Business Models and Architecture

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Search market madness: http://caglecartoons.com/viewimage.asp?ID={9B2DE732-09F7-41BF-A40F-A642A0C3EECF}

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Please vote Hillary Clinton.Wall street insiders want her and so do I for many reasons.Its what best for the country at this time.Put the three candidates in front of you and decide.If Hillary does not get the nomination,McCain will be our next President.These are our choices.Bob :))

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Please vote Hillary Clinton.Wall street insiders want her and so do I for many reasons.Its what best for the country at this time.Put the three candidates in front of you and decide.If Hillary does not get the nomination,McCain will be our next President.These are our choices.Bob :))

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Wage increases:http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/favorites.asp

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When employees steal: Five reasons your business could be vulnerable to fraudby Tracy Coenen Mar 17th 2008 @ 9:01AM

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Ripoffs and Scams

The last thing you want to discover is that one of your employees is stealing from your small business. Not only is it a total violation of your trust, but internal fraud also has the potential to put you out of business. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, businesses lose an average of 5% of revenues each year to fraud. Could your company survive if an employee stole 5% of your revenues?

My new book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud, details many of the red flags that may point to fraud in your company. There are literally hundreds of warning signs that might indicate an employee is engaged in a fraud scheme. Here I'll just mention a few:

Is an employee struggling with personal problems? Employees with financial troubles, addictions, chronic legal problems, instability in their personal lives, or unusual work habits might be more likely to commit the fraud.

Are accounting errors popping up? A company's accounting process and financial records might also point to an ongoing fraud. Some of the best business software will alert you if bookkeeping entries don't line up the way they should.


Are you putting too much pressure on employees to meet sales targets? When financial goals loom large, industry conditions are difficult, or employee bonuses are on the line, fraud may help ease the burden.

Are you too loose with company keys and passwords? Companies that have lax policies and procures are more likely to be defrauded. Allowing employees too much autonomy can also create an environment in which fraud goes unchecked.

Do you actively encourage honest, straightforward business dealings? Management must model ethical behavior and enforce the code of ethics in order to prevent fraud.

This post just scratches the surface of a complex topic. But if you want to know more about fraud risks and indicators check out my new book. In Essentials of Corporate Fraud I go into a lot more detail about how the most common frauds are perpetrated and the ways small businesses can stop fraud in its tracks.

You wouldn't leave the company's doors unlocked overnight, would you? Don't leave the company's assets, information, and money exposed for your employees to steal. Learn about fraud and start preventing it in your company.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

http://www.walletpop.com/2008/03/17/when-employees-steal-five-reasons-your-business-could-be-vulner/

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When employees steal: Five reasons your business could be vulnerable to fraudby Tracy Coenen Mar 17th 2008 @ 9:01AM

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Ripoffs and Scams

The last thing you want to discover is that one of your employees is stealing from your small business. Not only is it a total violation of your trust, but internal fraud also has the potential to put you out of business. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, businesses lose an average of 5% of revenues each year to fraud. Could your company survive if an employee stole 5% of your revenues?

My new book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud, details many of the red flags that may point to fraud in your company. There are literally hundreds of warning signs that might indicate an employee is engaged in a fraud scheme. Here I'll just mention a few:

Is an employee struggling with personal problems? Employees with financial troubles, addictions, chronic legal problems, instability in their personal lives, or unusual work habits might be more likely to commit the fraud.

Are accounting errors popping up? A company's accounting process and financial records might also point to an ongoing fraud. Some of the best business software will alert you if bookkeeping entries don't line up the way they should.


Are you putting too much pressure on employees to meet sales targets? When financial goals loom large, industry conditions are difficult, or employee bonuses are on the line, fraud may help ease the burden.

Are you too loose with company keys and passwords? Companies that have lax policies and procures are more likely to be defrauded. Allowing employees too much autonomy can also create an environment in which fraud goes unchecked.

Do you actively encourage honest, straightforward business dealings? Management must model ethical behavior and enforce the code of ethics in order to prevent fraud.

This post just scratches the surface of a complex topic. But if you want to know more about fraud risks and indicators check out my new book. In Essentials of Corporate Fraud I go into a lot more detail about how the most common frauds are perpetrated and the ways small businesses can stop fraud in its tracks.

You wouldn't leave the company's doors unlocked overnight, would you? Don't leave the company's assets, information, and money exposed for your employees to steal. Learn about fraud and start preventing it in your company.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

http://www.walletpop.com/2008/03/17/when-employees-steal-five-reasons-your-business-could-be-vulner/

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Metals - Global market panic sparks more gold buying, bullion near record UPDATE
March 17, 2008: 06:19 AM EST


(Updates prices, adds details)
LONDON, Mar. 17, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Global panic on the markets triggered fresh waves of investment into gold, keeping the metal near a record 1,032.50 usd per ounce hit in Asian trading hours.

Unrelenting dollar weakness, with the greenback near another record low against the euro and a 12-year bottom against the yen, also sparked gold-buying, as bullion became cheaper for those trading in other currencies.

Investors rushed to buy gold, often seen as a good store of value, as the credit crisis deepened on the news JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM PRH) (NYSE:JPM PRX) (NYSE:JPM PRK) (NYSE:JPM PRJ) (NYSE:JPT) (NYSE:JPM) would buy stricken rival Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) for a shockingly low 2 usd per share or 236 mln usd.

'Financially-induced gold buying is unlikely to take a break as long as financial markets are in turmoil,' said analysts at UBS. (NYSE:UBS)

The US Federal Reserve also approved yesterday a cut in its emergency lending rate to financial institutions to 3.25 pct from 3.50 pct, effective immediately, and created a lending facility for big investment banks to secure short-term loans.

The Fed action came just two days before the central bank's scheduled meeting tomorrow, where another big cut to a key interest rate that affects millions of people and businesses is expected to be ordered.

That key rate is now at 3 pct and is expected to be cut by at least one-half percentage point tomorrow. A bigger cut, which is also expected by some, would likely weaken the dollar and boost gold.

'Given the likelihood of further rate cuts at this weeks FOMC meeting, we remain bullish towards gold and anticipate the metal could test as high as 1,150 usd this quarter as investors seek to offset rising safe-haven and inflationary concerns,' said TheBullionDesk.Com analyst James Moore.

Elsewhere, rocketing oil prices, which hit a record high this morning, boosted gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

At 9.58 am, spot gold was trading at 1024.30 usd per ounce against 998.60 usd in late New York trade on Friday.

For today's trading, analysts warned of more volatility.

'Equities should come under renewed downward pressure in Europe and the US, while credit spreads should widen further. These developments should support precious metals during the day,' said Standard Bank analyst Walter De Wet.

This morning so far, UK blue chips fell sharply in early deals as investors feared that the collapse Bear Stearns could lead to further casualties, and amid uncertainties on what the US Federal Reserve will say and do after tomorrow's FOMC meeting.

Also in precious metals, silver set a new 27-year high, following in gold's footsteps, of 21.34 usd per ounce this morning. By 9.23 am, silver was at 21.00 usd against 20.58 usd per ounce.

'Resistance is seen at 21.37 usd, with secondary resistance at 21.54 usd. A break higher might see silver test 22.04 usd,' said De Wet at Standard Bank, commenting on the metal's technical charts.

Platinum was at 1,993 usd per ounce from 2,068 usd in late New York trades on Friday while palladium was down at 484 usd from 504 usd per ounce.

Data today, which could move the dollar and then nudge the value of precious metals, includes the Empire State Manufacturing survey and US current account balance, but focus is likely to remain on the credit and equity markets, and the run-up to tomorrow's interest rate decision.

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Oil prices rise to all-time high above $111 as U.S. dollar sinks
11 hours ago

SINGAPORE — Oil prices jumped to an all-time trading high Monday in Asia as the tumbling U.S. dollar and plunging stock markets prompted investors to seek shelter in commodities.

Investors fled the dollar after a surprise move by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Sunday to provide cash to financially squeezed Wall Street investment houses pushed the battered greenback deeper into multiyear lows against the yen.

"The Fed's move overall will help the liquidity of the U.S. dollar, and that will really further soften the dollar," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

"Meanwhile, investors seem to be just following the mantra of buying oil and commodities to hedge against the falling dollar and inflation."

Light, sweet crude for April delivery spiked to a record $111.42 a barrel - up $1.21 from Friday's close - in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midmorning in Singapore. It later slipped back to $111.10 a barrel.

The contract's previous high was set Thursday at $111 a barrel. It fell 12 cents to settle at $110.21 a barrel Friday.

Analysts blame the weak dollar for oil's recent rally. Crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the dollar is weak.

Interest rate cuts in the United States further weaken the dollar and have helped drive oil's rise. In an extraordinary weekend move, the Fed cut its discount rate Sunday by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent. The Fed is also expected to cut the benchmark federal funds rate at its regularly scheduled monetary policy meeting Tuesday.

"The inverse link between the dollar and oil prices seem to be strengthening. While we have new records for oil almost daily now, we're also seeing daily new record lows for the dollar," Shum said.

Shum said the surge in investor demand for commodities as a hedge against inflation has created a self-fulfilling cycle that causes prices to keep rising.

"When there is more liquidity, it will raise inflation. So investors pump more money into oil as a hedge and that further fuels inflation," he said.

"It points to the risk in the oil market that the fundamentals don't really support such continual strengthening in pricing."

Equities investors also sought refuge from Asian stocks, which declined sharply Monday after the stunning collapse of Bear Stearns Cos., one of the world's largest investment banks.

JP Morgan Chase & Co. agreed Sunday to buy Bear Stearns for $236.2 million in a deal aimed at averting a Bear Stearns bankruptcy and a spreading crisis of confidence in the global financial system.

But investors chose to see the move as a sign that fallout from problems in the U.S. housing market is far from over.

On Monday in Tokyo, Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index plunged more than four per cent, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng fell more than five per cent. Markets in South Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand also fell.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 0.07 cent to $3.1472 a gallon (3.8 litres) while gasoline futures jumped 3.37 cents to $2.7231 a gallon. Natural gas prices added 18.2 cents to $10.05 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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Note to myself:Water:Some states using recycled waste water vs states using natural water supplies.Disgusting for some.Look for water stocks.

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From WSJ:March 14, 2008, 12:02 pm
Bear Stearns: 4 Things To Watch
Posted by Heidi Moore
Bear Stearns has finally become a victim of the market rumors that the firm said were unfounded: in the past 24 hours, Bear Stearns’ liquidity has fallen so much — marking a failure of the firm’s ability to “parse fact from fiction,” that the investment bank had to seek help from J.P. Morgan and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. J.P. Morgan is also helping Bear find sources of permanent financing “or other alternatives for the company.”

Here are four things to watch as the Bear Stearns crisis unfolds across TV screens and computer monitors:

Liquidity Position: A lot can change in three days, much less three months: Bear’s stock price was near $70 at the beginning of the week and is now near $35. Bear Stearns’ last public balance sheet was on November 31 — the end of its fiscal year — and the vacuum of information has left investors worried. (Bear announces earnings on March 20). As of November, Bear Stearns had a stronger balance sheet today than it did last year: Buckingham Research calculated that Bear has as much as $35.4 billion in short-term liquidity at the end of the year, which was more than 170% of its short-term unsecured borrowings. Now Bear is looking for money from the Fed.

Counterparty Risk: The WSJ previously reported that traders at Deutsche Bank were charging a higher fee to deal with Bear Stearns. A Buckingham Research note earlier this week speculated: “As best as we could determine, the rumor appeared to be intertwined with some disagreements over the value of collateral seized in the unwinding of Thornburg Mortgage and/or the hedge fund Peloton in London, to which BSC and 10+ other banks are lenders. Yet, based on our discussions with industry players, it seems that lenders are actually coming out relatively “whole” on their loans to these players given aggressive haircuts on collateral.”

Fed intervention: If there is any phrase guaranteed to worry people on Wall Street, it’s “Federal Reserve intervention.” And the New York Fed made a big exception for Bear. Although it is J.P. Morgan Chase lending the money, the Fed will be the one to take a loss if Bear Stearns fails. Usually the Fed can only lend directly to companies if it has the approval of five governors; in this case, the New York Fed made an end run around that requirement by showing that it had made the best efforts to assemble that many governors — and then giving Bear the loan anyway.

Stakeholders: Bear Stearns has already turned some deep pockets inside out. The firm has taken big investments from China’s CITIC as well as British billionaire Joe Lewis. Lewis spent around $860 million to buy 7% of Bear Stearns back when the stock was worth more than $100 a share, and he increased his stake in December when the stock was already around $11 lower. He currently holds around 11 million shares of Bear, according to filings, and now Bear’s shares are worth about one-third of what Lewis paid. CITIC has not yet closed its proposed investment in Bear, and today’s moves suggest that will be more difficult. Bear’s largest shareholder is Wilmington Trust, with 27.3 million shares. Former chief executive Jimmy Cayne is the fourth-largest shareholder, with 5.8 million shares

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Future looks Golden for our Juniors:Rising price of gold has not spurred production
By Eric Onstad ReutersPublished: March 5, 2008
LONDON: A jump in the price of gold over the magical level of $1,000 an ounce would not be enough to bring on a marked increase in production because of uncertainty over long-term prices, logistics problems and a scarcity of projects.

Global gold production has slipped by 6 percent since 2001, and analysts say current record prices are not expected to reverse the trend in the next several years.

A buoyant gold price, which hit a high of $989.30 an ounce Monday, allows companies to exploit lower-quality ore, but a dearth of mine discoveries means that any real lift in production will be years away.

"Pick a number, even at $1,200 or $2,000 - even at those very high prices, the existing resource bases are getting depleted," said one analyst, Leon Esterhuizen of RBC Capital Markets in Johannesburg. "That you can't stop.

"The high gold price will certainly encourage exploration," he said. "The question is, when you find the stuff, how long will that take to get into production?"

Today in Business with Reuters
China sets inflation as a top priority targetCrédit Agricole suffers €857 million fourth-quarter lossBush administration and Fed push to reduce foreclosures
Even when new deposits emerge, they may not be developed for a variety of reasons, including shortages of skilled labor and infrastructure, high capital costs, legal restrictions in emerging market countries and long-term price assumptions.

Before committing themselves to expensive projects that could be producing for decades, mining companies must be sure that prices will hold up.

Mining companies rarely announce their long-term price assumptions, but analysts say projects have been delayed because of rising capital costs and long-term price estimates of $500 to $600 an ounce.

Teck Cominco of Canada said this month that several projects would remain on hold, including the Galore Creek gold and copper project, on which development was halted in November when capital cost estimates more than doubled to 5 billion Canadian dollars, or $5.06 billion.

"At current spot prices, pretty much all the projects out there are going to be viable anyway. It's more a question of how long it stays up here, rather than how high it goes," said John Reade, head of metals strategy at UBS Investment Bank in London.

In the past, miners might lock in high prices by hedging at least a portion of the production, but rising opposition by many investors to hedging has forced major companies to shun the practice.

Investors, bullish on rallying gold prices, argue that companies should be exposed to spot prices, and they have criticized miners for hedging at low levels that has hurt profit.

"Effectively, that is one way that the investor pressure against hedging is preventing companies from growing," Reade said.

Even with favorable economics, projects are encountering obstacles to building mines because of a global commodities boom that has led to shortages in areas like skilled workers and giant tires.

"I don't think that margins are the real problem in terms of supply," said Michael Jansen of JPMorgan in London. "The real issue is more around logistics, as opposed to the pricing."

"There are problems in terms of developing world-quality, large-scale resources," he said.

"We're still seeing some mine projects coming through," Jansen said, adding that "there's not much chance really of any growth in the next two years in terms of total mine supply."

In the short term, companies might lower yield requirements as higher prices allow them to exploit ore containing lower percentages of gold, but this is not expected to be significant in terms of overall production. "The biggest part of extra gold you will get with a higher gold price is essentially gold that you've left behind because it was too low grade," said Esterhuizen of RBC Capital.

A rising gold price has already spurred junior mining companies to look at deposits they once ignored. Wits Gold of South Africa built up the sixth-largest gold resource in the world by buying up mining rights to deep-level deposits avoided by major companies.

But most analysts believe that it would take at least a decade to bring those mines into production.

Prospecting has been shifting from mature gold producers like South Africa, which lost its top ranking in terms of output last year, to countries like Russia and China.

But navigating around political and legal requirements might also extend lead times to getting gold out of the ground, analysts said.

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Oil Jumps on Surprise Supply Drop
By JOHN WILEN,AP
Posted: 2008-03-05 10:41:56
NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices are surging after the govp in crude oil stockpiles.

Most analysts had expected oil supplies to rise.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery is up $2.90 a barrel at $102.42 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Energy Department says crude oil supplies fell by 3.1 million barrels last week. That compares with analysts' forecasts of a 2.3 million barrel increase.

Before the Energy Department issued its report, oil prices were already up about $2 on OPEC's decision to hold production steady. Many investors had hoped the oil cartel would raise output to bring prices down.


Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated

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Oil Jumps on Surprise Supply Drop
By JOHN WILEN,AP
Posted: 2008-03-05 10:41:56
NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices are surging after the govp in crude oil stockpiles.

Most analysts had expected oil supplies to rise.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery is up $2.90 a barrel at $102.42 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Energy Department says crude oil supplies fell by 3.1 million barrels last week. That compares with analysts' forecasts of a 2.3 million barrel increase.

Before the Energy Department issued its report, oil prices were already up about $2 on OPEC's decision to hold production steady. Many investors had hoped the oil cartel would raise output to bring prices down.


Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated

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No Production Boost From OPEC
By WILLIAM J. KOLE,AP
Posted: 2008-03-05 10:54:11
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - OPEC said Wednesday it will not to put more oil on the global market despite near record-high prices for crude, blaming the U.S. for economic "mismanagement" it said was having a worldwide effect.

The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it opted to maintain current production levels because crude supplies are plentiful and demand is expected to weaken in the second quarter.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil told reporters the global market is being affected by what he calls "the mismanagement of the U.S. economy," and that America's problems were a key factor in the cartel's decision to hold off on any action.

"If the prices are high, definitely they are not due to a lack of crude. They are due to what's happening in the U.S.," Khelil said. "There is sufficient supply. There's plenty of oil there."

Khelil's comments came one day after President Bush lashed out at the organization.

OPEC did pledge to maintain "constant vigilance" over the market.

Oil hit an all-time, inflation-adjusted record of nearly $104 a barrel earlier this week, and it's been hovering around $100 a barrel for some time. Oil prices climbed back above $101 a barrel Wednesday after the OPEC announcement.

Khelil said he and OPEC's secretary-general were authorized to call an extraordinary meeting or hold phone consultations "at any time, depending on the pressures on the market" - an apparent gesture to ease global economic jitters.

There had been some speculation that OPEC might actually cut production - a move that would drive prices even higher, along with profits for cartel members - but Khelil said a cut was not discussed at Wednesday's meeting. Earlier in the week, price hawks Venezuela and Iran had indicated they planned to push for less production.

On Tuesday, OPEC was rebuked by President Bush.

"Understand the consequences of high energy prices," Bush said after meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Oval Office.

"I think it's a mistake to have your biggest customers' economies slowing down as a result of higher energy prices," he added.

Khelil said crude stocks were well within their five-year average and the 13-nation group was not inclined to either boost or reduce its current output of about 32 million barrels a day. OPEC satisfies roughly 40 percent of the world's demand for crude.

Analysts had not expected any significant action Wednesday.

"In truth, OPEC's decision not to pump more oil is a reflection that supply is relatively good," said Anthony Sabino, a professor of business at St. John's University in New York.

"What is driving oil prices up to the stratospheric level of over $100 per barrel is the U.S. economy, now undeniably in recession," he said. "It's not so much the price of oil is going up - it's that the value of the U.S. dollar, sad to say, is slumping."

Oil shot up a dramatic 19 percent last month as the falling dollar prompted speculators and other investors to shift cash to crude and other commodities as a hedge.

Among other reasons for the spike: tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and Turkey's incursion into northern Iraq.

Key cartel members said this week that prices in the $85 to $90 per barrel range would be optimal.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $2.02 to $101.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the afternoon in Europe.

The 13 OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Iraq is the only member not subject to the cartel's output quotas.

On the Net:

OPEC, http://www.opec.org

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No Production Boost From OPEC
By WILLIAM J. KOLE,AP
Posted: 2008-03-05 10:54:11
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - OPEC said Wednesday it will not to put more oil on the global market despite near record-high prices for crude, blaming the U.S. for economic "mismanagement" it said was having a worldwide effect.

The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it opted to maintain current production levels because crude supplies are plentiful and demand is expected to weaken in the second quarter.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil told reporters the global market is being affected by what he calls "the mismanagement of the U.S. economy," and that America's problems were a key factor in the cartel's decision to hold off on any action.

"If the prices are high, definitely they are not due to a lack of crude. They are due to what's happening in the U.S.," Khelil said. "There is sufficient supply. There's plenty of oil there."

Khelil's comments came one day after President Bush lashed out at the organization.

OPEC did pledge to maintain "constant vigilance" over the market.

Oil hit an all-time, inflation-adjusted record of nearly $104 a barrel earlier this week, and it's been hovering around $100 a barrel for some time. Oil prices climbed back above $101 a barrel Wednesday after the OPEC announcement.

Khelil said he and OPEC's secretary-general were authorized to call an extraordinary meeting or hold phone consultations "at any time, depending on the pressures on the market" - an apparent gesture to ease global economic jitters.

There had been some speculation that OPEC might actually cut production - a move that would drive prices even higher, along with profits for cartel members - but Khelil said a cut was not discussed at Wednesday's meeting. Earlier in the week, price hawks Venezuela and Iran had indicated they planned to push for less production.

On Tuesday, OPEC was rebuked by President Bush.

"Understand the consequences of high energy prices," Bush said after meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Oval Office.

"I think it's a mistake to have your biggest customers' economies slowing down as a result of higher energy prices," he added.

Khelil said crude stocks were well within their five-year average and the 13-nation group was not inclined to either boost or reduce its current output of about 32 million barrels a day. OPEC satisfies roughly 40 percent of the world's demand for crude.

Analysts had not expected any significant action Wednesday.

"In truth, OPEC's decision not to pump more oil is a reflection that supply is relatively good," said Anthony Sabino, a professor of business at St. John's University in New York.

"What is driving oil prices up to the stratospheric level of over $100 per barrel is the U.S. economy, now undeniably in recession," he said. "It's not so much the price of oil is going up - it's that the value of the U.S. dollar, sad to say, is slumping."

Oil shot up a dramatic 19 percent last month as the falling dollar prompted speculators and other investors to shift cash to crude and other commodities as a hedge.

Among other reasons for the spike: tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and Turkey's incursion into northern Iraq.

Key cartel members said this week that prices in the $85 to $90 per barrel range would be optimal.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $2.02 to $101.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the afternoon in Europe.

The 13 OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Iraq is the only member not subject to the cartel's output quotas.

On the Net:

OPEC, http://www.opec.org

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Factories, Services Feel Slowdown
By JEANNINE AVERSA,AP
Posted: 2008-03-05 10:38:37
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. factories saw demand for their products drop sharply, while the country's service sector contracted, fresh evidence of an economy hobbled by housing and credit crises.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new orders for manufactured goods fell 2.5 percent in January from the previous month. That marked a deterioration from December's 2 percent increase and was the biggest decline in five months.

Meanwhile, activity in the nation's service sector shrank in February for the second straight month.

The Institute for Suppy Management's service sector index clocked in at 49.3. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction. In January, the index stood at 44.6.

Manufacturers, service providers and other companies are feeling the sting of the economic slowdown. Persisting problems in the housing and credit markets are causing both people and businesses alike to be more cautious in their spending and investing. Galloping energy prices also are adding to the strains.

The latest snapshot of manufacturing activity was on target with economists' predictions. The weakness was mostly concentrated in demand for costly "durable" goods, merchandise expected to last at least three years. These orders- including cars, airplanes, machinery and computers- dropped 5.1 percent in January, compared with a 4.4 percent increase in December.

Demand for "nondurables," such as food and clothing, edged up 0.3 percent in January, an improvement from a 0.4 percent decline in the previous month.

In other economic news, worker productivity slowed sharply in the final three months of last year as the economy lost momentum.

The Labor Department reported that productivity - the amount an employee produces for every hour on the job - increased at an annual rate of just 1.9 percent in the October-to-December quarter. This key measure of workplace efficiency was down considerably from the third quarter's brisk, 6.3 percent growth rate and was the slowest pace since the first quarter of last year.

As productivity growth slowed, labor costs went up.

Employers' unit labor costs rose at a 2.6 percent clip in the fourth quarter. That compared with an annualized decline of 2.7 percent in the third quarter. It marked the largest increase in labor costs since the first quarter of last year. Unit labor costs is a measure of how much companies pay workers for every unit of output they produce.

The revised reading on fourth-quarter productivity was slightly better than the 1.8 percent growth rate initially reported by the government. Economists were expecting no change in that initial estimate.

The productivity report included annual revisions based on more complete data.

For all of 2007, for instance, productivity rose 1.8 percent, up from a 1 percent gain in 2006. Labor costs, meanwhile, rose faster - growing by 3.1 percent last year. In 2006, labor costs rose 2.9 percent.

Efficiency gains are important to the economy's long-term vitality. They can help blunt inflation. The gains can allow companies to pay workers more without raising prices, which would cut into paychecks.

For now, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's No. 1 mission is to help bolster overall economic growth. Many fear the United States is on the brink of a recession or already in one.

The economy nearly stalled in the final quarter of last year, growing at a pace of just 0.6 percent. Economists think growth could be even slower in the current quarter. Some believe the economy is actually shrinking now.

The Federal Reserve, which started cutting a key interest rate in September, recently ramped up reductions to shore up the economy. It slashed rates by an aggressive 1.25 percentage points in the span of just eight days in January. Bernanke last week signaled the central bank stands ready to lower rates again nation's service sector shrank in February for the second straight month.

The Institute for Suppy Management's service sector index clocked in at 49.3. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction. In January, the index stood at 44.6.

Manufacturers, service providers and other companies are feeling the sting of the economic slowdown. Persisting problems in the housing and credit markets are causing both people and businesses alike to be more cautious in their spending and investing. Galloping energy prices also are adding to the strains.

The latest snapshot of manufacturing activity was on target with economists' predictions. The weakness was mostly concentrated in demand for costly "durable" goods, merchandise expected to last at least three years. These orders- including cars, airplanes, machinery and computers- dropped 5.1 percent in January, compared with a 4.4 percent increase in December.

Demand for "nondurables," such as food and clothing, edged up 0.3 percent in January, an improvement from a 0.4 percent decline in the previous month.

In other economic news, worker productivity slowed sharply in the final three months of last year as the economy lost momentum.

The Labor Department reported that productivity - the amount an employee produces for every hour on the job - increased at an annual rate of just 1.9 percent in the October-to-December quarter. This key measure of workplace efficiency was down considerably from the third quarter's brisk, 6.3 percent growth rate and was the slowest pace since the first quarter of last year.

As productivity growth slowed, labor costs went up.

Employers' unit labor costs rose at a 2.6 percent clip in the fourth quarter. That compared with an annualized decline of 2.7 percent in the third quarter. It marked the largest increase in labor costs since the first quarter of last year. Unit labor costs is a measure of how much companies pay workers for every unit of output they produce.

The revised reading on fourth-quarter productivity was slightly better than the 1.8 percent growth rate initially reported by the government. Economists were expecting no change in that initial estimate.

The productivity report included annual revisions based on more complete data.

For all of 2007, for instance, productivity rose 1.8 percent, up from a 1 percent gain in 2006. Labor costs, meanwhile, rose faster - growing by 3.1 percent last year. In 2006, labor costs rose 2.9 percent.

Efficiency gains are important to the economy's long-term vitality. They can help blunt inflation. The gains can allow companies to pay workers more without raising prices, which would cut into paychecks.

For now, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's No. 1 mission is to help bolster overall economic growth. Many fear the United States is on the brink of a recession or already in one.

The economy nearly stalled in the final quarter of last year, growing at a pace of just 0.6 percent. Economists think growth could be even slower in the current quarter. Some believe the economy is actually shrinking now.

The Federal Reserve, which started cutting a key interest rate in September, recently ramped up reductions to shore up the economy. It slashed rates by an aggressive 1.25 percentage points in the span of just eight days in January. Bernanke last week signaled the central bank stands ready to lower rates again at its next meeting on March 18.

Even as the Fed fights to keep the economy going, it is keeping a sharp eye on inflation. Galloping energy prices, rising food costs and high prices elsewhere are straining pocketbooks and putting a further damper on economic growth.

Some worry that the country could be headed for a bout of stagflation - a dangerous mix of stagnant economic activity and stubborn inflation. But Bernanke, in his congressional appearance last week, said he didn't believe that was the case.


Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
03/05/08 10:33 EST

[Trops]

Hard Times on the Menu for Restaurants:http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/hard-times-on-the-menu-at-restaurants/20080303072509990001

[Trops]

Retail stores closing at a alarming rate.The worst in my 15 years in business.This is just a example as over the last year their have been many more.Small business is hurting even worse.http://money.aol.com/special/retail-stores-closing-doors

[Trops]

Please Use the economic data I post to base your investment decisions this year.Bob :))

[Trops]

U.S. Bank Profits Fall To Lowest Since 1991
Bad-Loan Reserves Balloon, FDIC Says

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Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Alison Vekshin
Bloomberg News
Wednesday, February 27, 2008; Page D02

U.S. bank and thrift earnings dropped to the lowest level since 1991 in the fourth quarter, hurt by trading losses and increased reserves for bad loans, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

Profit for FDIC-insured institutions was $5.82 billion, an 83 percent decline from the $35.2 billion reported in the fourth quarter of 2006, the regulator said in its quarterly report on the banking industry.

"Weakness in the housing sector and the credit squeeze in financial markets made it a very challenging time," FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said. "We can expect these problems to continue throughout 2008."

Six large lenders accounted for more than half of the year-to-year drop in quarterly profit, the FDIC said.

Funds set aside to cover loan losses grew the most in 20 years to a record $31.3 billion, an increase from $16.7 billion in the third quarter.

Loans 90 days or more delinquent increased the most in the 24 years since FDIC-insured institutions have reported the information, making up 1.4 percent of the industry's loans at the end of the fourth quarter, the FDIC said.

Still, an "overwhelming majority" of banks and thrifts remain well-capitalized and profitable, and "are successfully coping with the challenges they face," Bair said yesterday. Nearly 90 percent of lenders were profitable last year and 99 percent had sufficient capital at the end of the year, she said.

The FDIC plans to "keep a close eye" on loan portfolios beyond housing, including credit cards, commercial real estate and small business, Bair said.

Lenders with assets concentrated in commercial real estate, a "high-risk" area, are under close scrutiny, said John Corston, the FDIC's associate director of large bank supervision.

"The way a lot of these credits are structured, it will take a while for problems to begin to show up on the financial performance of the institutions," Corston said.

Bair also said the agency plans to re-hire former employees to bolster a division that handles bank failures, as the industry faces "uncertain times."

The FDIC managed three shutdowns last year, and 76 institutions are on its "troubled bank" list, Bair said.

The FDIC insures deposits at 8,534 institutions with $13 trillion in assets

[Trops]

How US suffers when the dollar falls
By David R. Francis

When the euro began circulating at the start of 2002, Kenneth Rogoff figured it would take 50 years for the new 12-nation currency to rival the importance of the United States dollar in world financial markets. Today, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund says parity could come in five to 10 years.
For the first time in many decades, perhaps since before World War I, the dollar has a serious competitor.


Related stories:


02/09/05


Forgive us our debts? Obstacles lie ahead.

02/04/05


State of the Union address

12/13/04


OPEC upshot: Pricey oil here to stay

11/01/04


A savings account alternative




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"Euros are coming more to the front," says Ulrich Ramm, chief economist of Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "It's a real alternative ... to the dollar."


If Washington is intent on spreading its influence in the world, the dollar's fall makes it harder - and more expensive - to expand its military and political reach.

Of course, the dollar is far from powerless. It's the currency used in most international trade. It's how oil and important metals are priced on international markets. The market for bonds denominated in dollars is far bigger, and thus more useful for many borrowers, than that for euro bonds. Nations still hold the great bulk of their international monetary reserves in dollars.

"I don't see two heavyweights slugging it out," says Richard Reid, an economist in London with Citigroup.

Nonetheless, the dollar has suffered setbacks that make the euro look increasingly attractive. Since it peaked in value three years ago, the greenback has declined 17 percent against a basket of currencies of key nations that trade with the US. The euro has 33 percent more buying power in the US than three years ago. Canadian dollars are worth 22 percent more, British pounds 25 percent.

Such dollar declines have made central bankers edgy. To manage a potential financial crisis or to prevent their national currency from rising in value, making exports less competitive, central banks around the world have stowed away almost $4 trillion in reserves, up 65 percent in the past four years. Most of those reserves are in dollar assets.

But because all the dollars on their ledgers have been losing value, the bankers are diversifying a bit into euros. A recent survey of central bank managers in 65 nations, controlling $1.7 trillion of international monetary reserves, found that 70 percent had boosted their exposure to euros in the past two years. And a near majority expect this trend to continue in the next four years, notes Central Banking Publications in London.

It's not just governments making the switch. In informal and sometimes illegal cash markets in eastern Europe and elsewhere, euros are joining dollars as a currency of choice and making "modest inroads" on the dollar, says Mr. Rogoff, now at Harvard University.

Foreigners worry about the stability of the dollar because Americans are overspending. There's the growing budget deficit, of course. But of equal importance for currency traders is the $617.7 billion imbalance between what the US buys and what it sells abroad. Americans are spending about 5.7 percent more than the nation itself produces. At the moment, the US must borrow $55 billion a month, $1.8 billion a day, to finance its massive deficit in international payments.

Over time, the decline in the dollar should readjust that balance, since US exports will become more competitive and imports more expensive. Yet many economists suspect restoring balance in the international payments of the US could take years - and another 15 percent decline in the dollar's value, mostly against Asian currencies such as the Chinese yuan, reckons John Williamson, an economist at the Institute for International Economics.

Aside from its trade impact, the weakness of the dollar has other ramifications:

• The dollar's reduced buying power limits the ability of Washington to expand military or other activities abroad. Though a large portion of the dollars spent in Iraq, Germany, South Korea, and in other overseas operations ends up back in the US, the extra costs are not trivial.

• A weaker dollar reduces the economic influence of the US in the world. Its purchases abroad will shrink relatively. Its foreign aid will be less valuable. The sliding dollar doesn't necessarily mean a loss of prestige, says Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs (International) in New York. "It's really a market phenomenon." Investors worldwide are deciding to diversify their assets, to reduce risk by not concentrating so many eggs in the dollar basket.

• A boom in foreign purchases of US firms, now seen as a bargain, may have started. Last year, 1,126 US businesses were sold to foreign buyers, up from 1,032 in 2003 and 980 in 2002, says Thomson Financial, an information firm in New York.

"Europe is very well positioned to buy up a lot," says Rogoff.

• The US could see a reduction in what amounts to a giant interest-free loan for US taxpayers. All those $20 and $100 bills abroad represent more in value than they cost to print. So the US makes a profit of roughly $15 billion to $20 billion on the huge float of greenbacks outside US borders, estimates Rogoff. If foreigners shrink those holdings, America's international subsidy will also dwindle.

[Trops]

Same story with oil:Oil Surges Above $102 As Dollar Weakens
By JOHN WILEN – 6 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Crude prices extended their march into record high territory Thursday, shooting up more than $2 a barrel as a falling dollar and the prospect of lower interest rates attracted more investors to the oil market. Retail gas prices, meanwhile, rose closer to records above $3 a gallon.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $2.95 to settle at a record $102.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices continued rising after the Nymex closed, setting a new trading record of $102.97.

A pair of dismal economic reports drew more money into the oil market, as did Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments that the economy is not immediately threatened with stagflation, a combination of economic weakness and rising inflation. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product grew at only a 0.6 percent rate in the fourth quarter, below estimates and at only a fraction of the previous quarter's growth rate, while the Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose by 19,000 last week, more than expected.

Rather than viewing such news as bad for oil demand, investors chose to see it as confirmation of their beliefs that the Fed will continue cutting interest rates to try to shore up the economy. Interest rate cuts tend to weaken the dollar, and crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar. Also, oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling.

"I really think that this is oil being viewed as ... a financial instrument," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

Crude prices are within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. A $38 barrel of oil then would be worth $97 to $104 or more today, depending on the how the adjustment is calculated. A direct comparison with daily Nymex prices is difficult because historical data, gathered before the crude futures contract was created in 1983, are based on average monthly prices posted by oil producers.

Different analysts have varying benchmarks for an inflation adjusted high. For example, John Kingston, director of oil at Platts, the energy research arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., arrived at an all-time high of more than $104 a barrel, which he said adjusts for delivery costs to and from Cushing, Okla., the Nymex crude oil delivery terminal. Using his own inflation adjustment, A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. oil analyst Eric Wittenauer arrived at a widely-quoted estimate of $103.76.

However, an inflation calculator maintained by the Bueau of Labor Statistics estimates that $38 in 1980 is worth $97.34 today. A Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis calculator puts $38 in 1980 dollars at $99.43 today.

Oil's rally is pulling gas prices higher. At the pump, retail gasoline prices rose 0.9 cent overnight to a national average of $3.161 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices are within 7 cents of May's record of $3.227 a gallon. The Energy Department expects prices to peak near $3.40 a gallon this spring; many analysts think prices will rise much higher than that.

On Wednesday, oil prices fell $1.24 a barrel after the Energy Department reported crude inventories rose more than expected last week. But that reflected a rare reaction by oil investors to supply and demand fundamentals. Oil prices have been far more affected in recent months by dollar- and interest rate-driven investment decisions, analysts say.

"(Fundamentals) have no relationship to price right now," Flynn said. If prices were responding to supply and demand, fundamentals, they would be falling, he said. Several recent forecasters have lowered oil demand growth predictions for this year due to the slowing economy, and domestic oil inventories have been growing.

Oil prices have received some support in recent days from word of a technical glitch that temporarily disrupted the flow of a small amount of crude out of Nigeria. Eni SpA denied earlier reports that its Brass River oil terminal had been attacked by rebels. Turkey's recent invasion of Northern Iraq in search of Kurdish rebels has also been supportive, Flynn said, but these stories are not enough in and of themselves to explain why oil continues to trade above $100.

Many analysts believe it's just a matter of time until the fundamentals reassert themselves on the market, pushing prices down.

Other energy futures also rose Thursday. March gasoline futures rose 1.8 cents to settle at $2.4957 a gallon on the Nymex, while March heating oil futures rose 7.45 cents to settle at $2.8456 a gallon.

April natural gas futures jumped 38.3 cents to settle at $9.443 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Energy Department said inventories fell by 151 billion cubic feet last week, slightly less than expected.

In London, April Brent crude rose $2.63 to settle at $100.90 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

[Trops]

Do you believe my junior gold selections yet??You will as the cost to produce averages 275-300 a oz.Years ago it was a tight scenario.Now gold could drop 200 a oz(will not happen)and the start ups will make money either on their own or by partnering up with the big boys after they substaniate their finds.Read on:MONEY & MARKETS
Latest Money Investing, Funds and Stock Market News
Feb 28, 4:28 PM EST
Gold Hits Record on Weak Dollar

By STEVENSON JACOBS
AP Business Writer
Latest News
Chavez: No Plans to Cut US Oil Exports
Iran Opens Its 1st Oil Products Bourse
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gold prices trekked higher Thursday, touching a record $975 an ounce as an inflationary combination of high oil prices and a falling dollar pointed investors to the relative safety of precious metals.

Other commodities traded mixed, with silver extending its highest gains since 1980 and wheat futures retreating further from record territory.

Soaring oil prices, a weak dollar and growing worries that the U.S. economy is sliding into a recession have fed investor appetite for gold, which traditionally is seen as a safe haven from inflation and economic uncertainty because it's known for holding its value. Gold rose nearly 32 percent in 2007 and has gained more than 13 percent so far this year.

Also weighing on investors were comments Thursday by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who told Congress in a second day of testimony that rising inflation was complicating the central bank's job. Bernanke hued to his message that the Fed stands ready to lower its benchmark interest rate to boost the economy, putting further pressure on the dollar and boosting the allure of precious metals.

"You have an almost perfect storm for a bull market in precious metals," said Michael Gross, analyst with OptionSellers.com. "Bernanke's on television and he's pretty much saying the Fed is going to continue to cut rates, and that's really pressuring the dollar and fueling the bullish fire for gold and silver."

Lower interest rates can boost the economy but tend to depress the dollar, encouraging investors to shift funds into hard assets like precious metals and other commodities.

Gold for April delivery added $6.50 to settle at $967.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In aftermarket trading, the contract rose to $975 an ounce - a new all-time high and within striking distance of the psycologically important $1,000 mark.

Other precious metals also rose. Silver for March delivery added 43 cents to settle at $19.640 an ounce after rising to a 28-year high of $19.845. Nymex copper surged to a record $3.8965 a pound before easing back to settle at $3.8635 a pound, still up 2.55 cents.

The dollar's steep decline against the 15-nation euro has been a major driver behind gold's advance from less than $650 an ounce in January 2007. The dollar traded lower Thursday versus the euro, which fetched $1.5215.

The falling dollar has also given a boost to crude prices, which rebounded Thursday as the prospect of lower interest rates brought an influx of fresh investment capital to the oil market.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $2.95 to settle at a record $102.59 a barrel on the Nymex. Prices continued rising after the Nymex closed, setting a new trading record of $102.97.

Other energy futures also rose Thursday. March gasoline futures rose 1.8 cents to settle at $2.4957 a gallon on the Nymex, while March heating oil futures rose 7.45 cents to settle at $2.8456 a gallon.

In agriculture markets, wheat futures plummeted in an erratic session, falling further from record-highs reached in recent days.

Wheat for May delivery dropped 85 cents to settle at $11.65 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after earlier rising as high as $12.45 a bushel. Wheat hit an all-time high of $13.495 a bushel on Wednesday.

Other agriculture futures rose Thursday, with soybeans breaching the $15 a bushel mark for the first time. Soybeans for May delivery jumped 37.25 cents to settle at $15.125 a bushel on the CBOT. The contract later rose to a record $15.155 a bushel in aftermarket trading.

March corn added 18.25 cents to settle at $4.1425 a bushel.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Trops]

Get ready for insurance premiums to double by 2017.http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN2523792720080226

[Trops]

The Guardian (London)

February 26, 2008 Tuesday

Soaring costs: Food price index: Food commodity price indices: Global impact Where inflation bites deepest

GUARDIAN INTERNATIONAL PAGES; Pg. 18
1 United States The last time America's grain silos were so empty was in the early seventies, when the Soviet Union bought much of the harvest. Washington is telling the World Food Programme it is facing a 40% increase in food commodity prices compared with last year, and higher fuel bills to transport it, so the US, the biggest single food aid contributor, will radically cut the amount it gives away.

2 Morocco 34 people jailed this month for taking part in riots over food prices.

3 Egypt The world's largest importer of wheat has been hard hit by the global price rises, and most of the increase will be absorbed in increased subsidies. The government has also had to relax the rules on who is eligible for food aid, adding an extra 10.5 million people.

4 Eritrea It could be one of the states hardest hit in Africa because of its reliance on imports. The price rises will hit urban populations not previously thought vulnerable to a lack of food.

5 Zimbabwe With annual inflation of 100,000% and unemployment at 80%, price increases on staples can only worsen the severe food shortages.

6 Yemen Prices of bread and other staples have nearly doubled in the past four months, sparking riots in which at least a dozen people were killed.

7 Russia The government struck a deal with producers last year to freeze the price of milk, eggs, vegetable oil, bread and kefir (a fermented milk drink). The freeze was due to last until the end of January but was extended for another three months.

8 Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has asked the WFP to feed an extra 2.5 million people, who are now in danger of mal nutrition as a result of a harsh winter and the effect of high world prices in a country that is heavily dependent on imports.

9 Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf announced this month that Pakistan would be going back to ration cards for the first time since the 1980s, after the sharp increase in the price of staples. These will help the poor (nearly half the population) buy subsidised flour, wheat, sugar, pulses and cooking fat from state-owned outlets.

10 India The government will spend 250bn rupees on food security. India is the world's second biggest wheat producer but bought 5.5m tonnes in 2006, and 1.8m tonnes last year, driving up world prices. It has banned the export of all forms of rice other than luxury basmati.

11 China Unusually severe blizzards have dramatically cut agricultural production and sent prices for food staples soaring. The overall food inflation rate is 18.2%. The cost of pork has increased by more than half. The cost of food was rising fast even before the bad weather moved in, as an increasingly prosperous population began to demand as staples agricultural products previously seen as luxuries. The government has increased taxes and imposed quotas on food exports, while removing duties on food imports.

12 Thailand The government is planning to freeze prices of rice, cooking oil and noodles.

13 Malaysia and the Philippines Malaysia is planning strategic stockpiles of the country's staples. Meanwhile the Philippines has made an unusual plea to Vietnam to guarantee its rice supplies. Imports were previously left to the global market.

14 Indonesia Food price rises have triggered protests and the government has had to increase its food subsidies by over a third to contain public anger.

[Trops]

http://www.johnmccain.com/pathtovictory/democrats.htm?s=google&t=electability

[Trops]

http://www.barackobama.com/

[Trops]

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/?splash=1

[Trops]

Republican Health plan:http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/01/an-analysis-of.html

[Trops]

Democrats plan for Health Insurance is a BIG issue for small business and the general public. http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed1/idUSN2363970720080224

[Trops]

Here is a example of what this site could bring to investors.I want investors to post whats going on in their neck of the woods.My example is:I live in PA and know the business environment good and bad.What happened recently is a report came out in January about the marcellus shale area.So I have been doing research and found many large companies involved.I would love to find small companies involved(haven't yet).That is the tie in between owning a business in a area of the country and translating it to investment oportunities aka the Legendary Peter Lynch.Hope some contribute because it is a great dd tool.Thanks Bob :)) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080117094524.htm

[Trops]

More Minds = More success Bob :)

[Trops]

Forecast 2008: Small business under the microscope

By David Hubler

Also in this report
Forecast 2008

Chart your course

States seek health IT prognosi...

Cybercrime increasing

Bandwidth goes on the market



Budget / policy / legislation
Civilian Agencies
Industry news
Mergers / acquisitions
Procurement
Small Business



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Small and woman-owned businesses will face more scrutiny this year and perhaps even fewer contract awards, largely due to the new recertification rule introduced by the Small Business Administration in June 2007 and a proposed SBA rule change to the women’s contracting program.

According to the recertification rule, any small business that is acquired or merges with another company must recertify its size. If the company no longer qualifies for small-business status, it can keep its contracts, but the government cannot count those awards toward small-business contracting goals.

Proposed changes to the Women’s Procurement Program would limit eligibility on contracts and tighten requirements on company ownership by women. The proposal would benefit only a tiny fraction of businesswomen while harming others, said Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Small Business Committee.

“These entrepreneurs are being shut out of billions of dollars in federal contracting opportunities,” she said.

Businesses that do not keep up with the new rules and make the appropriate adjustments could soon find themselves out of business, said Mark Kagan, research manager at Government Insights and author of a new study on small businesses.

Kagan said 2008 could be the start of a Darwinian era for small businesses. Many companies that don’t grow will go out of business, he said, while many others will be acquired.

“The companies that survive are the ones that look ahead beyond the next contract,” he said.

Kagan said Wyle Inc.’s pending purchase of small business RS Information Services Inc. could be a sign of things to come.

“I’m predicting that we’re going to see more of these acquisitions and mergers,” he said, “because the small businesses which aren’t small businesses anymore but aren’t large businesses are going to start merging with other small businesses so they can better compete both in terms of size and in terms of what they can offer.”

[Trops]

I am well versed not only in all markets,but also in the problems facing the working middle class.I have had good friends lose their businesses.I have friends caught up in the mortgage disaster and am currently trying to help friends with their investments that have gone south.I believe that more input is better.In these trying times for all more opinions on a subject are better than one front runner that thinks he knows everything on a given subject.I also tie in the world problems with our investments.That is why I am strongly supporting the junior miners this year.Bob :))

[Trops]

A board like this is needed more now than ever compared to past years.I know their is a lot of business owners trading.This is a place where you can talk business and investment opportunities.Bob :))

[Trops]

Hi All,This board was created to combine small business experience that may relate to our investments in the otcbb/pinks/nasdaq.I relate to the combination as I have been in business 15 years and was a broker early on.I have been a investor since 16 years of age and only want REAL people posting here.Thanks Bob :))

[swifty714]

4godmv

can we talk over the phone re/Certs - PNMS
I'm at 802-355-5871 or I can call you.

[4Godnwv]

13 charged in white-collar case:
By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 1, 3:14 PM ET

NEW YORK - Husband and wife lawyers and 11 top Wall Street workers were charged Thursday with making more than $15 million in illegal trading profit through an alleged federal securities fraud scheme, authorities said.

Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the Division of Enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission, said in a statement that the case was "one of the most pervasive Wall Street insider trading rings since the days of Ivan Boesky and Dennis Levine" in the mid-1980s.

"What is so alarming about the conduct alleged in the SEC's case isn't just the scope of the scheme ... but, sadly, who is at the center of it," she said.

Besides the lawyers, defendants including registered representatives, compliance personnel and hedge fund portfolio managers, improperly relied on hundreds of tips during five years of illegal trading, she said.

"And this conduct didn't occur in obscure boiler rooms — but rather at what are commonly considered `top tier' Wall Street firms," Thomsen said.

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said Wall Street professionals repeatedly traded on secrets revealed to them by insiders at UBS Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley and Co.

Among financial professionals charged criminally in U.S. District Court in Manhattan was Mitchel Guttenberg, an executive director and institutional client manager at UBS.

Garcia said Guttenberg, who worked in UBS's equity research department, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars as he sold nonpublic information to two men regarding upcoming upgrades and downgrades in UBS analysts' securities recommendations.

The men, David Tavdy and Erik Franklin, used the UBS inside information to each earn more than $4 million by executing profitable trades in various brokerage accounts they controlled, Garcia said.

The attorneys, Randi Collotta, 30, who worked for Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. in Manhattan, and her husband, Christopher Collotta, 34, who worked in private practice, were also among those criminally charged. Civil charges against 11 individuals and three entities were brought in a complaint filed by the SEC.

In an indictment, prosecutors said Randi Collotta was an associate in Morgan Stanley's global compliance division when she passed inside stock tips to her husband, who gave it to others, resulting in illegal profits of hundreds of thousands of dollars between September 2004 and August 2005.

After others made money from the tips, they paid Christopher Collotta cash that represented a portion of their profits, the indictment said.

Guttenberg, Tavdy, Franklin and the Collottas all were charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud, which carry potential penalties of up to 25 years in prison. It was not immediately clear who would represent them at an initial court appearance along with five others arrested Thursday.

The four other criminal defendants have pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud and commercial bribery charges, prosecutors said.

Mary Claire Delaney, a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman, said, "We have cooperated and are continuing to cooperate fully with authorities regarding a former employee who allegedly stole information from Morgan Stanley."

Prosecutors said two insider trading schemes and two separate bribery schemes were part of the case.

The SEC said the scheme involved unlawful trading ahead of upgrades and downgrades by UBS research analysts and corporate acquisition announcements involving Morgan Stanley's investment banking clients.

It said the ringleaders of the UBS part of the scheme went to great lengths to hide their illegal conduct with tactics including a clandestine meeting at Manhattan's famed Oyster Bar and eventually the use of disposable cell phones, secret codes and cash kickbacks before the scheme unraveled.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070301/ap_on_bi_ge/securities_fraud

[Trops]

US savings slump

WASHINGTON: Americans once again spent everything they made and then some last year, pushing the personal savings rate to the lowest level since the Great Depression more than seven decades ago.

The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the savings rate for all of 2006 was a negative one per cent, meaning that not only did people spend all the money they earned but they also dipped into savings or increased borrowing to finance purchases. The 2006 figure was lower than a negative 0.4pc in 2005 and was the poorest showing since a negative 1.5pc savings rate in 1933 during the Great Depression.

For December, consumer spending rose a solid 0.7pc, the best showing in five months, while incomes rose by 0.5pc, both figures matching Wall Street expectations.

In other news, the Labour Department reported that the number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 20,000 last week to 307,000. That improvement pushed the four-week average for claims to the lowest level in a year, indicating that the US labour market remains healthy.

The savings rate has been negative for an entire year only four times in history - in 2005 and 2006 and in 1933 and 1932. However, the reasons for the decline in the savings rate were vastly different during the two periods.

During the Great Depression when one-fourth of America's labor force was without a job, people dipped into savings in an effort to meet the basic necessities of shelter and clothing.

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Senate votes to raise minimum wage
By Margaret Talev

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

WASHINGTON - Democrats promised last year to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade if voters gave them control of Congress, but now they're holding it up in a game of chicken between the party's purists and pragmatists.

The Senate voted 94-3 Thursday to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, from $5.15. The House of Representatives approved such a raise weeks earlier. The sticking point between the two versions is $8.3 billion in Republican-backed tax breaks for small businesses in the Senate version.

House liberals argue that now that they're in charge they shouldn't have to cut deals with the Republicans. Senate Democrats have said that without the tax breaks they can't pass the bill because they don't have a big enough majority to overcome Republican obstruction. And President Bush said that the tax breaks are the price of his support for raising the minimum wage.

"I strongly encourage the House to support this combined minimum-wage increase and small-business tax relief," Bush said in a statement released by the White House after the Senate vote.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney issued a statement saying, "It's disgraceful that the Senate is still holding the minimum wage hostage to tax cuts for business. . . . In the last 10 years, the Republican-led Congress provided corporations with a whopping $276 billion in tax cuts and provided small businesses with another $36 billion in dedicated tax breaks, while America's lowest paid workers have gotten nothing. . . . It's shameful that they must now wait even longer because of the Senate's insistence on business tax giveaways."

Yet if House and Senate Democrats don't compromise, the minimum-wage increase might die.

Even Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., the liberal icon who's long championed a minimum-wage increase, said the GOP tax package is one of the "least offensive" possible because it includes incentives for hiring minorities and disadvantaged Americans.

Raising the minimum wage would benefit an estimated 5.6 million workers directly. The annual salary for a full-time minimum-wage employee would rise from about $11,000 a year to about $15,000. Experts say 7 million more who earn slightly more than the minimum wage could benefit from a ripple effect.

The tax-break package contains several provisions. Small businesses would enjoy more liberal rules for depreciating capital improvements, including equipment. Small businesses that can file individual income taxes rather than corporate income taxes would get new breaks. And the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which offers subsidies for hiring welfare recipients and other disadvantaged Americans, would be expanded.

Democratic leaders say they'll probably keep the legislation in the Senate until some compromise emerges. Meanwhile, minimum-wage workers will get no raise.

"We haven't resolved anything," said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Rangel opposes including the tax breaks as part of a minimum-wage increase.

The posturing and uncertainty are frustrating to a broad coalition of organized labor, community and religious activists, which has agitated for years for a wage increase.

But that coalition, too, is splintered over how to react.

"We are so concerned that the minimum wage be raised in support of low-wage working people and families, that although we would prefer a clean bill, we believe this (Senate) bill should be supported," said the Rev. Paul Sherry, the national coordinator of Let Justice Roll, in a telephone interview.

Soon after, Sherry called back to clarify that "we will support reluctantly the $8.3 billion tax package, but if they tack anything else on, we're in a different ballgame."

In a third call, he said he could no longer say with absolute certainty what position his coalition would take. "We haven't been able to make a decision yet," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hinted Thursday that once House and Senate Democratic leaders sit down together, they may decide to go for broke, strip the tax provisions and dare Republicans to kill the bill.

"The minimum wage will be increased," Reid said. "The question is, do we need all these business pieces of sugar or not? We will see." Asked whether he thought the "sugar" was necessary, Reid said, "No."

As long as the Democrats are fighting among themselves and delaying action on their own campaign pledge, Senate Republicans have little motivation to bargain.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking minority member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, said the tax package is "peanuts" compared with provisions that President Clinton signed into law a decade ago in the last minimum-wage deal.

"And yet we're having this harangue about it," Grassley said. "Aren't we having a win-win situation in a bipartisan way?"

---

© 2007, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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Business Law Center:

http://business-law.freeadvice.com/

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Small Business Essentials:

http://www.corporate.com/business-essentials.htm

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Merry Christmas all. May the season find you walking in the blessings of God, and may the coming year be one of health and prosperity for you and your family.

~For God in West Virginia~

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Lenny the Misfit



Caterina dumps baby Lenny on her boyfriend, then moves to town and gets married to someone else. Neither Lenny's father nor his mother is willing to give Lenny their family name, so he is known only by the name of the mountain under whose shadow he was born: Lenny Albano.

An unwanted child, Lenny grows up strangely in this remote, rural neighborhood without access to comic books or video games. Estranged parents. Odd relationships. A badly broken situation.

But his imagination is intact. Is your imagination intact?

Long walks in the hills surrounding Mount Albano cause Lenny to fall in love with animals. He loves them so much that he buys caged creatures just so he can set them free. How Lenny makes his money is unimportant. But how he spends it reveals his soul.

How do you spend your money?

People laugh when Lenny becomes a vegetarian. He doesn't care. People have laughed at him since the day he was born. Lenny hides from them by taking journeys in his mind. He goes exploring, deep inside his own head. Lenny is amazed by the things he finds.

Lenny scribbles his thoughts in journals and draws little pictures in the margins. Although no publisher is willing to publish these random thoughts, Bill Gates recently paid 30 million dollars for just one of Lenny's journals.

Lenny is very smart.

But Lenny's deep curiosity causes him to be easily distracted. Although lots of people are willing to buy his paintings, rarely can he stay focused long enough to finish one.

Lenny isn't completely alone in his quirky curiosity. When Lenny is 40, a man named Chris sails west to look for the east. Go figure. Long after Lenny dies, the world realizes how far ahead of his time he'd been. Sigmund Freud said Lenny "was like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep."

But we no longer call him by the name of the mountain under whose shadow he was born. We choose instead to call him by the name of the village he was from. And for some strange reason we insist on calling Lenny of Vinci, "Leonardo."

I think Lenny would have laughed had he known.
Roy H. Williams

http://www.wizardacademy.com/showmemo.asp

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Pricing, Value, and Salability - Business Proverbs for Business Owners:

Pricing – If you're not worried that you're pricing it too cheap, you're not pricing it cheap enough. That's the best advice I can give you about Pricing in a single sentence.

Never ask, "How much might someone be willing to pay for this?" Ask instead, "At what price could I sell a huge number of these?" Read the biographies of Henry Ford and Sam Walton and you'll learn that this was the one question asked by both men throughout their lives. The correct answer to that question lifted Henry and Sam out of the shadows of obscurity to stand among America's wealthiest citizens.

Please don't listen to well-meaning friends who try to tell you that "Anyone who would pay ten dollars for this would just as quickly pay fifteen." The Model T was invented when Henry Ford set out to "design a car that could be manufactured and sold at a profit for $850.00" Every other car in the world sold for at least $2,500 at the time. Nearly 2,000 automobile manufacturers had been launched and failed during the 22 years prior to Henry's launch of the Model T in 1908. (It was called the Model T because Models A through S failed to meet Henry's pricing criteria. The Model A that replaced the Model T was the beginning of Henry's second trip through the alphabet.) The assembly line was invented only as a tool to help Henry achieve his price.

Read Made in America, the biography of Sam Walton written while he lay on his deathbed, and you'll quickly see that Sam was just another Henry Ford. Can anyone say Michael Dell?

Value – People don't trade money for things when they value their money more highly than they value the things. No trade will be made unless they want the thing more than they want their money. This is why things-with-stories sell faster than things-without-stories. How much faster depends on the story.

Notice that I didn't say things-with-stories necessarily sell for more money, I said they sell faster. Stories, like refurbishments and repairs, can increase the salability of an item without increasing its actual value. Ask anyone who has ever sold a home or a car. All that repainting, repair and clean-up didn't raise the price as much as it made the home or car more salable. Likewise, stories increase salability more often than they increase the value or the price.

The value of an item – in the mind of a consumer – is simply the difference between the anticipated price and the price on the tag. When the anticipated price is higher than the price tag, it's a "good value." When the anticipated price is lower than the price tag, it's a bad value. Good stories raise the anticipated price. Finding the untold story is the goal of a process we call the Uncovery.

Salability – The salability of an item can often be improved while the value itself remains unchanged. A good story often increases the salability of an item without increasing its actual value. NOTE: The fact that an item is selling briskly doesn't always mean that you can increase its price. And the fact that an item isn't selling well can't always be cured by lowering its price.

Sometimes the secret to increasing the sales volume of an item is to tell a better story about it. Sometimes the secret is simply to lower the price. Do both and you can take over the world.

Just ask Henry, Sam and Michael.

Roy H. Williams

PS – The salability/value equation depends on the ratio of Markup vs. Turn. In other words, Markup vs. Transaction Count, (Volume.)

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The Four Faces in Every Store

"You can be anything you want to be," was once the anthem of America. But we seem to have twisted that sunlit dream into a shriveled demon that whispers, "Hurry, hurry, hurry and you can be everything you want to be."

Too much to do, too little time. Tossed and turned by a too-much world, we're as tired as a termite in a yo-yo. And all along, we were just trying to find our way home.

"Why am I here? What is my purpose? Who are my people? Where is my tribe?"

Branding is built on our need to belong. The majority of our decisions-to-purchase revolve around self-definition. We buy what we buy to remind ourselves – and tell the world around us – who we are.

And most of your customers are doing exactly the same thing. What are you doing to brighten the mirror of who your customers believe themselves to be? Do you even know who they believe themselves to be?

Successful Branding is to:

1. Know your customer.
2. Reinforce their self-image.
3. Make them feel they've found "home."

Overlay Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs onto the preference profiles of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and you'll soon recognize the four faces of your customers. And each of them is looking for something different from you:

Leader/Early Adopter, wants to be first-on-the-block:
Show them things that "just came in." Hang a sign on every New Arrival.
– approximately 10 percent of our population

Outsider/Goes his-her own way, proudly stands alone (with all the other loners):
Follow his-her lead. These people will strongly resist any attempt to direct them.
– approximately 9 percent of our population.

Analyst/Skeptic, looks for details, facts, and statistics:
Have credible data available for them. Answer their questions precisely as asked.
– approximately 24 percent of our population

Follower/Member of the Club, wants to be part of the "In" crowd:
Show these people "what's hot." NOTE: Very few people are willing to define themselves as followers, even though they admit they're attracted to best-selling items.
– approximately 57 percent of our population

Leader, Outsider, Analyst, Follower; every business attracts these four faces. Your business category likely has other, more specific customer personas that are unique to it. And each of these comes to you for different reasons and with different expectations.

Do you keep your customer personas clearly in mind when creating your ads?

Are you prepared to sell each of these customers "their way?" Have you trained your staff how to recognize each type of customer and how to serve each of them differently?

If your business is average, your people are closing the sale slightly more often than 2 times out of every 10 customer encounters. If you could help them get just 1 more smiling "yes" from the remaining crowd of nearly 8 unsold customers, your sales volume would increase by 50 percent... with no increase in advertising and no additional store traffic.

Sound like something you might want to check into?

Roy H. Williams

http://www.wizardacademy.com/default.asp

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Bush blowing smoke once again for his nuclear agenda.Americans are not buying it based on polls I have seen with 75%+ against what he is saying.Tit for tat and no benefit to workers in the USA:http://news.com.com/Bush+defends+India+job+outsourcing/2100-1014_3-6045594.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3698039.html

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Blogs And Reality TV / The Changing Face of America:

Do you remember when America watched awards shows?

http://www.wizardacademy.com/

If you were somehow unplugged and didn't receive the newsflash, the combined strength of Paul McCartney, Madonna, U2, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Faith Hill and Jay-Z wasn't enough to swing the hammer and ring the bell during this year's Grammy Awards. A frail 17 million watched these legends read their cue cards while a muscular 28.3 million cheered hopeful, nameless kids singing their hearts out on American Idol.

It was just one more indication of how we're moving away from the vertical hero-worship of Idealism to establish the horizontal links that mark an emerging Civic generation.

Grandpa Jagger during halftime at the Superbowl, surrounded by people doing their best to act like cheering fans... I'm sorry, but that was just sad.

I'm not trying to be catty, I'm trying to make a point: Plastic posing bores us. We have no desire to hear another Miss America contestant talk about her dream of world peace. Just once, wouldn't you like to hear the interviewer say, "And how is walking around in high heels and a swimsuit going to help bring about world peace?"

Unfiltered authenticity is the new cool. And volunteerism is on the rise.

We don't listen to big talkers anymore. Our collective silence toward them is our way of saying, "Talk is cheap. Now get off your idealistic ass and do something."

Tom Hanks is the new John Wayne. Remember Hanks' portrayal of the dutiful but reluctant English-teacher-turned-soldier in Saving Private Ryan? He was just a regular guy, doing the best he could, trying to make the best of a bad situation. Kind of like you and me.

Struggling, flawed, tormented Jason Bourne is the new James Bond.

Lost in Translation is the new Love Story.

I'm not trying to depress you. I'm just trying to open your eyes to the realities of the new marketplace.

Hype is dead.

In 2004 - the first year following the shift away from Idealism - the Grammys scored a respectable 26.3 million viewers. The next year they fell to just 18.8 million. So this year's 17 million should have come as no surprise.

Anyone taking bets on next year's audience?

If you're a business owner needing advice about marketing in the new millennia, here's all you really need to know:

Say it straight. Say it real. You'll do fine.

Roy H. Williams

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Nice Post buddy.I will tell you one thing.Lots of small business owners are scrambling up here in the northeast for survival.I am helping quite a few owners out at this time(no charge) as I am a product genius.I care about small business(lifeline of the economy) and help out many people.Corporate tries to take out the moms and pops.Thats where I come in,as I do not see it as a losing battle as most do.Bob