Your top business stories of the week
The bull market, turning six last week, despite a few downturns, has been a relatively pleasant place to do business for money managers. As of late, however, a significant question has been raised: are there any managers that are outperforming the market? The answer to this is no, there are not. After an initial study conducted in the summer of 2014 – which included more than 2000 mutual funds – and a follow up in early March of this year, only two groups seem to have held the top spot. This means that, even if all of the managers had just flipped coins over the stocks, they may have actually made higher returns due to the performance of the market itself.
As the well known, artsy online store Etsy approaches the potential of an initial public offering, some are declaring: “sell out.” The web store that started as a small “hipster-inspired” outlet has grown into a much larger venue for buying and selling than was originally thought possible. This fact, however, has not been well received by some users and clients of the site. Alicia Shaffer, the owner of the online store Three Bird Nest – known for its tweed headbands and legwarmers – is someone on the receiving end of this pushback. With individuals accusing her of outsourcing, buying Chinese wares, and mass-producing, the backlash has been quite the nuisance. Shaffer, who makes around $70,000 in revenue per month, denies the claims made against her – as many others have had to do recently. Shaffer says that the only reason Etsy sites do so well is because of fans and clients that choose to buy; so, how are they supposed to say no to demand?
Rogers Communications Inc. has agreed to a deal with the Competition Bureau to pay refunds or credits to mobile phone customers who were charged for premium text services from two companies. The refunds cover services provided by MMS between Jan. 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2012, and from Jesta between Jan. 1, 2011 and Aug. 31, 2013. Rogers acted as billing agent for Jesta and MMS, which charged fees for services such as Mind Quiz, Love Crush, and Joke a Day. The company says it began making changes in 2011 in response to customer concerns, ending all premium text services with MMS in 2012 and with Jesta in 2014. Rogers has also worked with the Competition Bureau in determining how to compensate customers who paid for services from MMS and Jesta. Current Rogers customers will receive automatic credits on their bills in the next few months, and former Rogers customers will be contacted by the company about the refund process.
Canada’s food safety watchdog has suspended Costco Canada’s fish import license. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says that the retail giant is not reliably following food safety controls on a consistent basis. The agency says Costco is in violation of federal fish inspection regulations, and the suspension on imports went into effect on Feb. 26, 2014. The CFIA went on record saying that Costco cannot import fish products into Canada until it takes corrective action and the agency is satisfied that the chain can effectively manage food safety risks.