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July 22, 2008

Written by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews

We Want You To Know...When you sign up to receive the FREE weekly Tuesday Report announcement your e-mail address will never be sold, traded, or given to another party.


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Dear Readers, Please Note

Our Tuesday Report will be published biweekly during the months of July and August. We will return to our weekly schedule in September, and wish you an enjoyable summer.


From the desk of Bob Meyer...07/22/2008

Bartercard�s Tony Falkenstein Inducted Into New Zealand Business Hall of Fame

The hall of fame recognizes business leaders who have made significant contribution to New Zealand business over the past 200 years. Congratulations to Tony Falkenstein, owner of Bartercard New Zealand, who was inducted into the Fairfax Media New Zealand Business Hall of Fame by the Governor General.

 

For more information visit www.Bartercard.com.

American Travelers Liked By Many

According to www.gadling.com, the world�s most obnoxious tourists�after a survey of employees in 4,000 hotels in Germany, the UK., Italy, France, Canada and USA�were French travelers, followed by India and China.

The stereotypically obnoxious American tourist, out of 21 countries, got an impressive 11th place. Americans got the top spot for trying to speak the local languages the most.

Medical Missionary Uses Trade Dollars

Andrew Jerrigan, a trader for 15 years, is now a medical missionary in Africa. He accepts trade dollar donations through Marc Albano�s www.transmediatrade.com.

For more on Andrew Jerrigan�s work go to www.jerriganblog.com.

New U.S. Listing Information. . .

CitizensMatch
320 Riverside Dr., #B
Florence, MA 01062
Phone: (413) 586-2000
Fax: (413) 584-7076
www.citizensmatch.org

 All back issues of "From the Desk...� can be accessed by clicking here.

(Please feel free to forward our newsletter to your friends and colleagues. We have a �box� at the end of the newsletter for your convenience. See you next week. . .)


IRTA Extends Special Invitation To Hall Of Famers

Scheduled for September 22 through 24 at the Westgate River Ranch Resort south of Orlando, Florida, the International Reciprocal Trade Association�s 29th Annual International Conference is fast approaching.

Members of the IRTA Hall of Fame, all leaders in the commercial barter industry, have been extended an invitation to attend this year�s conference at no charge. IRTA will pay for rooms, meals and registration.

A very creative program has been put together, and nationally renown financial strategist Catherine Austin Fitts is scheduled as keynote speaker.

For more information on the conference and keynote speaker see www.irta.com.


American Airlines Encourages Trading Miles

American Airlines is sending this message to their AAdvantage members:

Boost your AAdvantage account balance by trading your other reward program miles and points into AAdvantage miles at the Global Points Exchange on Points.com.

Here�s how it works:

   Join Points.com (it�s quick and free).

   Search for the miles or points you want to trade.

   Points.com will show you if there is a match already on the trading board.

   If you see a trade you like�accept it! If not, post your own trade for all to see.


Looking Back�Barter Happenings From Past Tuesday Reports

One Year Ago�

Artists barter...trade creates world peace. (One of many articles.)  Click here

Two Years Ago�

Central marketplace established for online display advertising. (One of many articles.) Click here

Three Years Ago�

ITEX acquires BXI. (One of many articles.) Click here


Barter Headlines

New York Times Article About Barter

James Flanigan, the former superb business-editor of the Los Angeles Times (who retired three years ago), now writes a monthly column on entrepreneurship titled �Entrepreneurial Edge� for The New York Times which looks at small business trends in California and the West.

Recently he authored, �Bartering Expands In The Internet Age.� (Click here.)

BusinessWeek Barter Video

�Swapping Services�The Growing Popularity of Bartering,� is a video focusing on direct trades and how Craigslist is growing in barter listings. No mention of the trade exchanges, however. (Click here.)

ABC News Reports On Barter

With the economy in turmoil bartering has made a comeback, according to this ABC News report. The video covers a Mississippi dentist who opened his doors, accepting goods and services in lieu of cash. (Click here.)

Other Coverage...

�Sinking Economy Is Causing Boomlet In Barter� declares this newspaper headline. The article describes how an owner was able to cover a $4,000 vet bill on barter. (Click here.)


Money-Making Reports Available From BarterNews


 U.S. Government Wheat Stocks Collapse

By Benjamin Gisin

Quietly, the last of the U.S. government�s wheat reserves, held in the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, were sold in late May onto the domestic market for cash. The cash was put in a trust for food aid. With no other government wheat holdings, U.S. government wheat stocks are now totally exhausted.

The following recent statements by Rebecca Bratter, director of policy for U.S. Wheat Associates, provides insights:

�While the U.S. wheat industry strongly supports the administration�s goal of maintaining current food aid programs to prevent rampant hunger worldwide, there is concern regarding the impact of selling reserve wheat on the domestic market and over the lack of commitment from the administration to replenish the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.

�U.S. Wheat Associates has shared these concerns with high officials at USDA and on the President�s staff and has asked about the Administration�s intent regarding replenishment of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. Staff from the office of the President�s Special Agricultural Assistant noted that while there is no commitment at this time, the administration intends to replenish the Trust once the supply and price scenario stabilizes.�

(Note: U.S. Wheat Associates works in 90 countries promoting U.S. wheat exports.)

The Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust was established in 1980 by an act of Congress and is authorized to hold up to 4 million metric tons of wheat, corn, sorghum and rice, as a reserve for global food crises. The wheat is purchased and managed by the Commodity Credit Corporation and included in the total amount of wheat owned and held by the U.S. government. Holdings by the BEH Trust for corn, sorghum and rice are also zero.

For the decade of the �80s, government wheat holdings (including those in the BEH Trust) averaged 358 million bushels. For the decade of the �90s, government wheat holdings averaged 133 million bushels. Since 2000, government wheat holdings dropped steadily until recently when the last of the government-owned wheat was sold.

With no formal plan for wheat stocks by the U.S. government, wheat stocks have defaulted to the arena of the private free-market sector. Unfortunately, the private sector has no plans for any kind of minimum wheat stocks that would protect the American public from a price and/or availability standpoint.

Private wheat stocks are divided into two major categories � on-farm wheat stocks owned by farmers, and off-farm wheat stocks owned by warehouses and grain companies. These two together held 305.6 million bushels of wheat as of June 1 (or roughly 1 bushel per person living in the United States) the lowest level in 60 years.

Of these stocks, on-farm wheat stocks are at 25.6 million bushels, the lowest level of on-farm wheat stocks since the USDA started keeping tabs back in 1934. So as you are driving in rural America before wheat harvest, the farmer�s bins have never been so empty.

The USDA, projects America to have a bumper wheat crop in 2008, producing 2.43 billion bushels and consuming and exporting 2.30 billion bushels. This leaves a meager 133 million bushels (5.5 percent of production) as a margin for error. Globally, the USDA projects wheat production to be 24.36 billion bushels, consumption to be 23.74 billion bushels for a relatively smaller margin of 622 million bushels or 2.6% of production.

The recent wheat crises in America was sparked by the nation exporting more wheat than it produced. This means the true 2008 wheat margin for Americans is really the global margin of 2.6%. Any decline from global projections could precipitate greater wheat exports from America and further draw down already low domestic and global wheat stocks.

Food security is emerging as a global focal point. With the U.S. government and the private sector lacking visions for stocks, food security is poised to grow as a grass-roots issue around the nation.

For more information visit www.touchthesoil.com.

Benjamin Gisin has visited hundreds of farms in his agricultural banking, farm consulting and publishing careers. Today he writes and lectures extensively on the promise of local food systems, agricultural sustainability and food security.


Hotel General Managers

Work With Audio/Visual Vendor On Barter

Collect cash, as usual, from the guest accounts staying at your facility that require the use of professional AV services. And rather than shouldering your ongoing employee costs, or your current vendor�s cash agreement for AV services, here�s a much better alternative:

Work with a proven national vendor (a sterling 25-year track record) who will provide all of the AV services for your hotel on a 100% TRADE BASIS! (Payment to be in the form of trade dollars.)

Your hotel�s annual AV billings must be a minimum of $200,000, and this offer is available only in the continental United States.

For a confidential introduction contact Bob Meyer via e-mail: bmeyer@barternews.com.

Attention Trade Exchange Owners:

If your member hotel(s) have a minimum of 10,000 sq. feet of meeting space and annual billings of at least $200,000 for AV services this is a great opportunity to earn substantial cash service fees on the hundreds of thousands of trade dollars your hotel member will be paying the vendor. Contact Bob Meyer at the above e-mail.


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