Consumer Spending Contiues to Fall - So What Will the CPG Industry Do?
By David Feldman at 9 March, 2009, 2:51 pm
Consumers have been slashing their spending for the last several months, feeding the already painful recession as millions of households are opting to save rather than buy. Within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, escalating prices and stagnant wages are also causing consumers across all income levels to be extremely price sensitive, so they are turning to private label and lower-tier brands to save money or are deciding not to purchase items at all. To help retailers and manufacturers succeed in this new environment, Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) just released its latest research report that analyzes this industry. The data provides a comprehensive review of which categories are most important to shoppers and which categories are at risk of shoppers trading down and/or trading out.
Read More >>Reverse Merger Tip of the Week: Limited Float
By David Feldman at 7 March, 2009, 6:17 am
Very often post-reverse merger companies have very few shares available to trade. (The number of tradable shares is called the “public float.”) Immediately after the merger, almost all the shares are held by the owners of the formerly private company - call these “owner’s shares.” At least initially, none of these shares can trade. Thus, the trading market is at first limited to those shareholders who held free-trading shares in the shell prior to the merger.
Read More >>A Sector of Optimism
By David Feldman at 7 March, 2009, 6:14 am
African Americans are more optimistic about their financial future over the next year than the general population, but the majority of those responding acknowledge they don’t have a financial game plan and many don’t know where to start. A new survey by The Smiley Group and Nationwide Insurance shows 58% of African Americans expect their household situation to be better a year from now, compared to only 30% of the general population sharing similar optimism.
Read More >>Reverse Merger Tip of the Week: Accredited Investors
By David Feldman at 3 March, 2009, 4:17 am
In completing a financing contemporaneous with a PIPE, a challenge with investment banks can be making sure they know their investors. Most financings into reverse mergers require the company to have a reasonable belief that the investors are accredited, meaning essentially that they meet a certain income or net worth test under SEC Regulation D.
Read More >>US Budget Deficit to Hit over $1 Trillion in 2009
By David Feldman at 1 March, 2009, 9:04 am
With the enormous amount of government spending transpiring, one question that is not being asked on a regular basis is how it will be affecting the national budget deficit? CNN Money recently analyzed the current state of the governmental economy along with projections for the rest of the year, with some less than inspiring results.
Read More >>Tip of the Week: How to Get Trading in a Self-Filing
By David Feldman at 23 February, 2009, 5:11 am
As noted in my book, if you choose to file your own Form S-1 or Form 10 to take your private company public, when that registration is completed, the company is public. No IPO. No reverse merger with a shell. Financing has been obtained either before or right after the filing becomes effective. Under a year old interpretation, under many circumstances money can be raised while the registration is pending.
Read More >>Labor Disputes Continue for Aerospace Industry
By David Feldman at 20 February, 2009, 5:23 am
In the down market, aerospace stocks have truly been getting hit hard. However, it has not solely been due to the recession. Over the past six months there has been a wide variety of labor disputes on both the commercial and industrial sectors. And this week has been another difficult time for this industry.
Read More >>Social Media Convergence Continues
By David Feldman at 20 February, 2009, 5:20 am
Consumers’ rapidly growing interest in social networking has resulted in many looking beyond the computer and mobile screens to the living room, according to a new study by ABI Research. A recent survey of over 1000 households conducted by the firm shows that today’s consumers are looking to extend their social networks to the TV, as 36% of those who currently use social media on a regular basis say they’d like to access their networks on the TV screen.
Read More >>Auditing the Federal Government
By David Feldman at 19 February, 2009, 4:48 am
Daylight Network, the first independent social network that allows every citizen to audit the federal government and collaborate on non-governmental solutions, launches the $5,000 Obama Prediction Market.
Read More >>Tip of the Week- Above All Else: Seek Competent and Experienced Advisers
By David Feldman at 17 February, 2009, 4:59 am
Who knew there were so many unique features of reverse merger transactions? I certainly did not when I started representing clients in this area. There are many tricks and traps that are easy to fall into even if one is an experienced securities attorney, auditor, investment banker, or operating company executive. If there is one overarching practice tip to everything in this book, it is this: If one is considering a reverse merger or other alternative to a traditional IPO, make sure to work with practitioners experienced in doing these types of deals.
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