May 18/25, 2004
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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BarterNews
Subscribers Respond To Recent Issue
"Bravo
to Susan Groenwald on her outstanding article, A Look Back.
She has excellent insight and was one of the few 'to live through
it.' My hat is off to her, for the courage to call it as she sees
it. I believe she is right on in most all of her observations. I'm
sorry to see this talent leave the industry."
Steven
White, Chairman/CEO
ITEX Corporation
"Great article by Susan Groenwald. She nailed it!"
Mark
Tracy, President
American Commerce Exchange
"(I) read Susan Groenwald's article in the latest issue of
BarterNews. Ms. Groenwald, now retired from the industry,
owned and operated one of the most successful trade companies in
the history of the business. Everyone in the industry should do
themselves a favor and read this insightful article."
Joe
Crump, President
Bentley's Crump Barter Network
"Congratulations for the last issue of BarterNews.
I agree with Susan Groenwald totally—she has correctly described
the situation in the barter industry. It is time to work closer
together with other barter companies."
Reiner
Husemann, President
EBB - Euro Barter Business
Just
off the press, BarterNews issue #62 is now available!
Get yourself a copy now! Orders are shipped within two business
days. (Click on Order Form.)
Bentley
Commerce Expands Focus For New Business
Bentley Commerce
(OTCBB:BLYC) is busily attracting trading partners, several of which
were never before involved in the barter industry, to expand their
network. Bruce Kamm, Bentley's CEO, explained, "A key component
of our strategy is to attract a wide array of trading partners and
(in turn) teach them about the benefits of barter."
One example
is a telecommunications company launching their $129-per-month global
flat-rate long distance service. Another new trading partner, Cybertech
Marketing , is loading $8.5 million in media buying opportunities
into Bentley's Global Trade Marketplace. For more information: www.bentleycommerce.com.
Trade
Exchange Owners...
Build Rapport & Empathy With Your Client Base!!
The most powerful
marketing tool in the barter industry, The Competitive Edge
newsletter, is all ready for your use...no work is needed! Click
here
Castoro's
ITEX Offices Sizzling
John Castoro's
New York and Toronto offices were #1 and #2 in the ITEX organization
for the last 4-week billing cycle, with trade volume of just under
$4 million. The Toronto office had 59 new sales in the same period,
which is the highest total for any ITEX office in the history of
the 20-year-old company. (Previous high was 57 by the Sacramento
office in 2000.)
System wide,
CEO Steven White proudly reported that ITEX enrolled 275 clients
in the past 4-week cycle.
International
Monetary Systems Continues Move Forward
International
Monetary Systems (OTCBB:INLM) first-quarter financial report (10-QSB)
showed a 32% revenue increase over last year, with net revenue of
$1,067,201 compared to $810,818 for the same quarter in 2003.
The increase
was attributed to internal growth of Continental Trade Exchange
(CTE) including acquisitions of BarterNet of Brentwood and California
Barter Exchange of Salida, both in California.
In the first
quarter of 2004 the CTE network had net income of $126,762, compared
to $51,573 in the same period of 2003, an increase of 146%. During
the quarter, non-recurring costs along with charges for investor
relations and consulting work associated with the public trading
of the company's stock created expenses of $88,606, resulting in
a pre-tax profit of $38,156.
Deducting an
allowance for taxes of $9,539 resulted in first-quarter net income
of $28,617 for the parent International Monetary Systems. That compares
to a loss of $90,614 for the first quarter of 2003.
CEO Don Mardak
said, "We are very pleased with our first quarter results.
Historically, this has been the least-productive period of each
year. So to begin 2004 with an early profit is quite encouraging."
International
Monetary Systems is holding its annual shareholder meeting on June
23 in Milwaukee. Shareholders will vote to elect two directors,
ratify the auditors, and increase the company's authorized capital
to 280 million shares of common stock and 20 million shares of series
preferred stock. For info: www.internationalmonetary.com.
Every
barter company in the world is listed on our web site,
click through to our Global List of
Barter Companies.
Is
Homesourcing The Answer To Outsourcing?
David Neeleman,
founder and CEO of JetBlue Airways, thinks the answer to outsourcing
is "homesourcing." All of the company's 700 reservation
agents work from home. Although their wages are more than call-center
operators in India and the Philippines, there are other advantages.
Neeleman says
with home working employees you get more mature people who stay
with you...hence less turnover. And they feel better about their
jobs, being close to the family, which boosts company productivity.
Furthermore,
as noted in last week's report, home-based employees mean fewer
corporate facilities are needed, so real-estate savings can be significant.
In 1997 11.6
million employees of U.S. companies worked from home at least part
of the time. Today that number is 23.5 million—16% of the
American labor force.
Get
New Money-Making Ideas And Valuable Contacts!
You can obtain
useful, informative ideas and contacts in every available back-issue
of BarterNews.
Give
A Gift To A Friend Or Associate. If
you know someone who might benefit from this newsletter, feel free
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newsletter for the forwarding service.)
Here
& There...
- Linda Rubendall,
BXI area director of Northern Nevada, has spent a productive 17
years in Reno. Now she's moving forward with her expansion into
the Las Vegas area.
- EBB-Euro
Barter Business (www.barterportal.net) has launched operations
in Serbia and Montenegro. The head office is located in Belgrade,
under general manager and master-franchisee Tomislav Jovanovic.
(Jovanovic was the founder of GBS-Global Barter System in 2002,
which has 200 members.)
- Have
you signed up to receive a summary via e-mail of the
Tuesday Report every week? If not, go to the top of this issue
(right hand corner) and sign up!
- An unusual
barter strategy was incorporated by the group of investors who
recently acquired the Sears Tower for $840 million. The "winners"
in the competition for the building, closed the deal by offering
a team of rivals a minority portion if they would drop out of
the bidding!
- More Americans
are sticking close to home these days, choosing nearby vacation
rentals for holidays and get-aways. And a growing number are buying
second homes for enjoyment and as rental investments.
David Lereah,
chief economist for the National Association of Realtors in
Washington (DC), suggests the increases in second-home purchases
and vacationers choosing to forgo the expensive European or
tropical island trip for a holiday closer to home is attributed
to continuing concerns about safety and terrorism.
- Roger Kubarych,
59, who got his master's in economics from Harvard and is now
senior economic adviser at the U.S. arm of the German banking
giant HVB Group, says inflation is back and will reach 4% in 2005.
He bases his thinking on the Federal Reserve's underestimating
the inflationary force of housing costs.
Additionally he believes China's surging demand will continue
to stoke inflation, aided by recovery in the West. In 2003 China
consumed 7% of the world's crude oil, 31% of its coal, 30% of
its iron ore, 27% of its steel, 25% of its aluminum, and 40% of
its cement—in all cases, a large leap from two years before.
- The price
of oil, even if it recedes from its disturbingly high $40-a-barrel
range, is likely to be higher on average over the next decade
than itwas in the past 10 years. It will affect travel patterns,
and alter the future revenue streams of many companies, i.e. cruise
lines, airlines, theme parks, and others.
- The U.S.
population of over 291 million is up 3% since 2000, with he senior
population hitting 36 million. Nevada, which leads the nation
in most population-growth categories, is also tops among the 65-and-over
crowd which increased 15% there between 2000 and 2003.
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