New Video Podcast is Promoting Michigan Businesses, Communities and People

Photo: Duane Weed and Frank Krywicki on the set recording the upcoming Buy Local TV episode.

Welcome to Buy-Local TV, a video netcast where hosts Duane Weed and Frank Krywicki, have teamed up to promote Michigan businesses, communities and its people.

“The goal is to show the importance of buying local in your community,” states Frank. “We are producing county spotlights, promoting businesses and events, as well as, providing marketing and technical tips that will help the consumer and business professional.”

The duo has video episodes highlighting the new format. Topics recently covered in these Michigan video profiles include: Spotlight on Montcalm County, Mecosta County and even a road trip for the “Up North Adventure.” “The ‘Up North Adventure’ is style we want the show to have,” Frank commented. “That is going on-site to communities, events, meeting with the people and showing off what Michigan has to offer. Duane has even interviewed Detroit Red Wing legend Ted Lindsay which is on episode #56.”

“What started out one year ago as a simple one minute internet marketing video podcast entitled the ‘Buy-Local Minute’ has grown into spotlighting businesses, communities, and events that inform and promote Michigan. They are now 10 to 20 minute video production segments entitled ‘Buy Local TV,’” comments Duane. “The show is an extension of what we are doing with the Buy Local Video Profiles - that is ‘Everyone has a story to tell and we are telling it.’”

According to Frank, “Since the format is new it will take awhile to reach the desired audience. That is ok, as our main goal is to promote Michigan by showing off what great people and businesses we have here. In addition if we can bring tourist and businesses to Michigan and show off the importance of buying local that will be a bonus.”

“Just like the seasons in Michigan, the show will change and evolve as we grow”, Duane continues. “We invite everyone to check out the show at www.buylocaltv.us, on Facebook, Twitter and through our Buy Local Video blog.”

Buy Local TV is a division of DW Video & Multimedia, LLC (www.dwvideo.com). Have a show idea or need some internet video marketing or technical advice? To learn more about promoting your Michigan business contact Duane at 231-937-5420. The Buy Local TV team will be happy to air your ideas on an upcoming episode.


Contact:
Duane Weed
5510 Maple Hill Rd
Howard City, MI 49329
(231) 937-5420

High Gas Prices Affect Car Sales

Take high gas prices and the crisis in Japan in an already struggling economy and you get lower automobile sales.

March light-vehicle deliveries may have run at a 12.9 million annual rate. While higher than a year ago, it’s less than the seasonally adjusted rate of 13.4 million in February.

The conflict in Libya helped push gas prices to the highest since September 2008, slowing truck, sport-utility vehicle sales and car shipping. Confidence among U.S. consumers fell more than forecast to a three- month low this month. 3.6 percent of Americans plan to buy a new auto in the next six months, down from 3.9 percent in February.

A lot of uncertainty in the geopolitical environment, with the crisis in Japan and Middle East unrest, affects consumers’ tendency to make big-ticket item purchases.

A 12.9 million rate this month would be an increase from the 11.7 million pace in March 2010, and all major automakers except Toyota Motor Corp. may report gains in deliveries from a year earlier.

Light-vehicle sales in 2010 rose to 11.6 million from a 27- year low in 2009. Deliveries still were 31 percent fewer than the 16.8 million annual average from 2000 to 2007.

Deliveries at Toyota may have slipped 3.6 percent from a year earlier as the world’s largest automaker offered smaller discounts. Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota boosted sales incentives 46 percent in March 2010 after it began record recalls earlier that year.

Sales may have gained 24 percent at Honda Motor Co., and Nissan Motor Co. deliveries may have increased 16 percent.

Global automakers may lose production of 585,000 vehicles this month after the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami damaged factories of manufacturers and their suppliers.

Toyota said last week it has lost output of more than 140,000 vehicles. Honda, based in Tokyo, said it had lost 46,600 vehicles, while Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan said it lost 42,000 units of production from March 14 to March 27.

GM, which closed its Shreveport Assembly plant in Louisiana the week of March 21 because of a Japan-related parts shortage, may report a 20 percent gain in March deliveries.

Ford Motor Co. may report a 13 percent increase for March. Ford’s increased sales of small cars such as the Fiesta and Focus may help the second-largest U.S. automaker outsell GM, which offered smaller discounts during the month.

The GM and Ford race will be really tight. GM came out really strong in the beginning of the year with incentives. When you do that, you’re going to pull ahead sales from later months.

Automakers may cut incentives and sales to fleet customers to conserve inventories as parts shortages threaten the loss of as much as 100,000 units of production in North America in the near term.

It feels like it’s going to be a little bit more of an impact than just a few vehicle shortages, however it is expected the lost output to be made up by the end of the year. The depletion of inventory of some key imported models could happen a lot faster than expected entering this month.

Chrysler Group LLC, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, say sales rose 20 percent. Chrysler and Ford said last week they are restricting dealers’ orders on some vehicle colors after Merck KGaA, a producer of a paint pigment for automakers, lost access to its Japanese factory near a crippled nuclear reactor.

Higher gas prices may drive a shift in market share to cars from trucks and SUVs, according to J.D. Power. The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in the U.S. was $3.54 a gallon this month through March 29, according to AAA.

GM’s Chevrolet brand has doubled the share of sales it gets from vehicles with four-cylinder engines since 2007, to 46 percent of its retail deliveries this year. Ford, which set monthly records in February for sales of its Fiesta and Fusion cars, sees consumers changing buying patterns due to gas prices. There is a line that if a gallon of gas goes over, that may shift the market mentality.

For every $1 a gallon increase in U.S. gas prices, the more-profitable light-truck segment may lose 5 percentage points of market share to lower-margin cars. That would translate to a 56-cent decrease in annual earnings per share at GM, and a 15-cent drop at Ford.

GM has fallen 14 percent since Feb. 18, before intensifying violence in Libya sent crude oil prices to the highest in more than two years, to close at $31.55 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Ford has dropped 5.8 percent in that span and closed at $14.86 yesterday.

Estimates for car and light-truck sales in the U.S. Estimates for companies are a percentage change from March 2010, unadjusted for the difference in selling days. Forecasts for the seasonally adjusted annual rate, or SAAR, are in millions of vehicles.

Although estimates for car sales are trending down with the recent increase in gas prices and the effects of the crisis in Japan, automakers and car transport companies are preparing to make adjustments to keep themselves competitive.

DETROIT HOMEOWNERS OWE MORE THAN THEIR HOMES ARE WORTH

Detroit homeowners purchased homes before the recession and of course took out loans to finance based on the value of the home. As years and recession have gone by the homes values have dropped as much as 50% leaving those trying to relocate trapped. If the home does sell it may be for less than what the original homeowner has financed on it. This results in the homeowner coming up with a lump sum of money at closing, and they just don’t have that. Their options are to rent, which does not usually cover the mortgage, or stay where they are at and wait for home values to rise.
The last time home prices in metro Detroit were this low, it was the summer of 1994, and Wayne Fontes was the Detroit Lions coach.
Southeast Michigan is far from alone in having depressed home prices, but its descent has been more dramatic. Home prices in metro Detroit have dropped an average of 48% from their December 2005 peak. They're down 34% from 2000.
Those in the market to sell their homes know that all too well. Many realize they will have to take a loss on their home.
Home prices nationwide were down in January for the sixth consecutive month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices released Tuesday.
Metro Detroit home prices remain the most depressed in America, according to data released Tuesday.
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices through January were down 3.1% compared with January 2010 in the nation's 20 largest cities, marking the sixth consecutive month of price declines. In metro Detroit, the drop was more substantial -- an 8.1% decline in home prices in the past year through January as the market weans itself off homebuyer tax incentives that ended last year.
In metro Detroit, the decline is 34% from its 2000 level, while the other cities' home prices are less than 1% below their 2000 levels. Detroit was joined by Atlanta, Cleveland and Las Vegas as markets where home prices are now below their January 2000 levels.
The weakened state of home prices could last for some time. The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery.
The bank foreclosure with attributes such as three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, two-car attached garage, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, a master suite with walk-in closet and 1,926 square feet once sold for $268,000. Now, it's listed for $124,900.
Foreclosures are appearing to be decreasing compared to 2009. Because sales are down, there are often times when a property won't sell for what a buyer wants to pay because there are no comparable sales available, and that further depresses prices.
Home prices won't rise until people who owe more on their mortgage than their home's market value are able to refinance. It is also noted that more job creation would boost demand.
The S&P/Case-Shiller composites of the top 10 and top 20 cities have posted monthly declines for the past six months. San Diego and Washington, D.C., are the only metro areas that have seen price appreciation in the past year.
A continuing supply of foreclosures, weak demand and an oversupply of homes for sale will likely mean another 5% drop in home prices before they start improving in the second half of the year, said Patrick Newport, U.S. economist with IHS Global Insight.
Metro Detroit had the second-largest drop in home prices in January behind Phoenix, where home prices fell by 9.1%.
Many residents in the Detroit area are putting up their homes on the market for the third time or more in hopes to sell for at least what they owe. Unfortunately, some will take substantial losses and be forced to owe a large sum of money at closing if their homes.

DETROIT SCHOOLS SLATED FOR MAJOR CHANGES

In a wake of new legislation, Detroit teachers’ union worry about the unmanaged changes proposed to the public schools.
The state-appointed manager of Detroit Public Schools identified 45 schools in the struggling district that could be turned over to private charter operators in a bid to improve student performance.
Wednesday's release of the target list comes as the manager, Robert Bobb, heads into a new round of talks with unions, armed with broad new authority to reopen labor contracts, cut costs and dictate curriculum.
Since his appointment more than two years ago, Mr. Bobb's efforts to stabilize the district's finances and bolster its academics have faced resistance from teachers unions and the school board. Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder changed all of that earlier this month, when he signed into law expanded powers for Mr. Bobb and other financial managers appointed to take over struggling cities and schools.
A Wayne County judge who earlier ruled that Mr. Bobb had improperly exerted control over academics stayed her order in light of the new legislation. School board President Anthony Adams stood behind Mr. Bobb's plan for charters. Mr. Bobb had already gained state approval for a last-resort plan to eliminate the deficit by 2014. It called for closing as many as half the district's 142 schools.
Detroit, whose population fell 25% in the past decade, according to the 2010 census, has seen an even faster exodus from its schools, with students fleeing to charter schools and the suburbs, and taking state funding with them. The district's deficit has grown to $327 million from $218 million when he arrived.
Under Wednesday's modified plan, 14 schools will close by 2012 and another 45 are charter candidates. Of these, 18 have been marked for closure or conversion to charter schools as early as this fall; the other 27 will stay open, but could be converted to charters if a plan is approved to lease the school buildings from the district.
The charters are expected to employ nonunion teachers at least initially, but unions could later try to organize their staff.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bobb is bringing his beefed-up powers to negotiations with unions to help close an estimated $100 million shortfall for next year. Under the strengthened financial-manager law, union contracts, which were cut a little more than a year ago and supposed to be in place for three years, could be slashed again by Mr. Bobb, with approval from the state treasurer.
The Detroit teacher’s union members are in an uproar. They are requesting a meeting to discuss cuts that could be devastating to their members.

MICHIGAN WOOS PEOPLE TO FILL JOB VACANCIES

Available technology jobs in the Detroit area are requiring companies to be creative in their recruiting techniques to woo candidates away from California.

Currently Ford has been trying to lure engineers to the automaker to design software. They want to make Silicon Valley engineers feel at home in Detroit. They have also been going after recruits from Stanford University and Internet companies. Recruiting from local universities has also been a tactic; however, there are nowhere near enough graduates to meet the need. Detroit may be a hard win when compared to the pleasant location and climate of the Silicon Valley, which boasts itself as the technology mecca for the country. As Ford and General Motors participates in the war for talent they wine and dine their applicants and show a relaxed work atmosphere with options of telecommuting or working in jeans verses the Silicon Valley companies where suits are familiar work attire. The automakers are also challenged to get qualified candidates with their offers of salary, which are lower than California, but are quick to make clear the benefits of lower home costs and living expenses.
Expertise in cloud computing, Michigan SEO, mobile software applications and energy management are in demand in the Motor City as automakers replace car stereos with Internet radio and gasoline engines with motors powered by lithium-ion batteries. Technology job postings in the Detroit area doubled last year, making it the fastest-expanding region in the country.
Companies that work with automakers on in-car entertainment systems, such as online streaming music providers Pandora Media Inc. and Mog Inc., have opened offices in the Detroit area. Google Inc., based in Mountain View, California, has an office in Birmingham, Michigan, where it’s looking for sales associates to work with the auto industry.
With the onset of job and technology expansion in Michigan, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced in December that it will open its first satellite office in Detroit. The decision was made due to the region’s high percentage of scientists and engineers, as well as its patent output. Due to its 4,000 patents, Michigan was ranked the seventh highest patent-receiving state in 2010. The new office is likely to create about 100 new jobs to review patent filings.
Michigan lost about 413,000 jobs from December 2007 through December 2009, including 83,200 jobs in the Detroit area, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Things picked up last year, as jobs in the Detroit SEO field and Detroit area professional and business-services sector, which include many of the tech jobs, rose almost twice as fast in December as the overall Michigan job market, according to the bureau. An auto transport company may also be looking to expand with all the anticipated moves.
Dan Gilbert, chairman and founder of Quicken Loans Inc., stated that he plans on adding more jobs as well. Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, moved 1,700 of Quicken Loans’ employees into Compuware Corp. headquarters in Detroit’s Campus Martius Park area, the center of the city’s tech industry, where he plans to add 2,000 more workers.
In the building, graffiti from local artists decorate many of the walls and floors, and mini kitchens on every floor offer free slushies and snacks. When the space is fully finished, Quicken also will have a basketball court for employees.
Gilbert’s venture capital firm’s goal is to fund social media, cloud computing and other software companies in Detroit. So far, Detroit Venture Partners has received more than 200 proposals for investments and has term sheets under consideration for six that may be signed in the next 30 days.
Gilbert also helped fund a planned light-rail project for downtown, formed a venture capital firm to invest in startups, and purchased a historic theater with plans to renovate it as an incubator space for budding technology companies. His objective was to improve Detroit’s downtown to draw people to move back to the area which helps both recruiters and candidates.

Chief of Ford may set record compensation for an auto CEO

Ford CEO Alan Mulally earned record setting compensation for reviving the challenged auto maker. His earnings will likely exceed the previous auto industry record set by Ford's former chief Alex Trotman in 1998, who made $73 million, a sum that also reflects the total his stock and options.

Mulally banked $33.4 million in after-tax gains on incentive stock awards granted as part of his 2008 pay package, which is only a fraction of what he has earned for his recovery efforts in Ford.

In the upcoming weeks, the Michigan-based auto maker will report Mulally's 2010 compensation. Industry analyst say there is a good chance his earnings will represent the largest compensation package the auto industry has ever seen.

A spokesperson for Ford declined to comment on the exact amount of the CEO's pay, but noted the company's stock rose 68% in 2010. He also added that Ford cut its debt by $14.5 billion and could now fund the company's $7-billion obligation to the health care trust for UAW retirees.

Equilar, a financial risk management firm that aggregates data on executive pay, claimed Mulally's total equity-based incentives are worth roughly $313 million based on Ford's $14.01 closing price on Monday. According to the firm's analysis, that estimate does not include bonus and other benefits.

The CEO's grand compensation is expected to raise the question of whether his pay is excessive or an appropriate reward?

During the past few weeks, shares of Ford's stock have dropped 24% from their highest level of $18.97 in January. The slip comes with concerns of extreme oil prices that will hinder overall profitability for the company.

Many make the claim that Mulally's $313 million payout is just and fair, however several others are not so quick to agree. The CEO is raking in a grand compensation for achieving what his peers in the domestic auto industry could not - driving a successful recovery without the intervention of the federal government.

Ford's drastic turnaround over the recent years will fuel other industries in automotive. One type of company that is already seeing improvements is a producer of hard tonneau cover products and accessories.

Yet the debate begins over whether his reward was right or too much. Advocates of the "pay-for-performance" system claim it is fair and well-deserved.

Ford does not plan to release any information regarding its top executives' pay for a few weeks, however the recent release that Mulally is to receive a $56.5-million stock award for delayed compensation granted in 2008 has spawned an uproar from the peanut gallery.

With respect to the $6.6-billion profit Ford earned last year, the CEO's compensation is not considered "excessive", said Van Conway, a specialist and advisor in corporate recovery. "When you look at the stock award, it's about 1% of profits," he said.

Opponents argue that such compensation packages like Mulally's are excessive amidst a national unemployment rate of 8.9%. In addition, some say his heafty pay package could also stir up issues with the UAW.

The CEO of Ford has "done a fabulous job, but when they negotiate with the union later in the year it's probably going to come back and bite them in the butt," said a key Ford shareholder.

Ford's recovery is destined to help a number of related sectors, ranging from auto transport companies to manufacturers of parts and components.

Ford sees solar solutions with new DTE program

Ford and DTE Energy have teamed up to implement a more green energy source at the auto maker's manufacturing complex in Wayne. The duo recently installed solar panels that are expected to generate roughly 500 kilowatts of power.

The new solar panels were installed in front of Ford's Wayne Assembly Plant and will fuel production at the adjacent Michigan Assembly Plant.

The electricity supply manager of Ford said the solar panels will save the company about $160,000 annually. The entire energy-saving project totals about $5.8-million.

Although the new solar panels will render only a small portion of the 20 megawatts of electricity demanded by the plant on an annual basis, the supply manager is confident that the investment will save Ford money in the long run. Such savings will enable Ford to produce renewable energy and experiment with battery-powered parts for auto transport vehicles.

Additionally, the new panels will be feed a 750-kilowatt energy-storage system as well as contribute to 10 new electric-vehicle charging stations at Michigan Assembly. The charging stations will recharge on-site electrical vehicles that transport auto parts to and from various buildings at the manufacturing site.

"These new investments should help us cut overhead costs in a number of ways." said a spokesperson for the company. "Our reliance on auto transport companies being one of the major areas of savings," he added.

Ford's current project is part of DTE Energy's SolarCurrents program, and the newly installed solar panels are owned by the utility.

The overall goal of DTE is to work with various corporations throughout southeastern Michigan to install enough panels over the next five years to produce 15 megawatts of electricity. The utility provider is seeing opportunities with all sorts of business, ranging from microfiber cloth manufacturers to others in the auto industry.