明略行Millward Brown Optimor于日前发布了第四年度的BrandZ全球品牌100强排名，其结果显示即使在目前比较恶劣的经济形势下，各大品牌仍有效地捍卫了它们原有的品牌价值。
BrandZ全球品牌100强排名以美元来衡量品牌价值，它通过结合两方面的数据来进行品牌价值评估：包括企业财务数据及BrandZ对消费者和企业用户的研究数据(BrandZ是当今世界最大的品牌资产研究数据库)。
前100强的品牌价值总值已达到了1.95兆美元(略微上涨了1.7个百分点)。其中，谷歌名列第一，价值1000亿美元;微软排名第二，价值762亿美元;可口可乐首次位列第三，价值676亿美元。
“在目前的经济环境下，很多企业的价值会有所下降，而此时，品牌会变得尤为重要，因为品牌能帮助公司在艰难时期坚持下去。”Millward Brown Optimor的首席执行官 Joanna Seddon这样说，“那些在艰难时期会继续坚持对品牌进行投资的企业，在经济状况好转时，会比那些现在削减品牌投入的企业拥有更强的优势。”
今年共有15个新的品牌进入排名。帮宝适在新晋者中名列最高，排名31，任天堂(排名32名)和VISA(排名36名)紧接其后。从今年的排名中可以看出这样一些趋势：
价值 — 那些以“物有所值”所著称的品牌表现优秀，这意味着质量与价格一样重要，例如：沃尔玛(+19%)、阿尔迪(+49%)和欧尚(+48%)。H&M(+8%)现成为了服装的第一品牌。
小腐败 — 人们即使在荷包紧张的情况下，仍不免偶尔奖励一下自己。比如麦当劳(+34%)、万宝路(+33%)以及百威(+23%)这样的品牌都表现不错。
居家 — 能在家里体验或享受的品牌显示了强劲的增长。这包括了在家购物(在线购物)：亚马逊(+85%)和eBay(+16%);能在家制作的咖啡：奈斯派索优 Nespresso(+27%)和雀巢Nescafe(+23%);以及游戏： 任天堂首次进入排名就跃居第32名。
无线 —通过iPhone和黑莓，在移动设备上使用互联网越来越流行，刺激了数据服务的需求，从而带动了移动运营服务这一产业的整体巨幅增长。沃达丰今年首次进入前十(+45%)。
明略行全球首席执行官Eileen Campbell就此排名发表评论说：“成为世界上最具价值的品牌之一是一项了不起的成就，我们祝贺所有榜上有名的品牌。在一个营销支出正遭受前所未有的严格审查的时刻，这个排名让营销者们能够证明品牌为企业所创造的价值”。
来源: 2009 BrandZ™ Top 100 Ranking
5/31/2009
2009 BrandZ™ Top 100 Ranking
5/03/2009
High time to refinance your loan?
WITH lending rates at historical low levels, the obvious question to ask is – should one refinance their home loans? The answer is simple – if there are net savings to be enjoyed by refinancing the existing loan, then yes. If the impact is neutral, then there’s little point going through all that hassle.
Two years ago, banks were charging home buyers base lending rate (BLR) “plus” interest rates for their housing loans.
Today, the BLR for mortgages has fallen to a “minus” level. In addition, then, the average BLR was about 6.75% which was later adjusted to about 5.55% currently.
The fall in lending rates followed the unprecedented cut in overnight policy rate (OPR) by Bank Negara Malaysia since November last year by 150 basis points to 2% as it stands now.
Over the week, the central bank paused on its rate cut, leaving the OPR unchanged.
This has led some economists to predict that there will be no more OPR cuts for the rest of 2009 and 2010 which may give borrowers a reason to lock in their interest rates for housing loans at current low levels.
If the economy stabilises by next year, analysts expect interest rates to rise. But the views are mixed as there are also analysts who feel that if the situation worsens, Bank Negara could further cut the OPR.
Dr Choong Kwai Fatt, tax consultant and associate professor at the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, Universiti Malaya, opines that now may be a good time to refinance home loans.
“For refinancing, we recommend customers to change to Flexi loan, which allows them to make additional repayment and draw balance at any time with convenience of automated teller machine cards and cheque books. In addition, any amount in the current account is used to reduce the outstanding loan amount, hence there are interest savings,” he says.
Typically, banks’ lock in period is about five years; customers who switch banks before this period ends will have to fork out a penalty fee which comprises 3% of total loan amount or loan outstanding or a minimum penalty of RM5,000-RM10,000.
The fees however vary from bank to bank. There are other costs involved in switching lenders as well such as search fees, inspection fees, stamp duty and loan legal fees (usually costs less than 3% of total loan).
It is important to note that all rates and terms and conditions are negotiable, and hence, vary on a case by case basis.
Two years ago, banks were charging home buyers base lending rate (BLR) “plus” interest rates for their housing loans.
Today, the BLR for mortgages has fallen to a “minus” level. In addition, then, the average BLR was about 6.75% which was later adjusted to about 5.55% currently.
The fall in lending rates followed the unprecedented cut in overnight policy rate (OPR) by Bank Negara Malaysia since November last year by 150 basis points to 2% as it stands now.Over the week, the central bank paused on its rate cut, leaving the OPR unchanged.
This has led some economists to predict that there will be no more OPR cuts for the rest of 2009 and 2010 which may give borrowers a reason to lock in their interest rates for housing loans at current low levels.
If the economy stabilises by next year, analysts expect interest rates to rise. But the views are mixed as there are also analysts who feel that if the situation worsens, Bank Negara could further cut the OPR.
Dr Choong Kwai Fatt, tax consultant and associate professor at the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, Universiti Malaya, opines that now may be a good time to refinance home loans.
“For refinancing, we recommend customers to change to Flexi loan, which allows them to make additional repayment and draw balance at any time with convenience of automated teller machine cards and cheque books. In addition, any amount in the current account is used to reduce the outstanding loan amount, hence there are interest savings,” he says.
Typically, banks’ lock in period is about five years; customers who switch banks before this period ends will have to fork out a penalty fee which comprises 3% of total loan amount or loan outstanding or a minimum penalty of RM5,000-RM10,000.
The fees however vary from bank to bank. There are other costs involved in switching lenders as well such as search fees, inspection fees, stamp duty and loan legal fees (usually costs less than 3% of total loan).
It is important to note that all rates and terms and conditions are negotiable, and hence, vary on a case by case basis.
Details: High time to refinance your loan?
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