China Is So Big

Even with the forecasted slowing of the world economy, China and parts of the Middle East are expected to continue growing during 2009, and they will impact certain world markets, primarily because of China’s huge scale. We found some statistics recently, generated by Deutsche Bank, that predict China’s commodities demand for next year. We felt it would be “smart” for you to know about them. China’s expected global share of demand for selected commodities in 2009:

Aluminum 98%
Iron Ore 82%
Oil 80%
Steel 75%
Copper 61%
Corn 45%
Nickel 42%
Soybeans 40%

Going Green In New York City

New York City’s mayor for the past eight years, Michael Bloomberg, in 2007 rolled out PlaNYC, a detailed series of proposals aimed at reducing the city’s greenhouse-gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030. The plan calls for the city to plant one million trees, convert all of its taxis to less-polluting hybrid vehicles and retrofit city buildings to make them more energy efficient. Environmentalists call this plan one of the most comprehensive efforts in the world. SmartMoves applauds this effort and hopes other major cities around the globe will learn from PlaNYC and adopt appropriate measures to reduce their pollution impacts as well.

Philanthropy – Paul Newman Style

On 26 September, Paul Newman, the globally acclaimed film actor passed away. But it seems the truly lasting impact of the man goes far beyond his iconic acting talent. His creation of Newman’s Own brand of food products, since its inception, has donated 100% of its after tax profits to philanthropic projects world-wide, totaling more than $250 Million (U.S.) to date. From helping children with life threatening diseases, to improving the safety of drinking water, he used his popularity and celebrity status to help fund important social projects and address community needs around the world. He also helped found the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) that now includes over 150 major corporations and 175 Chief Executive Officers, responsible for over $10 billion of annual corporate philanthropic gifting. We hope all global business leaders will follow Mr. Newman’s example, and continue to re-invest in their communities through philanthropic action…because this is, of course, a SmartMove!

Ubuntu

We like the South African concept of UBUNTU – “A person is a person through another person… I can’t be all I can be unless you are all that you can be.” Most things we do in life are inevitably in collaboration with others. The importance of selflessness, unity, and teamwork has stood the test of time throughout human history. When the team is elevated, the individual is elevated. Our blog itself is founded upon and committed to this concept because we fundamentally believe it is, indeed, a SmartMove.