‘Tis the season. Yesterday, I read this WSJ article Consumer Keeping Growth Afloat. It's not surprising at this time of year where the lion share of retailers' fortunes are made that we are reminded that 70% of spending in the USA is consumer-based. Yet, we also read about a manufacturing slump. This got me to thinking about Santa and the Elves.
Top 3 Things I Learned at Runnymede This Summer
The following post was written by our summer intern, Avery. We enjoyed having such a sharp, energetic, and well-adjusted young man help us with various projects and share his fresh perspectives. We wish him lots of success in his senior year of high school and all future endeavors.
My name is Avery Bicks. I am seventeen years old, and I attend the Collegiate School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. After taking an introductory course in Macroeconomics during the fall of my junior year, I immediately became interested in learning more about the economy and different investment strategies. My desire and need for more knowledge became more pronounced when my friends and I signed up for the stockmarketgame.org, where we saw our portfolio, well, crash and burn. Despite my shortcomings in the stock market game, I wanted an opportunity to learn from the best in order to sample the real business world and learn more about investing. Fortunately, this summer I was able to intern at Runnymede Capital Management where Sam, Andy, and Chris taught me more about portfolio mangement and the economy than I could learn in a whole year of school. Here are three major points that I took away from my time at Runnymede this summer.
US Service Sector growth slows in October
The US service sector slowed more than expected in October, marking the second straight month of slower growth and its lowest level since June. However employment hit a new nine-year high. The survey showed the key service sector, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of US GDP, remained solidly in growth mode.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its service index fell to 57.1 from 58.6 in September. This was slightly below economists' forecasts of 58. This marks the 57th consecutive month of growth. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding.
US Service Sector accelerates in April
The US service sector accelerated in April, rising at the fastest pace in eight months as new orders jumped and overall activity quickened by the most since 2008.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its service index rose to 55.2, up from 53.1 in March. This was ahead of analyst expectations of 54.1. This marks the 52nd consecutive month of growth. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding.
US Service Sector accelerates in March
The US service sector accelerated in March thanks to stronger employment.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its service index rose to 53.1, up from 51.6 in February. This was slightly below analyst expectations of 53.5. This marks the 51st consecutive month of growth. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding.
Kerchunker profile: ServiceSource transitions to the cloud
Last week, I attended the Northland Growth Conference in NYC. It was an exciting day spent with some of the fastest growing SaaS (software as a service) companies in America. One of the intriguing meetings was when I sat down with ServiceSource (SREV) International's CEO Mike Smerklo and CFO Ashley Johnson. In the past two years, ServiceSource has unbundled its service offering and essentially built its own startup SaaS company on the fly. It's been no easy task from a business perspective but it was the best decision for its long term growth prospects.