{"id":32821,"date":"2015-08-08T04:00:33","date_gmt":"2015-08-08T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=32821"},"modified":"2019-06-16T07:10:28","modified_gmt":"2019-06-16T14:10:28","slug":"black-coffee-its-official-the-business-world-really-is-all-wet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id32821-black-coffee-its-official-the-business-world-really-is-all-wet.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: It’s Official … The Business World Really Is All Wet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

I’m on vacation — which is why I’ve got another espresso edition of Black Coffee for you this week. I know. But I’ll be back with a mega cup of java for you next week. Promise.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, let’s get right to it, shall we? I think I see an empty hammock waiting for me.<\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In case you were thinking about buying an ad for next year’s Super Bowl, you’ll be interested to know that a 30-second spot is now fetching a record $5 million<\/a>. I think I’m going to pass.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> On second thought, if the price doesn’t climb too<\/em> much higher, I’ll probably take the plunge and buy me a Super Bowl ad in 2017. No, really. Er, that is, assuming I can muster a billion new readers before then.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> This past Friday was the 2425th consecutive day<\/a> that the Fed has kept its key interest rate at zero. Unfortunately, that has only managed to benefit Wall Street at the expense of savers and those with fixed incomes on Main Street.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> How confident are you regarding the state of your personal finances? I’m only asking because Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort survey is now sitting at a 10-month low<\/a> — and it’s falling at the fastest rate in three years. Uh oh.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> You can be sure of this: There are enough people feeling good enough about their personal finances to ensure that a 128-day around-the-world cruise being offered for $100,000 per couple is nearly sold out — after just one day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> I’m also pretty sure the bottom-rung employees at Gravity Payments are feeling financially flush after the CEO, Dan Price, slashed his million-dollar pay package while simultaneously raising the minimum pay there for everyone else to $70,000 annually<\/a> — regardless of the position.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, you’d think a CEO would have foreseen the inevitable backlash and unintended business consequences<\/a> of hiking his company’s pay floor on purely emotional grounds — but not Mr. Price. It turns out the road to hell is paved with good intentions in the business world too.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, in the People’s Paradise of Venezuela, supermarkets are being increasingly plagued by looting and other violence<\/a>, sparked by long lines and endless shortages of the most basic necessities. This is what happens when socialist governments run out of other people’s money.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of grocers, a Whole Foods store in Los Angeles pulled bottles of asparagus water<\/a> from its shelves this week after a photo of the strange beverage — selling for $5.99 — began trending on social media. Soon after, a representative for Whole Foods claimed that was “a mistake.” No, not the price — the product.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Apparently, those wacky water bottles — which contained three asparagus stalks each — were actually supposed to hold water that had been slowly soaked with mushrooms<\/a>. Ah, yes. Now that<\/em> makes much more sense … I think.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, it’s bottled water or bust for most folks. After all, when was the last time you saw a kid take a drink from a hose — or even an adult fill a water glass from the tap?<\/p>\n

167<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Bottles of water consumed, on average, per person annually in the US.<\/p>\n

$11,800,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Amount spent by Americans on bottled water in 2014.<\/p>\n

$60,000,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Amount spent globally on bottled water last year.<\/p>\n

$0.15<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Average profit on a bottle of water.<\/p>\n

10.3%<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Market share for the most popular bottled water brand in the US. (Aquafina)<\/p>\n

$9000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The cost of a typical monthly water bill — if it was priced at the same rate as bottled water.<\/p>\n

Source: Statistic Brain<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

[poll id=”74″]<\/p>\n

Last Week’s Poll Result<\/strong><\/p>\n

How much is your average monthly electricity bill during the summer?<\/p>\n