Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) and Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB) , both based  in Cambridge,  have together raised more than $50,000 for vital summer youth programs, according to a recent communique from BTGB.

Sponsored by The Boston Foundation, the Giving Common Challenge was a 36-hour online event running from 8:00 a.m. on October 10 through 8:00 p.m. on October 11, 2012. More than 500 Massachusetts nonprofits competed for donations and more than $100,000 in time-based and grand prizes based on both the number and amount of unique gifts were given out. Both PBHA and Breakthrough took home major prizes.

Cambridge’s PBHA won the “most unique donors” grand prize of $25,000, with 379 supporters contributing $17,102 to the organization. PBHA also won one of the $2,000 “happy hour” prizes, awarded to the first 10 nonprofits to receive 50 unique gifts between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. on October 10. Combining the amount raised from donors with the two prizes, PBHA raised a total of $44,102.

Breakthrough Greater Boston, also based in Cambridge, finished in 9th place in unique donors, after rising as high as 4th. With its 137 gifts, as well as a $2,000 “lunch time” prize similar to PBHA’s “happy hour” prize, Breakthrough Greater Boston netted close to $15,000.

The funds raised by PBHA will support more than 80 community-service programs led by 1,600 college students in the areas of adult services; advocacy, organizing, housing, and health; after-school and in-school; mentoring; and summer.

PBHA executive director Maria Dominguez Gray noted, “The breadth and support of the individual donors, from former teen participants to volunteer alumni, was overwhelming. The additional funding we were able to raise through this important community effort is especially important in light of recent government cuts to high-impact services, including PBHA’s Harvard Square and St. James homeless shelters as well as the Summer Urban Program.” PBHA’s student president Carolyn Chou confirmed, “This money will allow us not only to continue providing quality services but imagine an exciting future for PBHA. The dedication and support of our donors is a testament to the work we do, and it will allow us to keep going despite a tough financial environment for nonprofits.”

The impact on Breakthrough Greater Boston’s out-of-school time and teacher training programming will be equally great,  according to  Breakthrough’s executive director, Elissa Spelman.

“As we continue to work on bridging the education gap in Greater Boston, we rely on the generosity of our supporters. Placing 9th in the Giving Common Challenge is not only an honor for our organization but a testament to the dedication of the broader Breakthrough community that made our success over the past 36 hours possible,” she said.  “Breakthrough Greater Boston is in the midst of an exciting expansion from Cambridge into Boston, so the awareness and visibility of our organization within Boston’s philanthropic community couldn’t come at a better time. We extend our sincerest gratitude to all who supported us.”

According to the BGTB communique: For more than a century PBHA programs have provided vital experiences for generations of leaders in service and activism while developing real, meaningful community partnerships. PBHA strives to create change on multiple levels in Boston and Cambridge. For 20 years BTGB  has been working to transform urban education for students and teachers.. Through six years of intensive, tuition-free, out of school time programming, Breakthrough changes students’ academic trajectories and supports them along the path to four-year college. Simultaneously, BTGB builds the next generation of teachers through competitive recruitment, research-based training, and coaching from master teachers.

–Posted by Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and online marketing  firm based in Cambridge, MA.

CNN host Fareed Zakaria said yesterday that despite the world’s current economic and political difficulties,   he is optimistic about the future  but that it is by no means clear “who will be winners and the losers”  in what he called a “new global landscape.”

In a keynote talk at the Biotechnology Industry Organization International Convention in Boston,  Zakaria said, that the world is currently “extraordinarily  peaceful” compared with previous decade and that it is quite “unified, with a global economic system, interactive communications and technology and greater computing power than ever before.  (For example,  the cell phone has more computing power than did the Apollo spacecraft capsule in 1969. ” It could go to the moon, he said, but it could not tweet,”  he quipped. )

In the past, he said, the US has always been able to emerge from  economic difficulties  due to its tremendous capacity to innovate–and in the second half of the twentieth century, maintained a substantial economic and innovative edge over other nations.  But, he said, “we forget that at other times, other countries have  had the edge.”    He asked, “Will the US  maintain its edge?”

Zakaria outlined what he called three distinct historical  phases or causes that, he said, account for the US’  “extraordinary” lead:

(1) During World War II, the forces of destruction had a huge spillover effect.  Germany, a major US competitor, was “leveled to the ground” and England was bankrupted.

(2) During the Cold War, fears of losing out to the USSR in the 1950s  led the US government to make double the investment in US companies than it is making now;  government purchases of US computers and components accounted for the lion’s share of profits for those companies, until the cost curve began to decline. What is more, the government invested heavily in higher education, so that citizens could obtain the world’s finest education in public universities” without paying a cent”

(3) “The third pillar was Jews ” he said. “If  Hitler had not made the morally reprehensible to target Jews, the US would not have had the influx of scientists who created the bomb, transformed theoretical physics and gave the US a 30-year lead.”

What this shows, he said,  is that America’s propensity of innovate is “not due to DNA,” but rather, that there are specific historical reasons why the US took a commanding lead.

Today, he said, there is a new global landscape  in which it is possible for smaller nations– such as Denmark, where  the Global company Novo Nordisk, known for its diabetes treatments,  was founded–  to be at the leading edge in certain technologies.

What is more, Zakaria pointed out,  innovation does not necessarily correlate directly with spending for research and development.  Apple is often considered one of the most innovative companies in the world–but that is because it understood consumers and  how to create a new need,  rather than because it offers the most cutting edge technology, he said.  “Big company and big country advantages no longer hold, going forward.”

On a panel following the talk, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chair  of the Indian biotechnology company Biocon, said that the current process of biotechnology development is unsustainable and most products are too expensive to benefit most of those who need them.  “Countries in Asia must reinvent the process of drug innovation,” she said.

Greg Lucier, CEO of Life Technologies, which supplies systems, biological reagents and services to enable scientific research, said that  new genomics tools will be the stimulus to streamline innovation, cut costs,  and change the future of  human health.

Derek Hanekom,  South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Science and Technology emphasized the importance of  government’s role in providing access to care and sanitation. Governments can promote innovation by recognizing and supporting it,  reducing unnecessary regulations yet adding regulations to promote competition, and supporting  education to develop a skilled workforce.

Yucel Altunbasak, president of Tubitak, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, listed financing, talented people, regulatory framework, and a governmental support mechanism as keys to helping emerging markets do “what the US did in the 1950’s.”

Chicago-based  Healthbox is now accepting applications for a new,  $50,000 three-month  health tech business accelerator program  to start August 13,  in Cambridge.

In the program, up to ten  selected New England-based companies will receive: $50,000 in seed capital;  collaborative workspace;  access to a mentor network of industry experts  and strategic guidance, according to Dan Phillips, a director of  Sandbox Industries, Healthbox’ parent company, who attended Venture Cafe in the Cambridge Innovation Center last week.  The  program will conclude with a high-profile conference in November at which each participant will pitch to an audience of investors and healthcare leaders from across the country.

Healthbox  is one of the first business accelerator programs in the healthcare industry to support a platform for  innovation among seed-stage companies, according to the Sandbox Website.

“Massachusetts’ world-renowned academic institutions, cutting-edge provider systems and strong investor community make it an ideal location for a healthcare accelerator to stimulate the ecosystem and support new ideas,” said Healthbox founder Nina Sharif, in a press release.  “We are looking forward to working with New England’s most promising healthcare entrepreneurs to help them gain traction in the industry and develop sustainable businesses.”

Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Funds will be among those providing financial support for the Cambridge program, according to Ryan Boxill of the BCBSMA Finance Development Program.

Earlier this year, Healthbox hosted its first program in Chicago.  According to a company press release, ten healthcare technology startups were selected from hundreds of applicants and, within three months,  the teams were able to evolve their business models and establish new partnerships and pilots. The program was supported by strategic partners including  Boston-based HLM Venture Partners; Ascension Health;  BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners; California HealthCare Foundation; Merge Healthcare;  Merrick Ventures; Sandbox Industries and Walgreens.

David Nichols of CareWire, a Minnesota-based company that participated in the Healthbox Chicago program said: “This program has helped us really focus in on our core value, rapidly test assumptions and launch pilots with new customers.”

Mark Hall, the CEO of New Jersey-based United Preference, another Healthbox Chicago participant, added “Things that take 6 months or 12 months in other environments, we’ve been able to achieve in 2 to 4 weeks here.”

According to its Website, Sandbox Industries creates, invests  in and explores new businesses that it believes could change markets. Through a new model of business development that “helps rather than harass entrepreneurs,”  it aims  to “grow successful companies through collaboration and knowledge sharing…redefining the way great ideas are generated and transformed into successful companies.”

Applications are currently being accepted on the Healthbox website at www.healthboxaccelerator.com/apply. For information and announcements about the program, visit www.healthboxaccelerator.com and follow the Twitter feed – @health_box

—Anita M. Harris

Anita Harris is a writer and journalist based at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Kendall Square, Cambridge.

Alvin Ailey’s performance on Friday was spectacular: riveting, creative, beautiful and…fun!

                 The  program, one of several in new director Robert Battle’s first directorial season,  opened with Arden Court,

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Antonio Douthit and Alicia Graf Mack in Paul Taylor's Arden Court. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Photo by Paul Kolnik

set to the baroque music of Richard Boyce and the most “classically” patterned of the evening’s  pieces.

Described  as “an unfolding petal” by Dance Magazine and as  “lush”  and lauded by the New York Times for “the irresistible pleasure of its dancing,”  it  is replete with big movements,  high jumps, and  elegant formations.  This is the first season the Alvin Ailey company, founded in 1958,  has performed a work by Paul Taylor.

Video: at http://www.alvinailey.org/arden-court

The second piece,  Minus 16, by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin has been widely performed but it was a first for me–and  one of the most unusual dance compositions I’ve ever seen.

It began during what seemed to be an intermission…with  a dancer (Samuel Lee Roberts),  wearing a poorly fitting black suit, seeming to be  lackadaisically fooling around on stage..shuffle step, tap,  to rumba and cha cha music… as if there were no audience. Gradually, more men in hats, black pants and  T-shirts joined him.

In another part of Minus 16,  members of the company dressed in black suits white t shirts sat on folding chairs in a semi-circle– swooping forward and leaning back,  one after the other, in a clockwise wave– to a souped-up version of the passover song Echad Mi Yodea (one who knows). At the end of every repetition, and there were many,   the dancer in the chair farthest right  fell to the floor, taking longer and longer to return to his chair as the “wave” began again.    Part way through, the dancers removed their jackets, and, at the end,  they piled  most of their clothes, including their shoes, at the center of the stage.

In the final  piece of Minus 16,  the dancers walked somberly and silently off the stage and through the performance hall–  returning to the stage,   still silent, escorting  people from  the audience who were then incorporated into the performance.

At first, I thought the audience members on stage were plants: some were great dancers; some were hams; some were both–and many of the women selected wore red tops or scarves  and black skirts or slacks. But  not all were so dressed and not all seemed comfortable being led by their professional partners,  on stage.

The piece ended with all but one of the performers lying down on stage. The one left standing,  a slightly overweight middle-aged blonde  woman,  bowed gracefully.  The lights dimmed, and  a spotlight shone on  her as she walked across the stage,  down the steps  and through the hall to her seat.  The audience–including me–loved it.

I’ve since read in Dance Magazine that  if you want to be chosen to go on stage,  you should wear bright colors; if not, bring a pen and pretend to be a critic by taking notes.  And the Alvin Ailey Web site quotes Battle as saying that  Minus 16  “offers surprising new experiences for the company and our audience,”   and that it will be “both a great joy and a challenge for the dancers to improvise, break the fourth wall and invite the audience in.” So–the audience participation was for real.

The closing piece, Alvin Ailey’s 1960 Revelations, set to  familiar “traditional” songs such as “Wade in the Water,”  “Sinner Man,” and “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham,”

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Briana Reed and Yannick Lebrun in Alvin Ailey's Revelations. Photo by Gert Krautbauer

brought an encompassing sense of history to the entire performance.   I had seen Revelations as a teenager…and now, as an adult, the variety of periods, costumes it incorporated  got me thinking about the importance of art in integrating  the past and present–and escorting us into the  future.

–Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris is a writer and consultant based in Cambridge, MA. New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a   PR and marketing communications firm.

For entrepreneurs seeking venture capital funding, there’s good news—and there’s bad news. The good news is that  it’s easier now than at any time in the last ten years to get relatively small amounts of seed money. The bad news is that it’s harder to obtain “A Round” or additional series funding after that.

That was the consensus of  three Boston area venture capitalists who spoke at the Cambridge Innovation Center on  Wednesday, May 2.  Moderator Ben Hron of  law firm McCarter -English, which sponsored the event, asked the VCs  how the 2008 economic downturn  has impacted the VC industry;  where things stand now,  and what they foresee for the future.

Impact of the recession
A changing industry
Jo Tango, founder and partner of Kepha Partners, which invests in early stage companies, said that for many VC firms, this is a period of innovation. “We call it VC 2.0,”  he quipped to the audience of  entrepreneurs.  The VC industry, which started in about 1980, used to be dominated by approximately 20 major firms; today, there are more smaller, more specialized VC firms, he said.

David Beisel, co-founder and partner of  NextView Ventures, a dedicated seed-stage venture capital firm focused on Internet startups, said that the downturn has “facilitated a  maturation process,” which he likened to what happened in the beer industry in the 1990s.

That is, “You had to be either one of the biggest, like Anheuser-Busch—or a microbrewery.” Mid-size companies like Genesee fell by the wayside.

Likewise,  today,  he said, “VC firms are no longer trying to be all things to all entrepreneurs; they’re taking a dedicated approach.  Recently, four or five firms raised more than $1B but mid-sized firms are struggling.”

CA Webb, Executive Director of the New England Venture Capital Association, said that considering this a time of “introspection and innovation” is “optimistic…The reality is that the industry is taking a hard look at itself. Some say that the ‘sky is falling,’ because there’s less money being invested; this means that some firms will shut down. Those that succeed will need to articulate clearly just what they are willing to offer and to whom.”

Tango pointed out that “Innovation [in the VC industry] creates a challenge for entrepreneurs because VC firms are “all over the map,” and “it’s difficult to know which one is right for [a particular startup]. It’s easier now to get seed money–but terms are often more difficult to distinguish.”

Current trends
In asking the panelists for their views on the current venture funding situation, Hron shared Q1 2012 statistics showing  a large number of deals but a drop in total funding compared with previous quarters– in indicating fewer “megadeals.”  “Should entrepreneurs should be optimistic because of the number of deals or pessimistic about the size of the deals?” he asked.

Fewer large deals
Tango responded that one reason for the decline in large deals has to do with the number of deals VCs have previously closed.  In the current economic climate, he explained, it’s difficult raise a stream of money. In a recent study of five VC Web sites, his firm found that many VCs are already sitting on the boards of 10-17 companies in which they have invested. “If you’re fundraising…if you’re already on 15 boards, you need to spend your time fund raising,” not sitting on additional boards.

Smaller investments
Beisel described what he called a longer term trend:  in some sectors, especially digital media, companies don’t need to raise as much money for initial funding as in other sectors–so at earlier stages, the venture community is reacting by not writing $5M checks but rather $1M or .5 M.

In Webb’s view, “seeding is now like the old Series A funding: there is a lot of seed money to go around but Series A is now looking like the old series C “(IE–difficult to come by).

Follow-on funding can be problematic.
Tango agreed –describing a firm that backed 20 companies with seed money but told him it will provide only 2 % of those with Series A funding.  He added that the situation is even more complicated because even at the “seed stage,”different VCs require different terms.

In fact, he recommended, “Ninety per cent of startups should be bootstrapped (funded by self, friends and family) because other investors expect that they will get their money out within a few years. “With VC funding, you’re becoming a fiduciary…taking on ‘credit card debt’ that you will need to pay back.”

In Beisel’s view, before taking any money from VCs, an entrepreneur needs to know how outsiders view the firm, the reputation of the VC firm, which partner will be best for the company, and whether the firm usually adds to series funding or “will you be one of the 98% that get dropped?”

Health care vs. other  investment
Citing a decline in financing for health care ventures in Massachusetts compared with increased financing for Internet and mobile technology, Hron asked if investors are seeking short-term gains as instead of  taking the long view required for biotechnology and pharma payback.

Webb responded that one reason for the slowdown in health care company funding is that the US Food and Drug Administration is taking longer to approve products so the horizons for investors are longer. As a result, investors are shifting toward healthcare technology, “big data” and products that will bring a quicker return.

In Beisel’s view, “Over the last ten years the returns for health care investment have not been that great; health care is now even more challenging. But VCs won’t shift to other spaces; the money just won’t get raised.”

Long -term trends
According to Hron, the data suggest a rise in VC investing in Washington State, Texas, and Illinois. “Are we seeing the rise of a national VC community or is this a blip?” he asked. “And will VC investors look at companies nationwide?”

Tango and Beisel agreed that large investors are looking at companies nationally and internationally–especially in the Internet space.

They also agreed that it’s unlikely that VCs will spring up in Kansas or in “third-tier American cities,” as Beisel; put it.  In Tango’s view, “they will still be centered in Boston, NY and California.”  Beisel pointed out that that VC firms are on the rise in nations like Argentina and Eastern Europe.  According to Webb, “Capital clusters around academic institutions: You won’t see much density elsewhere.”

Crowd sourcing
Regarding the  recent passage of legislation allowing corporate fundraising through crowd sourcing, panelists expressed concerns about possibilities for fraud and entry of organized crime; and also  that unsophisticated investors might not know that seasoned professionals expect to lose money on most  investments—in hopes that a few will have big payoffs.

Asked by Hron if VCs will look askance at companies raising initial funding through crowd sourcing, Beisel said  that it’s fine to get seed money wherever you can but a “real company” will need institutional investors in order to grow large.

In Tango’s view, “Your source of funding depends on what you want to accomplish: Do you just want to get money…or are you looking for series of VC rounds, advice and support?”

PANELIST BIOs

David Beisel – David is Co-Founder and Partner of NextView Ventures, a dedicated seed-stage venture capital firm focused on investments in internet startups.  Previously he was an investor at both Venrock and Masthead Venture Partners, where he served on the boards of BlogHer and Gazelle.  Prior to joining Masthead, he co-founded Sombasa Media, an e-mail marketing company which was successfully acquired by About.com and subsequently became a division of Primedia (NYSE: PRM), where he served as Vice President of Marketing.  He is also the founder of the Web Innovators Group, a quarterly entrepreneur-focused event which attracts nearly a thousand attendees.  David blogs atwww.GenuineVC.com.

Jo Tango – Jo is Founder and Partner of Kepha Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm.   Previously, Jo spent was a General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, where he worked for nearly nine year, and before that he spent five years with Bain & Company.  Jo has invested in the e-commerce, search engine, Internet ad network, wireless, supply chain software, storage, database, security, on-line payments and data center virtualization spaces.  He has been a founding or first institutional investor in Azuki Systems, Bit9, ExaGrid, StreamBase Systems, Vertica Systems (acquired by Hewlett-Packard), Virtual Iron (acquired by Oracle) and VoltDB, getting involved nearly always at the company inception phase. Other investments include Ask Jeeves (Nasdaq: ASKJ), Digital Market (acquired by Agile Software), and NextCard (Nasdaq: NXCD).

C.A. Webb – C.A. became the Executive Director of the New England Venture Capital Association in January 2012.  Members of the NEVCA include more than 700 venture capital professionals from over 100 firms that collectively manage more than $50 billion in capital.  C.A. has spent her career in entrepreneurial roles with mission driven, early stage and high growth organizations. Her work has focused on breakthrough business models in a diverse array of industries including retail and packaged goods (Whole Foods Market), consumer internet technology (Care.com), sustainability (Preserve Products), historic preservation (Trinity Boston Foundation), public education (Boston Collegiate Charter School), and publishing (Fast Company magazine

With the job market looking up for 2012 grads–especially in health care and communications fields,  according to   the National Association of Colleges and Employers  and  Reuters– I was very pleased to join Stephen Smith of the Boston Globe and Lara Salahi  of ABC News in speaking to Emerson College students about careers in health communications.

Our panel, on April 5 was one in a series comprising Emerson’s “Communications Week.”  It was moderated by Bridgette Collado, who teaches at Emerson.

Stephen Smith,  now the Globe’s City Editor,   traced  his career as a health reporter from his early days  at the Miami Herald through his many years at the Globe--describing a drive to tell the stories of individuals  in order to bring their plight to public attention.  He pointed out that while in Massachusetts, most people have access to health care,  in other parts of the US, this is not the case.  He also described his coverage of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, focusing on the story of Reginette Cineliene  , a 14-year old  girl who lost her father, a sister, her home and a leg, spent a year living in a tent encampment, was often hungry, yet still managed to study with the goal of one day becoming a doctor.  Smith said he found Reginette  inspirational–and that he was pleased that his reporting had led readers to  provide Reginette’s remaining family with money to rent a home and pay for an artificial limb.

Lara Salahi, an ABC News  health producer, emphasized  the importance of  telling the stories of “real” people-as opposed to focusing on reports by experts. She used three brief slide/video shows to illustrate the hope and difficulties autism brings to families. One featured a young man who had wanted to be a doctor but, instead, went into radiation diagnostics; a second a  husband and wife who are raising three autistic daughters;  and the third  parents of an autistic son who died young of a seizure disorder.

Anita Harris
I described my career as somewhat unusual–mainly driven by the vagaries of the economy. I became a journalist by starting  a newspaper with college friends; worked in print, radio and television in New York City,  taught college, and went into public affairs when my college downsized.  I emphasized that with economic and technologic changes, versatility is key; it’s important to have  skills in all media, enjoy change, and if you’re going to do work independently you have to like to  market yourself.

I also outlined the broad changes I’ve  noticed.  When I started out in,  print and broadcast journalism operated in separate silos and major  news organizations had tremendous power to control and shape the information reaching the public.  Today, increasingly, we are experiencing a convergence of media, in which news organizations are employing multiple media to reach their readers–and no longer monopolize the flow of information.  The results are both positive and negative.

Convergence of media
For example, the  Globe,  previously print only, now has online version that includes video reports.  Reporters for public radio are asked to blog and carry cameras; many reporters and editors are using social media–all of which have the potential to inform the public  in a variety of ways.  However, with staff cutbacks, many journalists are working harder now than in the past;   I’m concerned that  covering stories in multiple  media could diminish the number and depth of stories on which they report.

Dissipation of control
I think  it’s great that  anyone with access to a computer can provide information to the world.  But without vetting by bona fide, trained journalists,   this democratization makes it difficult to know where information is coming from, how good it is, and, to play on words, where the truth lies– presenting special difficulties for health communicators.

—-Anita M. Harris
Anita Harris is a writer and content strategist in Cambridge, MA.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Speaking at the British Consulate in Kendall Square, last week,  Morgan Stanley Chief Market Strategist David Kelly predicted slow (3%) growth for the US economy in 2012–unless  there are no major disruptions  like  last year’s  Arab Spring, the European Debt Crisis,  the Tsunami in Japan or  what he termed a “home grown” crisis like the one created when Congress allowed this country to hover on the brink of default rather than raise the debt ceiling.

While the deficit is cause for concern, he said, a default would have thrown the nation into a true “great depression.” In diminishing its debt,  the US should proceed slowly. Both tax and entitlement reforms are needed, he said, and moving bit by bit can lead to a balanced budget within 7 years (?) whereas trying to change everything all at once could lead to disaster.

Despite the crises of  2011,   he pointed out, the Standard and Poor’s Index ended up  just .003 percent lower than it had been  at the year’s start. The coming year will  be one of uncertainty, but “the US economy can grow through that, ” he said.

According to Kelly,   factors in several areas will  likely lead to growth:

Housing:
-The  current very low level of housing starts, low inventories and  rising rents will lead to greater demand for homes, especially as consumer finances continue to improve.

-With mortgage rates at 3.8 percent, consumers are refinancing their homes, which means that consumers now have 14% disposable income, compared with 11% in 2007.

-This is the most affordable housing market “ever. ” Mortgage payments now account for  just 10 percent of average household income–which means that people have more money to spend elsewhere.

Automobile:  

-The age of the average vehicle in the US has risen from 9.8 several years ago to ten years;  as cars break  down, sales will go up.

Capital Spending
-Companies have held back on capital spending; as confidence rises,  spending will increase.%.

The key to it all, he emphasized, is confidence that the economy will improve.  Still, he said, he wished that  Ben Bernacke and the Federal Reserve Bank would take the year off “to work on their golf game” instead of telling people that interest rates will remain low for the next few years–which encourages people to put off spending.  What is more, he said,  keeping interest rates low will discourage banks from lending–because they do not want to be locked in to low rates for thirty years, when they know that rates are likely to rise a few years from now.

A link to Morgan Stanley’s  Guide to the Markets for Q1 2012     is available at

https://www.jpmorganfunds.com/cm/Satellite?pagename=jpmfVanityWrapper&UserFriendlyURL=insidemarket_browsetheguide

—Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a strategic PR firm specializing in integrated marketing communications, thought leadership,  media relations and social media for companies in health, science, technology and energy, worldwide. 

Last night’s reading in Lincoln went well.  People laughed. In the right places.

That’s Neil O’Hara, facilitator of The Write Stuff, my wonderful writers group, in the background. The reading was held  held  in the beautiful  Lincoln, MA, public library, which along with the Lincoln Review, sponsors our group and the occasional public event.

Other readers included Susan Coppack, Mary Ann Hales,  Ellen Morgan and Manson Solomon.   Here’s a link to the Write Stuff Blog, http://lincolnwritestuff.blogspot.com/ which, in turn, links to this and other write stuffers’ blogs,  courtesy of  blogmeister Geoff Moore.

Mark S. Hoffman took the photo. Thanks, Mark!

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish Harriscomblog and Ithaca Diaries blog.