầu thô chạm mức 72USD/thùng, khí gas tăng 13%. Vàng đóng cửa ở mức kỷ lục khi đồng USD suy yếu mức thấp nhất so với đồng EUR trong vòng 1 năm. Trái phiếu kho bạc giảm mạnh nhất trong 3 tuần qua.

Cổ phiếu của GE Co. đạt 6,3% và Alcoa Inc. đạt 3,4% sau khi Cục dự trữ liên bang công bố nền sản xuất công nghiệp tăng nhanh hơn dự báo. New York Times Co và Gannett Co tăng hơn 10% sau khi một công ty nghiên cứu thị trường cho biết những công ty truyền thông có thể có lợi từ việc chi tiêu quảng cáo tăng.

John Carey, quản lý tiền tệ của Pioneer Investments, cho biết: “Nhà đầu tư sớm chấp nhận rủi ro cao khi họ cảm thấy tự tin về kinh tế toàn cầu phục hồi. Có nhiều sự tin tưởng hơn liên quan đến các công ty lớn như GE mà đã từng trong tình trạng xấu vào đỉnh điểm của khủng hoảng tài chính trong giai đoạn vừa qua.”

Chỉ số S&P tăng 1,5% tương đương 1.068,76  và chỉ số công nghiệp trung bình Dow Jones tăng 103,3 điểm, tương đương tăng 1,1%, đạt 9.791,71. American Express Co. tăng 3,4%. Hơn 6 mã chứng khoán tăng giá trên sản giao dịch chứng khoán.
 

Source: Chứng khoán, hàng hóa tăng giá trên thị trường.

(GiaVang.com.vn – Giá vàng Việt Nam và Thế Giới) – Chứng khoán Mỹ tăng giá, chỉ số MSCI World tăng ở mức cao nhất trong năm nay. Dự trữ hàng hóaThị trường hàng hóa tăng giúp phục hồi tăng trưởng.

Giá dầu thô chạm mức 72USD/thùng, khí gas tăng 13%. Vàng đóng cửa ở mức kỷ lục khi đồng USD suy yếu mức thấp nhất so với đồng EUR trong vòng 1 năm. Trái phiếu kho bạc giảm mạnh nhất trong 3 tuần qua.

Cổ phiếu của GE Co. đạt 6,3% và Alcoa Inc. đạt 3,4% sau khi Cục dự trữ liên bang công bố nền sản xuất công nghiệp tăng nhanh hơn dự báo. New York Times Co và Gannett Co tăng hơn 10% sau khi một công ty nghiên cứu thị trường cho biết những công ty truyền thông có thể có lợi từ việc chi tiêu quảng cáo tăng.

John Carey, quản lý tiền tệ của Pioneer Investments, cho biết: “Nhà đầu tư sớm chấp nhận rủi ro cao khi họ cảm thấy tự tin về kinh tế toàn cầu phục hồi. Có nhiều sự tin tưởng hơn liên quan đến các công ty lớn như GE mà đã từng trong tình trạng xấu vào đỉnh điểm của khủng hoảng tài chính trong giai đoạn vừa qua.”

Chỉ số S&P tăng 1,5% tương đương 1.068,76  và chỉ số công nghiệp trung bình Dow Jones tăng 103,3 điểm, tương đương tăng 1,1%, đạt 9.791,71. American Express Co. tăng 3,4%. Hơn 6 mã chứng khoán tăng giá trên sản giao dịch chứng khoán.
 

Source: Chứng khoán, hàng hóa tăng giá trên thị trường.

(GiaVang.com.vn – Giá vàng Việt Nam và Thế Giới) – Ngày 16/9, chứng khoán Mỹ đã có phiên tăng điểm thứ ba liên tiếp trong tuần nhờ báo cáo khả quan từ lĩnh vực công nghiệp.

Hôm thứ Tư, Bộ Lao động Mỹ cho biết chỉ số giá tiêu dùng (CPI) của nước này trong tháng 8/2009 đã tăng 0,4% – cao hơn 0,1% so với dự báo của các chuyên gia trước đó. So với cùng kỳ năm ngoái, CPI ở Mỹ trong tháng 8 vẫn giảm 1,5%.

Giá xăng tăng 9,1% trong tháng 8 chính là nguyên nhân cơ bản đẩy CPI tăng tốc. Nếu loại trừ giá năng lượng và thực phẩm thì CPI cơ bản trong tháng 8 tăng 0,1%, tương đương với mức tăng của tháng 7. Nếu so với cùng kỳ năm ngoái, CPI cơ bản đã tăng 1,4%.

Cùng ngày, Bộ Thương mại Mỹ cho hay thâm hụt cán cân vãng lai trong quý 2/2009 ở nước này giảm xuống 98,8 tỷ USD – mức thấp nhất kể từ quý 4/2001. Quý 1/2009, thâm hụt cán cân vãng lai ở Mỹ là 104,5 tỷ USD.

Chuyển qua thông tin quan trọng khác, Cục Dự trữ Liên bang Mỹ vừa thông báo sản xuất công nghiệp ở nước này đã tăng 0,8% trong tháng 8/2009, cao hơn mức dự báo 0,6% của giới phân tích nhưng thấp hơn so với mức tăng 1% của tháng 7/2009.

cổ phiếu tài chính dẫn dắt thị trường

Chứng khoán Mỹ đã có phiên tăng điểm thứ ba liên tiếp trong tuần nhờ lĩnh vực sản xuất công nghiệp tăng tháng thứ hai liên tiếp. Với phiên tăng điểm này, Chứng khoán Mỹ tiếp tục chinh phục mốc đỉnh cao mới trong năm.

Các chỉ số Chứng khoán Mỹ mở cửa ngày giao dịch với mức tăng không đáng kể và phải mất hơn 30 phút điều chỉnh mới có lực để đi lên. Đà tăng diễn ra mạnh nhất trong khoảng từ 10h30 (giờ địa phương) đến 2 giờ chiều.

cổ phiếu khối tài chính, năng lượng và sản xuất công nghiệp đã dẫn đầu về biên độ tăng điểm, qua đó giúp thị trường duy trì vị thế tăng vững chắc. Biên độ tăng hơn 1,1% ở các chỉ số đã cho thấy sự bứt phá rõ nét so với hai phiên giao dịch đầu tuần.

Bên cạnh đó, đồng USD yếu đi nên đã tác động tích cực tới giá cổ phiếu của những hãng có giá trị hàng hóa, dịch vụ xuất khẩu lớn. Tất cả các thông tin hỗ trợ trên đã giúp cho 24/30 cổ phiếu trong chỉ số Dow Jones khởi sắc. Trong đó, cổ phiếu General Electric tăng 6,3%, cổ phiếu Exxon Mobil tiến thêm 1,2%, cổ phiếu Alcoa lên 3,43%, cổ phiếu của Du Pont nhích 2,26%.

thị trường hôm thứ Tư đã chứng kiến đà tăng mạnh mẽ của cổ phiếu khối tài chính khi chỉ số S&P khối này lên 3,4% – mức tăng mạnh nhất trong 10 ngành. Cổ phiếu của American Express lên 3,43%, cổ phiếu Bank of America tiến thêm 2,8%, cổ phiếu JPMorgan tăng 3,38%.

Biểu đồ diễn biến của ba chỉ số chứng khoán Mỹ ngày 16/9 – Nguồn: G.Finance.

Điểm qua kết quả giao dịch ngày 16/9: chỉ số Dow Jones tiếp tục tăng 108,3 điểm, tương đương 1,12%, chốt ở mức 9.791,71.

Chỉ số Nasdaq lên 30,51 điểm, tương đương 1,45%, chốt ở mức 2.133,15.

Cuối cùng, chỉ số S&P 500 tiến thêm 16,13 điểm, tương ứng 1,53%, đóng cửa ở mức 1.068,76.

Khối lượng giao dịch trên sàn New York đạt 1,58 tỷ cổ phiếu, thị trường cứ có 5 cổ phiếu tăng điểm thì có 1 cổ phiếu giảm điểm. Trên sàn Nasdaq, khối lượng khớp lệnh thành công đạt 2,76 tỷ cổ phiếu, thị trường cứ có 9 cổ phiếu tăng điểm thì có 4 cổ phiếu giảm điểm.

Những thông tin đáng chú ý trong tuần:

Thứ Năm: Công bố số liệu về nhà mới khởi công; số người nộp đơn xin trợ cấp thất nghiệp lần đầu; công bố kết quả kinh doanh của FedEx.

chứng khoán châu Á bùng nổ

Ngày 16/9, thị trường chứng khoán khu vực tăng điểm mạnh mẽ, đưa chỉ số MSCI châu Á – Thái Bình Dương tăng mạnh nhất trong gần 3 tuần qua.

Điểm đáng chú ý trong phiên này chính là sức cầu khá mạnh ở hầu hết các thị trường và đà tăng được duy trì trong cả ngày giao dịch với giá trị đóng cửa cao hơn giá trị mở cửa. Đây là lần đầu tiên trong tuần, chứng khoán châu Á có diễn biến tích cực như vậy.

Có 7/8 thị trường khởi sắc, trong đó có tới 5 chỉ số chứng khoán có mức tăng trên 1%. Riêng chỉ số Shanghai Composite phiên này lại quay đầu giảm điểm.

Báo cáo về doanh thu bán lẻ ở Mỹ vượt mong đợi đã giúp Phố Wall tăng điểm, đồng thời cũng tác động tích cực tới diễn biến của thị trường chứng khoán châu Á. Đà tăng của cổ phiếu khối xuất khẩu ở châu Á đã tạo động lực nâng đỡ toàn thị trường đi lên.

Chỉ số MSCI châu Á – Thái Bình Dương phiên này tăng 1,8% lên 117,94 điểm – mức tăng mạnh nhất kể từ ngày 24/8.

Tại thời điểm hầu hết các thị trường chứng khoán châu Á ngừng giao dịch (16h30), chứng khoán Anh, Pháp, Đức đang tăng từ 0,8-1,2%. Còn tại Mỹ, chỉ số tương lai của Dow Jones và S&P 500 đang tăng trên 0,4%.

Chuyển qua diễn biến thị trường Nhật, chỉ số Nikkei 225 tăng điểm nhờ cổ phiếu của Canon và các hãng xuất khẩu lớn khác khởi sắc. Trong ngày giao dịch, Nikkei 225 có lúc đã duy trì sức tăng mạnh mẽ, nhưng đến gần tới cuối ngày giao dịch thì đuối sức, nên biên độ tăng thấp hơn so với các thị trường lớn khác trong khu vực.

Kết thúc ngày giao dịch, chỉ số Nikkei 225 lên 53,15 điểm, tương đương 0,52%, chốt ở mức 10.270,77.

Điểm qua các thị trường khác: chỉ số Taiwan Weighted của Đài Loan tăng 1,28%. Chỉ số VN-Index của Việt Nam lên 0,04%. Chỉ số ASX của Australia nhích 2,32%. Chỉ số Straits Times của Singapore tiến thêm 1,37%. Chỉ số Hang Seng của Hồng Kông lên 2,57%. Chỉ số BSE 30 của Ấn Độ tăng 0,91%. Chỉ số KOSPI lên 1,81%. Chỉ số Shanghai Composite của Trung Quốc hạ 1,12%.

Thị trường	Chỉ số	Phiên trước	Đóng cửa	Tăng / giảm (điểm)	Tăng / giảm (%)
Mỹ	Dow Jones	9.683,41	9.791,71	108,30	1,12
	Nasdaq	2.102,64	2.133,15	30,51	1,45
	S&P 500	1.052,63	1.068,76	16,13	1,53
Anh	FTSE 100	5.042,13	5.124,13	82,00	1,63
Đức	DAX	5.628,98	5.700,26	71,28	1,27
Pháp	CAC 40	3.752,21	3.813,79	61,58	1,64
Đài Loan	Taiwan Weighted	7.346,26	7.440,24	93,98	1,28
Nhật	Nikkei 225	10.217,62	10.270,77	53,15	0,52
Hồng Kông	Hang Seng	20.866,37	21.402,90	536,55	2,57
Hàn Quốc	KOSPI Composite	1.653,40	1.683,33	29,93	1,81
Singapore	Straits Times	2.642,27	2.674,42	36,02	1,37
Trung Quốc	Shanghai Composite	3.033,73	2.999,71	34,02	1,12
Ấn Độ	BSE	16.397,00	16.603,45	149,00	0,91
Australia	ASX	4.547,20	4.652,80	105,60	2,32
Việt Nam	VN-Index	556,75	556,98	0,23	0,04
Nguồn: CNBC, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg

 

Source: Phố Wall bật tăng mạnh mẽ

(GiaVang.com.vn – Giá vàng Việt Nam và Thế Giới) – Ngày 16/9, chứng khoán Mỹ đã có phiên tăng điểm thứ ba liên tiếp trong tuần nhờ báo cáo khả quan từ lĩnh vực công nghiệp.

Hôm thứ Tư, Bộ Lao động Mỹ cho biết chỉ số giá tiêu dùng (CPI) của nước này trong tháng 8/2009 đã tăng 0,4% – cao hơn 0,1% so với dự báo của các chuyên gia trước đó. So với cùng kỳ năm ngoái, CPI ở Mỹ trong tháng 8 vẫn giảm 1,5%.

Giá xăng tăng 9,1% trong tháng 8 chính là nguyên nhân cơ bản đẩy CPI tăng tốc. Nếu loại trừ giá năng lượng và thực phẩm thì CPI cơ bản trong tháng 8 tăng 0,1%, tương đương với mức tăng của tháng 7. Nếu so với cùng kỳ năm ngoái, CPI cơ bản đã tăng 1,4%.

Cùng ngày, Bộ Thương mại Mỹ cho hay thâm hụt cán cân vãng lai trong quý 2/2009 ở nước này giảm xuống 98,8 tỷ USD – mức thấp nhất kể từ quý 4/2001. Quý 1/2009, thâm hụt cán cân vãng lai ở Mỹ là 104,5 tỷ USD.

Chuyển qua thông tin quan trọng khác, Cục Dự trữ Liên bang Mỹ vừa thông báo sản xuất công nghiệp ở nước này đã tăng 0,8% trong tháng 8/2009, cao hơn mức dự báo 0,6% của giới phân tích nhưng thấp hơn so với mức tăng 1% của tháng 7/2009.

cổ phiếu tài chính dẫn dắt thị trường

Chứng khoán Mỹ đã có phiên tăng điểm thứ ba liên tiếp trong tuần nhờ lĩnh vực sản xuất công nghiệp tăng tháng thứ hai liên tiếp. Với phiên tăng điểm này, Chứng khoán Mỹ tiếp tục chinh phục mốc đỉnh cao mới trong năm.

Các chỉ số Chứng khoán Mỹ mở cửa ngày giao dịch với mức tăng không đáng kể và phải mất hơn 30 phút điều chỉnh mới có lực để đi lên. Đà tăng diễn ra mạnh nhất trong khoảng từ 10h30 (giờ địa phương) đến 2 giờ chiều.

cổ phiếu khối tài chính, năng lượng và sản xuất công nghiệp đã dẫn đầu về biên độ tăng điểm, qua đó giúp thị trường duy trì vị thế tăng vững chắc. Biên độ tăng hơn 1,1% ở các chỉ số đã cho thấy sự bứt phá rõ nét so với hai phiên giao dịch đầu tuần.

Bên cạnh đó, đồng USD yếu đi nên đã tác động tích cực tới giá cổ phiếu của những hãng có giá trị hàng hóa, dịch vụ xuất khẩu lớn. Tất cả các thông tin hỗ trợ trên đã giúp cho 24/30 cổ phiếu trong chỉ số Dow Jones khởi sắc. Trong đó, cổ phiếu General Electric tăng 6,3%, cổ phiếu Exxon Mobil tiến thêm 1,2%, cổ phiếu Alcoa lên 3,43%, cổ phiếu của Du Pont nhích 2,26%.

thị trường hôm thứ Tư đã chứng kiến đà tăng mạnh mẽ của cổ phiếu khối tài chính khi chỉ số S&P khối này lên 3,4% – mức tăng mạnh nhất trong 10 ngành. Cổ phiếu của American Express lên 3,43%, cổ phiếu Bank of America tiến thêm 2,8%, cổ phiếu JPMorgan tăng 3,38%.

Biểu đồ diễn biến của ba chỉ số chứng khoán Mỹ ngày 16/9 – Nguồn: G.Finance.

Điểm qua kết quả giao dịch ngày 16/9: chỉ số Dow Jones tiếp tục tăng 108,3 điểm, tương đương 1,12%, chốt ở mức 9.791,71.

Chỉ số Nasdaq lên 30,51 điểm, tương đương 1,45%, chốt ở mức 2.133,15.

Cuối cùng, chỉ số S&P 500 tiến thêm 16,13 điểm, tương ứng 1,53%, đóng cửa ở mức 1.068,76.

Khối lượng giao dịch trên sàn New York đạt 1,58 tỷ cổ phiếu, thị trường cứ có 5 cổ phiếu tăng điểm thì có 1 cổ phiếu giảm điểm. Trên sàn Nasdaq, khối lượng khớp lệnh thành công đạt 2,76 tỷ cổ phiếu, thị trường cứ có 9 cổ phiếu tăng điểm thì có 4 cổ phiếu giảm điểm.

Những thông tin đáng chú ý trong tuần:

Thứ Năm: Công bố số liệu về nhà mới khởi công; số người nộp đơn xin trợ cấp thất nghiệp lần đầu; công bố kết quả kinh doanh của FedEx.

chứng khoán châu Á bùng nổ

Ngày 16/9, thị trường chứng khoán khu vực tăng điểm mạnh mẽ, đưa chỉ số MSCI châu Á – Thái Bình Dương tăng mạnh nhất trong gần 3 tuần qua.

Điểm đáng chú ý trong phiên này chính là sức cầu khá mạnh ở hầu hết các thị trường và đà tăng được duy trì trong cả ngày giao dịch với giá trị đóng cửa cao hơn giá trị mở cửa. Đây là lần đầu tiên trong tuần, chứng khoán châu Á có diễn biến tích cực như vậy.

Có 7/8 thị trường khởi sắc, trong đó có tới 5 chỉ số chứng khoán có mức tăng trên 1%. Riêng chỉ số Shanghai Composite phiên này lại quay đầu giảm điểm.

Báo cáo về doanh thu bán lẻ ở Mỹ vượt mong đợi đã giúp Phố Wall tăng điểm, đồng thời cũng tác động tích cực tới diễn biến của thị trường chứng khoán châu Á. Đà tăng của cổ phiếu khối xuất khẩu ở châu Á đã tạo động lực nâng đỡ toàn thị trường đi lên.

Chỉ số MSCI châu Á – Thái Bình Dương phiên này tăng 1,8% lên 117,94 điểm – mức tăng mạnh nhất kể từ ngày 24/8.

Tại thời điểm hầu hết các thị trường chứng khoán châu Á ngừng giao dịch (16h30), chứng khoán Anh, Pháp, Đức đang tăng từ 0,8-1,2%. Còn tại Mỹ, chỉ số tương lai của Dow Jones và S&P 500 đang tăng trên 0,4%.

Chuyển qua diễn biến thị trường Nhật, chỉ số Nikkei 225 tăng điểm nhờ cổ phiếu của Canon và các hãng xuất khẩu lớn khác khởi sắc. Trong ngày giao dịch, Nikkei 225 có lúc đã duy trì sức tăng mạnh mẽ, nhưng đến gần tới cuối ngày giao dịch thì đuối sức, nên biên độ tăng thấp hơn so với các thị trường lớn khác trong khu vực.

Kết thúc ngày giao dịch, chỉ số Nikkei 225 lên 53,15 điểm, tương đương 0,52%, chốt ở mức 10.270,77.

Điểm qua các thị trường khác: chỉ số Taiwan Weighted của Đài Loan tăng 1,28%. Chỉ số VN-Index của Việt Nam lên 0,04%. Chỉ số ASX của Australia nhích 2,32%. Chỉ số Straits Times của Singapore tiến thêm 1,37%. Chỉ số Hang Seng của Hồng Kông lên 2,57%. Chỉ số BSE 30 của Ấn Độ tăng 0,91%. Chỉ số KOSPI lên 1,81%. Chỉ số Shanghai Composite của Trung Quốc hạ 1,12%.

Thị trường	Chỉ số	Phiên trước	Đóng cửa	Tăng / giảm (điểm)	Tăng / giảm (%)
Mỹ	Dow Jones	9.683,41	9.791,71	108,30	1,12
	Nasdaq	2.102,64	2.133,15	30,51	1,45
	S&P 500	1.052,63	1.068,76	16,13	1,53
Anh	FTSE 100	5.042,13	5.124,13	82,00	1,63
Đức	DAX	5.628,98	5.700,26	71,28	1,27
Pháp	CAC 40	3.752,21	3.813,79	61,58	1,64
Đài Loan	Taiwan Weighted	7.346,26	7.440,24	93,98	1,28
Nhật	Nikkei 225	10.217,62	10.270,77	53,15	0,52
Hồng Kông	Hang Seng	20.866,37	21.402,90	536,55	2,57
Hàn Quốc	KOSPI Composite	1.653,40	1.683,33	29,93	1,81
Singapore	Straits Times	2.642,27	2.674,42	36,02	1,37
Trung Quốc	Shanghai Composite	3.033,73	2.999,71	34,02	1,12
Ấn Độ	BSE	16.397,00	16.603,45	149,00	0,91
Australia	ASX	4.547,20	4.652,80	105,60	2,32
Việt Nam	VN-Index	556,75	556,98	0,23	0,04
Nguồn: CNBC, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg

 

Source: Phố Wall bật tăng mạnh mẽ

Arriving back from Sydney the other day, I discovered V Australia’s wrap-around of Canvas magazine in Saturday’s New Zealand Herald.  Remembering that Virgin had recently announced a code-share arrangement with Emirates to fly from New Zealand to Los Angeles (and other V Australia destinations) via Australia, I was naturally curious to see their approach to marketing on this side of the Tasman.

The wrap-around certainly looked attractive at first glance. And God knows it must have cost a packet.  But the problem came when I actually read it.  You see, besides the vaustralia.co.nz URL, there wasn’t a single reference to the New Zealand market.  Not a single word.  Sure, the creative does a reasonably nice job of espousing the virtues of V Australia.  But is there any mention of the fact that the airline actually doesn’t fly to New Zealand?  The answer… no.

Clearly this is a perfect example of an advertising exec sitting in Sydney or Melbourne paying scant regard to what is an appropriate message for the target market.  All I can say is, “Shame on you”.  It’s a pity, because I genuinely support the notion of V Australia shaking up the Pacific-USA dominance of the historical big players.

This got me thinking about the challenges many of us face marketing trans-Tasman businesses. Working for one of only two of the big Australian banks to run a consistent brand ‘name’ trans-Tasman (the other being ANZ), it’s something I often consider.

The reality is that the brand and marketing positioning of Westpac in Australia and New Zealand couldn’t be more different.  As far as I’m concerned, this is a very, very good thing, and not because I don’t like what they’re doing in Australia.  Our respective teams share information freely, but make our own decisions about what is relevant to our respective markets.  We take the good relationship with our cousins across the ditch as a fait accompli. But, it’s not until seeing examples of a trans-Tasman marketing approach gone wrong that I really appreciate the freedom we have from the ‘mother ship’.

It will be interesting to see ANZ’s approach to their new brand which I understand is going to be rolled-out trans-Tasman, along with the corresponding brand advertising campaign. 

Thankfully we’re not alone in being given the freedom to develop a uniquely New Zealand approach to our marketing. Another good example is Holden.  It would have been easy for Holden HQ in Melbourne to have used the GFC as a perfect excuse to consolidate advertising trans-Tasman.  Thankfully, the urge was resisted and, if anything, Holden’s advertising has developed a greater sense of New Zealand-ness over the past twelve months.

I’m sure there are plenty of examples of companies who have retrenched marketing and other core functions to the other side of the Tasman over the past year.  American Express is one that springs to mind.  I get the financial benefits this may entail.  But Australian paymasters (who are more than likely not marketers) need to remember that while there are many similarities between our two markets, it is the subtle differences that can make the difference for a brand to resonate with Kiwis.  Any marketer (such as V Australia) who ignores these does so at their peril.

I think my decision to write a blog was a bold step. I was ultimately deciding to share a part of myself with the public, those in what has been known as the “blogosophere.” However, it also meant that I was tempting fate. How did I come to that conclusion? Well, my life certainly got a lot more exciting. It was as though the powers that be thought, “Hm, well, she can’t just go writing a blog about what she ate for breakfast in the morning. We must make things happen so that she can have something blog-worthy!”

I mean that really could be the only explanation for why I ended up calling American Express desperately pleading for an emergency pin number to take out cash so that I could pay for the balance on the repairs of my computer.

Let’s back track: My computer has been in the hands of Conserve (www.Apple-help.de) for over a week and I am at my wit’s end. When I started drawing supply /demand curves to keep myself occupied, I knew that the problem could no longer be ignored. Sadly, TD Bank decided that that was unacceptable, had a network breakdown over on the other side of the Atlantic and refused to provide me with the funds so that I could pick up the computer. Thanks, TD, thanks. Don’t expect a Christmas card this year.

Anyways, upon this horrendous discovery I proceeded to spend the next two hours at the Computer repair place, desperately coming up with ingenius ways to physically transfer the outstanding balance to my dear friend Philipp. (Philipp is the guy who actually fixed my computer and stayed past closing time to explain everything to me – once he knew I could take the computer home.) According to the Evil Boss Man, (on the phone somewhere in Germany) unless everything was paid in full, I could not bring my computer home. Let’s put aside the fact that I was about 1.5 hrs away from home, I was not about to go home and write a third paper by hand. Arthritis, anyone?

Paypal, Visa, TD Bank… you tried but just couldn’t make it happen. But AmEx? Thank you for coming to my aid in my time of great need. I will make sure to cite you and your role in my future blog successes.

Oh, and I would just like to apologize to the numerous bike-riders that I almost caused to crash as I sprinted to the bank about 800 meters away. Really makes you think about our society’s dependency on technology now doesn’t it?

Amex Acquires Revolution Money – $300MM (Update 4)

18 November 2009

QUICK Take Analysis

Company Website

Investor Webcast – Amex Acquisition

News

• Bloomberg
• WSJ
• American Banker
• Computer World (Tech Overview)

Customers
Card Holders: 300,000
Merchants: TBD
TPV (FY 2009 Estimate): $200M-$400M

Revenue (2009 Estimate)
Interchange:   $1.0M (Est 50bps)
Fees:                 $0.30M *Est
NRFF:               $0.60M *Est
Other:               $0.20M *Est
Total 2009 Rev:  $2.1M (Estimated)

Invested Capital
Series A – $10 (Estimate)
Series B – $50M 9/07 Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Ted Leonsis
Series C – $42M 4/09 Goldman Sachs, Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, David Pottruck, David Golden, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley.

Total Invested Capital: $112MM (Estimate)

Post Money Valuation – Series C $200M (April 09) *Est
Purchase Price: $300M (11/18/09 Press Release)

Deal Analysis
• 142.8 times Forward Revenue
• 2.68 times Invested Capital
• Profitability. Assuming ACH funding costs of 42bps, gross margin on TPV is less than 8bps. If consumer fees remain consistent,  and merchants bear marketing costs, break even is TPV of $1.9-2.5B (12x+  current TPV). Note PayPal TPV is $60B.

Bank License: First Bank & Trust
Partnerships: Chase Paymenttech, 5th 3rd

Business Overview

The most telling data on this business is from the conference call above. CEO said “I don’t know what the numbers are, and if I did I probably wouldn’t tell you”. Revolution efforts to date, and their value proposition, are heavily merchant focused.  Early vision was to own the rails and act as both issuer and acquirer. Realizing that this was too much to bite off for a small company they chose to focus on a platform and partner w/ acquirer, selecting the most cost effective network (PIN Debit) as “rails to ride”.

Revolution has “tested” the platform, a platform which provides unique cards that resemble US Bank’s existing PIN Debit (ATM) card plus some additional security features.  Given the break in their acquisition strategy, Revolution’s margins are extremely compressed, with merchants provided a flat 50bps MDR. All accounts are funded by ACH transfer and no interest is paid to customer on funds held.  Payments funded though ACH typically carry a flat processing fee, usually less than 25c (this represents cost of less than 40 bps on an average PayPal transaction of $62). By comparison, PayPal’s funding mix includes option for credit which carries funding cost of 200-250bps.

Under existing US regulations (Reg E/ Reg Z) merchants suffer heavily in losses on Card Not Present (CNP) fraudulent transactions.  Visa and MC networks have had challenges implementing improved CNP risk controls as 4 parties (issuer, acquirer, merchant, network) have very different incentives. Revolution’s enhanced security controls attempt to address merchant liability in CNP fraud , and could lower costs for merchant, and issuer (Revolution).

Consumer Fees

Analysis

• 140x revenue represents a significant premium for a business model that has not proven itself, only “tested” its platform, requires substantial changes to consumer behavior, and leverages bank networks without providing bank incentives. It will take a 500%+ annual growth rate for this transaction to be accretive in a 5 year view with current pricing structure. American Express acquisition may be able to accelerate merchant growth, but marketing costs remain a challenge.
• Current MDR and Consumer fee structure will likely remain until a TPV of $2-$3B to drive merchant adoption and offset merchant costs associated with integrating (and marketing) a new payment instrument.
• Merchants may distrust AMEX intentions here as AMEX’s MDRs are among the highest of any payment type. Internally, AMEX will be challenged to allocate resources to Revolution’s given cannibalization issues surrounding fee structure. It may however, align with AMEX recent activity to form a deposit business.
• Amex merchant connectivity may be able to provide the low cost rails that were initially envisioned in Revolution’s early business model. Internal incentives will prove challenging.
• Price driven product. As the head of payments at a top 4 bank told me last week, what about this can I not do? The margins in this model have not driven earnings, and pricing will likely increase to support a sustainable business. A key element to pricing (and adoption) will be the degree to which merchants take ownership of marketing, loyalty and consumer adoption.
• Companies like LifeLock have demonstrated that there are profitable consumer segments that care deeply about security. Uptake of Revolution money may be influence heavily by customer awareness. Under Reg E and Reg Z, maximum consumer liability for a fraudulent Credit Card transaction is $50. The liability for a PIN Debit is much different (note below). If consumers realize that their existing card liability is superior (then this instrument), it may impact adoption.
• As with any new payment instrument, consumer adoption often proceeds much more gradually than predicted. PayPal solved a critical problem for an emerging market. Paypal’s ability to manage fraud and losses may justify their higher take rate (300-350bps), as the PIN debit model does not address merchant liability (see Chicago Fed Overview).
• It is Critical that Chase Paymenttech stay engaged in merchant acquisition, as they are the leading acquirer for online merchants (addressing CNP issues).
• Message to banks and issuers: set aside $10-$30M to invest in solutions to address CNP fraud.

Issues
Banks have invested enormous capital in building the ACH and PIN Debit (ATM) network, Revolution money leverages ACH to to fund their accounts, and then leverages the ATM PIN Debit network to conduct transactions. This flow of funds completely eliminates Debit card interchange revenue for “originating” banks (~150bps). Banks have not acted to date as current TPV is not of concern. In the event that TPV expands significantly, expect Bank involvement in restricting both the funding of accounts and use of PIN debit network. NACHA members have been very active in enforcing limits on clearing of non-bank payments, particularly if total transaction volume exceeds bank’s assets.

Non-bank money transfer services are typically a regulated activity. In addition to regulatory challenges, the unique regulatory environment (Reg E, 3rd party sender to ODFI) in the US may prohibit international expansion of this model. Another unique aspect to the US market is the card issuing business is typically separate from the merchant acquisition side (exceptions are American Express and Discover). Internationally, banks with both issuing and acquisition businesses are in a much better competitive position.

American Express will likely look to supplant role of Chase Paymenttech in merchant acquisition. Chase Paymenttech has several unique capabilities that will be challenging for AMEX to match. Look for AMEX to provide incentives for continued Chase Paymenttech involvement.

Value proposition is heavily merchant focused. Merchants may bear marketing costs to drive consumer adoption given the enormous cost benefits, however an integrated (merchant funded) marketing campaign will be challenged. Branding payments will eventually provoke a bank reaction. Paypal supported bank profitability through some interchange (50% funding mix w/ ACH). This model completely disintermediates banks (all while leveraging network in which they have influence/ownership).

Fraud does not typically attack a new payment system until it reaches critical mass, as fraud perpetrators must invest time to explore weaknesses and develop new tools. PayPal suffered losses of 7.4% of Revenue (over $300M gross fraud last year). This would obviously impact a business model with a margin of less then 10bps. The funding of the initial account is certainly a key weakness in this arrangement, as witnessed by both “direct banks” and transfer agents like Cashedge. Cashedge has a dedicated team of 30 risk analysts that have developed tools over 5 years to address fraud. See Mule Accounts.

Is the merchant value proposition strong enough that merchants will invest in building business teams that are capable of creating marketing and loyalty plans that can drive consumer adoption?

Quick name 5 athletes that will compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics…

Now name 5 athletes that competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing…

Which was easier to do?  Majority of people (especially in the United States) will be able to name athletes who compete in the Summer Games.  Very few will know the names of more than a couple of athletes who compete in the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Why?  Because the sports and athletes of the Winter Games are not as marketable in the United States.  Luge, Curling and Bobsled don’t have the same appeal to U.S. viewers as events at the Summer Olympics.  Even the marquee events in the Winter Games, Ice Hockey, Figure Skating & Skiing, are not as popular as the top events at the Summer Olympics (Basketball, Swimming & Gymnastics).

Even on a global scale, names like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Kerry Walsh and Rafael Nadal are much more recognizable than their counterparts in the Winter sports.  Certain Scandinavian people will recognize the names of their top skiers.  But will US sports fans know any Winter athletes beyond Shaun White, Sasha Cohen and Apolo Ohno?  The average fan on the street in New York City knows Phelps and Bolt but is unlikely to know big Winter Games athletes like Lara Gut and Felix Gottwald.

The problem is that less recognizable athletes mean less dollars for their sports and the Winter Olympics in-general.  Sponsors will spend more on the Summer Games and swimming because of Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Stephanie Rice & Kirsty Coventry.  The IOC needs to work harder to build the images of their Winter Games athletes.  They need to develop top-line stars that rival the top names at the Summer Olympics.  The IOC needs to get more sponsors to promote the Winter Olympic athletes like Visa is doing with Lindsey Jacobellis and Julia Mancuso in their Go World campaign.

The IOC also needs to cultivate more athletes who come from the X Games; the athletes that appeal to a younger generation.  Shaun White will be one of the most recognizable athletes at Vancouver 2010.  White’s early success in the X Games made him popular enough to earn commercial endorsements from American Express and HP.  The exposure from those endorsements took him from a niche sport athlete to a mainstream media star; White is now a household name.  The IOC needs to find more success stories like Shaun White, or build those stories where none exist.

The Winter Olympics will be more popular when their athletes are bigger names.  These athletes are working their butts off for their sports, so few have time to focus on being mainstream success stories.  It is the IOC and their national organizing committees (i.e.- USOC) responsibility to market their athletes.  Doing so and encouraging more sponsors to promote those athletes will eventually build more recognizable names in the Winter Olympics.

 11:59 pm

4 Ways to Blow Your Credit- AMERICA -  If you’re like every other poor schmuck in America, you’re dead broke, or damn near it, and your hard earned-credit, if you ever had it, is about to get tossed out the window.  Times are tough and every credit card company is weeding out the losers and jacking up the interest rates for the suckers who pay on time.  Yes, you are now a financial liability to your credit card comany and you’re in total denial of what’s going to happen in the near future.  Sure, you had a really good time using your plastic to pay for those messages with a happy ending in Vegas, but now you can’t pay for a porno mag and a spank sock at Sheetz.  It’s time to start penny pinching buttercup because you’r etwo late notices away from bum status. If you’re still not seeing the bigger picture and are just having fun with somebody else’s money, here are a few ways to run your credit right into the ground.

1.  Don’t make only the minimum payments.  As a matter of fact don’t make any payments.

2.  Carry 5 credit cards at all times.  That way you can randomly pick which one to max out first.

3.  Don’t pay on time.  Never pay on time, or take the irresponsibile way out and just don’t pay at all.

4.  Take cash advances.. It’s free cash that you’re never going to pay back anyway.  (http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/4-things-you-should-never-do-with-your-credit-cards-530910/)

If you’re frugal with your money and haven’t charged a nickle since the spawn of Bush the elder was screwing up the financial system while he was president, chances are you’ve managed to keep yourself afloat.  But, if you’ve been shopping on Ebay with that rubber credit card and tossing those late notices in the trash, it’s time to wake up and smell the odors of the Broke Street Mission.  The notice is in the mail and yes, that car on the back of the tow truck yesterday was yours.  These all are signs that you’re about to go dead so read them and weep.  Your credit just plain sucks.

I got one of those pre-approved credit card offers in the mail last week – or rather my wife did. Normally they go straight to the trash but this one caught my eye because it was for something called the Visa Black Card. Now, living in New York and LA over the past decade, I’ve been exposed to the American Express Black Card a few times over the years and this immediately struck me for the simple fact that it was so me-too in nature. Admittedly, I know very little about the Black Card but I am aware of the cache that it carries as well as its exclusivity, given that I can count on one hand the number that I have seen it. I have no idea if it has been a commercial success for Amex but I’m aware that it carries strong brand equity for those in the know. It tends to conjure up images of jet setting business moguls or Hollywood stars.

After seeing the Visa mailer, I did a little digging to learn more. It turns out that the American Express card often referred to as the “black card” is, in fact, called the Centurion card…which may explain why Visa chose the Black Card name. I also learned that the new Visa card is not nearly as exclusive (or expensive) as the Amex card. According to Wikipedia,  the Amex Centurion card is by invitation only and the requirements are thought to include exceptional credit history, and holding a platinum card for at least one year with a minimum of $250k in spend. All of that and a discreet annual fee of, wait for it…$2500 – after the one-time $5000 initiation fee. Clearly not intended for people like me or my wife. The Visa black card, on the other hand, states that it is limited to 1% of US residents but only carries a paltry annual fee of $495. Nothing to smirk at, certainly, but hardly the gag inducing $7500 chez American Express. In case you were wondering, 1% of US residents is roughly 3 million people. According to this blog dedicated to the Centurion card, about 17,000 people currently hold Amex Centurion cards. Even if many more than that get invited, I doubt the number approaches anything close to 3 million. As it turns out the Visa Black Card is much closer to the Amex Platinum card both in terms of requirements and benefits – the notable difference being that both the Amex Platinum and Amex Centurion are charge cards (balance must be paid each month) while the Visa is a credit card.

But as this is a blog about branding, what I find most intriguing is the strategy Visa seems to take with this card. The business driver behind launching this card is presumably to capture a slice of the high-end market which presumably has either higher margins or lower risk or both given the income brackets of the target consumers. It is also safe to say that Visa does not currently have the market share in this segment that they desire while Amex is almost certainly the market leader (based on the fact that Visa is blatantly attempting to imitate their card.

As I’ve stated before, I’m not a fan of me-too strategies. If you can’t be the first-mover in a segment or market then you have to differentiate. If you are the number 2 brand in a market/segment then be the opposite of what the leader is (Al & Laura Ries do a great job of explaining this and giving examples in their book The Origin of Brands - see my review here - Chapter 12). Visa makes several missteps.

• they try to sell a similar product using the same positioning as the market leader
  Anytime a brand takes this strategy it is usually going to be seen for what it is – a poor imitation of the real thing
• they pick a name and color that is synomous with the market leader
  Use orange, use blue, use red, use white for goodness sake. But if the market leader and first mover is known informally as the black card, whatever you do, don’t call yourself the Black Card. the market is high-end credit/charge cards…not black rectangular cards that fit in your wallet. Be innovative, be unique. Nothing about this card is innovative or unique. The rewards and benefits are virtually identical to what you’d get with Amex Platinum. The card is made of carbon which might seem different until you recall that the Centurion card is made of titanium. There are so many more interesting things they could have done: a different shape like trapezoid or more rounded or a card that folds.
• they seem to forget they are marketing a luxury product and Visa is not exactly known as a luxury good.
  Two things here:
  One – inherent to luxury is exclusivity. Often with luxury goods, exclusivity is viewed as an indicator of quality whether accurate or not. Visa’s card is clearly the less exclusive when put against the Centurion card. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if consumers equate that to an inferior product then Visa is going to lose everytime. Therefore, why position the Black Card as a Centurion alternative. Come up with a unique reward that Amex doesn’t offer or make it about the credit (balance carry-over) benefits. Nowhere on the mailer I got did it make note of this fact. That seems like an important benefit.
  Two – Take a page out of the car manufacturers’ book and consider sub-branding. Visa is a well-recognized and well-respected brand name for sure. So are Toyota and Honda. But when they decided to introduce cars in the luxury market they chose names (Lexus and Acura) that distanced and differentiated those products from their more mainstream models. Likewise, Visa may be well liked but nobody is going to feel very distinguished possessing a credit card brand that millions of other cardholders also have. Launching a new brand is never cheap or easy but is often more successful than over-extending a brand with non-synergistic line extensions.

The only way I can see Visa getting many consumers to jump on this offer is if they succeed in confusing them about which card they are actually signing up for.

Co-Branding, as defined by Philip Kotler, is “Two or more well-known brands combined in an offer”. Co-Branding refers to a situation where a product or service offering holds the brand names of both the participants to influence brand preference and incentivise purchase of the product or service in concern by delivering a perception of the existence of the brand values of both the brands involved to the consumer of the product or service. This essentially tries to incorporate the advantages or brand associations of both the brands involved into one product or service offering.

Co-Branding carries a strong list of advantages, partly relating to brand associations and values, and partly with the product or service offering itself. The former is done to enhance customer experience and influence behaviour, the latter is done to incorporate usage of technology or brand attributes like design, aesthetics et al in the product or service in order to offer an enhanced or augmented product or service. New product launches often depend on Co-Branding for establishing market position by having customer identify new brands and their offerings through an already existing brand. This can often be combined with Synergies offered by particular brands. An example of this would be, although in its nascent stage, the Mahindra-Renault partnership where Mahindra’s expertise in the Indian market was used to develop distribution and service channels, and Renault’s product portfolio is used to produce and design cars. Mahindra benefits through Renault’s expertise in producing sedans and hatchbacks for their future portfolios, and Renault benefits in saving huge dealer development costs and having its current mid-size offering, the Logan, being identified as a cheap to run, frugal and reliable automobile, all values housed by Mahindra brands such as the Scorpio and the Bolero. Image re-enforcement has become another common trend in the marketplace where two complementary brands come together and market their offerings together. A very apt example of this would be Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola, or as they call it, ‘Jack & Coke’. When this campaign was carried out in pubs and bars across the United States, Jack Daniel’s was perceived more as a rugged brand or rednecks, and coke has a wider appeal to the youth. The middle ground was the newly legal adults who had experienced Coke for decades, but hadn’t experienced Jack Daniel’s whiskey. This Co-Branding exercise was carried out to appeal to the market in between the typical Coke and Jack Daniel’s markets, i.e., 21 to 35 year olds. It became such a success that Jack & Coke has become a favourite amongst not only the targeted segments of the market, but also with older, more mature audiences. In a nutshell, Co-Branding essentially has to take into consideration the brand partnership that the customer perceives (purpose, advantages), the common values the brands and its customers share and what the co-branding offering means to the target audiences.

Brand Loyalty, when it comes to Co-Branding, is a tricky business. When a service or product offering is similar to the brand value or image offered by the Co-Branded offering, success is often witnessed. An example of this would be the limited edition Tonino Lamborghini Espresso Machine. Only 1000 units were produced, priced at about $1750. Since the offering appealed directly to the Lamborghini target market, it was sold-out within a matter of days. The buyers were not just Lamborghini car owners, they were also people who admired the Lamborghini brand and couldn’t own the car, so the association created with the espresso machine goes a long way in delivering customer delight, even without owning a Lamborghini is truly astounding. However, this can be often fatal to the image of brands as well. The formerly GM owned SUV cult brand Hummer had launched a mobile phone with a company named ‘Fly’. The product was, for lack of a better phrase, inadequate. Where the Hummer brand stood for rugged looks and go-anywhere attitude, the Fly Hummer phone stood for neither. The phone was perceived by the market as flimsy and basic, whereas the Hummer brand stood for all else. The Co-Branding was a failure where even Hummer car owners were also turned off by the entire exercise.

Famous examples of fairly successful Co-Branding include ICICI and Hindustan Petroleum Credit Cards, Lease-Plan and Mondial assistance, Intel with major computer manufacturers like Hewellet-Packard, Dell etc., Acer-Ferrari Laptops, Asus-Lamborghini Laptops, Puma-Ferrari merchandise, Fiat-Mattel Barbie Fiat 500, TataSky digital Dish TV, The Global Fund (Red) with various brands like Apple, American Express, Dell, Starbucks, Hallmark, Converse etc., Jack Daniel’s and TGI Friday’s with multiple Jack Daniel dishes, and the list goes on and on. However, failures have included British Telecom and AT&T, Mahindra-Renault, Braun-Gillette Body Shavers, Fly Hummer Mobile Phones, and many more.

Co-Branding, hence, is a double edged sword, with each side being sharp enough to cut through titanium. Organisations have to be very careful while co-branding and aiming for success simply because of the fact that a wrong move can result in stupendous disasters that may plague the brands involved for a long period of time where the organisation may end up spending millions to revive the brand.