Endeavour’s astronauts took care of some last-minute space station chores Saturday before packing up to come home and end the next-to-last shuttle flight.
The space shuttle and its crew of six will depart the International Space Station late Sunday night. They worked to repair one of the space station’s air purifiers and straightened out the suits that were used in four spacewalks. The final spacewalk of the mission, on Friday, completed the U.S. portion of station construction.
Mission Control praised the astronauts for “a job well done.”
Shuttle pilot Gregory Johnson and his crewmates installed a $2 billion physics experiment at the orbiting outpost, as well as an extension pole and a platform full of spare parts.
Endeavour is scheduled to return to Florida before dawn Wednesday, 16 days after blasting off.
2011年5月29日星期日
Osim eyes Asia expansion on rising health awareness
“Sipping a cup of coffee [on the sofa] and chatting with your friends … Relaxation is the new fashion. Enjoying a massage, enjoying the new fashion,” Taiwanese model Lin Chih-ling (林志玲) says in a massage sofa commercial for Osim International Ltd (傲勝國際).
In another TV commercial, actress Chen Mei-fong (陳美鳳) says: “I have many items of clothing, but if you want to ask me which one is the most comfortable, no doubt it is Osim’s shoulder massager.”
Stan Shih (施振榮), the founder of Acer Group (宏碁集團), recalled at a Taipei forum in 2007 that he came across a massage chair made by Osim a decade ago and mistook it for a sophisticated Japanese product.
Shih was surprised when he found out during a business trip to Singapore that Osim was actually a Singaporean brand. He has an Osim massage chair at home.
Osim is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Asian healthcare and lifestyle industry.
The company first came to -Taiwan in 1987 when it set up counters at Pacific Sogo Department Stores (太平洋崇光百貨). Osim now has specialty stores across the nation that beckon to passing customers to come inside, take a break and enjoy a massage.
“We have been in Taiwan for 25 years. Some of our promoters joined us as young ladies, and now are mothers,” Ron Sim (沈財福), Osim founder and chief executive officer, said at a May 19 conference in Taipei held to brief investors about its share-listing plans.
He said Taiwan — along with Hong Kong and China — was a very important market to Osim as it branches out from Singapore, a city-state with a population of just 5.1 million.
Osim’s predecessor was R. Sim Trading Co Pte Ltd, a distributor that sold handheld massagers and foot reflexology rollers. It was founded in 1979, when Sim was 20 years old.
Sim decided to distribute his products in Hong Kong in 1986, a year after Singapore was hit by a financial crisis.
“Singapore was a small market, and the population was not large enough to sustain the business,” he said.
Keeping a startup alive amid difficult economic times showed Sim that his distribution company had found a niche. This realization gave birth to the Osim healthcare brand in 1994.
Sim said he had to venture into branded business to manage “the company’s own fate.”
In 1995, it launched into a joint venture with Daito Electric Machine Industry Co, a Japanese contract maker of Osim, by taking up a 30 percent stake in the manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China. This provided Sim with a research, development and manufacturing unit, and made him a priority when it came to getting orders dealt with.
Spicing up Osim’s offerings with a “blockbuster” product launch every three months is a surefire way to keep customers coming back, Sim said.
One of its products, the iSymphonic — the industry’s first massage chair that synchronizes massage and music — was voted “Invention of the Year” by Time magazine.
There are new products in the pipeline, including an Internet massage chair, special edition massage chairs for fashionistas and music lovers and an ambient air purifier.
Today, the Singaporean firm claims to be a leader in the “well-being and lifestyle” industry, with five brands — Osim, GNC, RichLife, Brookstone and TWG Tea — promoting products from massage chairs, treadmills, air purifiers and vacuum cleaners to health supplements and high-end tea products.
In another TV commercial, actress Chen Mei-fong (陳美鳳) says: “I have many items of clothing, but if you want to ask me which one is the most comfortable, no doubt it is Osim’s shoulder massager.”
Stan Shih (施振榮), the founder of Acer Group (宏碁集團), recalled at a Taipei forum in 2007 that he came across a massage chair made by Osim a decade ago and mistook it for a sophisticated Japanese product.
Shih was surprised when he found out during a business trip to Singapore that Osim was actually a Singaporean brand. He has an Osim massage chair at home.
Osim is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Asian healthcare and lifestyle industry.
The company first came to -Taiwan in 1987 when it set up counters at Pacific Sogo Department Stores (太平洋崇光百貨). Osim now has specialty stores across the nation that beckon to passing customers to come inside, take a break and enjoy a massage.
“We have been in Taiwan for 25 years. Some of our promoters joined us as young ladies, and now are mothers,” Ron Sim (沈財福), Osim founder and chief executive officer, said at a May 19 conference in Taipei held to brief investors about its share-listing plans.
He said Taiwan — along with Hong Kong and China — was a very important market to Osim as it branches out from Singapore, a city-state with a population of just 5.1 million.
Osim’s predecessor was R. Sim Trading Co Pte Ltd, a distributor that sold handheld massagers and foot reflexology rollers. It was founded in 1979, when Sim was 20 years old.
Sim decided to distribute his products in Hong Kong in 1986, a year after Singapore was hit by a financial crisis.
“Singapore was a small market, and the population was not large enough to sustain the business,” he said.
Keeping a startup alive amid difficult economic times showed Sim that his distribution company had found a niche. This realization gave birth to the Osim healthcare brand in 1994.
Sim said he had to venture into branded business to manage “the company’s own fate.”
In 1995, it launched into a joint venture with Daito Electric Machine Industry Co, a Japanese contract maker of Osim, by taking up a 30 percent stake in the manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China. This provided Sim with a research, development and manufacturing unit, and made him a priority when it came to getting orders dealt with.
Spicing up Osim’s offerings with a “blockbuster” product launch every three months is a surefire way to keep customers coming back, Sim said.
One of its products, the iSymphonic — the industry’s first massage chair that synchronizes massage and music — was voted “Invention of the Year” by Time magazine.
There are new products in the pipeline, including an Internet massage chair, special edition massage chairs for fashionistas and music lovers and an ambient air purifier.
Today, the Singaporean firm claims to be a leader in the “well-being and lifestyle” industry, with five brands — Osim, GNC, RichLife, Brookstone and TWG Tea — promoting products from massage chairs, treadmills, air purifiers and vacuum cleaners to health supplements and high-end tea products.
2011年5月25日星期三
Singapore stock market and companies daily report
Hour Glass Delivers Record Profit On Higher Margins
Luxury watch group The Hour Glass delivered a record profit for the full year ended 31 Mar-11, with the bottom line jumping 29.1% from $32.8m to $42.4m. This in turn brings earnings per share to 18.1 cents, up from the previously 14.1 cents. The improvement was underpinned by the higher revenue, which climbed 7% from $483.7m to $517.6m, attributed to the expansion of its multi-brand retail network. For the year, gross margins grew from 20.1% to 22.4%, due to the implementation of various marketing programmes as well as more positive trading conditions. A first and final dividend of five cents has been recommended.
Significance: According to its website, The Hour Glass has boutiques in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Demand for timepieces in the region, with the exception of Japan, is likely to be sustained. The company however cautions that inflationary pressures could drive up operating costs, ‘especially those related to personnel and rental’.
Valuetronics’ Full Year Profit More Than Doubles
Valuetronics Holdings (Valuetronics), an integrated electronics manufacturing service provider, reported a delightful set of full year results for the period ending 31 Mar-11. Revenue spiked substantially by 73.4% from HK$1.1b to HK$2b, leading profit to more than double from HK$58.8m to HK$121m. Improvement was seen in revenue contribution of both original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and original design manufacturer (ODM) business segments, which were boosted by increased sales orders and launch of new products from major customers. The company has proposed a first and final dividend of 14 HK cents per share for the year.
United Envirotech’s FY11 Profit Climbs 7.8%
United Envirotech posted a profit increase of 7.8% from $14.9m to $16m for the financial year ended 31 Mar-11. The top line rose 12.8% from $69m to $78m, supported by growth in the engineering and treatment segments. Revenue from the engineering business grew 9.2% to $62m, however its segmental profit contribution shrank $5.5m or 38.7% to $8.7m due to changes in the contract mix. Revenue from the treatment business jumped 29.9% to $16m underpinned by the increased treatment capacity at the current plants, its profit contribution continued the uptrend by rising $1.1m or 14.7%. For the year, a final dividend of 0.30 cents has been declared.
Luxury watch group The Hour Glass delivered a record profit for the full year ended 31 Mar-11, with the bottom line jumping 29.1% from $32.8m to $42.4m. This in turn brings earnings per share to 18.1 cents, up from the previously 14.1 cents. The improvement was underpinned by the higher revenue, which climbed 7% from $483.7m to $517.6m, attributed to the expansion of its multi-brand retail network. For the year, gross margins grew from 20.1% to 22.4%, due to the implementation of various marketing programmes as well as more positive trading conditions. A first and final dividend of five cents has been recommended.
Significance: According to its website, The Hour Glass has boutiques in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Demand for timepieces in the region, with the exception of Japan, is likely to be sustained. The company however cautions that inflationary pressures could drive up operating costs, ‘especially those related to personnel and rental’.
Valuetronics’ Full Year Profit More Than Doubles
Valuetronics Holdings (Valuetronics), an integrated electronics manufacturing service provider, reported a delightful set of full year results for the period ending 31 Mar-11. Revenue spiked substantially by 73.4% from HK$1.1b to HK$2b, leading profit to more than double from HK$58.8m to HK$121m. Improvement was seen in revenue contribution of both original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and original design manufacturer (ODM) business segments, which were boosted by increased sales orders and launch of new products from major customers. The company has proposed a first and final dividend of 14 HK cents per share for the year.
United Envirotech’s FY11 Profit Climbs 7.8%
United Envirotech posted a profit increase of 7.8% from $14.9m to $16m for the financial year ended 31 Mar-11. The top line rose 12.8% from $69m to $78m, supported by growth in the engineering and treatment segments. Revenue from the engineering business grew 9.2% to $62m, however its segmental profit contribution shrank $5.5m or 38.7% to $8.7m due to changes in the contract mix. Revenue from the treatment business jumped 29.9% to $16m underpinned by the increased treatment capacity at the current plants, its profit contribution continued the uptrend by rising $1.1m or 14.7%. For the year, a final dividend of 0.30 cents has been declared.
2011年5月22日星期日
Brands focus on safety on perceived consumer demand
New Delhi: Consumer goods companies in India—from makers of cellphones to cars to paints—are increasingly underlining the safety features in their products as an integral part of their marketing campaigns.
From a Nerolac paints advertisement that shows actor Shah Rukh Khan playing an expectant father promising his unborn child that the paint in their house will be free of toxic chemicals, to Alcatel ICE3, a mobile phone that claims its instruments emit substantially lower radiation.
Also See| Changing Strategy (PDF)
The emphasis on safety, experts say, results mainly from the emergence of a richer demography that is more health conscious.
An increase in the number of products and services available to consumers will mean that the companies will brandish every available attribute from quality, variety and even safety as a competitive strategy, they said.
Airbags, once considered a premium safety accessory in sedans, are increasingly available even in smaller hatchbacks, said Gagan Kohli, a senior executive at Hyundai India’s product development division.
“It’s a mix of both demand as well as the company’s initiative,” he said. “Our experience suggests that if made aware of a safety product, people pay as much as possible to acquire it.”
Kohli didn’t reveal the prices but said that a recent feature in the Verna sedan from the Hyundai stable has a feature that filters ambient air in the car. “It’s cleaner air and we introduced it based on consumer feedback.”
Nerolac officials didn’t comment on what prompted them to extol the absence of specific metals in their products on par with traditional selling points such as a kaleidoscopic choice of colours, quick drying and durability, but a statement on the firm’s website said the company was committed to eliminating the use of lead, chromium, mercury and arsenic, and all of its paint canisters brandished a specially designed logo that declared the paint free of noxious chemicals.
The demand for consumer safety was an imminent “natural progression”, said Sudhir Jain, director, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar.
A rise in a country’s prosperity means some people demand better health and cleaner air. “All safety essentially boils down to improving or at least preserving health. So when consumers demand safer products, it’s a natural progression,” Jain said, “from just being happy that they got goods and services at all, to being able to choose those with additional value, such as safety, ease of use and better design.”
Government legislation and intervention are also among the key drivers of safety that encourage demand for safer products.
Indian laws such as the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, have over time evolved to protect consumers from hazardous products as well as seek redressal through various consumer protection groups.
“The intent there was mainly to punish errant manufacturers, but over time this has begun to change and there is reward for being safer, energy-efficient, more environmentally conscious, etc.,” said Sapna Jain, professor, Indian Institute of Public Administration. “Consequently, the bar on what constitutes safe is being set higher. It’s but natural that companies brag about their investments (in increasing safety).”
The Obama administration in the US last year slapped Toyota Motor Corp. with civil penalties of $32.425 million, the maximum allowed by law, for failing to properly disclose what it knew about safety defects linked to recalls of millions of vehicles in 2009.
In India, a Supreme Court directive in the 1990s forced public transport vehicles in some cities to adopt compressed natural gas as fuel as well as compelling auto companies to comply with tightening emission norms. This also drove car companies to provide more fuel-efficient cars as well as advertise it as a product.
Ice Mobile Network Systems Pvt. Ltd, a Noida-based company, has tied up with French company Alcatel to introduce a range of phones that it claims emit only 25% of the radiation typically emitted from mobile handsets.
M.S. Malik, managing director of Ice Mobile, said that increasing concerns about the possible health impact of phone-emitted radiation as well as overtures by the government to introduce legislation specifying the maximum permissible radiation levels by phones, prompted it to offer such phones.
“As of now only high-end phones emit lower radiation and they come at a price, but we are offering our phone with an SAR level of 0.67 for about Rs. 3,500. Most phones are nearly 2 SAR.” said Malik. “We have guidelines, but no law yet, to regulate phone-emitted radiation. When that comes, a huge number of people will need to be protected.”
SAR, or specific absorption rate, refers to the amount of radiation absorbed by the body in the presence of an electromagnetic field. Phones that utilize their battery more efficiently and at reduced power usually have lower SAR levels.
Malik expects at least 300,000 phones that offer enhanced radiation-protection features to be sold within the next six months.
To be sure, some experts say that companies sometimes exaggerate the safety of their products and, on the ground, people were easily satisfied with even minimal levels of product safety.
A consumer study conducted by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), a US-based not-for-profit organization that tests and rates the safety of consumer products, and which has offices in Bangalore, showed that safety while operating a product was considered to be part of the perceived overall quality and that the promise of replacement and easy repair was considered “good enough” by half the respondents.
“In recent years, we have seen some product categories obtaining approvals from specific professional bodies and advertising them widely, water purifiers being an example,” said R.A. Venkitachalam, vice-president and managing director, UL Emerging Markets. “Even the membership of a professional body is advertised as a differentiator in consumer communication, underlining the desperate need for a mechanism that differentiates between brands effectively.”
“The whole notion of what constitutes safe is distorted,” said Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist and a former head of the Royal Institution, England’s oldest science communication body. “What’s the difference between someone who refuses to eat genetically modified food unless proven safe and another who will continue to use a mobile phone until proven harmful?”
From a Nerolac paints advertisement that shows actor Shah Rukh Khan playing an expectant father promising his unborn child that the paint in their house will be free of toxic chemicals, to Alcatel ICE3, a mobile phone that claims its instruments emit substantially lower radiation.
Also See| Changing Strategy (PDF)
The emphasis on safety, experts say, results mainly from the emergence of a richer demography that is more health conscious.
An increase in the number of products and services available to consumers will mean that the companies will brandish every available attribute from quality, variety and even safety as a competitive strategy, they said.
Airbags, once considered a premium safety accessory in sedans, are increasingly available even in smaller hatchbacks, said Gagan Kohli, a senior executive at Hyundai India’s product development division.
“It’s a mix of both demand as well as the company’s initiative,” he said. “Our experience suggests that if made aware of a safety product, people pay as much as possible to acquire it.”
Kohli didn’t reveal the prices but said that a recent feature in the Verna sedan from the Hyundai stable has a feature that filters ambient air in the car. “It’s cleaner air and we introduced it based on consumer feedback.”
Nerolac officials didn’t comment on what prompted them to extol the absence of specific metals in their products on par with traditional selling points such as a kaleidoscopic choice of colours, quick drying and durability, but a statement on the firm’s website said the company was committed to eliminating the use of lead, chromium, mercury and arsenic, and all of its paint canisters brandished a specially designed logo that declared the paint free of noxious chemicals.
The demand for consumer safety was an imminent “natural progression”, said Sudhir Jain, director, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar.
A rise in a country’s prosperity means some people demand better health and cleaner air. “All safety essentially boils down to improving or at least preserving health. So when consumers demand safer products, it’s a natural progression,” Jain said, “from just being happy that they got goods and services at all, to being able to choose those with additional value, such as safety, ease of use and better design.”
Government legislation and intervention are also among the key drivers of safety that encourage demand for safer products.
Indian laws such as the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, have over time evolved to protect consumers from hazardous products as well as seek redressal through various consumer protection groups.
“The intent there was mainly to punish errant manufacturers, but over time this has begun to change and there is reward for being safer, energy-efficient, more environmentally conscious, etc.,” said Sapna Jain, professor, Indian Institute of Public Administration. “Consequently, the bar on what constitutes safe is being set higher. It’s but natural that companies brag about their investments (in increasing safety).”
The Obama administration in the US last year slapped Toyota Motor Corp. with civil penalties of $32.425 million, the maximum allowed by law, for failing to properly disclose what it knew about safety defects linked to recalls of millions of vehicles in 2009.
In India, a Supreme Court directive in the 1990s forced public transport vehicles in some cities to adopt compressed natural gas as fuel as well as compelling auto companies to comply with tightening emission norms. This also drove car companies to provide more fuel-efficient cars as well as advertise it as a product.
Ice Mobile Network Systems Pvt. Ltd, a Noida-based company, has tied up with French company Alcatel to introduce a range of phones that it claims emit only 25% of the radiation typically emitted from mobile handsets.
M.S. Malik, managing director of Ice Mobile, said that increasing concerns about the possible health impact of phone-emitted radiation as well as overtures by the government to introduce legislation specifying the maximum permissible radiation levels by phones, prompted it to offer such phones.
“As of now only high-end phones emit lower radiation and they come at a price, but we are offering our phone with an SAR level of 0.67 for about Rs. 3,500. Most phones are nearly 2 SAR.” said Malik. “We have guidelines, but no law yet, to regulate phone-emitted radiation. When that comes, a huge number of people will need to be protected.”
SAR, or specific absorption rate, refers to the amount of radiation absorbed by the body in the presence of an electromagnetic field. Phones that utilize their battery more efficiently and at reduced power usually have lower SAR levels.
Malik expects at least 300,000 phones that offer enhanced radiation-protection features to be sold within the next six months.
To be sure, some experts say that companies sometimes exaggerate the safety of their products and, on the ground, people were easily satisfied with even minimal levels of product safety.
A consumer study conducted by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), a US-based not-for-profit organization that tests and rates the safety of consumer products, and which has offices in Bangalore, showed that safety while operating a product was considered to be part of the perceived overall quality and that the promise of replacement and easy repair was considered “good enough” by half the respondents.
“In recent years, we have seen some product categories obtaining approvals from specific professional bodies and advertising them widely, water purifiers being an example,” said R.A. Venkitachalam, vice-president and managing director, UL Emerging Markets. “Even the membership of a professional body is advertised as a differentiator in consumer communication, underlining the desperate need for a mechanism that differentiates between brands effectively.”
“The whole notion of what constitutes safe is distorted,” said Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist and a former head of the Royal Institution, England’s oldest science communication body. “What’s the difference between someone who refuses to eat genetically modified food unless proven safe and another who will continue to use a mobile phone until proven harmful?”
The Rust Belt's revival
More than 1,000 applicants began lining up this week outside a former Hoover vacuum plant here in the hopes of joining a surprising trend in this part of the nation's manufacturing heartland: new jobs.
Come June, the plant will be churning out EdenPure space heaters, vacuums, air purifiers and other small appliances once made in China. The turnabout for this factory and scores of others across the long-suffering Rust Belt offers vivid evidence of a budding revival in American manufacturing that has been a key driver of the economic recovery.
The nation's factories have added 250,000 jobs since the beginning of last year -- about 13 percent of what was lost during the recent recession -- marking the first sustained increase in manufacturing employment since 1997.
But the new hiring also reflects another emerging reality of U.S. manufacturing: Many of the jobs don't pay anything close to what they used to. Assembly-line workers who will be making the EdenPure products under the auspices of Suarez Corp. Industries will start at $7.50 an hour.
That's a far cry from the $20 an hour that most workers made with Hoover, which shifted its century-old production lines to Mexico and El Paso, Texas, in 2007 after concluding that it was too expensive to make its products in the industrial Midwest.
"The communities and workers in Ohio have been devastated over the past decade and are grateful for the opportunity to earn a living," said Robert Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO's Industrial Union Council. "But this is tempered by reality. One is that the jobs at Suarez, with wages and benefits well below the middle-class ones that were there before, are not a replacement for the ones that left."
The Rust Belt's nascent recovery is being fueled by a host of factors, including a revitalized auto sector, innovations that have made workers more productive and a weakened dollar, which makes American products more appealing for export.
Lower labor costs are also a critical factor. But many of the prospective workers who braved a cold rain Monday outside the old Hoover plant for a shot at a job with benefits did not complain.
Come June, the plant will be churning out EdenPure space heaters, vacuums, air purifiers and other small appliances once made in China. The turnabout for this factory and scores of others across the long-suffering Rust Belt offers vivid evidence of a budding revival in American manufacturing that has been a key driver of the economic recovery.
The nation's factories have added 250,000 jobs since the beginning of last year -- about 13 percent of what was lost during the recent recession -- marking the first sustained increase in manufacturing employment since 1997.
But the new hiring also reflects another emerging reality of U.S. manufacturing: Many of the jobs don't pay anything close to what they used to. Assembly-line workers who will be making the EdenPure products under the auspices of Suarez Corp. Industries will start at $7.50 an hour.
That's a far cry from the $20 an hour that most workers made with Hoover, which shifted its century-old production lines to Mexico and El Paso, Texas, in 2007 after concluding that it was too expensive to make its products in the industrial Midwest.
"The communities and workers in Ohio have been devastated over the past decade and are grateful for the opportunity to earn a living," said Robert Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO's Industrial Union Council. "But this is tempered by reality. One is that the jobs at Suarez, with wages and benefits well below the middle-class ones that were there before, are not a replacement for the ones that left."
The Rust Belt's nascent recovery is being fueled by a host of factors, including a revitalized auto sector, innovations that have made workers more productive and a weakened dollar, which makes American products more appealing for export.
Lower labor costs are also a critical factor. But many of the prospective workers who braved a cold rain Monday outside the old Hoover plant for a shot at a job with benefits did not complain.
2011年5月18日星期三
Rust Belt Jobs Return — at Much Lower Pay
Manufacturers, including those in the Rust Belt, have added about 250,000 jobs since the beginning of last year. The new jobs mark the first sustained increase in manufacturing jobs since 1997, The Washington Post reported.
However, many of the new jobs will not come close to matching the pay of the jobs that disappeared in the recession or were shipped overseas. For example, a former Hoover vacuum plant in Ohio soon will be turning out EdenPure space heaters, vacuums, and air purifiers — giving workers a starting salary is $7.50 an hour. Most workers at Hoover, who saw their jobs shipped to Mexico, were making about $20 an hour, the Post reported. Suarez Corp. Industries now operates the former Hoover plant.
Manufacturing jobs, rust belt“The communities and workers in Ohio have been devastated over the past decade and are grateful for the opportunity to earn a living,” the AFL-CIO’s Robert Baugh told the Post. “But this is tempered by reality. One is that the jobs at Suarez, with wages and benefits well below the middle-class ones that were there before, are not a replacement for the ones that left.”
The return of jobs to the Rust Belt is a result of a revitalized auto industry, increased worker productivity, a weakened dollar that makes U.S. products more attractive overseas and lower labor costs. Manufacturing grew at about 9.1 percent in the first three months of the year, compared to the overall economy that expanded by just 1.8 percent, the Post reported.
“Everybody had written off the manufacturing sector and the Rust Belt, but now the manufacturing sector is the shining star of the U.S. recovery,” said Mark J. Perry, a professor at the University of Michigan at Flint, told the Post.
The manufacturing gains have occurred in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where unemployment rates are falling, the Post reported. The nation lost nearly 6 million factory jobs between 2000 and 2009 and manufacturing jobs now total 11.7 million compared to 19.5 million in 1979.
More good news comes from a report by the Boston Consulting Group. The group predicted that the United States is on the verge of a “manufacturing renaissance” because of rising labor costs in China and the rising value of Chinese currency, the Post reported.
Nonetheless, the Economic Policy Institute’s Robert Scott noted that “what we are experiencing is first and foremost a recovery from the depths of a terrible recession. We have a long way to go before we climb out of this hole.”
However, many of the new jobs will not come close to matching the pay of the jobs that disappeared in the recession or were shipped overseas. For example, a former Hoover vacuum plant in Ohio soon will be turning out EdenPure space heaters, vacuums, and air purifiers — giving workers a starting salary is $7.50 an hour. Most workers at Hoover, who saw their jobs shipped to Mexico, were making about $20 an hour, the Post reported. Suarez Corp. Industries now operates the former Hoover plant.
Manufacturing jobs, rust belt“The communities and workers in Ohio have been devastated over the past decade and are grateful for the opportunity to earn a living,” the AFL-CIO’s Robert Baugh told the Post. “But this is tempered by reality. One is that the jobs at Suarez, with wages and benefits well below the middle-class ones that were there before, are not a replacement for the ones that left.”
The return of jobs to the Rust Belt is a result of a revitalized auto industry, increased worker productivity, a weakened dollar that makes U.S. products more attractive overseas and lower labor costs. Manufacturing grew at about 9.1 percent in the first three months of the year, compared to the overall economy that expanded by just 1.8 percent, the Post reported.
“Everybody had written off the manufacturing sector and the Rust Belt, but now the manufacturing sector is the shining star of the U.S. recovery,” said Mark J. Perry, a professor at the University of Michigan at Flint, told the Post.
The manufacturing gains have occurred in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where unemployment rates are falling, the Post reported. The nation lost nearly 6 million factory jobs between 2000 and 2009 and manufacturing jobs now total 11.7 million compared to 19.5 million in 1979.
More good news comes from a report by the Boston Consulting Group. The group predicted that the United States is on the verge of a “manufacturing renaissance” because of rising labor costs in China and the rising value of Chinese currency, the Post reported.
Nonetheless, the Economic Policy Institute’s Robert Scott noted that “what we are experiencing is first and foremost a recovery from the depths of a terrible recession. We have a long way to go before we climb out of this hole.”
Garage sales can promote neighborhood camaraderie
Homes are being de-cluttered, neighbors are visiting with neighbors again and bargain-seekers are flushed with delight over their garage sale treasures.
Neighborhood garage sales have been bringing crowds out in droves during the month of May and will continue during the warm months of summer and fall. Individual garage sales are also common.
Don Brightman, of Riverwoods Drive in Rockford, held his garage sale for three full days last week. The first day was the busiest and the last day the most quiet, he said.
With a garage and driveway full of antiques and collectibles, he said it was hard to predict what people would buy.
"The things I thought would sell didn't and the things I didn't think much about sold right away," Brightman said.
He sold many tools and pieces of antique china, even an old slide projector. But he was surprised his antique wicker planters were overlooked.
"With technology changing the way it does, I never expected that slide projector to sell," he said. "But someone who collects them for display came right up and bought it."
Rockford resident Vicki Howe shopped the Riverwoods development sale on the last day just as things were getting packed up for Goodwill.
"Would you take a dollar for this?" she politely asked a homeowner.
It was a deal that pleased both the buyer and seller. Often the last day of sales are the most ideal for bartering and dickering on price.
The Evergreen Meadows subdivision also ran a three-day garage sale last week for all who wished to participate. There, homeowner Chandra Stevens was pleased to be clearing items out of her house for spring cleaning.
"I have lots of Tupperware I am getting rid of," said Stevens, who used to sell Tupperware and host Tupperware parties. "I've also sold lots of toys, boys clothes and household items. It's great to see it go."
Sandy Brugel, who was shopping at Stevens' sale, said she has had a successful spring season so far with her garage sale finds.
"I found an air purifier, old flannel sheets to cut up into rags for my husband's spray-painting business and a baby cradle for my doll collection," Brugel said.
She added her husband was able to find a few pairs of shoes in his size and since he only wears them once or twice before throwing them away, it is best to find them used.
Neighbors agree garage sales are good for connecting with people in their neighborhood. Friends, old and new, can meet up with one another after the long winter divide, strike up conversations and catch up on life. Garage sales also are a way to meet new people.
Not only do they build camaraderie, clean out old treasures and put extra cash in homeowners' pockets, but they presumably promote security.
Neighborhood watch associations throughout the country advocate getting to know ones neighbors as an important piece of the puzzle in building safer communities. This concept is not specific to the U.S. but appears to be universal.
According to a Canadian neighborhood watch program called Eyewatch, "Neighbors look out for each other, especially if they know each other. Active participation of neighborhood residents is a crucial element in community safety."
The Canadian group also suggests other ideas for getting to know ones neighbors and building safer developments by throwing block parties and having annual perennial flower exchanges.
Neighborhood garage sales have been bringing crowds out in droves during the month of May and will continue during the warm months of summer and fall. Individual garage sales are also common.
Don Brightman, of Riverwoods Drive in Rockford, held his garage sale for three full days last week. The first day was the busiest and the last day the most quiet, he said.
With a garage and driveway full of antiques and collectibles, he said it was hard to predict what people would buy.
"The things I thought would sell didn't and the things I didn't think much about sold right away," Brightman said.
He sold many tools and pieces of antique china, even an old slide projector. But he was surprised his antique wicker planters were overlooked.
"With technology changing the way it does, I never expected that slide projector to sell," he said. "But someone who collects them for display came right up and bought it."
Rockford resident Vicki Howe shopped the Riverwoods development sale on the last day just as things were getting packed up for Goodwill.
"Would you take a dollar for this?" she politely asked a homeowner.
It was a deal that pleased both the buyer and seller. Often the last day of sales are the most ideal for bartering and dickering on price.
The Evergreen Meadows subdivision also ran a three-day garage sale last week for all who wished to participate. There, homeowner Chandra Stevens was pleased to be clearing items out of her house for spring cleaning.
"I have lots of Tupperware I am getting rid of," said Stevens, who used to sell Tupperware and host Tupperware parties. "I've also sold lots of toys, boys clothes and household items. It's great to see it go."
Sandy Brugel, who was shopping at Stevens' sale, said she has had a successful spring season so far with her garage sale finds.
"I found an air purifier, old flannel sheets to cut up into rags for my husband's spray-painting business and a baby cradle for my doll collection," Brugel said.
She added her husband was able to find a few pairs of shoes in his size and since he only wears them once or twice before throwing them away, it is best to find them used.
Neighbors agree garage sales are good for connecting with people in their neighborhood. Friends, old and new, can meet up with one another after the long winter divide, strike up conversations and catch up on life. Garage sales also are a way to meet new people.
Not only do they build camaraderie, clean out old treasures and put extra cash in homeowners' pockets, but they presumably promote security.
Neighborhood watch associations throughout the country advocate getting to know ones neighbors as an important piece of the puzzle in building safer communities. This concept is not specific to the U.S. but appears to be universal.
According to a Canadian neighborhood watch program called Eyewatch, "Neighbors look out for each other, especially if they know each other. Active participation of neighborhood residents is a crucial element in community safety."
The Canadian group also suggests other ideas for getting to know ones neighbors and building safer developments by throwing block parties and having annual perennial flower exchanges.
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