Portal:Business

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Business and Economics Portal

The time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. This chart is from 2017 statistics.

Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."

A business entity is not necessarily separate from the owner and the creditors can hold the owner liable for debts the business has acquired. The taxation system for businesses is different from that of the corporates. A business structure does not allow for corporate tax rates. The proprietor is personally taxed on all income from the business.

A distinction is made in law and public offices between the term business and a company such as a corporation or cooperative. Colloquially, the terms are used interchangeably. (Full article...)

Economics (/ˌɛkəˈnɒmɪks, ˌkə-/) is a social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyses what's viewed as basic elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyses the economy as a system where production, distribution, consumption, savings, and investment expenditure interact, and factors affecting it: factors of production, such as labour, capital, land, and enterprise, inflation, economic growth, and public policies that have impact on these elements. (Full article...)

Selected article

Most coffee wars for consumer market share involve the largest coffeehouse, Starbucks, pictured here reflecting a sign for Tim Hortons in New Westminster, Canada.

Coffee wars, sometimes referred to as caffeine wars, involve a variety of sales and marketing tactics by coffeehouse chains and espresso machine manufacturers to increase brand and consumer market share. In North America belligerents in these wars typically include large coffeehouses, such as Starbucks, Dunkin', McDonald's, and Tim Hortons. According to The Economist, the largest coffee war of the late 2000s was between Starbucks and McDonalds in the United States. The U.S. market has, since the early 2010s, been primarily contested by its two largest players, Starbucks and Dunkin'. Since 2020, competition over the Chinese coffee market has intensified between Starbucks and Luckin Coffee.

Periods of low economic activity and business recessions––which contribute to diminished consumer demand––have been linked to an increase in coffee wars. Major innovations in the coffee industry, particularly the advent of single-serve espresso pods, have lowered the market's barrier to entry. Although store count has been traditionally seen as gauging market share, both firms and analysts have incorporated revenue, balance sheets, organic growth, operating margin, and stock market performance as comparable indicators.

Selected image

Main Market Square, Kraków, Poland.
Photo credit: Genghiskhanviet

The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a feature of many European and colonial towns. It is an open area where market stalls are traditionally set out for trading, commonly on one particular day of the week known as market day.

Selected economy

Metro Manila, the economic center of the Philippines

The economy of the Philippines is an emerging market, and considered as a newly industrialized country in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2024, the Philippine economy is estimated to be at ₱26.55 trillion ($471.5 billion), making it the world's 32nd largest by nominal GDP and 13th largest in Asia according to the International Monetary Fund.

The Philippine economy is transitioning from one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing. It has experienced significant economic growth and transformation in recent years. With an average annual growth rate of around 6 percent since 2010, the country has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit and the World Trade Organization. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.

The country's primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipments, garments, chemical products, copper, nickel, abaca, coconut oil, and fruits. Its major trading partners include Japan, China, the United States, Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand. (Full article...)

Selected quote

"Jacob H. Schiff, one of New York's greatest financiers, and one of the witnesses who testified before the committee, is an example of a man with the kind of mind and over-selfish viewpoint which prevails among the men who had a personal financial interest in the result of the Committee's investigation, such as the banker members of the Banking and Currency Committee may be expected to have. Mr. Schiff, under oath, told the committee in substance that:

If individuals can accomplish a monopoly he believes they should not be hampered by law! The laws of nature, he told the committee, are best for preventing too gigantic projects; and he cited the fall of the Tower of Babel as in example of the futility of human effort extended too far. Among the articles expounded by Schiff in his creed of business and finance was the assertion that the minority in all corporations should not be allowed representation among the officers and directors by law. ‘The majority should always rule.’ he said, 'and the minority should protect their rights as best they can.’

Is it not easy to see by this statement of Mr. Schiff's that it is preposterous for Congress to appoint mostly bankers, their agents and attorneys on its Banking and Currency Committee? Mr. Schiff is not cut from a different cloth, nor by a different pattern than the rest of humanity. Acting in our individual capacity, we look after our own interests, but in a collective sense we have not carried this interest far enough, and, consequently, we have such financial wizards as Mr. Schiff."

Charles August Lindbergh, Banking and Currency and the Money Trust, 1913

Topics


Related WikiProjects

On this day in business history

May 6:

General images

The following are images from various business-related articles on Wikipedia.

More did you know

Business news

Wikinews Economy and business portal Wikinews logo

Subcategories


Related portals


Things you can do

Urgent and important articles are bold

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Sources

Discover Wikipedia using portals