The President’s use of executive power to bring change in 2015

February 17, 2014

The Financial Focus[1]:

Through the executive power bestowed upon him, President Obama raised the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour from its original $7.25 for federal contract employees last Wednesday, February 12th. The new wage is to be in effect January 1, 2015.

What all does this new minimum wage law entail? As of yet, the law does not extend to the federal contract employees who manufacture goods, nor to the general working public. CNN stated,  “[the new minimum wage law] will apply to contracts and subcontracts that provide the federal government with concessions, services and construction.”

President Obama plans to raise the wage to $10.10 for all U.S. workers before the end of 2014. For the tipped workers who reserve federal contracts, the minimum base per hour is currently $2.13, but Obama raised that base to $4.90 with a 95 cent increase per year until it reaches the 70 percent mark of the new minimum wage. Another side note pertaining to tipped workers: if the tips earned do not equal $10.10 per hour, the federal contractor must pay the difference.

The law has seen mixed reviews after its recent passing. The supporters defend that higher minimum wages create a boost in employee moral shown through higher attendance and productivity levels. The skeptics see the increase in wage as a driving force towards unemployment or an increase in the overall cost of goods.

 

Entrepreneur of the Week[2]: Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk

Background:

– Russian born in 1975 (38 years old)

– Grew up in Edison, New Jersey

– Wine Connoisseur

– Social Media Genius

– Author

– Speaker

– Angel Investor

 

Accomplishments:

– At seven years old he ran and managed 7 lemonade stands

– Turned his family owned liquor store into an e-commerce hit by creating WineLibrary.com. Grew the business from $3 million to $45 million

– Founder of Wine Library TV to share his expertise and love for wine through webcasts

– In 2009: Created VaynerMedia – a social media consulting agency that helps grow Fortune 500 companies (including GE and PepsiCo.) and many other companies to gain an edge on digital branding and social media branding through micro content and other ways of social marketing.

– Author of two New York Times Bestsellers: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World and Crush It!: Why NOW is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion. Author of The Thank you Economy

– Angel invested in over 58 companies (Including: Twitter)

– Has 15 acquisitions (including: Tumblr)

-Net Worth Estimate: $10 million dollars

 

Why Gary Vaynerchuk is the Entrepreneur of the Week:

Gary Vaynerchuk is this week’s Entrepreneur of the Week due to his sense of drive and the transformation of the social media marketing world at his hands. Gary is not a billionaire or the stereotypical man with a remarkable story. But what he did do remarkably is alter the way companies use marketing through social media and e-commerce. He brought multiple platforms of social marketing through VaynerMedia that are in effect today, and he continues to be innovative. He doesn’t have a photographic memory, but what he does have is the ability to see and satisfy needs. His normalcy is relatable on all levels. Vaynerchuk’s entrepreneurial spirit is what drove him to success in his early lemonade stand days and will continue to be his catalyst in innovation and adaption for new markets that lie ahead.

 

 

Wall Street’s Watch: (Week of February 10, 2014 – February 14, 2014)

HotTime Warner Cable Inc.** (TWC)

        Thursday’s monopolistic merger of Comcast Corporation and Time Warner Cable Incorporated caused Time Warner Cable’s stock value to increase nearly eleven points from Wednesday’s closing price and a 4,210,700 upsurge in volume[3]. The merger included the acquirement of Time Warner Cable for an equity trade valued at $45.2 Billion (yes, with a B)[4]. Will the merger sustain the stockholder’s recent gain of confidence or will the worry of the public cause a bearish movement?

ColdLinkedIn Corporation** (LNKD)

        LinkedIn, the social media titan of the corporate world, has seen a high of $223.45 this month, but has been on the decline since. The corporation burdened a 37.32 drop in stock value this week alone. Why has this titan lost its warmth recently? LinkedIn released its quarter four earnings with three drawbacks that caused its stock value to lose its stockholders’ confidence: the year-to-year revenue growth decline, the slowing of member growth, and the recent 15 percent share sell-off. With a current value of $186.13, will stockholders bullishly take advantage of this sale or continue to drive the price even lower?

Bold: Illumina Inc.** (ILMN)

Illumina is a Silicon Valley born company that has a central mission of deciphering your genetic code and creates probabilities of acquiring specific diseases by interpreting each individual letter of your genome sequence. The best part about Illumina is that it is not only a life-changing company; it is a life-changing stock. Since the start of 2014, Illumina’s stock value has grown nearly 54 points. This time last year Illumina was trading at $48.79 per share, and it is currently trading at $164.33 per share. It has a P/E ratio (Profit / Earnings Ratio) of 182.59 and an EPS (Earnings per Share) of 0.90. The company is currently expanding into China, and recently has created a growth program for genome-sequencing based companies. Illumina is the writer’s bold pick for this week’s Wall Street’s Watch due to the financial analysis and the promising future the company holds. Could we see Illumina crack the $200 per share mark by the end of its next quarter or will its market price be drawn closer to its one year target estimate price of $153.47?

 


[1] CNN – http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/12/news/economy/obama-executive-order-minimum-wage/index.html

[2] Gary Vaynerchuk Biography – http://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/

[3] **Yahoo! Finance (finance.yahoo.com)

[4] Corporate Comcast (corporate.comcast.com)

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