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Even if you don't think you do, you already know plenty about commodities. Want us to prove it? No problem.
What makes oil produced in Saudi Arabia different from oil exported from Nigeria? It's the same thing that makes the corn you ate at last summer¿s barbecue different from the corn used to produce ethanol. Stumped? Well, don't feel bad, it's a trick question. The answer? Absolutely nothing. Corn is corn no matter where it comes from -- just as wheat is wheat and natural gas is -- right! -- natural gas. (Though the quality may differ, the make-up is uniform.)
So, in less elaborate terms, corn and oil (and all other commodities) are homogenous goods that can be processed, resold and more often than not, used as an input to the production of other goods or services. These goods are traded on a commodity exchange, thus setting the price-per-barrel (or other metric unit) used to value them.
Now pay attention, here's a question that indeed does have an answer: What is the difference between a commodity and a stock? While a stock can tank and become worthless, a commodity cannot have its value be wiped to zero. One other difference: Most commodities are traded in futures, meaning traders buy and sell where they think the price of a product will be at a certain point in the future. Stocks trade based on the value of the underlying company at that point in time.
Home / Personal Finance / On Topic / Small Business
Monday, August 25, 2008
Small Businesses Defying the Web Trend
Matt Egan
FOXBusiness
In an age in which businesses ranging from the local travel agency to the neighborhood's top restaurant are enjoying once-unthinkable exposure by going online, some small business owners are still resisting the lure of the Web.
Mike Patterson admits he’s thought about it. He’s even gotten quotes to see how much a homepage for his Metuchen, N.J-based ice cream parlor, creatively named What’s the Scoop, might run..
“It’s not a huge investment,” Patterson conceded, saying he could be online by dropping less than $1,000 if he skipped all the latest bells and whistles.
Patterson, who opened the quaint ice cream shop nearly eight years ago, said he just doesn’t see a need for his parlor to have an online presence.
“The majority of ice cream buying is on impulse. You aren’t going to surf the Web and buy ice cream,” argued Patterson, who was a vice president of sales at a plastics manufacturer before opening his own business.
Still, What’s the Scoop, which has about $500,000 in annual sales, faces competition from several sources right in its own backyard. There's a Friendly’s right around the corner, and Patterson’s biggest rival, Coldstone Creamery, is about five minutes away.
Not surprisingly, both competitors have fancy Web sites replete with enticing pictures of their most decadent ice cream sundaes, as well as options for buying gift cards and store locators. What’s the Scoop's address and phone number shows up on a Google (GOOG) search, but there aren’t any pictures of the ice cream shop, its picturesque setting or its 114 different flavors.
Patterson is skeptical that his sales would improve significantly from a greater Web presence, saying business has been pretty solid lately even as other companies are hurt by the slowing economy.
“The ice cream business picks up when the economy gets slow. It’s what I call the 20-minute vacation. They are happy for 20 minutes and then they go back to reality,” said Patterson. “We obviously live and die by the weather. If people are out walking, then we are busy.”
Small business experts say there’s little to lose from creating a homepage, which has almost become the business card of the 21st century.
“In this world, you almost can’t succeed without a Web site,” said Martin Lehman, a counselor with SCORE, a nonprofit aimed at counseling entrepreneurs. “You’re not just selling an ice cream cone. You are trying to sell other products to a customer who might not just walk into your store.”
With that thinking in mind, Patterson said he’s open to creating a homepage as What’s the Scoop expands. Patterson said it might be useful if he implements a delivery system for his new pizza oven since he realizes Internet orders are easier and more accurate than orders made over the phone.
Maybe What's the Scoop won't avoid the lure of the Internet after all.
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