“Experience is the child of Thought, and Thought is the child of Action. We cannot learn men from books,” wrote Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century. That’s an important consideration in the selection of public relations firm: Experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Stern And Company, a Las Vegas public relations firm, develops and implements strategic corporate communications programs for its clients. Its professionals have senior level, long tenured experience as journalists in either the major media or as senior level communications executives at the nation’s leading public relations agencies or major corporations. This blog serves as Stern And Company’s primary website. Please note the sidebar to learn more about Stern And Company, as well as the continuation of this post. Read the rest of this entry »
Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 1.8 percent.
The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter reflected positive contributions from private inventory investment, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), exports, residential fixed investment, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from federal government spending and state and local government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
The acceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected an upturn in private inventory investment and accelerations in PCE and in residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a deceleration in nonresidential fixed investment, a downturn in federal government spending, an acceleration in imports, and a larger decrease in state and local government spending.
Final sales of computers added 0.18 percentage point to the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.22 percentage point to the third-quarter change. Motor vehicle output added 0.30 percentage point to the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.12 percentage point to the third-quarter change.
The price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents, increased 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 2.0 percent in the third. Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.0 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 1.8 percent in the third.
Real personal consumption expenditures increased 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 1.7 percent in the third. Durable goods increased 14.8 percent, compared with an increase of 5.7 percent. Nondurable goods increased 1.7 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.5 percent. Services increased 0.2 percent, compared with an increase of 1.9 percent.
Real nonresidential fixed investment increased 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 15.7 percent in the third. Nonresidential structures decreased 7.2 percent, in contrast to an increase of 14.4 percent. Equipment and software increased 5.2 percent, compared with an increase of 16.2 percent. Real residential fixed investment increased 10.9 percent, compared with an increase of 1.3 percent.
Real exports of goods and services increased 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the same increase as in the third. Real imports of goods and services increased 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 1.2 percent in the third.
Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment decreased 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter, in contrast to an increase of 2.1 percent in the third. National defense decreased 12.5 percent, in contrast to an increase of 5.0 percent. Nondefense increased 4.2 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 3.8 percent. Real state and local government consumption expenditures and gross investment decreased 2.6 percent, compared with a decrease of 1.6 percent.
The change in real private inventories added 1.94 percentage points to the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 1.35 percentage points from the third-quarter change. Private businesses increased inventories $56.0 billion in the fourth quarter, following a decrease of $2.0 billion in the third quarter and an increase of $39.1 billion in the second.
Real final sales of domestic product — GDP less change in private inventories — increased 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 3.2 percent in the third.
Real gross domestic purchases — purchases by U.S. residents of goods and services wherever produced — increased 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 1.3 percent in the third.
Current-dollar personal income increased $82.6 billion (2.6 percent) in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of $24.3 billion (0.8 percent) in the third.
Personal current taxes increased $40.0 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of $12.3 billion in the third.
Dsposable personal income increased $42.7 billion (1.5 percent) in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of $11.9 billion (0.4 percent) in the third. Real disposable personal income increased 0.8 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 1.9 percent. Personal outlays increased $69.9 billion (2.5 percent) in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of $112.0 billion (4.1 percent) in the third. Personal saving — disposable personal income less personal outlays — was $429.3 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $456.5 billion in the third. The personal saving rate — saving as a percentage of disposable personal income — was 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with 3.9 percent in the third.
Current-dollar GDP — the market value of the nation’s output of goods and services — increased 3.2 percent, or $118.2 billion, in the fourth quarter to a level of $15,294.3 billion. In the third quarter, current-dollar GDP increased 4.4 percent, or $163.3 billion.
Real GDP increased 1.7 percent in 2011 (that is, from the 2010 annual level to the 2011 annual level), compared with an increase of 3.0 percent in 2010.
The increase in real GDP in 2011 primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), exports, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from state and local government spending, private inventory investment, and federal government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
The deceleration in real GDP in 2011 primarily reflected downturns in private inventory investment and in federal government spending and a deceleration in exports that were partly offset by a deceleration in imports and an acceleration in nonresidential fixed investment.
The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 2.5 percent in 2011, compared with an increase of 1.5 percent in 2010.
Current-dollar GDP increased 3.9 percent, or $561.2 billion, in 2011, compared with an increase of 4.2 percent, or $587.5 billion, in 2010.
During 2011 (that is, measured from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011), real GDP increased 1.6 percent. Real GDP increased 3.1 percent during 2010. The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 2.5 percent during 2011, compared with an increase of 1.4 percent during 2010.
“Thanks for 2 awesome years”… Managing employees during a crisis
Returning from a meeting, I pulled into the perfect parking space: Just at the front door of a Starbuck’s. It didn’t take me long to determine how I had gotten so lucky, through my windshield as I saw emblazoned in white on the coffee shop’s tinted front door: “Thanks for two awesome years.”
Starbucks announced a few months ago it would close 600 stores, including 100 had already been slated for closure. Thinking this shop had been shuttered, I was about to pull away when I saw a customer leaving the store with product, indicating the store had not been closed. And when I mentioned the “sign” to an employee, the response was “Oh.”
While my cup of coffee certainly represented only a drop in Starbucks’ coffers, especially in a recession, it counts.
The message here is not complex: If you think the recession won’t or hasn’t yet effected your business, you may not be paying attention.
Frequently companies discuss their employees as “family,” but the fact of the matter is that all too often they do not keep them informed or let the smaller issues slip. This small Starbucks matter serves as a metaphor for employee communications.
The current economic environment, the recession, is a crisis situation that touches virtually every business and its employees with an impact that at minimum moderately unsettling to the employee base. In short, it is an economic environment with very great potential to change lives, perhaps drastically. While it is critical for employees to be informed in “normal” times, it is more so in this economy.
However, planning and implementing a structured employee communications program is much more than a humane action; it is a sound business practice.
Corporate management must seek to engender continued employee loyalty and support, after all, employees are the ones who must to keep the business moving, and be oblivious concerns about job security and generally disruptive rumors – All companies make adjustments during challenging economic times.
These adjustments generally require meetings of senior management and/or the Board of Directors and rumors or information or leak can occur at any time.
In developing internal communications strategies, companies must consider what information to disclose to employees and how best to disclose it, remembering, of course that any piece of information given an employee will eventually find its way to the media.
Specifically important questions to answer for employees in a transaction exercise are the following:
- Is my job in jeopardy?
- Will downsizing occur? If so, when?
- Will my benefits change?
- Will my division/unit/branch be closed, reorganized or relocated?
These issues will arise and management must determine early on how and when to respond.
Evaluating the best way to disseminate information to employees is important. News may be released in a number of ways, among them:
- special internal memoranda
- video conferencing
- utilizing employee communicators
Selecting the most effective vehicle or combination of dissemination vehicles depends on the company and the situation.
Stern And Company recommends that clients combine communications vehicles with the utilization of middle and senior management to spread news to employees. This tactic is frequently supported with internal memoranda developed from news releases, public disclosure materials, shareholder reports and other shareholder mailings, and reprints of advertisements, among others.
This strategy includes scripts for various levels of management, frequently asked questions and answers, security issues, hotline numbers to call for information and so forth.
During an economic crisis period, as in all crises, management must be prepared for possible challenges by employees with the potential of anti-management messages become manifest with the subsequent attraction media attention. Management must be prepared to effectively counter this with its story.
But the primary question for each employee in a crisis, economic or otherwise is: “What happens to me?” Communications must address such points as:
- Job securities, i.e. possible loss of jobs, transfers under consideration, planned reorganizations that will force employees to prove themselves to a new manager
- Job opportunities, i.e. whether departments will be closed or combine, thereby limiting advancement
- Employee benefit changes, i.e. how benefit plans may be consolidated and what, if any steps management is considering in this area
A proactive communications program assures employees that management cares about them and has definite plans for putting the enterprise on a firm footing. Most employees will want to know what those plans are. The most effective technique is an action agenda that is achievable and gives employees specific milestones in the matter e.g. reaching profitability, narrowing losses, layoffs completed.
Management should keep employees updated through the period, informing them of milestones reached or modified, as well as changes to the action agenda. While it is difficult to address all employee concerns, it is better for management to acknowledge that it doesn’t have all the answers than to allow confusion to reign for a protracted period.
Generally, during the any crisis period, employee communications must:
- Reflect a sense of urgency
- Recognize the legitimate needs and desires of employees to have regular and timely information
- Build in feedback mechanisms to give employees a changes to get answers to specific questions.
It is critical that companies have an employee communications plan in place and that plan should be dynamic and comprise crisis components. The strategies should be regularly considered, reviewed and updated otherwise a company could still be digging itself out of a situation a year or two after the crisis, simply because it did not plan properly for employee communications before the merger became a reality.
About Stern And Company
Stern And Company, based in Las Vegas, develops and implements strategic corporate communications, financial relations and marketing programs for public and private companies.
All of our professionals have extensive senior-level experience as financial journalists with major publications or as communications executives at leading major corporations. Our firm’s practice areas include corporate and financial relations, public relations, strategic and product marketing, crisis communications, transaction communications, restructurings, bankruptcies and litigation support.
Stern And Company
Strategic Communications
info @ sdsternpr.com
Sales of new single-family houses in December 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 2.2 percent below the revised November rate of 314,000 and is 7.3 percent below the December 2010 estimate of 331,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in December 2011 was $210,300; the average sales price was $266,000. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 157,000. This represents a supply of 6.1 months at the current sales rate.
An estimated 302,000 new homes were sold in 2011. This is 6.2 percent (±3.6%) below the 2010 figure of 323,000.
Stern And Company
Strategic Communications
702-240-9533
steve @ sdsternpr.com
New orders for manufactured durable goods in December increased $6.2 billion or 3.0 percent to $214.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This increase, up five of the last six months, followed a 4.3 percent November increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 2.1 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 3.5 percent. Transportation equipment, up two consecutive months, had the largest increase, $3.0 billion or 5.5 percent to $58.4 billion. This was due to nondefense aircraft and parts, which increased $3.1 billion.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in December, up two of the last three months, increased $4.3 billion or 2.1 percent to $207.3 billion. This followed a 0.3 percent November decrease. Primary metals, up seventeen of the last eighteen months, had the largest increase, $2.2 billion or 8.2 percent to $29.0 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 5.0 percent November increase.
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in December, up twenty of the last twenty one months, increased $13.1 billion or 1.5 percent to $912.3 billion. This followed a 1.4 percent November increase. Transportation equipment, up eleven of the last twelve months, had the largest increase, $10.6 billion or 2.1 percent to $529.7 billion.
Inventories of manufactured durable goods in December, up twenty four consecutive months, increased $1.2 billion or 0.3 percent to $370.1 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.6 percent November increase. Transportation equipment, also up twenty four consecutive months, had the largest increase, $1.7 billion or 1.5 percent to $116.4 billion.
Nondefense new orders for capital goods in December increased $4.6 billion or 5.8 percent to $84.4 billion. Shipments increased $1.8 billion or 2.6 percent to $71.5 billion. Unfilled orders increased $12.9 billion or 2.4 percent to $545.6 billion. Inventories increased $1.0 billion or 0.6 percent to $170.6 billion. Defense new orders for capital goods in December decreased $0.8 billion or 12.4 percent to $5.3 billion. Shipments increased $0.6 billion or 8.9 percent to $7.6 billion. Unfilled orders decreased $2.2 billion or 1.5 percent to $149.0 billion. Inventories decreased $0.6 billion or 2.7 percent to $20.0 billion.
Employers took 1,384 mass layoff actions in December involving 145,648 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events in December increased by 52 from November, and associated initial claims increased by 14,021. In December, 351 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 39,081 initial claims.
The national unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in December, down from 8.7 percent the prior month and from 9.4 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 over the month and by 1,640,000 over the year.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in December was 2,433, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 263,665 initial claims for unemployment insurance. Over the year, average weekly mass layoff events increased by 4 to 487, and associated average weekly initial claims increased by 6,700 to 52,733. Ten of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest increases occurring in information, administrative and waste services, and manufacturing. The six-digit industry with the largest number of private nonfarm initial claims in December 2011 was temporary help services.
In December, the manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of mass layoff events and 30 percent of associated initial claims in the private economy. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 25 percent of events and 30 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the numbers of mass layoff claimants in December 2011 were greatest in transportation equipment, food, and textile mills. Twelve of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest increases occurring in food and in textile mills.
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the census regions, the Midwest registered the greatest number of initial claims in December. All four regions experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in the West.
Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in December, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and New York. Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by California and Pennsylvania.