It’s Trade Day again

Today is the 2nd Annual Trade Day where patients can trade goods for dental work. Dr. Harry Rayburn at Main Street Family Dentistry kicked things off (previous coverage) last year. This year, he has a lot more help – three other offices and at least six dentists. And, he’s organizing it under his umbrella nonprofit of Dentistry Making a Difference.

Last year, Rayburn let people trade whatever they wanted. By the end of the day, he had a puppy, canned food, a high chair, cookies, cakes, homemade pillows and bikes. This time around, the dentists are only accepting canned foods. We’re calling now to find out how things are going. The event ends at 4:30 p.m. today.

Cheapest gas: New Albany 3/27

Ah, we are back to $2 gas. How fun The national average today for a gallon of regular gas is $2.02. It’s more than I’d like to pay, but better than the $3.26 gas was going for this time last year. The state average today is $1.92.

New Albany has the cheapest gas in our sampled region, charging $1.83 per gallon of regular. Then it’s Corinth at $1.87, followed by Pontotoc ($1.88) and Sherman ($1.89).

In Tupelo, gas is $1.95 at Kroger at Crosstown, $1.96 at Travel Store USA off Eason and $1.92 for members at Sam’s.

Most expensive: $1.99 in Oxford

Other prices:

Amory $1.93
Booneville $1.97
Ripley $1.93
Starkville $1.95

For more gas prices, go to mississippigasprices.com.

Ford CEO’s pay falls 37 percent

From Marketwatch (full text):

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Investors and employees burned by the fierce decline of the U.S. auto industry won’t be shedding any tears for Alan Mulally, but the Ford Motor Co. chief executive didn’t come out of the historically brutal year unscathed.

Mulally’s total compensation fell by 37% to $13.57 million in 2008, according to a proxy filing from Ford on Tuesday. He earned $2 million in salary but received no bonus. In 2009 and 2010, Mulally will also see a 30% cut while Ford eliminates merit increases and incentive bonuses for salaried workers.

More sales tips for retailers

Email Insider on MediaPost dished up some tips today about how retailers are changing their e-mail marketing “tactics to coax sales from their recession-wary customers.” Here’s an excerpt from the list (full text):

1. “Save Now” is the new “Buy Now.” In a nice twist, some retailers are dropping the ubiquitous “Buy Now” button and replacing it with a “Save Now” call-to-action. For instance, in a March 20 email, Kmart promoted a $70 savings on a GPS with a “Save Now” button, and JC Whitney also used that CTA in a Jan. 27 email. Another spin on this idea is the CTA to “print in-store coupons,” which JCPenney used in a March 20 email, for example. Many consumers are not in a buying mood right now, but many are in a saving mood.

2. “Do It Yourself.” You can help consumers maintain the lifestyle they’re accustomed to by helping them do the things that they paid professionals to do for them when times were better. For instance, some consumers may no longer have enough money to go to the salon, but there’s no reason they still can’t have waxing treatments and facial peels — if they’re willing to do it themselves. In a March 4 email, Sephora taps into this thinking beautifully, comparing the cost of professional treatments to the products they sell.

Oh no! Not a sugar shortage!

This is the first I’ve heard of a possible sugar shortage, but if it interferes with my daily chocolate fix, heads are going to roll ….

A press release from the Sweetener Users Association, a trade group of confectioners, bakers, cereal manufacturers, beverage makers and dairy food companies that use sugar:

Washington, D.C. – March 24, 2009 – More than a dozen United States Senators called on U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to address the low supply of sugar available in the U.S. market by immediately increasing sugar tariff rate quotas (TRQs), in a letter dated March 23, 2009. Left unchanged, the current TRQs, which restrict imports of sugar into the United States, will lead to a supply shortage if additional sugar is not allowed to enter the U.S. market.

According to projections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), available sugar will not meet total demand by the end of September of this year, falling far below the normal 15% stocks-to-use ratio. Approximately 750,000 tons of sugar needs to be added to available supplies.

Your weekly dose of Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey’s words of financial wisdom couldn’t fit in Sunday’s paper. So we get the honor of running them here on the Biz. Enjoy!

Q. My husband has Hepatitis C, and at this point his only option is a liver transplant within the next two years. We make about $70,000 a year, but we also have $25,000 in debt. He’s still able to work right now, and we have health insurance, but how should we begin preparing for the operation and medical bills?

Financial tips from the SEC

Nothing earth-shattering, but it’s always good to be reminded of the fundamentals. From the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:

Before you make your next investment decision, consider these tips:

Pay off credit card or high-interest debt. Simply paying off your high-interest debt may be your best investment strategy. Few investment strategies pay off as well, or with less risk than, eliminating high-interest debt.

Boost your emergency fund. Many experts recommend keeping about six months of expenses in a federally insured account to cover an emergency, like sudden unemployment.

Day-Brite lays off 45 employees

the plant on South Green Street

The Day-Brite Group on South Green Street laid off 45 employees Friday. Scott Williams, the company’s human resource director, today confirmed the news.

He said the layoffs were effective at the end of the shift Friday. He cited a slowdown in business for the decision. Read tomorrow’s Daily Journal for more info.

Walmart gives $2B to employees

From MarketWatch:

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — At a time when many companies have curtailed bonuses and merit raises, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it’s awarding about $2 billion to its U.S. hourly associates through bonuses, profit sharing and 401K contributions.

The world’s largest retailer has outpaced its rivals with its low-price message that clicks with budget-conscious shoppers, analysts have said. Wal-Mart is the No. 2 best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 1.5% in the past 12 months compared with the 39% drop in the Dow.

Starbucks: We will survive

Anyone else humming the song with us? From AP:

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Howard Schultz on Wednesday promised shareholders the gourmet coffee company will succeed despite the global economic downturn by taking on its competitors and offering customers a better deal.

“Starbucks Coffee Co. will not only survive but we will succeed during this environment,” he said. “I promise you that.”

During a webcast of the company’s 18th annual shareholder meeting in Seattle, Schultz said he plans to dispel the myth that all Starbucks coffee drinks cost $4 — a perception that has helped competitors like McDonald’s Corp. break into the espresso beverage market. A tall Starbucks’ drip coffee goes for a bit less than $2 a cup, depending on the market, for instance.

“We’ve allowed other people to define us,” he said.