sábado, novembro 30, 2013

Want to be a successful founder? Not without these

Ilya Pozin is an entrepreneur, writer and investor. He is the founder of Open Me, a social greeting card company, and Ciplex, a digital marketing agency. He's a columnist on entrepreneurship and marketing.


Success is subjective — especially for startups. For some, it means transforming an idea into a business or getting to market as quickly as possible. For others, it means getting a solid investment in your business. But there's one thing that remains most important in all successful startup situations: You must possess the qualities of a good entrepreneur.

As a serial entrepreneur and investor myself, I've had more than my fair share of journeys toward what I consider to be a success. I'm still learning every day, but through time, I've gained invaluable knowledge about what it takes to not only be a successful business founder but also a great leader.

To gain more insight on the crucial traits required for startup success — especially in terms of attracting the attention from venture capitalists — I spoke with David Waxman, entrepreneur, investor, and Managing Partner of the technology-focused venture firm TenOneTen Ventures. He's not only been a successful business founder, he also interacts with other founders on a daily basis.

Here are his six tips for success, when standing out to investors and beyond:

1. Consider the power of partnership

It's easy to get caught up in the "party of one" mentality that comes with being a solo business founder. It's time to ask yourself whether or not bringing on a partner could benefit your business. A terrific partnership or team can refine an idea, bringing it from "eh" to extraordinary.

Waxman says that when it comes down to investment decisions, he is more keen on companies with more than one founder. Aside from anecdotal evidence showing the pros of partnership versus going solo, Waxman also said it's just downright hard to found and run a business alone — both intellectually and emotionally.

Even if you look at great companies where one founder — typically the CEO — seems to individually represent a company, there were other important people who had a hand in getting the company off the ground.

2. Exhibit unwavering tenacity

When it comes to being a business founder, things don't always go as planned. In fact, it can be a pretty bumpy ride filled with ups and downs.

Businesses always face challenges, sometimes seemingly insurmountable ones. If you give in at the first sign of trouble–or if your investors and employees think you will–you'll never make it through the tough times. Starting a business takes a special kind of tenacity, a characteristic Waxman refers to as "Chutzpah," can add to your tenacious perspective as a business founder.

3. Include the right amount of confidence

Too much confidence can read as annoying and egotistical, while too little may land you in hot water when it comes to effectively selling others on your business. There's a fine line between the little bit of reality distortion that makes a founder think they can change the world and actual delusion where one ignores the facts on the ground.

You've got to be "all-in" for your business, but finding the happy medium is essential to successfully portraying yourself and your company. Inject your confidence with a big dose of humility to ensure your attitude isn't off-putting.

4. Never accept failure

Never say die. As a business founder, you should never be willing to take no for an answer and give up. Sure, you may have to redirect and find a new path, but failure should never be an option for you.

Waxman believes the best founders are constitutionally allergic to losing. When things seem impossible, they find a way. These inevitable moments of seemingly unavoidable failure are tough, but a failure-adverse mindset will ensure you pull through.

5. Be willing to do your homework

Forget luck — you've got to be willing to do research, prepare, plan, and research some more.

A founder has to do his homework. Whether or not you're an expert in the field your company is attacking, you've got to learn everything you can and think through every angle. Potential investors shouldn't be able to poke large holes in an idea you've been dedicated to for months or even years.

6. Get in the technical know-how

So maybe you're not a wiz when it comes to the "under the hood" aspect of your company. But it may be time to bring on someone who is. Waxman typically invests in companies that have at least one partner who is a technical expert.

Given that building a product requires vast technical know-how, it doesn't make much sense to have zero workers who can understand what's under the hood. In short, find someone with a hands-on understanding of the technical part of your business, whatever it may be.

Embodying these characteristics will warrant you a second look from a potential investor — don't skip them when founding your startup.

What do you think is an essential trait of all successful business founders?

Image credit: biletskiy/Shutterstock



Sent from my iPad

quarta-feira, novembro 06, 2013

Mobile Devices Increasingly Find Their Way into Kids' Hands

 

 

Nov 6, 2013

Game playing, videos top mobile activities for children

Younger children are spending less time overall in front of screens, according to an October 2013 survey of US parents with kids ages 8 and younger conducted by nonprofit organization Common Sense Media. The survey found that, on average, the total amount of time per day kids spent in front of a device with a screen was 1 hour and 55 minutes in 2013, down from 2 hours and 16 minutes in 2011.

Interestingly, time spent in front of stationary devices, such as televisions, DVDs and PCs, all declined. Meanwhile, time spent with mobile devices—such as a smartphone or tablet—tripled over the two-year period, reaching 15 minutes this year, up from 5 minutes two years earlier.

The number of kids who used a mobile device at least once daily also climbed significantly, going from 8% to 17% during that timeframe. Meanwhile, the percentage of children who watched TV declined to 58% this year, while the number of kids watching DVDs fell to 18%. And the percentage using a computer held steady, at 14%.

The study also found that access by children to mobile devices was not just a product of higher ownership rates among parents, but also of higher ownership rates among the children themselves. For instance, 7% of children in the survey had their own tablets, almost the same number of parents (8%) who owned tablets two years ago.

As devices have found their way into tinier hands, the amount of content consumed on them has naturally increased. The survey found that children with access to mobile devices were largely using them to play games and consume content. Game playing topped the list of activities, named by 63% of respondents. That was followed by app use (50%), watching videos (47%), watching TV or movies (38%) and reading books (30%).


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http://www.emarketer.com/Articles/Print.aspx?R=1010359

Consolidação do Entendimento do STJ e STF relativo à pirataria no Brasil

 

Do site : http://www.migalhas.com.br/PI/99,MI189654,91041-Pirataria+adequacao+social+e+insignificancia?fb_action_ids=10151861105209597&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=top&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210151861105209597%22%3A479394608841213%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151861105209597%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%2210151861105209597%22%3A%22top%22%7D

 

Pirataria, adequação social e insignificância

  • inShare11
  • segunda-feira, 4/11/2013

O entendimento do STJ sobre a criminalização do mercadeio de produtos que infringem direitos autorais acaba de ser sumulado a partir de um conjunto de 11 decisões recentes da Corte que afastam a aplicabilidade do princípio da adequação social para esses casos. A súmula 502 veio a público com o seguinte teor: "Presentes a materialidade e a autoria, afigura-se típica, em relação ao crime previsto no art. 184, § 2º1, do CP, a conduta de expor à venda CDs e DVDs piratas".

As diversas decisões2 de varas criminais e tribunais estaduais que absolviam vendedores de mercadoria irregular reclamavam a aplicação do princípio da adequação social com fundamento na alegação de que as autoridades públicas haveriam deixado de reprimir o crime de pirataria país afora, e que a sociedade já não via como passível de reprimenda o comércio desses produtos ilegais. A aplicação desse princípio permitiria, em tese, ao juiz, negar vigência ao dispositivo criminalizante para absolver o réu, mesmo que sua conduta perfizesse com exatidão o comportamento sancionado na norma penal.

O compêndio de decisões3 a fundamentar a súmula 502, entretanto, revela outro entendimento nesses dois pontos centrais da discussão: rechaça a alegação de que o crime tipificado no 184, § 2º, do CP já não é mais objeto do exercício da persecução penal por parte do Estado, e retira do princípio da adequação social a capacidade de revogar norma penal. Ou seja, não só o STJ afirma que o crime segue sendo reprimido pelo Estado como declara que, ainda que assim não fosse, o princípio da adequação social não poderia, por si, revogar o tipo penal.

O Supremo Tribunal Federal, em recentes decisões também tem demonstrado esse entendimento relacionado à tipicidade do crime em questão, ressaltando três dimensões de implicações advindas de sua prática: a do titular do direito autoral violado, a dos cofres públicos e a dos comerciantes que legitimamente desempenham a atividade de distribuição4. Em conjunto com a afirmação de que a conduta do artigo 184, § 2º, do CP segue sendo objeto de represão estatal, menciona esses itens como aptos a infirmar a tese de que estaríamos diante de um tipo que se tornou letra morta.

Ainda que brevemente, analisemos alguns aspectos da adequação social como princípio, seus fundamentos e funcionamento ao lado do princípio da insignificância para levantarmos questões relacionadas à sua aplicabilidade no ordenamento pátrio.

O princípio da adequação social5, que, como visto, tem servido de tábua de salvação aos comerciantes de itens produzidos em violação a direitos autorais, é um dos princípios limitadores da pretensão punitiva do Estado, ao lado de outros como o princípio da insignificância, da reserva legal, da fragmentariedade do direito penal, da humanidade das penas e da irretroatividade da lei penal, todos moldados na esteira do desenvolvimento histórico do garantismo penal e das salvaguardas do indivíduo contra o Estado.

Seus fundamentos são de simples enunciação: a aceitação social de uma conduta revela-lhe um conteúdo valorativo incompatível com a criminalização de um delito. A reprovação social, portanto, deveria ser um patamar de valoração negativa mínimo para que determinada conduta pudesse ser punida pelo direito penal.

Alguns doutrinadores nacionais mencionam como exemplo de aplicação desse princípio o fato de que a conduta de furar o lóbulo da orelha de uma criança para enfeita-la com um brinco não é passível de punição, embora formalmente se enquadre no tipo penal de lesão corporal.

A construção do princípio também tem relação com a definição do conceito de tipicidade material. Enquanto a tipicidade puramente formal se esgota na execução dos comportamentos descritos no tipo penal, a tipicidade material investiga a existência de valoração negativa daquela conduta concretamente analisada e do resultado que ela produz, buscando um vínculo entre conduta e lesão ao bem jurídico tutelado pela norma penal.

Um dos problemas apontados pela doutrina na aplicação desse princípio em qualquer caso é a sua vagueza6. Como se mediria a aceitação social de uma determinada conduta? Como se chega à conclusão de que um determinado comportamento passou a ser aceito socialmente? Com que segurança a aplicação da norma seria afastada? Essa imprecisão é um dos motivos pelos quais parte respeitável da doutrina internacional nega aplicabilidade consistente ao princípio6.

Outro ponto bastante relevante a ser considerado na eventual aplicação desse princípio como catalizador da descriminalização de certas condutas é a investigação dos motivos que desaguam na aceitação social. Trata-se efetivamente de uma mudança estrutural no sistema de valores de um determinado grupo social ou concorreram fatores indesejados como a incapacidade estatal de efetivamente aplicar o direito penal?

A livre perpetração de uma determinada atividade ilícita em sociedade pode, muitas vezes, ser o reflexo da incapacidade de repressão dessa conduta pelo Estado em um dado momento de sua história, muito embora a sociedade ainda perceba na conduta um enorme desvalor. Assim, a prática reiterada de um crime não significa necessariamente que ele se tornou socialmente adequado. Se tem sido reiterada e impunemente praticado sem atuação efetiva do Estado, e, em nome dessa impunidade passa-se a considerá-lo socialmente adequado, cria-se uma situação em que um bem jurídico que o Estado decidiu proteger quando estatuiu as normas penais perde proteção criminal pela ineficácia de atuação do próprio Estado. Autoriza-se que a política criminal e sua ratio deem lugar à ineficácia de sua execução. Não nos parece que andaríamos bem.

Outra questão que decorre da impunidade crônica é a perda cumulativa dos efeitos secundários da aplicação da pena na percepção social da punibilidade de um determinado delito. Bem se sabe que uma das funções da pena é a prevenção geral – o crime punido representa um desestímulo à perpetração da conduta. A ausência dessa punição motiva sua prática sempre que o delito representar ganhos de algum gênero ao delinquente.

Assim, se atingimos um ponto em que uma determinada conduta típica aparenta ser socialmente aceita, é bom que antes de descriminaliza-la verifique-se efetivamente se esse movimento representa uma estrutural mudança valorativa da conduta ou se esta-se diante de uma situação causada por externalidades indesejadas que não advêm de uma nova ordem social, mas antes a transformam e influenciam na direção oposta daquela previamente planejada.

Caminhando sempre lado a lado com o princípio da adequação social, encontramos o princípio da insignificância que, assim como seu congênere já delineado, limita a capacidade estatal de punir conduta tipificada que, perfeitamente praticada do ponto de vista formal, não encontra suficiente materialidade delitiva para merecer a remprimenda estatal. Essa falta de substância delitiva que no princípio da adequação social era ausência de valoração negativa, é, no princípio da insignificância, ausência de lesividade.

Assim, ainda que um determinado tipo seja praticado, se a conduta concreta não causou lesão minimamente relevante ao bem jurídico que a norma buscava proteger, o princípio determina que não há tipicidade material na conduta, sem prejuizo da constatação da tipicidade formal. É o famoso crime de bagatela.

Não se trata, entretanto, de declarar-se determinado tipo como deslocado da realidade valorativa da sociedade em um determinado momento, e não se trata de indicar tendências normativas abstratas. O princípio da insignificância tem, ao contrário, vocação absolutamente casuística. Seu reconhecimento em um caso não determinará a exclusão de uma conduta qualquer da esfera de incidência do tipo penal.

Os critérios balizadores da aplicação desse princípio foram lançados doutrinariamente e consolidados na última década na interpretação normativa do STF. Em voto estrutural7, o ministro Celso de Mello fala em quatro vetores que o orientam: (a) a mínima ofensividade da conduta do agente, (b) a ausência de periculosidade social da ação, (c) o reduzidíssimo grau de reprovabilidade do comportamento e (d) a inexpressividade da lesão jurídica provocada.

Vejam-se alguns exemplos de análise do princípio em casos de violação de direito autoral:

"Sem embargo, não se pode admitir, em primeiro lugar, que a ação analisada possa ser afastada em nome do princípio da insignificância. Equivocado, no ponto, o argumento de que o impacto econômico da conduta seria apenas de R$320,00 (trezentos e vinte reais), valor obtido a partir do preço cobrado pelo próprio infrator da norma penal. Em verdade, o impacto econômico da violação ao direito autoral deve ser medido pelo valor que os detentores das obras deixam de receber ao sofrer com a "pirataria", e não pelo que os falsificadores obtêm com a sua atuação imoral e ilegal. Nesse cenário, inviável afirmar que a conduta da paciente apresente diminuta lesividade, a qual somente se sustenta sob a ótica distorcida da linha defensiva". (STF HC 115.986/ES Rel Min. LUIZ FUX – JUN/2013)

"HABEAS CORPUS . PENAL. VIOLAÇÃO DE DIREITO AUTORAL (ART. 184, § 2º, DO CÓDIGO PENAL). VENDA DE CD'S E DVD'S PIRATEADOS. ADEQUAÇÃO SOCIAL DA CONDUTA. INEXISTÊNCIA. PRINCÍPIO DA INSIGNIFICÂNCIA. APLICAÇÃO. INVIABILIDADE. PRECEDENTES DO STJ E DO STF. 1. O tão-só fato de estar disseminado o comércio de mercadorias falsificadas ou 'pirateadas' não torna a conduta socialmente aceitável, uma vez que fornecedores e consumidores têm consciência da ilicitude da atividade, a qual tem sido reiteradamente combatida pelos órgãos governamentais, inclusive com campanhas de esclarecimento veiculadas nos meios de comunicação. 2. A quantidade de mercadorias apreendidas (90 DVD's e 130 CD's) demonstra a existência de efetiva lesão ao bem jurídico tutelado pela norma penal, afastando a possibilidade de aplicação do princípio da insignificância. 3. Ordem denegada". (HC 159.474/TO, Rel. Min. LAURITA VAZ, QUINTA TURMA, DJe 06/12/2010).

"Reconhecidas a reincidência e a habitualidade da prática delituosa, a reprovabilidade do comportamento do agente é significativamente agravada, sendo suficiente para inviabilizar a incidência do princípio da insignificância. Precedentes". HC 100.240/RJ Rel. Min. JOAQUIM BARBOSA, SEGUNDA TURMA, 7/12/2010)

Há, evidentemente, muito de política criminal na aplicação do princípio da insignificância, que deve permitir ao legislador e ao judiciário manterem um corpo ordenativo capaz de atingir os objetivos do Estado em um dado momento. Assim, por exemplo, passando-se a reiteradamente considerar uma determinada conduta como abrigada nos limites do princípio da insignificância, a eventual multiplicação descontrolada dessa conduta certamente passará a representar lesão significativa ao bem jurídico tutelado se considerado amplamente, autorizando-se o judiciário a evoluir seu entendimento para deixar de considerar atípica determinada situação.

__________

1Art. 184. Violar direitos de autor e os que lhe são conexos:

Pena – detenção, de 3 (três) meses a 1 (um) ano, ou multa.

§ 1o Se a violação consistir em reprodução total ou parcial, com intuito de lucro direto ou indireto, por qualquer meio ou processo, de obra intelectual, interpretação, execução ou fonograma, sem autorização expressa do autor, do artista intérprete ou executante, do produtor, conforme o caso, ou de quem os represente:

Pena – reclusão, de 2 (dois) a 4 (quatro) anos, e multa.

§ 2o Na mesma pena do § 1o incorre quem, com o intuito de lucro direto ou indireto, distribui, vende, expõe à venda, aluga, introduz no País, adquire, oculta, tem em depósito, original ou cópia de obra intelectual ou fonograma reproduzido com violação do direito de autor, do direito de artista intérprete ou executante ou do direito do produtor de fonograma, ou, ainda, aluga original ou cópia de obra intelectual ou fonograma, sem a expressa autorização dos titulares dos direitos ou de quem os represente.

2Mencionem-se os tribunais do Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Acre, Mato Grosso, Goiás e Minas Gerais como prolatores de decisões que acolhem o entendimento de aplicabilidade do princípio da adequação social para eximir vendedores de produtos piratas da aplicabilidade do artigo 184.

3Nesse sentido, particularmente relevantes os seguintes trechos: "O fato de, muitas vezes, haver tolerância das autoridades públicas em relação a tal prática, não pode e não deve significar que a conduta não seja mais tida como típica, ou que haja exclusão de culpabilidade, razão pela qual, pelo menos até que advenha modificação legislativa, incide o tipo penal, mesmo porque o próprio Estado tutela o direito autoral. [...] Destaque-se, ainda, que a "pirataria" é combatida por inúmeros órgãos institucionais, como o Ministério Público e o Ministério da Justiça, que fazem, inclusive, campanhas em âmbito nacional destinadas a combater tal prática. [...] Na mesma linha de pensamento, colaciono os ensinamentos de Cezar Roberto Bitencourt: (...) a eventual tolerância das autoridades ou a indiferença na repressão criminal, bem como o pretenso desuso, não se apresentam, em nosso sistema jurídico penal, como causa de exclusão da tipicidade. A norma incriminadora não pode ser neutralizada ou considerada revogada em decorrência de desvirtuada autuação das autoridades constituídas (art. 2º, caput, da LICC)". (BITENCOURT, Cezar Roberto. Tratado de Direito Penal. Parte Especial . vol. 4. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2010, p. 162)". (REsp 1.193.196 - MG 2010/0084049-5)

4EMENTA: DIREITO PENAL E PROCESSUAL PENAL. RECURSO ORDINÁRIO CONSTITUCIONAL EM HABEAS CORPUS (CRFB, 102, II, a). CRIME DE VIOLAÇÃO DE DIREITO AUTORAL (CP, ART. 184, §2º). VENDA DE CD'S E DVD’S "PIRATAS". ALEGAÇÃO DE ATIPICIDADE DA CONDUTA POR FORÇA DOS PRINCÍPIOS DA INSIGNIFICÂNCIA E DA ADEQUAÇÃO SOCIAL. IMPROCEDÊNCIA DA TESE DEFENSIVA. NORMA INCRIMINADORA EM PLENA VIGÊNCIA. RECURSO ORDINÁRIO NÃO PROVIDO. 1. Os princípios da insignificância penal e da adequação social reclamam aplicação criteriosa, a fim de evitar que sua adoção indiscriminada acabe por incentivar a prática de delitos patrimoniais, fragilizando a tutela penal de bens jurídicos relevantes para vida em sociedade. 2. O impacto econômico da violação ao direito autoral mede-se pelo valor que os detentores das obras deixam de receber ao sofrer com a “pirataria”, e não pelo montante que os falsificadores obtêm com a sua atuação imoral e ilegal. 3. A prática da contrafação não pode ser considerada socialmente tolerável haja vista os enormes prejuízos causados à indústria fonográfica nacional, aos comerciantes regularmente estabelecidos e ao Fisco pela burla do pagamento de impostos. 4. In casu, a conduta da recorrente amolda-se perfeitamente ao tipo de injusto previsto no art. 184, §2º, do Código Penal, uma vez foi identificada comercializando mercadoria pirateada (100 CD’s e 20 DVD’s de diversos artistas, cujas obras haviam sido reproduzidas em desconformidade com a legislação). 5. Recurso ordinário em habeas corpus não provido". (STF HC 115.986/ES Min. Luiz Fux – JUN/2013)

5O desenvolvimento do princípio é atribuído a Hans Welzel em seu Studien zum system des strafrechts de 1939.

6O sempre excepcional Cezar Roberto Bitencourt, em seu Manual de Direito Penal, menciona como detratores Zaffaroni, Rodriguez Mourullo, Muñoz Conde e Jescheck (BITENCOURT, Cezar Roberto. Manual de Direito Penal. V1. São Paulo, Saraiva, 2000. p18).

7HC 84.412 min. Celso de Mello, DJ 19.11.04

GfK : Where in Europe do the wealthy live?

GfK GeoMarketing - Growth from Knowledge

Bruchsal, October 30, 2012

Where in Europe do the wealthy live?

The latest GfK Purchasing Power Europe study for 2012/2013 analyzes regional differences in consumers’ purchasing power across 42 European countries. At country level, purchasing power ranges from 4.5 times the European average in Liechtenstein to one tenth of this average in Moldova. Spain approximately reflects the average per capita purchasing power in Europe.

GfK Purchasing Power Europe 2012/2013 - GfK GeoMarketingAccording to GfK’s study on purchasing power, European consumers have approximately a total of €8.6 trillion at their disposal to cover their total spending and savings in 2012. This corresponds to an average purchasing power of €12,802 per inhabitant across the 42 countries the study covers. Per capita growth amounts to 2.1 percent.

In the 42 countries, differences in the trend in wages and salaries as well as inflation mean that the amount of disposable income varies. GfK’s purchasing power study examines the nominal purchasing power of individuals translated into euros to ensure a uniform basis of comparison down to the smallest regional level. The exchange rates applied for non-eurozone countries are those published by Eurostat on 7 June 2012.

The ranking of European countries based on per capita purchasing power is unsurprising. Traditionally, Liechtenstein has led the way by a substantial margin. This is also the case in 2012 with around €57,000 per capita. A gap of €15,000 per capita separates this country from the next countries – Norway ranked second, closely followed by Switzerland in third place. Luxembourg’s consumers have “only” around €28,924 of disposable income per capita and are ranked in fourth place.
Europe’s citizens with the highest purchasing power are forced to spend a large part of their income on rent and a generally higher cost of living. Nevertheless, they are left with considerably more spending money after covering the essentials than consumers in countries where purchasing power is lower.
GfK Purchasing Power Europe 2012/2013 - GfK GeoMarketing

At the other end of the scale are the inhabitants of Kosovo, Belarus and Moldova. The population of these countries has less than €2,000 per capita, only a fraction of the purchasing power in the top 10 countries. For example, Moldovans have an average disposable income of €1,257 per capita. This needs to cover all spending on food, accommodation and services as well as any other spending. It is not even a tenth of the European average – represented by Spain (in 17th place) with around €12,943 per capita.

A glance at the order of countries in the ranking according to the volume of purchasing power provides further insight. Here, the number of inhabitants plays a decisive role. As a result, countries such as Turkey and Poland, where per capita purchasing power is below average, appear among the top ten countries. The top 3 according to the volume of purchasing power – Germany, France and the UK – account for almost half of the total purchasing power in Europe. The remaining 53 percent are divided between the other 39 countries.

GfK Purchasing Power Europe 2012/2013 - GfK GeoMarketing

Regional comparisons within and between various countries

Luxembourg
With around 0.5 million inhabitants, Luxembourg is the fourth smallest of the countries analyzed in the study. However, when it comes to per capita purchasing power, Luxembourg’s residents rank fourth highest with €28,924. This means that their purchasing power is 45 percent higher than that of their French neighbors (€19,981), who themselves are ranked ninth in Europe. However, comparing the two capital cities, residents of the Luxembourg district (€29,764 per capita) score just below the residents of Paris city center (€30,777 per capita).

Denmark
Per capita purchasing power of €22,040 in 2012 puts Denmark in fifth place within Europe. Danish people therefore have 72 percent more money than the average European. A comparison of these figures with the purchasing power of countries of a similar size, such as Finland and Slovakia, highlights that Finns almost match the Danish level with €19,289 per capita. Finland ranks in eleventh place in the per capita comparison. The situation is different in Slovakia where consumers’ disposable income of €7,687 provides only approximately a third of the spending power of Danes.

The distribution of purchasing power across the Danish regions is relatively even. Hovedstaden, the greater area of the capital city of Copenhagen has the highest purchasing power of €23,442 per capita. Purchasing power is lowest in North Jutland (Nordjylland) at €21,033 per capita. The per capita comparison with the federal states in Germany shows that the large federal states Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse as well as the city-state Hamburg compare favorably. However, only citizens in these federal states are able to spend as much as residents in Denmark’s weakest region.

Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, the purchasing power per inhabitant amounts to €2,850. This places Bulgaria in the lowest quarter of the 42 countries surveyed. Its neighbors in the Serbian capital Belgrade have a similar purchasing power of €3,912. Copenhagen’s residents have almost 5.5 times as much on average. Nearly a quarter of the total purchasing power in Bulgaria is concentrated within the Sofia city district. The capital’s almost 1.3 million inhabitants have purchasing power of just under €3,800 per capita, making them around 30 percent wealthier than the average.

The Bulgarian districts Varna and Burgas with the popular holiday destinations of Golden Sands and Sunny Beaches are also among the top five districts in the country, along with the industrial cities Stara Zagora and Vraca. The poorest districts are located outside the major conurbations and mostly along the Serbian and Romanian borders. Accordingly and similar to many other countries, there is a significant gap between urban and rural regions.

Czech Republic
The approximately 10.5 million inhabitants of the Czech Republic have an average disposable income of €7,475 per capita in 2012. This corresponds to 24th place in the ranking for Europe. Compared with Hungary, similar in population size, Czechs are better off. The average purchasing power in Hungary is €4,884 per capita, which is only around two thirds of what a Czech can spend. In contrast, with €20,613 per capita Austrians have more than 2.7 times the Czech purchasing power at their disposal.

Of the Czech Republic’s 15 regions, only three have above-average purchasing power. Hlavni mesto Praha, the capital region, is in the lead, with a purchasing power 30 percent above the country average. Ranked second is the region surrounding Prague, Stredocesky kraj. However, purchasing power here is only just above the national average. Consumers in this region have almost 20 percent less money than those in the capital city. As the distance to Prague increases, purchasing power per capita decreases further. Two regions in the northeast and three in the southwest also record figures around the national average. In the east, two regions – Jihomoravsky kraj and Moravskoslezsky kraj –  feature a number of inhabitants similar to the region of greater Prague. However, capital city dwellers on average have 1.4 times the purchasing power of residents in these regions.

Poland
At €5,756 per inhabitant, Poland is ranked 28th in Europe, just behind the three Baltic countries and slightly ahead of Turkey. Compared with its western neighbors, Poland still lags behind. Even in the affluent capital district of Warsaw the inhabitants’ purchasing power of €9,969 p.a. is approximately €5,400 less than that of people in the rural district of Görlitz, the weakest district in Germany.

In general, the study shows a strong polarization in Poland. Purchasing power in the various districts ranges from €3,626 per inhabitant in the Brzozowski district (Powiat) to €9,969 in Warsaw. In 24 districts, purchasing power is at least 20 percent above the national average. At the same time, 71 districts have purchasing power that is 20 percent below the Polish average.

The most affluent districts in Poland are the capital, Warsaw, its surrounding districts (Pruszkowski, Piaseczyński, Warszawski Zachodni and Grodziski), Gdansk and Sopot, Plock (one of the oldest cities in Poland), Lubinski (in Lower Silesia) and Wroclaw (the fourth largest city in Poland). The district of Krakow is only ranked 22nd among the districts. Lodz, the third largest city, is ranked even lower in 32nd place.

In the poorest urban and rural districts, the inhabitants have only slightly more than €3,000 p.a. at their disposal on average. These regions are mainly situated along the Ukrainian border in the far southeast of Poland. The structural problems of this region impact directly on the purchasing power of its inhabitants. Nonetheless, consumers here have more than twice as much at their disposal as their neighbors in Ukraine, the country with the fourth lowest purchasing power in Europe. In these border districts of Poland, purchasing power per inhabitant ranges from €3,600 to €4,200, whereas it is as low as approximately €1,300 per inhabitant in Ukraine.

The survey
Purchasing power is a measure of per capita disposable income (including any received state benefits) after the deduction of taxes. The study indicates annual per capita purchasing power levels in euros and as an index value. GfK purchasing power values correspond to the nominally available income - i.e., the values are not adjusted for inflation and do not reflect regional price variations. The basis of calculation is data on income tax as well as statistics on government benefits and forecasts by economic institutes.

The total purchasing power values reflect the disposable income from which inhabitants can draw for consumer purchases and monthly fixed costs such as rent, utilities, mortgage payments, contributions to private retirement funds and insurance policies as well as miscellaneous expenditures such as those related to vacations or transportation.

The GfK Purchasing Power Europe study is conducted annually and comprehensively covers 42 European countries down to the level of municipalities and ZIP codes.

The 2012/2013 study is now available with up-to-date coverage of the administrative and postcode boundaries as well as data on inhabitants and households. GfK also provides seamlessly fitting digital maps for the whole of Europe. Companies with international activities need the accurate forecasts regarding the amount of money consumers have at their disposal in the various countries. GfK’s Purchasing Power Europe study is used, for example, in international sales and expansion planning, branch network optimization and controlling.

More information
about GfK Purchasing Power Europe is available at
www.gfk-geomarketing.com/purchasing-power.

Print-quality illustrations
can be found at www.gfk-geomarketing.com/purchasing-power-2012 (approx. 4.3 MB).

Download press release (approx. 180 KB)

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About GfK GeoMarketing
GfK GeoMarketing's headquarters are located in Bruchsal, Germany. The company is a subsidiary of GfK. GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, with more than 11,500 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2011, GfK’s sales amounted to EUR 1.37 billion.
Additional information can be found at www.gfk-geomarketing.com.

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November 1, 2013 4:28 pm

Brazil may finally escape from the samba clichés

A more realistic vision of the country may now emerge, writes John Paul Rathbone
A street market vendor counts money in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil©Bloomberg

Black is a shade of brown. So is white, if you look," John Updike once observed of the sun-burnished skin tones on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach. Sadly, however, not even in variegated Brazil is black a shade of red – and red is what investors saw this week after Eike Batista, Rio's brashest businessman, declared bankruptcy by pulling the trigger on a $6bn default.

After Latin America's biggest-ever corporate bust, some may wonder at Mr Batista's exotic tale and conclude: so what? But his story is, in many ways, synonymous with Brazil's rise and fall. Moreover, as Brazil is an emerging market archetype, it tells a global fable as well.

Only last year Mr Batista was the world's seventh-richest man, boasting a self-made fortune that had grown to more than $30bn during the wonder years of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula, as the charismatic former president is widely known, governed between 2002 and 2010 when Brazil, like Mr Batista, could seemingly do no wrong. Indeed, the two men were different sides of the same coin.

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Lula was by almost any criterion the most successful politician of his time. Even nature seemed to smile on his rule, with the discovery in 2007 of huge deposits of deep sea oil. Helped by a commodity price boom, the trade union leader turned president lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty, projected South American diplomacy internationally by putting the B into the Brics, and became symbolic of emerging countries' success, a rise that promised to reconfigure the world.

Mr Batista, like so many of the emerging world's new billionaires, was the feted entrepreneurial agent of that reconfiguration. (While Lula certainly helped the poor, capital prospered even more: during his two presidencies, the Brazilian stock market quadrupled.) Indeed, Mr Batista's stated aim was to become the world's wealthiest man, thanks to the commodity boom that also burnished Lula's political halo.

Today Mr Batista is in disgrace after it turned out that a prospective oil well, the main source of funding for his leveraged empire, was dry. Similarly, Brazil has seemingly lost its way, just as many emerging markets are also losing their appeal against a shale gas revolution that promises to transform the US and a eurozone that may be over the worst.

Certainly, Brazil's go-go years of the mid 2000s are over; last year the economy expanded at half of Japan's rate. The fiscal buffers that allowed Brazil to treat the 2009 global financial crisis as though it was only uma marolinha, a "ripple" in Lula's phrase, are exhausted. The role of continental locomotive has been taken up instead, to Brasilia's chagrin, by the more reform-minded Pacific Alliance economies of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Investment potential is also being left unfulfilled, as seen in Petrobras, the state oil company that raised $70bn in 2010 in the world's largest-ever share offering but has since registered a slide in its shares of 37 per cent. Brazil is now even a locus of general investor fright, as happened after the market's "taper tantrum" in May, when millions of dollars fled the country believing the US Federal Reserve was about to raise rates.

It is not only the capitalists who are fed up. In June, 1m people took to the streets toprotest at government corruption and the millions being spent on new football stadiums for next year's world cup (the circuses of Lula's winning "bread and circuses" political formula) instead of better public services. Much of the "new middle class" remains, in reality, only a month's wages away from poverty. After 11 years in power, and the likelihood of another four after next year's election, Lula's Workers party has also grown stale and complacent. Reforms are being left undone.

This is a depressing trajectory. Yet is it all bad? Disappointment may at least release Brazil from the prison of its many clichés (samba, beaches, money, fun!) that Lula and Mr Batista often played upon and into which the world so eagerly bought.

Exhibit one of a more realistic vision of Brazil: Mr Batista is atypical of a business class which, by dint of long experience, is conservative and underleveraged. So fallout from his bankruptcy is expected to be limited. Exhibit two: the $2tn economy, comparable to the UK's, remains an important market for multinationals, especially telecoms and consumer goods companies, and has developed pockets of true excellence, especially in commodities and agro-industry.

Exhibit three: even if Brazil's rainbow diplomacy has not lived up to its promise, the country has maintained stability in a difficult neighbourhood that includes socialist Venezuela, prickly Bolivia and capricious Argentina. If the US is castigated for not paying attention to the region, that is perhaps because it does not need to. As a regional hegemon Brazil does a fair job, and without exercising the neighbourly brutality of China, Russia or India.

Mr Batista – garish and overleveraged – went from boom to bust in less than a year. By contrast, giant countries such as Brazil need a longer view. Modern Brazil was born in the late 1980s following its transition to democracy. That was also when the emerging markets asset class was created. Since then, crises have come and gone, but emerging market returns – and progress – have plodded on, not always in a straight line but alongside a not-coincidental secular fall in US interest rates.

The big question now for Brazil – and indeed all emerging markets – is whether that progress will continue as US rates start to rise. No, if you believe the past 30 years have only been about financial liquidity. Yes, if you believe that enough good habits have embedded themselves in the meantime. Despite Mr Batista's example, I wager the latter – although it may be a rough ride.

johnpaul.rathbone@ft.com

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  1. Reporteberger | November 2 12:58am | Permalink
    It is not by chance that Brazil treats its neighbors kindly while it seems that US are "ignoring" South America. The yankees did not ignored South America, they were completely left out! In 1990, after the fall of Berlin Wall, a political articulation between Lula, just a party leader by then, and Fidel Castro was made in order to organize the Left in Latin America, this resulted in an organization called Forum of São Paulo(Foro de São Paulo)(The existence of this organization was strongly denied in 90's. Now, however, in the internet is even possible to watch a number of opening speeches of their meetings). They were little by little sweeping out all the Right out of the political stage, including the United States(who is held responsible for interventioning in the continent helping the rise of military dictatorships, this, in their point of view). Now the Left counts 16 presidencies in Latin America that were assisted by the Forum somehow. So, realizing its political rise allowed Forum of São Paulo even slow down its help to it´s now unusefull armed branch: FARC(The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), originally one of the early participants of the group, and now deadly weak. 
    A analysis of South America's conjuncture ignoring the role of Forum of São Paulo is grossly incomplete, it is the missing link that explain a whole bunch of dynamics in that continent.
  2. ReportMatrox 918 | November 1 10:44pm | Permalink
    Batista used to say, BP + Big Problem. LOLOL

    What goes around comes around. Hope he loses all
  3. ReportRTroutman 1780 | November 1 9:29pm | Permalink
    Let it be known, that I knew something likethis was bound to happen. One, I was at the Seadrill office for a meeting in early setember 2012, with my paper in hand and reading Eike´s obnoxious decision to place his son as a Director of a holding and firing Directors left and right, hint hint bad decision making. Prior to that I was onboard a Statoil rig for a client meeting and one of the employees was scuffing about Eike´s and MMX bold statement of raising the bar for production, or to say the least he was laughing at em. So I put those pieces together and made a decision that saved me enough! It was an instinct move, I shall not lie but I use wisemen instincts into studying it more and I think of what would Buffet do. So I did, and saved a lot! A year later and look at it now!
  4. Reportricgf | November 1 7:45pm | Permalink
    @Col:

    - Intervention in "critical" industries is what made South Korea successful, not to mention Brazil's own champions like Vale and Embraer. In case of doubt, you may google "infant industry" for more details;

    - Public sector salaries have ALWAYS been high and disconnected from the private sector; nothing new, but at least the government is finally trying to limit public expenses given the recent deficits;

    - corruption in the justice: there are countless other countries way more corrupt than Brazil - check the latest Transparency International for more information.
  5. ReportCol | November 1 7:02pm | Permalink
    BUT intervention in critical industries such as energy, oil and electricity, to control inflation, profligacy in public sector salaries and pensions allied to corruption in the Justice system will drag this country back from the great progress it made at the turn of the century.
  6. Reportricgf | November 1 6:16pm | Permalink
    Congrats for FINALLY coming up with a realistic article that does two main things:

    - attempts at leaving aside those stupid stereotypes about Brazil;

    - disregards the usual "mongrel dog complex" that unfortunately still plagues most of the Brazilians commenting on these pages.

    Now for the facts:

    - Brazil is already a regional power, the world's 6th largest economy and a gigantic domestic market for all kinds of companies;

    - as the world's second largest Western democracy, it displays sufficient geopolitical leverage to take care of South America (and more broadly a good part of the Southern Hemisphere) on its own;

    - It still has many problems just like any other emerging power - just stop ignoring its great virtues as well.

    Once more, thank you for this sober and more neutral assessment of the country. I for one am tired of listening to the same old nonsense about "football, samba and Amazon"...there is a LOT more to the country than this.



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sexta-feira, novembro 01, 2013

In Brazil, Sports Help Boost Usage Across the Web

 

Nov 1, 2013

Internet users in Brazil spend online time with news sites and blogs

According to data from comScore, 88.4% of internet users in Brazil visited news and information sites in March 2013, ranking it first among BRIC countries, and above the worldwide reach of 76.1% of internet users.

With an average of 60.7 minutes per visitor, internet users in Brazil spent more than twice as much time with online news sites as their Russian counterparts, and still significantly more than those in India and China.

Internet users in Brazil also led in usage of blogs and sports sites by even wider margins, with 83% and 53% penetration, respectively, compared to 49% and 26% for India, 46% and 24% for Russia and 28% and 20% for China. However, the difference in penetration and time spent narrowed significantly when it came to travel and real estate browsing.

In February 2013, Kantar Media Sports and TV Sports Markets surveyed internet users in Brazil specifically on their consumption of sports content online, and found that news sites and blogs were popular destinations for sports fans.

While 84% of Brazil’s online sports audience read sports news sites on their desktops and 39% on their mobile devices, penetration was similarly high for blogs and forums—88% on desktops and 36% via mobile. This is an interesting intersection in which sports content online in Brazil may have helped boost usage for these other website categories, with sports fans tapping into different online sources while seeking varied sports content, be it video or text.

The approaching international sports events—the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics—mean that consumption of sports content online should continue to drive increased traffic to news sites and blogs. But as the games approach and sports fans the world over start planning their trips, travel websites may be the ones to see a more significant boost in usage.


©2013 eMarketer Inc. All rights reserved. www.emarketer.com

CBS And Nielsen To Offer Local Broadcast Cross-Media Measurement With The First-Ever Trial Combining Local Television And Radio

  • CBS And Nielsen To Offer Local Broadcast Cross-Media Measurement With The First-Ever Trial Combining Local Television And Radio

    October 31, 2013 at 8:17 AM (PT)
  • nielsencbs.jpg

    New Offering

    NIELSEN and CBS will partner in NIELSEN's first-ever trial to measure cross-media campaigns on local television and radio. The trial will focus on combining CBS local TV audience data with CBS RADIO audience data "to build a foundation that measures unduplicated reach and time spent across both media." In addition, the trial will measure reach and frequency for campaigns that run on both local TV and radio.

    "In today's multi-platform advertising environment, it is not enough to set full campaign reach and frequency targets," said CBS Chief Research Officer DAVID F. POLTRACK. "The advertiser must distribute the exposure to their message over time -– and in a manner that assures that each potential purchaser is exposed to that message in a consistent manner before each purchase occasion. With our strong combination of television and radio stations in major markets and the extension of these local stations over online and mobile platforms, CBS is uniquely positioned to provide advertisers with the combination of market penetration and controlled frequency distribution needed to optimize the return from their media investments in these markets. Armed with this new cross-platform, local market custom analysis, each advertiser will be able to use these powerful media to their full potential and both TV and radio stations nationwide will benefit."

    "We are very pleased to be working with CBS to bring together television and radio measurement as a result of our newly acquired NIELSEN AUDIO capabilities and for the benefit of all clients," stated NIELSEN Pres./U.S. Media LYNDA CLARIZIO.  "Developing new models of cross-media measurement allow our clients to identify expanded markets of potentially loyal consumers of products or content."

    The test will combine data from NIELSEN's Local People Meter panel with data from the newly acquired NIELSEN AUDIO's PPM panel to provide the cross-platform measurement. Results will be shared in late Q1 2014.