Business Today

Microsoft suffers decisive EU antitrust defeat

2007-09-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Microsoft suffers decisive EU antitrust defeat

By David Lawsky and Michele Sinner 50 minutes ago

BRUSSELS/LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) suffered a decisive antitrust defeat in Europe on Monday, sending its shares down 2 percent in pre-market trade.

A European Union court backed a European Commission ruling that Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, illegally abused its market power to crush competitors.

Europe's top competition regulator said the ruling could lead to a "significant drop" in Microsoft's 95 percent market share.

Shares in the U.S. software giant fell before the opening bell in New York on the Luxembourg-based court's ruling. The stock was down 2.2 percent at $28.40 in pre-market trading.

"Its clearly a major defeat for Microsoft. There is no doubt it will spur the Commission on to regulate Microsoft much more significantly," said Chris Bright, a British competition lawyer. They will find that future innovation by Microsoft will be hampered quite significantly."

The second-highest EU court dismissed the company's appeal on all substantive points of the 2004 antitrust ruling and upheld a record 497 million euro ($689.9 million) fine.

A jubilant Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said the EU executive now expected to see a "significant drop" in Microsoft's overwhelming market share.

The court said Microsoft was unjustified in tying new applications to its Windows operating system in a way that squeezed out rivals and harmed consumer choice.

The verdict may be appealed only on points of law and not of fact and may force Microsoft to change its business practices.

The ruling also gives Kroes a green light to pursue other antitrust cases and complaints involving Intel (INTC.O), Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Rambus (RMBS.O), and to issue draft new antitrust guidelines that were put on ice pending the ruling.

"Microsoft must now comply fully with its legal obligations to desist from engaging in anti-competitive conduct," Kroes said in a statement.

Asked how the Commission would assess the result, she told a news conference: "A market level of much less than 95 percent would be a way of measuring success ... You can't draw a line and say exactly 50 (percent) is correct, but a significant drop in market share is what we would like to see."

Her spokesman later clarified that a fall in market share would be a logical consequence of fairer competition.

DOWNBEAT

The court endorsed Commission sanctions against Microsoft's tying together of software and refusal to give rival makers of office servers information to enable their products to work smoothly with Windows. It annulled only the EU regulator's imposition of a Microsoft-funded trustee to monitor compliance.

"The Court of First Instance essentially upholds the Commission's decision finding that Microsoft abused its dominant position," a court statement said.

Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith was downbeat at the courtroom, promising the company would obey the ruling in full. He told reporters there was no decision yet on whether to appeal to the European Court of Justice.

"It is clearly very important to us as a company that we comply with our obligations under European law," Smith said. "We will study this decision carefully and if there additional steps we need to take in order to comply with it, we will take them."

Microsoft, which had argued that it was entitled to protect is intellectual property from rivals, has used every recourse in every case brought against it by governments and regulators.

The company has weathered a series of defeats in antitrust cases in the last decade and sees legal setbacks as almost part of its business model and a price for its near-monopoly.

Microsoft has already moved to new battlegrounds such as seeking to set technical standards across the industry, while bundling more new features into its new Vista desktop software.

Kroes declined to discuss the implications of the ruling for a pending complaint against Vista but said the Commission would have something to say soon.

Rivals welcomed the EU court decision as a signal that authorities do not intend to allow Microsoft to pursue anti-competitive practices with impunity.

The Commission ordered the company to sell a version of Windows without the Windows Media Player application used for video and music, which few have bought, and to share information allowing rivals' office servers to work smoothly with Windows.

A spokesman for Microsoft opponents, the European Committee for Interoperable Systems, said the ruling confirmed Microsoft had abused its near-monopoly in computer operating systems and set ground rules for the company's behavior.

Another winner was the Free Software Foundation, which makes free, open software for work group servers. "Microsoft can consider itself above the law no longer," said Georg Greve, president of the FSF Europe.

The judges ordered Microsoft to pay the lion's share of the costs of the Commission and of business rivals.

Since the original decision, the Commission has fined Microsoft a further 280.5 million euros, saying it had failed to comply with the interoperability sanction. The EU regulator is considering a further fine for non-compliance.

(additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt, Jonathan Cable in London, Mark John in Luxembourg, Sabina Zawadzki and William Schomberg in Brussels)

Ten Ways Flickr Builds Community Online

2007-09-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Small Biz

Ten Ways Flickr Builds Community Online

Some tips from Heather Champ, community manager for the popular photo-sharing Web site

By Kerry Miller

Originally source:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/09/0914_flickr/index_01.htm?chan=smallbiz_smallbiz+index+page_top+stories

Dot-coms interested in building or improving the community aspect of their Web sites often look to photo-sharing site Flickr for inspiration. But dot-coms aren't the only companies paying attention to online communities. Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses are also recognizing the benefits of connecting with customers on the Web. Fiskars, the makers of the popular orange-handled scissors, created a group of "brand ambassadors" called the Fiskateers to connect with craft and scrapbook hobbyists. And Toyota Motor (TM) now has a dedicated corporate manager of consumer-generated media to track consumer opinion on the Web. "At this point, everybody needs an online social strategy—even if your business doesn't seem to have much to do with that kind of stuff," says social media consultant Jake McKee.

BusinessWeek spoke to Flickr community manager and Web pioneer Heather Champ to get her tips for fostering online community.

Economist's View September 15, 2007

2007-09-15T05:01:00.001-07:00

« August 2007 | Main

September 15, 2007

Reich: CEOs Deserve Their Pay

Can't say I'm in agreement with this one. This is Robert Reich:

CEOs Deserve Their Pay, by Robert Reich, Commentary, WSJ: ...The typical CEO of a Fortune 500 company ...[makes] more than 364 times the pay of an average employee. Forty years ago, top CEOs earned 20 to 30 times what average workers earned. The trend has ignited a flurry of attention in Washington. ...[But]... Hold on.

There's an economic case for the stratospheric level of CEO pay which suggests shareholders -- even if they had full say -- would not reduce it. In fact, they're likely to let CEO pay continue to soar. That's because of a fundamental shift in the structure of the economy over the last four decades, from oligopolistic capitalism to super-competitive capitalism. CEO pay has risen astronomically over the interval, but so have investor returns.

The CEO of a big corporation 40 years ago was mostly a bureaucrat in charge of a large, high-volume production system whose rules were standardized and whose competitors were docile. It was the era of stable oligopolies, big unions, predictable markets and lackluster share performance. The CEO of a modern company is in a different situation. Oligopolies are mostly gone and entry barriers are low. Rivals are impinging all the time -- threatening to lure away consumers all too willing to be lured away, and threatening to hijack investors eager to jump ship at the slightest hint of an upturn in a rival's share price. ...

So how does the modern corporation attract and keep consumers and investors...? How does it distinguish itself? More and more, that depends on its CEO -- who has to be sufficiently clever, ruthless and driven to find and pull the levers that will deliver competitive advantage.

There are no standard textbook moves, no well-established strategies to draw upon. If there were, rivals would already be using them. The pool of proven talent is small because so few executives have been tested and succeeded. And the boards of major companies do not want to risk error. The cost of recruiting the wrong person can be very large -- and readily apparent in the deteriorating value of a company's shares. ...

The proof is in the numbers. Between 1980 and 2003, the average CEO in America's 500 largest companies rose sixfold, adjusted for inflation. Outrageous? Not to investors. The average value of those 500 companies also rose by a factor of six, adjusted for inflation. ...

As the economy has shifted toward supercapitalism, CEOs have become less like top bureaucrats and more like Hollywood celebrities who get a share of the house. ...

If you assume shareholders would rein in CEO pay, take a look at the United Kingdom. Since 2003, changes in British securities law have given investors more say over what British CEOs are paid. Nonetheless, executive pay there has continued to skyrocket, on the way to matching the pay of American CEOs. ...

This economic explanation for sky-high CEO pay does not justify it socially or morally. It only means that investors think CEOs are worth it. ... But if America wants to rein in executive pay, the answer isn't more shareholder rights..., the answer ... is a higher marginal tax rate on the super pay of those in super demand.

There are lots of reasons to believe CEO pay does not reflect underlying fundamentals and hence is inconsistent with the best interests of shareholders (e.g. agency issues). In addition, I am not as convinced as he is that market structure - the degree of competitiveness - faced by a typical firm has changed as much as claimed over the last 40 years. Firms have certainly gained leverage on the input side as the decline of unions and Wal-Mart's ability to pressure suppliers will attest, so market power in input markets may be more not less unbalanced, and oligopolistic and monopolistically competitive output markets are still common features of the marketplace. In addition, the fact that the top firms are now six times bigger can perhaps be explained by changes in the efficient scale of operation due to changes in technology, but in and of itself the presence of bigger firms does not imply more competitive markets (and as to the "proof is in the numbers," there is evidence that the relationship between CEO pay and firm size is not stable over time).

While a higher marginal tax rate is one answer to reining in CEO pay, doing what we can to ensure that CEO compensation contracts are consistent with shareholder interests, that firms operate in competitive input and output markets, and that business interests do not have undue influence over legislation and other political decisions might also make a difference. The issue extends beyond CEOs, when power is unbalanced of course people are going to take advantage of that, and we need to do more than we have in recent years to ensure that no individual or firm has the opportunity or ability to influence market and political outcomes.

Posted by Mark Thoma on September 15, 2007 at 02:25 AM

RECENT FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT REPORTS

2007-09-15T04:53:00.000-07:00

RECENT FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT REPORTS

INDONESIA: MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND BANK INDONESIA LAUNCH REFORM EFFORTS

SUMMARY :

On December 27, 2006, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati officially launched a new organizational structure for the Directorate General for Tax (DGT) that reduces the operational role of the DGT headquarters in Jakarta, divides the DGT headquarters into functional Directorates, and establishes formal work units to lead the further modernization of the DGT.
Two days later, the Minister signed a new decree outlining parameters for a Primary Dealer system for government bond auctions.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is currently accepting applications for Primary Dealers with the first auctions to take place in March.
The MOF will also issue Indonesia’s first T-bills on April 3, July 10 and December 4, 2007 and will again issue the popular “retail bonds” launched in 2006.
At Bank Indonesia’s (BI) annual policy speech event on January 12, BI Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah announced several policy initiatives for 2007 to help support economic growth, and encourage lending to the real sector.
BI also plans to issue bank guidelines limiting foreign manpower at the middle-management level and requiring a “transfer of knowledge” to domestic employees within three years.
This report uses an exchange rate of Rp 9,115 to the dollar.

Tax Administration Reform Picks Up Speed

On December 27, 2006, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati officially launched a new organizational structure for the DGT that reduces the operational role of the DGT headquarters in Jakarta, divides the DGT headquarters into functional Directorates, and establishes formal work units to lead the modernization of the DGT. The new structure dissolves separate Directorates that formally administered all aspects of Indonesia’s income, value-added (VAT), and land and building taxes from taxpayer relations to audits, and replaces them with units that perform a specified function for all tax types. This reform reduces duplication of multiple investigative units for each tax type. In addition, for the first time, the DGT will have dedicated, full-time staff to lead Indonesia’s ambitious tax modernization program. Tax authorities mainly concentrate tax modernization efforts in the new directorates of “Internal Compliance and Organizational Transformation;” “Communication and Technology Transformation;” and “Business Process Transformation.” Under the new structure, DGT headquarters will function as a policy-making body that also provides back office support to local tax offices, which will have the main operational tasks.

Directorate General for Tax: Old vs New Structure

Previous Directorates/Units	New Direcotrates/Units
Secretary General	Secretary General
Taxation System and Potential Planning	Potential, Compliance, and Collection
Tax Regulation	Tax Regulation I
---	Tax Regulation II
Tax Audit, Collection, and Investigation	Audit and Collection
---	Intelligence and Investigation
Tax Information	Tax Information Technology
Tax Dissemination	Tax Dissemination, Service, and PR
Income Tax	---
VAT and Electricity Tax	---
Land & Building Tax, and Land & Building Acquisition Tax	---
---	Tax Extensification and Appraisal
---	Tax Objection and Appeal
---	Internal Compliance and Resources Transformation
---	Information & Communication Technology Transformation
---	Business Process Transformation
Regional Offices	Regional Offices
---	Data Processing Center

Source: Directorate General for Tax

On December 29, 2006, Minister Mulyani also swore in 81 new Echelon II (director level) officials at the MOF, 44 of whom work at DGT. The DGT also officially opened 13 “Medium Tax Offices” (MTOs) in Jakarta and eight other large cities in December 2006 which will start operations in April 2007. Like Indonesia’s Large Tax Offices (LTOs), which have provided improved service to the country’s largest corporate taxpayers since 2002, the MTOs aim to provide better and faster services, simplify tax compliance and optimize tax audits through online tax filing. The tax audit process will include a closing conference with the taxpayer, at which the taxpayer can submit any objections.

Foreign and domestic investors and businesses welcome the tax reform: lack of transparency in the tax office had been a frequent source of complaints. A number of donors, including International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID), USAID, World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and Swedish Tax Administration (under SIDA), are providing DGT with technical assistance on a range of tax administration reform issues, including tax return management, audit, database development, internal compliance and human resource development.

New MOF Regulation on Primary Dealer System

On December 29, 2006 Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati signed Ministerial Decree No. 144/2006 establishing a Primary Dealer System for rupiah-denominated government securities. The decree outlines the requirements, rights, and obligations for financial institutions (banks and securities firms) that wish to serve as MOF-appointed primary dealers. The decree obligates the primary dealers to report regularly to the Director General for Debt Management, and sets out procedures relating to price quotations. The MOF began accepting applications for primary dealers on February 2 and plans to organize the first auctions under the new system in March 2007. Indonesia’s existing Inter-Dealer Market Association’s 24 members (14 domestic banks, six foreign banks, and four securities companies) had previously acted as a de facto primary dealers market.

The decree specifies a facility under which the MOF could lend government securities to primary dealers if the demand for bonds in the secondary market is heavy. Under the facility, primary dealers can borrow government bonds from the MOF by submitting a guarantee worth 1.2 times the value of the bonds. The MOF will impose a weighted average interest rate of the inter-bank overnight rate plus two percent. Primary dealers can also obtain loans from BI in the case of excessive sales or bond market volatility by putting up bonds as a guarantee.

Indonesia Announces First T-Bills

The MOF announced on January 22 a schedule for the first ever issuance of short-term Treasury Bills (T-bills) in Indonesia. Director General for Debt Management Rahmat Waluyanto said the proceeds from the T-bill issuances will help finance the state budget deficit, expected to be 1.1% of GDP in 2007. BI officials stated the issuance will probably not exceed Rp 7.5 trillion ($823 million) in 2007. According to Waluyanto, the MOF will issue the T-bills on April 3, July 10 and December 4, 2007. The Ministry also plans to issue popular retail treasury bonds in March, June and November 2007. The MOF issued Rp 3.3 trillion ($364 million) in retail bonds in July 2006, which proved popular with investors. Waluyanto also said that the MOF has tentatively scheduled Indonesia's first sharia bond issuance for September 2007, pending approval of related legislation by lawmakers. Legislation to facilitate sharia bond issuance has been pending in Parliament since at least early 2005.

BI Relaxes Bank Lending Regulations

During his annual policy speech on January 12, BI Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah described several new policy initiatives for 2007 aimed at stimulating bank lending and economic growth in the wake of high-interest rates and slow loan growth in 2006. BI Governors traditionally use the annual speech to announce policy priorities and initiatives, allowing banks time to provide feedback before BI issues implementing regulations. Analysts particularly focused on initiatives relating to the bank intermediation function, guidelines to evaluate credit collectibility and prudential principles.

During a press briefing prior to the speech, BI Deputy Governor Muliaman Hadad explained that BI designed the lending stimulus package to reduce loan provisioning by domestic banks in order to free up capital that they could then steer to private sector lending. In order to implement the policy package, BI intends to relax the asset quality classification regulation No 8/2/PBI/2006 from January 2006, which followed on a regulation first issued in January 2005. The introduction of the regulation in January 2005 led several state banks to significantly raise the amount of their non-performing loans (NPLs) in the first half of 2005 (state-owned Bank Mandiri’s NPLs rose from 7% to 25% at that time). BI plans to issue detailed regulations later in 2007 to implement the package.

According to Hadad, BI intends to make the following changes to BI’s credit collectibility guidelines and prudential regulations to encourage lending:

Adding machinery and inventory (warehouse receipts) to the types of collateral that banks can use to secure loans and reduce the provisioning levels for NPLs. This initiative aims at boosting lending to small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), which are often unable to meet current loan collateral standards.

Confirming a previous regulation allowing banks to lend an amount up to 30% of their capital to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating in the infrastructure sector. In addition, BI plans to expand the coverage of the regulation to allow lending up to the same level to SOEs operating in “other sectors”.
Clarifying the definition of “related parties” under Indonesia’s Maximum Credit Allocation Limit to permit more liberal lending to jointly-financed projects. BI plans to issue implementing regulations to set forth the new rules.
Reiterating that it is possible to provide new loans to problem borrowers providing: a) the borrowers “”maintain good intentions” to repay and; b) the loan is distressed for reasons beyond the borrower’s control.
Raising the ceiling for loans subject to “timely repayment” criteria from Rp 500 million ($55,000) to Rp 5 billion ($550,000). Currently, banks must consider three parameters when considering loans over Rp 500 million ($55,000): business prospects of the borrower, debtor performance, and promptness of payment. BI intends to revise current regulations to drop the requirement that banks evaluate the business prospects and performance of debtors for loans to micro enterprises and SMEs. In addition, BI intends to grant exceptions to the three parameters for specific project-related loans that have government guarantees and are a high priority for the government. Banks still must consider business prospects and performance in classifying loans above Rp 5 billion ($550,000). Currently, 54% of domestic banking sector lending is for individual loans of less than Rp 5 billion ($550,000), according to Hadad.

Abdullah also announced that BI intends to further restrict the number of expatriates employed in banks in Indonesia. For foreign banks, BI will limit the expatriate personnel to two levels below the board of directors, except for specialized functions local employees cannot fill. For specialized functions, BI plans to give foreign banks three years to train and “transfer knowledge,” gradually replacing expat workers with local staff.

** *

Download the PDF here

Banks borrow $7.2 billion from Fed

2007-09-14T08:05:00.001-07:00

MarketWatch

September 13, 2007 Thursday 6:28 PM EST

SECTION: NEWS & COMMENTARY; Economy and Politics; The Fed

LENGTH: 677 words

HEADLINE: Banks borrow $7.2 billion from Fed

BYLINE: Rex Nutting, MarketWatch mailto:rnutting@marketwatch.com. Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch.

BODY: WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In the first significant borrowing from the Fed since it lowered the discount rate last month, U.S. banks borrowed $7.2 billion from the Federal Reserve as of Wednesday, the most since just after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Fed said Thursday.The average borrowing for the week was $2.7 billion per day. The Fed data don't detail the names of the borrowers. The data indicate that $4.9 billion in loans were owed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, $1.6 billion to the Cleveland Fed, and $550 million to the Richmond Fed.Last month, five big banks had borrowed from the discount window in a symbolic show of support for the Fed. The borrowing from the Richmond Fed appears to be a holdover from the symbolic borrowing earlier.By borrowing from the Fed at 5.75%, the move shows that several U.S. banks could not obtain needed funds from other banks at the federal funds rate, which closed at 5.18% on Wednesday and has averaged 5.01% so far this month.One analyst said the Fed had forced the banks to borrow the money by deliberately squeezing reserves at the end of the two-week maintenance period, when many banks must borrow funds to prove to the Fed that they are holding adequate reserves against their capital."Most of this borrowing was forced," said Lou Crandall, chief economist for Wrightson ICAP. The Fed was "deliberately stingy" ahead of the expiration of the reserve maintenance period on Wednesday, he said."It's like a game of musical chairs," Crandall said.In essence, the Fed forced the banks that were left without enough reserves to borrow at the discount window by temporarily pushing the federal funds rate above the discount rate at the end of the day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Crandall said. It was cheaper for the banks to borrow from the Fed than to borrow from other banks.Crandall said that the high for the effective fed funds rate touched 6.5% on Monday, 6% on Tuesday and 6.25% on Wednesday, above the 5.75% discount rate.Without much success until this week, the Fed had been encouraging banks to use the discount window facility to bring more liquidity into financial markets and to ease the credit crunch.Forcing the banks to borrow from the discount window could be part of the Fed's effort to get rid of the stigma that's been associated with borrowing from the Fed. By making banks more comfortable with discount-window borrowing, the Fed hopes its plan could still work."If the carrot won't work, use the stick," Crandall said.Borrowing from the discount window has been rare except during extraordinary times. Such loans from the Fed typically carry a stigma because market participants assume that only a desperate situation would compel a bank to use the lender of last resort.Last month, however, the Fed lowered the discount-rate penalty from one percentage point to a half point, and encouraged banks to borrow as needed to help flood the system with short-term cash. Until this week, there was no evidence of any significant borrowing from the Fed.This week's borrowing could be related to the seizure in the commercial paper market, said Mike Englund, chief economist for Action Economics. Corporations that cannot roll over their own paper are turning to banks for short-term funds.Englund speculated that the banks that borrowed from the Fed this past week could be using the Fed as the source of funds for these backstop loans. Under new rules adopted a month ago, the Fed is allowing banks to borrow at the discount window for 30 days at a 5.75% fixed rate.There was some evidence Thursday that the credit crunch is easing, at least in the very short-term commercial paper market, where corporate securities average 45 days' maturity. The Fed said outstanding paper fell for a fifth straight week, but at a much slower pace than seen earlier. Commercial paper levels are down $306 billion or 13.8% to $1.92 trillion in the past six weeks.©1997-2002 MarketWatch.com, Inc. All rights reserved. See details at http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/docs/useragreement.asp.

LOAD-DATE: September 14, 2007

August retail sales

2007-09-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

August retail sales disappoint

By Mark Felsenthal /1 hour, 50 minutes ago/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retail sales edged up in August but they posted
the biggest decline in almost a year when car sales were stripped out as
consumer spending softened, a government report on Friday showed.

Retail sales rose a smaller-than-expected 0.3 percent last a month, the
Commerce Department said. However when motor vehicles and parts were
stripped out, August retail sales fell 0.4 percent, the sharpest drop
since September 2006.

Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting sales to gain 0.4 percent and
to rise 0.2 percent when cars and parts were stripped out.

U.S. Treasury debt prices extended gains, stock futures remained
negative ahead of market opening, and the dollar fell after release of
the data, which suggested consumers may be resting their wallets as a
result of a housing slowdown and financial market turmoil.

The report, along with data last week showing jobs declined in August
for the first time in four years, pointed to softness in the economy.

"If you combine the consumer side of the equation with the employment
side we got a week ago, you now see some chinks in the armor of the
economy," said Kevin Flanagan, a fixed income strategist at Morgan
Stanley in Purchase, New York.

Markets widely expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by at
least a quarter-percentage point when it meets next week to provide a
boost to the economy in what many expect to be a series of interest rate
reductions.

Fed funds rate futures slightly increased chances of a half-percentage
point interest rate cut as opposed to a quarter-point reduction on the
report.

Retail sales excluding cars, parts and gasoline, fell 0.1 percent, the
steepest decline since April, the Commerce Department said.

So-called core retail sales, which exclude cars, gasoline and building
materials, were unchanged from the prior month after an 0.8 percent gain
in July.

Purchases of motor vehicles and parts, which make up around one-fifth of
all sales, rose 2.8 percent.

Meanwhile, sales fell 2.4 percent at gas stations, which economists said
reflected falling prices.

Other retail categories fell as well. Clothing store sales slipped 0.1
percent, building materials and garden supply store sales were down 1.0
percent and department store sales fell 0.2 percent.

Sales at food and beverage stores held steady.

IMPORT PRICES, CURRENT ACCOUNT

Another government report showed that U.S. import prices fell
unexpectedly in August by 0.3 percent, marking the first decline since
the start of the year as petroleum costs also retreated.

Excluding a 1.3 percent drop in imported petroleum prices, import prices
declined 0.1 percent last month, the Labor Department said. It was the
first fall in overall import prices, or in the cost of imported
petroleum, since January.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.3 percent rise in import
prices in August. Export prices increased 0.2 percent, matching
expectations.

Meanwhile, a separate Commerce Department report showed the U.S. current
account deficit narrowed in the second quarter to $190.8 billion,
roughly in line with expectations, from an upwardly revised gap of
$197.1 billion in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday

The government had previously estimated the first quarter current
account deficit at $192.6 billion.

Analysts were expecting the current account gap to narrow to $190 billion.

The current account, the broadest measure of U.S. trade with the rest of
the world, includes goods, services and income flows.

The second-quarter current account deficit equaled 5.5 percent of gross
domestic product, down from 5.8 percent in the first quarter, the
Commerce Department

said.

Fast Cash Ideas

2007-09-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Fast Cash Ideas

Article source: http://www.pftown.com/index.php/fast-cash-ideas/

If you’re down on your luck and on your finances and you need to make money fast, what can you do? Since most businesses you start take time to yield a return, it’s not easy to make quick cash, but it can be done. Here are some ideas for making money fast if you’re desperate for cash.

1. Take back any recent purchases to the store.

Do you need money because you’ve overspent on luxury items recently? Now is the time to return items to the store for which you still have the receipt. If you’re in a desperate situation, you’re not going to be able to make use of those luxury items anyway. It’s far better to have the cash in your pocket.

2. Have a yard sale.

Go through your house and closets and gather together everything you don’t absolutely need. Most people have far too many things they never use and will never need again. Organize and price them in preparation for a large yard sale. Display your items as neatly and attractively as possible to encourage sales.. Advertise everywhere you can with large, easy to see flyers. If you can afford it, post an ad in your local newspaper. A one day yard sale can often produce a significant amount of money.

3. Write an article.

You can get paid for writing an informative article on the topic of your choosing at a website called Associated Content. Articles must be at least 400 words in length and well written without grammatical or spelling errors. Once your article is approved, which usually takes 2-3 days, you’ll be paid almost immediately.. This can be an excellent way to make quick cash if you’re a good writer.

4. Deliver new vehicles to dealerships.

It’s not well known, but large specialty vehicles such as vans, limousine, and RV’s aren’t delivered to dealerships on a truck. They’re driven to dealerships by part time entrepreneurs like you. You’re paid by the mile and then give money for air transportation back home. Plus, there’s no need for a commercial driver’s license, although some states require a chauffeur’s license which is obtained by passing a written test. This can be a relaxing way to generate cash relatively quickly.

5. Mow some lawns.

It may be low tech, but there’s a real demand for lawn care these days as people have little time to do it themselves. Find an attractive neighborhood and market your services door to door. You can get paid for this service the same day.

6. Play an instrument.

Do you play an instrument or sing? Visit some local restaurants and bars and see if you can entertain their customers for a few evenings. If they resist, offer to do it for a free meal the first night. You should be able to make some money from tips despite not getting paid. Who knows? This may lead to a long term gig.

7. Sell something inexpensive door-to-door to businesses.

Consider selling inexpensive items that businesses use everyday and frequently run out of such as pens, pencils, erasers etc. You should be able to get these items cheaply and sell them at an inexpensive price. Businesses will likely purchase some from you because the items are not costly and they want to be accommodating.

8. Be a guinea pig.

Did you know you can get paid to participate in medical studies testing out new drugs and treatments? Some of these studies pay fairly well, but may require frequent visits to a clinic or even an overnight hospitalization. One disadvantage is you may not get paid until the study is completed. If you’re desperate for money, make sure you sign up for a short study. To find these studies, do an internet search for “paid medical studies”.

9. Donate plasma.

If you’re free of infectious diseases and are healthy, you can get paid to donate your plasma. This is a relatively quick and relaxing procedure but does require a needle stick. You’ll relax in a comfortable chair and watch television or listen to music as your plasma is prepared is collected. You’ll then receive immediate payment which varies by location.

10. Wash some windows.

Find a janitor supply store in your area. Buy some squeegees, a brush and rags, a pail with rollers attached, and some ammonia and vinegar. Drive to your nearest outdoor mall and ask the first store if you can wash their windows. Offer to do so at a low price in order to establish some credibility. After completing the first store’s windows, move on to other stores. Mention that you washed windows in the first store and the owners were very pleased. This could turn into a business with employees, but, until then, it’s a good fast cash generator.

11. Run a weekend sale.

There are loads of people who would love to have a yard sale, but don’t have time to tag all the items and set it up. Offer to do the work for them for a percentage of the sales, say 25% or so. You would organize the items, display them, and be there throughout the sale to collect money. This is another quick cash generator that has long term potential.

As you can see there are a variety of ways you can make quick cash if you’re desperate for money. Why not give them a try?

Car-buying spurs retail sales rebound

2007-09-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Car-buying spurs retail sales rebound

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer 41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Retail sales posted a modest gain in August, helped by the biggest jump in auto sales in more than a year. But there are concerns that spending could falter as the steep slump in housing and financial market turbulence weigh on consumer confidence.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales increased 0.3 percent in August, compared to July, when sales had been up by 0.5 percent. The strength last month was led by a 2.8 percent jump in auto sales, the biggest increase since July 2006.

The increase in retail sales was just about half what had been expected. In another sign of weakness, industrial production in August edged up by just 0.2 percent. It was the poorest performance in three months and reflected a 0.3 percent drop in output at U.S. factories, the first decline in manufacturing after five straight increases.

The gain in industrial otuput followed much stronger increases of 0.5 percent in July and 0.6 percent in June. The drop in manufacturing output was accompanied by a decline of 0.6 percent in mining, the category that includes oil production. These declines were offset by a 5.3 percent surge in output at the nation's utilities, reflecting a hotter-than-usual August.

A separate report Friday showed that consumer confidence, as measured by the RBC Cash Index, fell to 71.1 in early September, a sharp drop from an August reading of 89.3. It was the worst showing for the survey, done by polling firm Ipsos, since May 2006.

Meanwhile, the government said that the current account, the broadest measure of trade, totaled $190.8 billion in the second quarter, down 3.1 percent from a $197.1 billion in the first three months of the year.

The trade improvement supported the view of economists that America's trade deficit, after setting records for five consecutive years, should show finally begin to decline in 2007, helped by stronger overseas growth and a weaker dollar, which boosts the competitiveness of American products.

Inventories held by businesses on shelves and backlots rose by 0.5 percent in July, the Commerce Department said Friday, while sales at all levels of production were up 1.1 percent.

The weaker-than-expected 0.3 percent rise in retail sales in August did not dispel worries that consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity, could falter in coming months under the impact of a serious credit crunch and rising gasoline prices.

"We expect a clearly slowing trend," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. "Lower confidence and the accelerating housing collapse will hurt."

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet next Tuesday and there is a widespread belief that the central bank will cut a key interest rate for the first time in four years, hoping that cheaper credit will give the economy a boost.

Financial markets have been roiled since early August by rising worries that loans to consumers and businesses are becoming harder to obtain as banks and other lenders tighten standards. The credit crunch began with rising defaults on subprime mortgages, home loans provided to borrowers with weak credit. But those problems have since spread to other lending areas and have also roiled global financial markets.

The retail sales performance would have been much weaker without the big gain in auto sales in August. Excluding autos, retail sales would have fallen by 0.4 percent, the poorest showing in nearly a year.

Part of the weakness in August came from a 2.4 percent drop in sales at gasoline stations, reflecting declining prices. However, with oil rising to new records above $80 per barrel, analysts predicted that gasoline prices will start rising again, a factor that will mean consumers will have less to spend on other items.

Sales at department and general merchandise stores edged up 0.3 percent in August, reflecting strong back-to-school sales. Sales at furniture stores were up 0.5 percent but hardware stores saw sales decline by 1 percent. Sales at specialty clothing stores dropped by 0.1 percent.

Mortgage Lenders: The Pain Deepens

2007-09-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

Mortgage Lenders: The Pain Deepens

By Ben Steverman 2 hours, 42 minutes ago

For the crippled mortgage industry, the bad news won't stop.

August, mortgage lenders announced 30,892 job cuts, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas (Challenger, Gray & Christmas), a firm that tracks layoff announcements. Speaking of the mortgage-fueled layoffs in the broader financial services industry, the firm's CEO, John Challenger, says, "We have not seen such a rapid descent since the airlines shed thousands of workers" in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In September, the layoffs haven't slowed. A selection: Eight hundred more layoffs at National City Corp. (NYSE:NCC - News), a Cleveland-based bank that cut 500 employees last month at its mortgage business. H&R Block (NYSE:HRD - News) will cut 575 more workers at its Option One Mortgage unit. Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH - News) will fire 850 workers, many at its Aurora Loan Services unit. IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE:IMB - News) plans to cut 1,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce.

Finally, Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE:CFC - News), the nation's largest mortgage lender, plans to eliminate 10,000 to 12,000 workers, or about 20% of its headcount.

Yes, there are a few signs of hope for the industry. Many of the bigger mortgage companies have stabilized their financial positions as some of the weakest and riskiest players have gone under. A few of the big players have even hired up their defunct rivals' former employees. And, yes, an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, expected Sept. 18, might help somewhat.

But other news isn't pretty: On Sept. 13, Countrywide announced that its average daily application volume fell 12% in August, compared to both the previous month and a year ago. Total mortgage funding fell 17% from a year ago.

So what's reason for the layoffs and the drop in mortgage activity?

Major mortgage players have retreated from a large area of the market. Nontraditional loans, such as large "jumbo" mortgages or subprime loans to buyers with poor credit scores, have slowed way down.

If you are a traditional buyer, with good income and credit, "you will have no trouble getting a loan," says Jay Brinkmann, vice president for research and economics at the Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Bankers Association. In fact, interest rates on traditional fixed rate mortgages have actually fallen.

There's no problem here because federally chartered Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM - News) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE - News), using strict credit criteria, continue buying up those loans and re-selling them to investors.

However, investors refuse to buy riskier loans. So, lenders have had nowhere to unload subprime, jumbo, and other nontraditional mortgages. There's no sign that's easing, as secondary markets for riskier assets have been frozen since the middle of the summer.

So, Countrywide and other lenders have stopped originating many nontraditional loans. That's the main factor in the decline in Countrywide's mortgage activity, says Erin Swanson, an equities analyst at Morningstar (NasdaqGS:MORN - News). "It's a shift in focus," she says, accompanied by a tightening of lending standards. In August, 2006, 53% of Countrywide's loans were traditional fixed rate mortgages; one year later, 75% were fixed rate.

"Those (nontraditional) loans are being made, but at a much higher costs," says Nancy Vanden Houten, an economist at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates (Stone & McCarthy Research Associates).

A Federal Reserve cut in interest rates might help a bit, by lowering borrowing costs for homebuyers overall. But don't it expect to help riskier homebuyers re-enter the market or refinance. There is just too much worry by lenders and debt investors about credit quality.

"I don't feel that there is a quick fix for this problem," Vanden Houten says. "It's going to take quite some time for it to resolve itself."

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. expects mortgage originations to fall from $2.8 trillion in 2006 to $2.4 trillion this year. Next year, the slide should continue, to $2 trillion. Along with worries about credit risk and the freezing up of the credit markets, the mortgage industry is dealing with the oversupply of homes in many markets, Brinkmann says.

Problems of the housing market and the mortgage market actually can feed on themselves, analysts say. That could continue until either housing prices or interest rates get so low that many new buyers and borrowers are lured back into the market.

The one bright spot for the mortgage industry may be mortgages to non-residential buyers. Countrywide said commercial real estate funding volume was $757 million in August, up from just $273 million a year ago. "Commercial real estate has isolated itself from problems in the residential real estate market," Swanson says.

The World's Fastest Limo

2007-09-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

The World's Fastest Limo?

This modified Ferrari 360 Modena carbon fibre stretch limousine is 23 feet long amd achieves 0-60mph in less than six seconds

Now here's something very much out of the ordinary. This unique black Ferrari 360 Modena carbon fibre stretch limousine will undoubtedly spin heads when it's unveiled at the European Limousine and Chauffeur Show in the UK this month. The fastest limo in the world according to owner Dan Cawley, the 23 feet long, 400bhp vehicle achieves 0-60mph in less than six seconds and has a top speed of 170mph.

Dan, of Style Limousines in Manchester, commissioned Carbonyte UK to build this outlandish vehicle spending over £200,000 on the modifications. Foregoing the mini bars found in other limos, the Ferrari has been equipped with an extra six seats and nine foot gull-wing doors so it can carry eight passengers in total.

Carbonyte UK is the pioneer of HotFusion Composite Manufacturing Technology that was used on the McLaren SLR Supercar.

Among the other extraordinary vehicles on show at the event to be held in Birmingham from 16th -18th September include Europe's biggest stretch Hummer called The Terminator (which has ten wheels and is a staggering 39-and-a-half feet long), a limo version of the legendary A' Team van and the World's first right hand drive Chrysler 300 convertible. Lexus will be showing their eagerly awaited LS600H with visitors to the show being amongst the first to preview the £81,000 vehicle prior to its official UK release on 1st October.

Around 100 limousines and luxurious executive cars will be on display along with a collection of American muscle cars and customised cars and motorbikes. Visitors can also enjoy a ride in one of these outrageous vehicles in exchange for a donation for the show's chosen charity, The Make A Wish Foundation.

For further information on the show see www.limoshow.co.uk.

Ed's note: since publication of this article we have been informed that this isn't necessarily the first stretch Ferrari and we're investigating -- stay tuned.

Provided by Gizmag.com—ideas, innovation, invention

China's Brilliance: Back from Disaster

2007-09-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

China's Brilliance: Back from Disaster?

BMW's Chinese partner, aiming to compete in Europe and the U.S., could rebound from devastating safety tests faster than anyone expects

by Gail Edmondson

It was a devastating blow for the ambitious executives at Chinese automaker Brilliance Auto (CBAMF) . Soon after a June crash test in Germany of its sleek BS6 midsize sedan rated the car as unsafe, a humiliating film of the mangled model circled the globe on YouTube. German automotive publications slammed the BS6 as a disaster on wheels. As German automotive consumer group ADAC reported: "Given the results of the frontal crash at 64 kph [40 miles per hour], it's better not to even get into the driver's seat."

Skeptics say the Brilliance quality stumble confirms that it will take Chinese automakers 10 years to learn how to build cars that can compete in Europe and the U.S. But the rapid response of Brilliance to the quality debacle suggests it may move up the learning curve faster than anyone expects. The company, which is China's 16th-largest automaker, was founded in 1990 and had sales of $1.3 billion in 2006, largely on the strength of its minibus and auto-parts units. It had been traded on the New York Stock Exchange until July, when it de-listed its American Depositary Shares after the ADAC tests were reported.

German Front

At a Sept. 11 press conference at the Frankfurt Auto Show, a German distributor for Brilliance announced the results of a new crash test on a reengineered pre-production prototype of the BS6. It claimed the revised model should win a three-star Euro NCAP rating, an average performance within the NCAP five-star system, and up sharply from the dismal one-star rating it earned in June. "Sixty-five parts were changed. There's been a big improvement in the car's safety," says Hans-Ulrich Sachs, head of HSO Motors Europe, which aims to sell Brilliance cars in Germany. In addition, the car's pillars were reinforced to prevent deformation during a crash, the door lining was modified to improve strength, door sills were stabilized, as were parts of the floor plate, the roof pillar, and the roof skin of the vehicle.

Brilliance, BMW Group's (BMWG) joint venture partner in China, boldly chose Germany as its base for attacking the European market with its elegant-looking sedans. It unveiled its stylish models at the upmarket Geneva Auto Show in March—the first serious effort by any Chinese automaker to win a foothold in the U.S. or Europe. Brilliance was eager to get a rapid read back from the most demanding car culture in the world, especially on its €22,000 ($30,000) BS6 flagship. "We believe that if we can sell cars to the high standards of Germans, we can succeed in the rest of the world," says Chi Ye, head of global sales for Brilliance Auto.

Coming to Market

The June crash test conducted by ADAC dented Brilliance's rollout plans. But Sachs says ADAC's critique in June was not a surprise for him or Brilliance. Last November, HSO put a pre-production BS6 through a simulated European crash test and the results were subpar, indicating the car would receive only two stars. "We sent the data to Brilliance and said they need to improve quality. They initiated a reengineering project in January," says Sachs, who insists that Brilliance's cars have passed a standard European Union safety test that differs from the Euro NCAP test. NCAP tests involve a head-on crash at 64 kph (40 mph), while the EU safety test is simulated at 56 kph (35 mph)—a difference of 30% more power on impact, Sachs says.

As ADAC was announcing the failure of the BS6 in June, Brilliance was already running the revised BS6 through its quality paces. Tests were conducted at the full-scale crash-test facilities of IDIADA Automotive Technology in Tarragona, Spain. Brilliance now plans to bring the upgraded car to market in March, 2008, setting back its thrust into the European market by only six months. Brilliance's target: sales of 100,000 cars in Europe, or 0.8% of the market, within five years.

By mid-2008, Luxembourg-based HSO aims to have three models on the market: the BS6, the BS4 compact sedan, and the BC3 coupe. By yearend, Sachs hopes to add a station wagon and a small "environment-friendly" model. An SUV is targeted for 2009.

American Dreams

That demanding push into Europe assumes, of course, that production versions of all Brilliance cars receive three stars when tested by ADAC and other European quality associations, Sachs says. But he and Brilliance are confident they will. To ensure a better quality rating, Brilliance hired top European engineering houses to lead the reengineering effort. "We have a famous German partner," says Ye, adding that the company signed a confidentiality agreement with the engineering house.

Brilliance also has begun doing U.S. quality and crash tests on its cars, and is aiming to launch exports to the U.S. within two years. "The regulations in the U.S. are more complicated than in Europe, because they differ from state to state," says Ye. "We want to be the first Chinese company to enter the European market. Our experience in Europe can help us enter the U.S. market."

Sachs already has signed up 33 dealers in Germany, aiming for 100 by yearend, and is forecasting sales of 15,000 cars in 2008, as long as the Brilliance models meet EU standards. HSO had hoped to sell 15,000 cars this year, but now expects sales of 1,500 to 2,000. At the Frankfurt Auto show, Ye, head of overseas sales for Brilliance, met with 200 potential European dealers. Now, he is setting up importers for Spain and Portugal. "Brilliance is the icebreaker for all the other Chinese manufacturers in Europe," says Sachs, who helped open the European market to Korean automakers in the early 1990s.

Knowledge is Power

The tale of Brilliance's determination to crack the European market, despite its quality blunder, indicates just how quickly other Chinese automakers may dare to do the same—especially those who have joint ventures with Western partners in China. Auto industry experts believe the Chinese will master quality and reliability in half the time it took the Korean automakers to go up the learning curve, thanks in part to the knowledge transfer from joint ventures. "Our cooperation with BMW gave us a lot of help improving quality," says Ye.

But that cooperation goes only so far. BMW is not involved in producing Brilliance's cars. When asked at the Frankfurt Auto Show about the tech transfer that is going on between them and Brilliance, BMW's chief financial officer, Stefan Krause, just said: "That's the price of selling cars in China today."

Another reason why the Chinese may overcome quality kinks faster than expected: A globalized supplier industry allows anyone to buy design, engineering, and technology from the best in the business. Brilliance's European-looking BS6 and BS4 were designed by leading Italian styling house Giugiaro—best known as designer to Ferrari—and its chassis development and optimization was done by Porsche engineering. Brilliance developed one engine on its own and builds another under a joint venture with Mitsubishi (MITT). Finally, its production line in Shenyang was designed by BMW technicians working at Brilliance.

Global Partners

Ye says Brilliance will continue working to boost its crash-test rating to four stars—and eventually five—the best performance. Roughly 10% of Brilliance's sales are international, with the Middle East and Russia as leading markets. Brilliance is currently scouting for a plant site in Russia and already has an assembly plant in Egypt.

HSO Motors Europe is currently signing up European distributors, including Belgian car supermarket operator Cardoen and France's Asie Auto, which already distributes Chinese Landwind SUVs through a 100-strong network of dealers. HSO will distribute cars in Germany. Brilliance wants 700 European dealers by the end of 2008. Brilliance may have stalled this year, but it has no plans to take its foot off the accelerator to win over European buyers.

And the next strategic target is the U.S. How close is that? In July, Brilliance announced that it would be partnering with Scottsdale (Ariz.)-based distributor China Motor to launch a $20,000 vehicle—provided it doesn't fail U.S. safety and emission tests.

Gail Edmondson is a senior correspondent in BusinessWeek's Frankfurt bureau.

Who uses a Business Center?

2007-09-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

Who uses a Business Center?

Article by: http://www.business-centers.biz/serviced-offices-who-uses.asp

A huge range of organisations are electing to use serviced offices today. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that these are only small businesses, or that the space being offered is "back-street" stock – this could not be further from the truth in today’s market.

Flexibility is one of the key drivers that persuades an organisation to use serviced offices. Many new, but not necessarily small, businesses cannot accurately predict their headcount figures over a two or three year time span. These companies take flexible leases in serviced office buildings where they will be able to take additional space when it is needed. A traditional office may feature in the next stage of their property strategy, but for the time being they don’t want large overheads with high set up costs.

Existing businesses are beginning to make use of serviced offices as a part of their property strategy. Short term project work may call for short term offices, or maybe the traditional property market is so overheated that many companies cannot find the offices that they need. In these cases the serviced office market comes to the fore – flexible solutions at fixed prices.

In addition there are many companies who have decided that they want to reduce their exposure to property. Real estate often consumes capital and time that could be better invested in a company’s core business. Serviced offices virtually eliminate real estate capital expenditure and leave property management headaches to the property owners.

What is a Business Center?

2007-09-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

What is a Business Center?

Article by : http://www.business-centers.biz/serviced-offices-what-is.asp

This is probably the fastest growing and most exciting sector of the european property market today. The rate of growth of the serviced office market has been nothing less than explosive over the past few years.

Serviced Offices are a total solution in the sense that they are fully fitted and furnished, ready for immediate occupation. The building operator takes responsibility for all of the services to the building, and, in addition, provides a range of business services including reception and telephone answering services, secretarial support, conference and meeting facilities, video conferencing and high speed internet access.

Whilst costs may look high initially, the rent that you pay includes almost all of the costs that you would normally expect to pay on top of rent in a traditional office. There are no additional costs for business rates, lighting & power, security, cleaning, building & plant maintenance, elevators, insurance etc. The only additional costs, on top of rent, are for telephone/internet usage which are normally charged at standard BT rates.

Neither are there any charges for furnishings which are normally the latest workstations with chairs, filing systems and tables for meeting rooms. This is usually a significant cost for any occupier and is included in the serviced office rent. Almost all serviced offices are fully fitted out with Category 5 wiring for computer networking.

A major difference between serviced offices and traditional offices, which is one of the main reasons for deciding to use them, is the length of the lease. A serviced office lease may be as short as 3 months, or more typically 9 or 12 months. This is very different from the 15 year lease normally associated with a traditional office and gives many organisations the much needed flexibility to shrink or expand as their business dictates.

Business Centers

2007-09-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

Business Centers - a free database

Are you looking for Business Centers? Do you want to know more about Business Centers? What will it cost for you to put your company into Business Centers instead of a traditional office building? Why use Business Centers? What are the benefits of using Business Centers? There are no charges for using our database of Business Centers which covers most major cities in the world. All the main building operators are included without bias to any one of them. Choose the locations that suit you best and we will give you all the contact details you need to make direct cost comparisons.

Here are just a few of the benefits of using Business Centers:

Decide Your Own Lease Length
Totally Flexible Terms
Fully Equipped & Furnished
Latest Technology
High Speed Internet Access
No Management
Costs Expand or Contract to Suit Your Business

What is a Business Center?
Learn more about the fasted growing sector of the property market in the UK and Europe.

How much does a Business Center cost? See what Serviced Offices cost in cities around the world.

Who uses Business Centers?
Find out what types of businesses have benefited from using Serviced Offices.

Business Centers – More than 3,500 locations worldwide

Now you have found our website, you really don't need to go anywhere else. We can give you detailed information on more than 3,500 serviced office locations around the world and put you in touch with the owners.

This sector of the property market is positively electric. The popularity of serviced offices is increasing at a phenomenal rate - more and more companies are deciding that a serviced office provides everything they need and that the costs are genuinely very competitive.

One of the biggest attractions of a Business Center is FLEXIBILITY. You don't need to sign a long lease when you don't know how fast your business may expand or contract in the future. If you need more space you can just expand within the building you have chosen, almost overnight, and you only have to pay for what you use.

Business Centers should no longer be thought of as a "back room" option. Some years ago a Business Center suggested that you weren’t big enough, or successful enough to have a “real” office. Now a company that uses Business Centers projects the image of an organisation that is on its toes and is moving with the times.

Large multi-national corporations are using Business Centers more and more. They see the importance of having some flexibility for expansion and contraction within their real estate portfolios. These companies have learned some painful lessons in past years, finding themselves responsible for office space that they aren’t using any more. They have been unable to divest themselves of all of the associated costs of these surplus offices because of long lease commitments. Business Centers have provided the perfect solution for these companies in the future.

There is also an increasing trend for some Business Center operators to offer unbranded offices which means that your visitors have no way of knowing whether you are using one office or fifty in the building. These unbranded offices are generally four and five star centres projecting a high quality image to your clients.

Either use the search facility at the top of this page, or click on any of the links below to begin your search for a Business Center in your preferred location. Alternatively you can phone us on +44 (0)845 367 2020 for free advice on Business Centers.

Indonesia Business Information

2007-09-14T00:50:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the most comprehensive Indonesia business information website.

Content

This site contains information on 43,387 Indonesia companies. The Indonesia company directory contains 65,755 key contact persons including directors, 18,915 email addresses, 44,589 facsimile numbers. The Indonesia business directory also contains 18,171 brand names, 4,113 exporters, 1,774 importers, 6,183 shareholders, Indonesia company reports, Indonesia private companies, Indonesia public companies ...

Contained is also 367 Indonesia industry reports and Indonesia industry market research in the sectors of : agriculture, farming, fishing, mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas, water, construction, wholesale, retail, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, storage, communication, finance, insurance, property, education, health ...

This site also contain Indonesia tariffs and Indonesia trade information of over 10,000 HS classified products: live animals, animal products, vegetable products, foodstuffs, mineral products, chemical, ...

Uses

You will be able to use the Indonesia business inteligence information in this site to : identify key prospects, target marketing, monitor competitors, identify profitable companies and industry sectors, risk assessment, establishment of benchmarks, ...

You will be able to use the marketing tools on b2b Indonesia to : send out multiple emails, multiple faxes, mail-merge and print out multiple letters, multiple mailing-labels, copy and paste reports onto your own file, print, ...

35 minutes to riches

2007-09-14T00:47:00.001-07:00

35 minutes to riches

Bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at Tuesday's policy meeting have boosted stocks of late. The Fed remains the stock market's main focus leading up to the meeting.

The fed funds rate has stood at 5.25 percent since June 2006 as the central bank has sought to balance pricing pressure with the threat of an economic slowdown stemming from the collapse in the housing market.

But the recent rise in mortgage defaults and the credit crunch have convinced investors that the Federal Reserve will have to cut interest rates so as to keep financial markets stable.

The Fed has already cut the discount rate, which affects bank loans, and has injected billions into the banking system to keep liquidity flowing.

But investors are betting the Fed will cut the fed funds rate, which impacts consumer loans, with the debate now about whether the cut will be a quarter- or a half-percentage point.

A quarter-percentage point cut would soothe nervous investors without raising any flags about a possible recession. It would also turn the focus to whether the central bank will cut rates again at its next meeting in late October, said Charles Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group.

Anything else could send stocks lower, at least in the short run, he said.

"If they cut a half point, stock market investors are going to think the Fed knows something they don't and that the economy is in worse shape than they realized," he said.

However, should they cut a half, at least investors will think the Fed is done cutting rates for a while and the focus will return to the economy and earnings, he said.

If they don't cut rates at all, stocks could see a big selloff, he said.

Ahead of that, Friday brings the August retail sales report, as well as readings on industrial production and capacity utilization, and consumer sentiment.

Thursday's one economic report of note was the weekly jobless claims report, which showed a smaller-than-expected rise in the number of Americans filing new claims.

Business Sex Games

2007-09-14T00:39:00.001-07:00

Sex Games Get Down to Business

Bonnie Ruberg 02.16.06 | 2:00 AM

Sexy mods squeezed into video games may still cause controversy, but racy titles are becoming so popular the industry is planning a convention so developers can chart a path to success.

Evergreen Events will host the first-ever Sex in Video Games Conference this June. The two-day San Francisco gathering will delve into the design, development and technology of sex in video games, both in the United States and abroad.

"Mature themes and sexual content in games is huge," said Brenda Brathwaite, conference chair and leader of the International Game Developers Association Sex special interest group. "The adult game market is taking off like a rocket!"

Brathwaite pointed to titles such as VirtuallyJenna, Playboy: The Mansion and even God of War as proof that sex is gaining a solid foothold in the video-game industry.

The conference will feature lectures, keynotes and panel discussions led by experts in the field, plus an exhibit of erotic machinima. Kelly Rued, panelist and head of development team Black Love Interactive, said the event "just proves how forward-thinking the games industry really is."

"Awareness of design and business issues surrounding sex in games has grown tremendously since 2003," she said.

Recent technological innovation has made sexually explicit games more visually appealing, and 2006 will see the release of many massively multiplayer online erotic games, or MMOEGs, said Suzanne Freyjadis-Chuberka, president of Evergreen Events.

"MMOEG is the latest industry buzzword being ... used to describe any multiplayer online game with sex content," said Rued, who will speak on the topic at the conference.

Her company has designed a MMOEG of its own, Rapture Online. While MMOEGs have much in common with other MMOs like EverQuest and World of Warcraft, Rued said the major difference is "that MMOEGs are for adults only."

As the sex-games industry gains ground, it faces a challenge -- how to thrive without rousing the ire of concerned parents and pressure groups.

"The Hot Coffee situation certainly accelerated the need to discuss the challenges faced in creating games with sexual content," said Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the International Game Developers Association. "However, on a more positive note, the growing expressive power of digital games is stimulating developers to create content that explores a wider range of the human condition.

"Fundamentally, the game industry needs to get smarter about how it treats sex -- and related topics such as love, flirting, innuendo, passion, etc. -- in games."

At the conference, industry veteran Dave Taylor -- a programmer on the original Doom and Quake games and now an independent producer with several projects in development -- will tackle the topic of the future of technology in sex games.

Taylor developed an advanced simulation engine that makes game characters more realistic, which he says could take erotic gamers "much closer to (their) ultimate fantasy."

While the technology has changed, the hurdles faced by traditional producers of adult entertainment remain the same.

"Developers of sex content in games face unique challenges," Rued said. They have distribution and marketing problems that mainstream game developers don't face.

The burgeoning industry hopes to find a friend in the porn business, which has raked in the cash in spite of opposition from some segments of society. Freyjadis-Chuberka said the Sex in Games Conference will give "the adult entertainment industry and the games industry a place to talk and interact."

Conference chair Brathwaite agreed that the relationship between the two industries is growing increasingly close. "Just as movies and games in general are converging, so too are the adult film and game markets," she said.

Bikini Shop

2007-09-14T00:34:00.001-07:00

Young Grads Turn Heads With Bikini Shop

By Patricia Xavier, University of Central Florida

The sandy white beaches, international models, surfing competitions and Brazilian bikinis that fill the days of Chad Howett and Gabriel Pimentel may seem like a fantasy for most college students, but to these two young entrepreneurs it's nothing more than another day at the office.

In 2002 the childhood friends decided to start i-drops Brazilian Beach Wear, Inc., a company whose aim was to bring an international flavor to swimwear in the United States. Since then i-drops' success has grown so rapidly that the company recently outfitted a bikini television special called Supermodel of Sports, which aired in July on Spike Television.

Pimentel designs and purchases a variety of Brazilian style bikinis from manufacturers and Howett markets the goods through fashion shows, surfing competitions, and beach parties. The duo's work ethic and personalized approach to sales has led to contracts with various businesses everywhere from the southeast United States to Trinidad.

The two 25 year-olds have used their personal experiences and education to help market and distribute their products to retailers. Pimentel, a former fashion model whose mother had been a nationally known model in his native Brazil, used his families' experience to create unique swimsuits. With help from his mother and brother Pimentel takes a hands-on approach that includes designing the swimsuits and choosing the kind of threading to use on each one.

"I have a good eye for fashion," said Pimentel, who earned a degree in international business in 2002 from a college in Brazil. "It runs in the family. When we develop a new style we make a pilot (i.e., sample), test it by washing it several times and if we like the results we produce it."

If the trio approves the swimwear, Howett delivers them to store owners and retailers. He then helps clients decide which styles would bring the most sales in the region they are targeting.

"We have reps everywhere who visit our clients once a month and take them out for lunch, check what's selling and follow up on the styles," Howett said. "Different markets demand different bikinis. So giving more personal attention helps our clients a lot."

An i-dea is born

The idea for i-drops came from Pimentel, whose experience in the fashion world led him to believe that there was a growing international market for Brazilian beachwear. After spending a few years between the United States and Brazil he contacted Howett in the hopes of establishing a business partnership. Howett, a former marketing student at the University of Central Florida, had not seen his friend since his senior year in high school. But he believed the idea had potential after hearing about the popularity of Brazilian bikinis from female friends.

"I thought 'Hey, let's bring this to the United States,'" he said. "With Gabriel's eye for fashion and my business experience here I felt I was ready to make something out of this idea."

Howett earned money to start up the business by working various sales jobs where he established business contacts and gained marketing experience. Meanwhile, Pimentel worked in a fashion studio and established contacts in some of the most popular fashion cities in the world including Miami and Sao Paulo. The two men then decided to test their product with potential buyers.

Howett, a former college cheerleader, used a small shipment of bikinis that Pimentel sent him as research. He sold the samples to his cheerleading teammates and began to understand which quality and styles were popular amongst women. Howett then snuck into a surf expo in Orlando where he became fascinated with the swimwear business.

"[The expo] just blew my mind," he said. "I just saw the whole market atmosphere and the unique culture of this business. Everyone was there from Roxy to Quicksilver to hundreds of swimwear companies, skate companies, and beach apparel. So I began to research and make a business plan and with the little money we had we decided to invest in a booth for the next convention."

Confident in their designs and with a business plan in mind the two developed their own line, and a few months later presented it at the convention. They immediately received offers from companies ranging from Hawaiian Tropic to the United States Surfing Federation, which promised to advertise the i-drops brand.

Going global

This summer Pimentel traveled all over Europe and South America, to help i-drops expand its international business, while Howett handled online sales coming from their website i-drops.net. The two friends hope that their company's worldwide appeal will continue to grow, but they agree it takes effort and teamwork to make it a success.

"This may sound great," Howett explains. "Two 25 year-olds guys running a bikini business. But it's not just bikinis and models and catwalks. That's a small easy part of the work. Along with it go the accounting, bookkeeping, and many customers you have to stay up with. The best advice I can give to young entrepreneurs out there is don't give up. Don't get overwhelmed; don't grow too fast and work with people you trust. You'll learn as you go."

Nokia 6288

2007-09-14T00:20:00.001-07:00

Nokia 6288

By Ella Morton on 06/12/2006

More Nokia reviews , RRP: AU$649.00

» See more images

The good:

Packaged with 512MB miniSD card
Firmware upgraded since the 6280
Support for A2DP Bluetooth profile

The bad:

Slider mechanism a little loose
Design is slick but lacks the funk factor

The bottomline:

The 6288 improves on the 6280, but while it performs well, it lacks a standout feature to pull in the punters.

Buying choices:

Editors' rating:

7.3/10

Users' rating:

6.6/10

Tags:

2mp | 6280 | 6288 | nokia | slider

Run your eyes down the specs lists for the 6280 and the 6288, and you'd be forgiven for thinking they're the same phone. The two 3G Nokia sliders do have a whole lot in common -- the dimensions, weight and display size are identical, as are the camera specs, amount of internal memory and applications. So what's the difference between the models? Basically, a firmware upgrade; a few minor design differences (such as altered keypad spacing and a glossy finish); and a larger miniSD card bundled into the pack.

Design
Like the 6280 (and this will become a familiar refrain), the 6288 is a squarish slider, measuring 100mm by 46mm by 21mm and adding 115 grams to the weight of your pants pocket. The top part of the slider is dominated by a 320 x 240 pixel screen, with the large navigation keys nestled snugly beneath. Pushing the slider up reveals a businesslike grid-style keypad, its rectangular buttons surrounded by a thin silver line. A tiny front-mounted VGA camera is almost invisible, hiding in the top left-hand corner. It's all very sedate and refined, but also a little boring.

The reverse side of the 6288 has a glossy black finish, and features a 2-megapixel camera, complete with flash and teeny fisheye mirror for those times when you just have to take a photo or two of your own face. The placement of the lens and a camera shortcut key on the side of the phone allows you to hold the device horizontally for taking photos, as if it were a bona fide digicam. A silver NOKIA stamp lets photo subjects know the brand of the cameraphone they're posing for.

Features
The no-nonsense look suggest a phone built for business, and the 6288's feature-set certainly lends itself to the corporate life. 3G data transfer speeds, Triband compatibility, and support for IMAP, POP3 and SMTP e-mail allow you to take the office on the road.

If there's an area the 6288 has focused its efforts on, it's video. In addition to the video calling that's now a standard 3G feature, the phone sports Nokia's video sharing application, which allows you to capture your surroundings with the camera, transmit that video in real-time to someone you're on the phone with, and then end the video sharing session without needing to hang up. The 6288 can also handle video ringtones, and the ability to chuck in a miniSD card of up to 2GB capacity means you can save a whole lot of clips.

While our review of the 6280 found no major performance issues, reader reports have spoken of some pretty dire problems, including random shutdowns, reboots, signal loss and poor battery life. Nokia has not acknowledged that there is a problem with the phone model, but the 6288 has been given a firmware upgrade. In addition to being more stable, the new firmware offers support for the A2DP Bluetooth profile, allowing you to stream music wirelessly to a stereo headset.

Performance
The lack of springiness in Nokia's slider mechanisms has caused us consternation in the past, as noted in our review of the N80. The 6288 has similar issues -- when thrown into the bottom of a bag, the phone may move around enough to slide up and unlock itself. It's best to store this model in a separate pocket, to prevent repeated accidental phone calls to the first person in your contacts list.

We got around three days' use of the 6288 between charges, which was a little better than the battery results posted by the 6280.

The 6288 represents a good compromise between business and entertainment, falling somewhere between Nokia's Blackberry-esque E series and its multimedia-focused N models. It's not as chunky as the N80, and seems to skirt the firmware-related issues that were cause for complaint from many 6280 owners.

Battery

Talk time
4.5

Standby time
280

Camera

Camera resolution
2-megapixel

Digital zoom
8 x

Video capture
Yes

Connectivity

Networks
Triband GSM 900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA 2100MHz

Wireless technology
Bluetooth, Infrared

Data services
EDGE, GPRS, HSCSD, WCDMA

USB connectivity
Yes

Display

Main display: Screen resolution
320 x 240 pixels

Main display: Number of colours
262,144

Entertainment

Video player
Yes

Games
3D Rally, 3D Golf, 3D Snake

Music player
Yes

Functionality

Voice recorder
Yes

Ringtone options
MP3, AMR, eAAC+, AAC, 64-chord/voice polyphonic MIDI, video ringtones

Push-to-talk
Yes

Java
Java™ MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1 (Connected Limited Device Configuration (J2ME)

Video calls
Yes

Web browser
WAP 2.0 xHTML/HTML multimode browser

General

Form factor
Slider

Dimensions (W x D x H)
46 x 21 x 100 mm

Weight
115 g

Memory

Internal memory
6 MB

Memory card included
512MB miniSD

Expansion slot
Yes

Messaging

Messaging options
SMS, MMS, e-mail

E-mail protocols
SMTP, POP3, IMAP4, APOP

Physical features

Included accessories
HS-23 headset, miniSD card, CA-53 USB cable, CD-ROM

Coca-Cola

2007-09-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

Coca-Cola CEO says may stay on after turning 65

1 hour, 11 minutes ago

ZURICH (Reuters) - Coca-Cola's (KO.N) CEO Neville Isdell indicated he would stay on at the helm of the global drinks group after he turns 65 next year, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

There is no set date (for retiring). I don't think age is a factor. Look at the age of the people who are running today for president," Isdell told the newspaper in an interview.

"There's a new era here. The 65 age thing is out of date," he said.

Isdell was called out of retirement in 2004 to revive Coca-Cola's fortunes.

President Bush Offers Liberian Immigrants Relief from Deportation

2007-09-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

President Bush Offers Liberian Immigrants Relief from Deportation
By James Butty Washington, D.C. 14 September 2007

Butty interview with Wettee
Listen to Butty interview with Wettee

U.S. President George Bush has granted an 18-month extension to thousands of Liberian who were facing deportation from the United States by October first. The extension affects about three thousand 600 Liberians and their families who have been living in the United States under the Temporary Protective Status or TPS.

In a memorandum to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, President Bush cited “compelling foreign policy reasons” not to enforce the deportation. He said Liberia is struggling to implement reconstruction and economic stabilization programs after years of civil war.

Emmanuel Wettee is president of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas. He told VOA Liberians are elated by President Bush’s gesture.

“Our initial reaction is very good. We want say thanks to our partners, the Embassy of Liberia, the president of the Republic of Liberia, our chapters, and our friends that supported us in this process. We are very happy that this news came through,” he said.

Although the extension is for 18 months, Wettee said Liberians are hoping to get permanent resident status and eventually citizenship in the future.

“Our expectation is that one day we will get our green card (permanent resident status). We are hoping that in the process of the 18 months a comprehensive immigration bill will pass in the (US) Senate that would accommodate our needs,” he said.

Wettee credited Liberian President Ellen Johnson for prevailing upon President Bush and the U.S. Congress to make the extension possible.

“President and Madam Sirleaf had a tremendous and significant part to play. Her government made an appeal to the government of the United States. As a matter of fact, every visit that she made to the United States, she reminded the American government the need for us to have our green cards. She wrote a letter and she made calls,” Wettee said.

He said he understands that immigration in the United States is a hotly debated political issue. Still he said he is hopeful for Liberians.

“I do understand that the immigration issue in the United States is very political. Our hope is that with the grassroots partnership that we have, one of these days Liberians will get their green cards. All we need to do is to work together to make our case because as a matter of fact we are the longest serving on the DED (deferred enforced departure) and TPS. All others have either ended up getting the green card or been terminated,” he said.

Wettee said although Liberians were granted TPS because of the years of war, it is not fair to say that they should go home because the war is over.

“What they don’t understand is that these people we’re talking about are people with families. They have kids. Now you can’t just root them up while the kids are in school. Let us face the reality. I don’t think Liberia is in the position to take in 10,000 people from the states,” Wettee said.

Feedback

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Northern Rock Gets Emergency Bank of England Funding

2007-09-14T00:07:00.000-07:00

Northern Rock Gets Emergency Bank of England Funding (Update1)

By Ben Livesey and Jon Menon

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Northern Rock Plc, the U.K.'s worst performing bank stock this year, said the Bank of England agreed to provide emergency funds to ease a ``severe liquidity squeeze'' sparked by U.S. subprime mortgage defaults.

The central bank will provide the nation's fourth-largest home lender with a short-term credit line to keep it operating, the Newcastle, England-based company said in a statement today. Northern Rock is vulnerable to funding constraints triggered by the crisis as it has a smaller deposit base than larger lenders.

Profit will be hit this year after interest rates climbed more than expected, the bank said. ``Given the slowing of asset growth resulting from the credit and liquidity turmoil, Northern Rock now expects underlying profit before tax for 2007 will be around 500 million pounds ($1 billion) to 540 million pounds, compared with 588 million pounds in 2006,'' the bank said.

``The outlook for 2008 will depend on the speed of the recovery in global wholesale funding markets and where interest rate spreads stabilize in the global wholesale funding markets, as well as the evolution of the company's business model,'' the bank said. ``Northern Rock remains well capitalized.''

The Bank of England, U.K. Treasury and Financial Services Authority issued a joint statement confirming the move. The Bank of England is ``ready to make available facilities in comparable circumstances, where institutions face short-term liquidity difficulties'' as the U.K.'s lender of last resort, they said.

Bank `Solvent'

``This liquidity facility will be available to help Northern Rock to fund its operations during the current period of turbulence in financial markets while Northern Rock works to secure an orderly resolution to its current liquidity problems,'' they said. ``Northern Rock is solvent, exceeds its regulatory capital requirement and has a good quality loan book.''

Credit-default swaps based on Northern Rock's debt rose 35 basis points to 165 basis points, according to Deutsche Bank AG prices.

Northern Rock's shares have fallen 46 percent this year, more than the nine-member FTSE All Share Banks Index, which has dropped 12 percent, on investor concerns credit costs will hurt profits.

The Bank of England yesterday relaxed restrictions on financial institutions, encouraging them to lend more to each other as it tries to reduce overnight borrowing costs that are threatening to crimp economic growth.

Yesterday's action by the U.K. central bank was its first to help credit markets since the subprime market collapsed. Governor Mervyn King yesterday indicated the bank won't go as far as the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve in helping banks cope with the credit rout because policy makers can't afford to ``encourage excessive risk taking.''

Commercial banks, which agree to hold a specific amount of money at the Bank of England at the end of each month-long maintenance period, can now undershoot that target by 37.5 percent to free up cash if needed. That compares with the usual limit of 1 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Livesey in London blivesey@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 14, 2007 02:29 EDT

6.5 Million Key

2007-09-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

6.5 Million Keywords to choose from:

There should be no confusion about the theme you want your AdSense website to be based upon. For this, you need to have precise knowledge of the keywords so that all your efforts towards developing an AdSense website pay off. This is possible only if you have identified the right kind of keywords. These keywords might be the top paying keywords, niche keywords, or traffic building keywords. Keyword Country helps you conduct in-depth research on 6.5 million high paying keywords spanning over 600,000 topics. This makes Keyword Country the richest source of keywords available on the internet.

Types of Keywords

High Paying Keywords

Focusing on the right kind of keywords is important for the success of any webmaster. It is essential to identify the keywords that are high paying, have more traffic, but less competition. Keyword Country is the richest source of keywords available on the internet. It provides instant access to 6.5 million high paying keywords spanning over 600,000 topics. Keyword Country enables you to perform advanced searches and sort the keywords with regard to competition, traffic, CPC etc.

Niche Keywords

It is important for you to identify the niche markets. This will enable you to fetch the traffic that has not been targeted much, and at the same time gels well with your industry. If your competitor is leading with X traffic on one keyword, you can compete with him by targeting ten niche keywords. This will give you the same amount of traffic.

Keyword country provides you with hordes of niche keywords. These niche keywords bring more target traffic to your web pages. This results in a better ROI (if you are selling products or affiliates) or an increased Adsense CTR (Click Thru Ratio) of your ads.

Traffic Attracting Keywords

There are many keywords in a particular industry that don't have to face stiff competition, yet they can fetch you more traffic. Keyword Country lets you sort keywords on the basis of the traffic they draw. It helps you focus on getting more traffic to your website. You can easily recognize the traffic attracting keywords.

Paid Traffic Keywords

There are a few golden high value keywords. Even if you bring paid traffic on such keywords, they will still be paying. Besides, they sometimes tend to multiply your investment. For example: you could invest X amount on Adwords to buy traffic, which would pay you back 5X in Adsense. Keyword Country helps you easily recognize paid traffic keywords.

Seasonal Keywords

These keywords are active only during their season. It's only during that season that they get maximum traffic. For the rest of the year they lie inactive. Keyword Country guides you how to choose seasonal keywords during their peak value, and avoid them for the rest of the time.

Compare Traffic and Competition in Real Time

Compare the traffic and competition of different Keywords in real time, and differentiate between two keywords with regard to competition and traffic. This helps you achieve higher traffic targets without much effort.

You don't need to target the keywords that are more competitive. There are a lot of keywords that give you the same traffic, but are comparatively less competitive. Keyword Country enables you to discover such keywords with regard to your website.

Covers more than 600,000 Categories

Confused about which new Adsense topics or keywords should you use to build more content?

Keyword Country lets you browse through over 600,000 topic ideas on which you can build profitable websites. Keyword Country presents over 600,000 Adsense topics to enable you to expand your website. You can choose the keywords that are related to your website, or add new keywords. This increases the size and relevance of your website. This is how your websites get better search engine rankings.

Keywords Directly from Google

Google started it all. Google AdSense is the leading advertisement network on the net. It is a super giant in search engine industry. Keyword Country offers access to 6.5 million keywords that are taken directly from Google (not from Overture.), as it is the most precise source of pricing data, competition, and number of sponsors. With Keyword Country, you have an edge as you get the niche keywords that drive more traffic to your website. Now you can learn about the niche keywords that boost your revenue. Accuracy is Keyword Country's biggest strength as it draws its keywords directly from Google.

Keyword Country also includes the keywords that are rated high, but not the highest. Other keywords that are similar to the most expensive keywords are also included. This makes Keyword Country's database dense and more transparent.

Build More Content

More content means more roads to your website through search engines. Keyword Country helps you bring more traffic to your websites by enabling you to create more content pages, introduce new content sections to your website, and contemplate on 600,000 new ideas to create content on.

There are some really high value keywords on which you can bring paid traffic, and yet earn huge profits. Such traffic loops are supported silently by all the search engines including Google.

Keyword Country helps you recognize some useful keywords. These keywords enable you to multiply your income 6 to 10 times with regard to what you are investing in getting traffic on that keyword. Keyword Country enables you to have access to more than 6.5 million high paying Adsense keywords. These keywords are fetched from 600,000 different topics on the web.

Updated at a Fast Pace

The prices of the keywords fluctuate just as the share market prices do. Therefore, a webmaster must keep a close watch on the stability of the keywords before picking them.

Internet forces are compelling - so much that the amount of traffic on the different keywords and their corresponding prices keep on fluctuating. Keywords and their family keep on growing like a tree. More and more keywords get into focus, fetch traffic, become niche keywords, and then become major keywords.

Other keyword sources deny a valuable piece of information to the end user. The most critical question is - When are their lists updated? There is little or no mention of the time these resources take to update on the traffic, prices, and fluctuations. This means that you do not know whether the price of a keyword available to you is two days old, two weeks old, two months old, or two years old.

Keyword Country is proud to stake a claim to the top slot. This has been made possible by the fact that Keyword Country updates its lists every 10 days. This is the shortest time any website on the net takes to do so.

Article Source:
http://www.keywordcountry.com/6-million-keywords/

apply Top Paying Keywords

2007-09-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Adsense Optimization: How to apply Top Paying Keywords?

Applying top paying keywords in your website is quite similar to Search Engine Optimization. However, there are many differences as well. I have done in-depth research on the subject. On the basis of that research, I have marked the points you need to keep in mind while optimizing your website for maximum payouts through highest paying Adsense keywords. We will discuss how to apply top paying keywords as well as traffic pulling keywords to a webpage for maximum payouts and traffic.

First of all, we must understand that Google Adsense bot (formally known as Google Mediabot) is a subset of Google's main crawler. The crawler detects the theme of the pages and makes an entry in the Google's index (a private index - not shown publicly) that records the theme of all the pages hosting Adsense script. In other words, Google Mediabot has the characteristics somewhat similar to Google's main crawler.

There are two types of optimizations that you need to follow to make a web page search engine optimized. Same is the case with Adsense Optimization.

Internal Optimization : Internal Optimization includes Meta tags, Title Text, Optimization of content, and internal linking of your website. Here we will learn how to increase relevancy of ads and how to inject keywords that will help you get high paying ads. Internal Optimization has a high impact on the relevancy of ads and CTR.

External Optimization : This includes the web pages that are giving links to you (external profile of your website), anchor text being used to link your website, and many more variables that search engines use to evaluate the authoritative importance of a web page. External Optimization helps bring relevant traffic to your website and enables you to earn more by getting more CTR (Click Thru Ratio).

How long does your webpage take to show high paying ads?

This is an important question that needs to be answered. As soon as you apply Adsense script in a webpage, it is visited by the Google Mediabot (within 2 hours to 48 hours, if the bot is free - immediately). Google Mediabot's responsibility is to evaluate the theme of the web page, and enable ads almost immediately so that your website traffic does not see FREE SERVICE ADS.

The relevancy of ads increases as Google's main crawler visits your website and updates its index. Furthermore, you may observe an increase in the earnings as the PR of your website/web page increases. This means that in case of Google Adsense, the internal factors that affect the ads of a particular page are evaluated by Google Mediabot (but Google's main crawler can overwrite them). And on the other hand, the external factors are inspected by the Google Crawler over a period of time. Having said that, there are simply many many factors (including those which you cannot control) that affect your ads. We are going to discuss the factors that you can control. Lets take control!

Remember:

Relevancy of ads may increase as your page is indexed by Google.
EPC (Earnings Per lick) may increase as your PR increases.
It entirely depends upon you how well you promote your website and get maximum earnings from your website/web pages.
In case of Google, many variables are involved.

Article Source:
http://www.keywordcountry.com/how-to-apply-top-paying-keywords/

Top Adsense Keywords

2007-09-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

Top Adsense Keywords According to Stason.org

Top Adsense Keywords According to Stason.org

$78.30 chicago personal injury lawyer
$73.01 chicago personal injury attorney
$69.17 lasik new york city
$64.27 new york personal injury lawyer
$64.17 new jersey car insurance
$63.10 new york personal injury attorney
$61.64 chicago personal injury lawyers
$61.17 mesothelioma lawyers
$60.74 atlanta personal injury lawyer
$60.29 new york personal injury lawyers
$59.00 lasik dallas
$58.68 new york personal injury lawyers
$58.38 miami personal injury attorney
$58.25 what is mesothelioma
$58.08 best equity loan
$57.95 lasik new york
$56.88 whole life insurance quote
$56.75 new york car insurance
$53.46 whole life insurance quotes
$53.42 car insurance in new jersey
$53.12 las vegas personal injury lawyer
$53.12 term life insurance quotes
$52.57 mesothelioma treatments
$52.41 equity loan rate
$51.78 equity loan
$51.50 new york personal injury lawyer
$51.29 equity loan rates
$51.15 fixed rate equity loan
$50.54 causes of mesothelioma

Top Adsense keywords according to CyberWyre

Top Adsense keywords according to CyberWyre

$69.10 mesothelioma treatment options
$66.46 mesothelioma risk
$65.85 personal injury lawyer michigan
$65.74 michigan personal injury attorney
$62.59 student loans consolidation
$61.44 car accident attorney los angeles
$61.26 mesothelioma survival rate
$60.96 treatment of mesothelioma
$59.44 online car insurance quotes
$59.39 arizona dui lawyer
$59.04 mesothelioma article
$58.44 new york mesothelioma
$57.93 epithelioid mesothelioma
$57.87 michigan car accident attorney
$57.54 mesothelioma facts
$57.13 mesothelioma resource
$56.59 free auto insurance quote
$56.57 mesothelioma doctor
$56.24 mesothelioma
$55.67 mesothelioma lung
$55.61 mesothelioma texas
$55.57 mesothelioma attorneys
$55.36 mesothelioma compensation
$55.28 mesothelioma incidence
$55.26 malignant mesothelioma
$54.54 benign mesothelioma
$53.94 pleural mesothelioma
$53.37 pericardial mesothelioma
$53.17 personal injury lawyers los angeles
$52.31 free online auto insurance quote
$52.27 malignant pleural mesothelioma
$52.02 free online car insurance quote
$51.87 mesothelioma stage
$51.86 mesothelioma smoking
$51.82 mesothelioma treatment option
$51.73 free car insurance quotes
$51.47 austin dwi
$50.82 mesothelioma survival
$50.78 mesothelioma attorney
$50.76 mesothelioma lawyer
$50.73 mesothelioma prognosis
$50.40 accident attorney michigan
$50.40 mesothelioma chemotherapy
$50.39 mesothelioma treatments
$50.35 michigan auto accident attorney

Adsense Tips and Tricks

2007-09-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

Adsense Tips and Tricks

Well, there are so many adsense tips floating around. Still thought of compiling a list, from my own experience and from whatever I leaned from a lot of resources.

1. Adsense Heatmap
It may be told a number of times, but let me repeat - Adsense heatmap works!! I have increased CTR for a forum by almost 4 times by having ads just after the first post!
Here is the heatmap:
https://www.google.com/adsense/images/placement

and heatmap for forum:
http://www.google.com/images/adsense/en_us/support/forum_en.jpg

2. Use channels
Channels are great tools to track your performance. Use channels for each ad position and name them logically -"homepage-header-banner". Keep an eye on the performance over a period of time, say one week. Don't be afraid to experiment. Change the colors, blending, size and see which one perform best

3. Section targeting
Are you not getting relevant ads on your site? Dont worry, you can use section targetting.Keep your most important text inside section targeting tags

4. Less is More
Are you getting $0.03 clicks? Probably you are using too many ads on a single page. Even though google allow you to plance up to 3 ads on a page, better keep it to one or maximum two. That is the best way to make sure that your clicks get paid more. Make sure that the location where you get maximum clicks will be the first one to display ads. To make it clear, there should not be any ads above your best location, when you see the HTML source code.

5. Blend Your Ads
Blending the ads to your site converts the best. You may opt for the same background color as the site, same text color etc.Another tip: Dark background colors and light fonts work best. For eg: Balck background and white text, for both your site content as well as ads. You may have a slightly different font color for ads(say yellow) to get noticed. It may not be easy on your visitors, but it converts well. if you are not expecting too many repeat visitors, this may be a good idea.

Source:
http://adsandsense.blogspot.com/2006/07/adsense-tips-and-tricks.html

Bank of England to bail out Northern Rock

2007-09-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

Bank of England to bail out Northern Rock

By Peter Thal Larsen and Chris Giles Thu Sep 13, 8:30 PM ET

The Bank of England will today throw a lifeline to Northern Rock by providing emergency funding to the beleaguered mortgage lender that has fallen victim to the liquidity squeeze in the banking sector.
ADVERTISEMENT

In an unprecedented move, the Bank, working with the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury, will step in to bail out Northern Rock by providing it with a short-term credit line that will allow it to carry on operating.

The rescue, which has been approved by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is the most dramatic illustration to date of how the British banking sector is being hit by the wave of turmoil that has paralysed the money markets.

It will lift the uncertainty that has been hanging over Northern Rock's future for much of the past month because it could not access the wholesale funding upon which it is heavily dependent.

It will also allow Northern Rock to reassure thousands of customers that their deposits are secure.

Northern Rock is the first institution to be propped up since the Bank, in 1998, revised the rules under which it will act as a lender of last resort to banks in financial difficulty.

The Bank is expected to say on Friday that a similar facility is available to any other institution facing short-term difficulties. However, it is understood that no other banks have asked for financial support.

The move comes after weeks of financial turmoil raised questions about Northern Rock's business model, which relies heavily on raising financing through the capital markets.

The rescue comes just a day after Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, adopted a tough public stance when he warned about the hazards of bailing out financial institutions that had engaged in reckless lending.

The Bank is acting in its role as a "Lender of Last Resort", which allows it to lend - at a penalty rate - to institutions that can provide good quality assets as collateral.

Executives and regulators are understood to have decided to seek support from the Bank's facility after concluding that Northern Rock would not be able to refinance obligations, including mortgage-backed securities, that are due to mature in the next few weeks.

While other banks have also been squeezed by a sharp rise in short-term interest rates in recent weeks Northern Rock has proved particularly vulnerable to the liquidity squeeze because it has a much smaller deposit base than other lenders.

The Bank will provide a credit line supported by the assets in Northern Rock's mortgage book, which has no exposure to subprime mortgages and which regulators have concluded is sound.

Northern Rock executives are expected to say on Friday that it will try to trade through its difficulties with the help of the facility. However, regulators will be watching closely for signs of unease spreading to other parts of the banking sector.

The rescue makes it almost certain that Northern Rock will have to surrender its independence.

Several banks are thought to have considered buying Northern Rock in recent weeks. However, discussions were complicated by the difficult conditions in the capital markets and by uncertainty over the true value of Northern Rock's shares.

Since hitting their peak in February, shares in Northern Rock have lost half their value amid concerns that the rising cost of wholesale funding would squeeze margins and limit the bank's growth.

On Thursday, the shares closed down 33p, or 4.9 per cent, at 639p.

The bank is set to issue a trading update on Friday describing the impact of the recent market turmoil on its business.

Northern Rock, the Bank of England, the FSA and the Treasury all declined to comment.

Powerball win: Fantasy or nightmare?

2007-09-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

Powerball win: Fantasy or nightmare?

By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 13, 4:32 PM ET

MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. - In his darkest moments, Jack Whittaker has sometimes wondered if winning the nearly $315 million Powerball game was really worth it.
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The jackpot that was the stuff of dreams turned into a nightmare: His wife left him and his drug-addicted granddaughter — his protege and heir — died. He endured constant requests for money.

Almost five years later, Whittaker is left with things money can't cure: His daughter's cancer, a long list of indiscretions documented in newspapers and court records, and an inability to trust others.

"I don't have any friends," he said in lengthy interview with The Associated Press. "Every friend that I've had, practically, has wanted to borrow money or something and of course, once they borrow money from you, you can't be friends anymore."

Whittaker was a self-made millionaire long before he became a lottery winner, having built a pipeline business worth $17 million. Then he hit the Powerball in December 2002. It was then the largest-single jackpot ever.

The prize was worth $314.9 million. Whittaker opted for the lump-sum payout of $170 million — $93 million after taxes.

He still has plenty of money. And instead of retiring, the 59-year-old starts his day at 5 a.m., juggling ventures in construction, real estate, used-cars, even movies. Work is the last remnant of his old life.

"Nothing else is normal," he said, sounding simultaneously gruff and sad.

His appearance has changed little. His blue eyes still twinkle when he tells a joke, his cowboy boots are worn from wear, and his grin remains toothless. He's too busy, he says, to pay attention to looks.

Whittaker began working part-time for his father at age 10, pouring cement. At 14, he dropped out of school to work full time. He's owned some kind of business ever since.

"I was accustomed to making big money and making my own money, and I never could get interested in school again after that."

By his own estimate, he's brought water and sewer service to some 100,000 homes and still does some good by providing 200 high-paying jobs.

"Probably the lowest-paid man in my construction company is, I'd say, $36 an hour," he said. "That's a good wage for any part of West Virginia."

Whittaker's family never wanted for anything, and he admits they have long been accustomed to a lifestyle most would consider lavish.

With every change of the seasons, new wardrobes filled their closets. The paint job on one of his granddaughter's many cars cost $16,000. Even the family's marble mausoleum towers over nearby grave markers in the hilltop cemetery in Jumping Branch.

But winning the Powerball was a different kind of wealth that brought instant celebrity status.

Whittaker's struggles with drinking, gambling and philandering became public, and tales of his transgressions were retold with relish.

His home and car were repeatedly burglarized. At a strip club, thieves broke into his Lincoln Navigator and stole a briefcase stuffed with $245,000 in $100 bills and three $100,000 cashiers checks. The briefcase was later found, with the money.

Whittaker was charged twice with driving while under the influence and sued repeatedly, once by three female casino employees who accused him of assault.

In all, Whittaker says, he's been involved in 460 legal actions since winning. He recently settled a lawsuit that alleged his bank failed to catch $50,000 in counterfeit checks cashed from his accounts.

Whittaker believes he has been unfairly demonized by the media, which he says exaggerated his problems and helped drive his wife away.

Jack fell in love with Jewell when he was in eighth grade and she was in seventh. The couple filed divorce papers three years ago but have yet to sign them.

"I don't know any normal person who could have a marriage with everything that's been written about me that's not true," Whittaker said.

The couple's daughter, Ginger McMahan, has battled cancer for years. The disease is in remission, though she remains in poor health. Before Powerball, Whittaker and his wife went to church together. These days, he seldom does.

"It's just aggravating, you know. People come up and ask you for money all the time, tell you some kind of a sob story."

Whittaker says he hasn't been stingy. The Jack Whittaker Foundation has spent $23 million building two churches. His family donates food, clothing and college scholarships to local students, "but all the big work with the foundation is completed," he said.

Whittaker is also done with boozing — which, on his worst days, involved a fifth of vodka. He says he drank in part because he was worried about granddaughter Brandi Bragg, who shared his independent, headstrong personality and knew from a young age she wanted to run her Paw Paw's businesses.

"She was going to inherit everything," Whittaker said. "Everything that we have was built in a way that it went to her on her 21st birthday."

She never saw that day, dying at 17 after struggling with drug addiction.

Only 14 when Whittaker hit the Powerball, Bragg was in rehab a year later for Oxycontin addiction. Whittaker blames her problems on a kidnapping threat, which led to home schooling, and her decision to run with an older crowd.

He says he hired sheriff's deputies to track Bragg, personally hunted down and reported her drug dealers, and repeatedly sent her to rehab.

"It wasn't two or three months before she was right back on again, same drugs," he said.

He remembers their last conversation, when she was packing up to move to his Virginia home. "I told her, 'I'll come and get ya. I'll come and get ya right now if you're ready to come.'"

But she wasn't. Her body was found two weeks later wrapped in a sheet and plastic tarp, hidden in a yard by a boyfriend who panicked when he found her dead.

The state's autopsy found Bragg had pills and a syringe tucked into her bra, and died with cocaine and methadone in her system. But the manner of her death is officially listed as "undetermined."

"If it would bring my granddaughter back, I'd give it all back," Whittaker said of his jackpot. "But I can't get her back, so might as well keep the money, I guess."

He remains devoted to his employees, despite 11 indictments charging his staff with embezzling from his companies.

"Jack is an incredible man," said Kathy Shepherd, Whittaker's administrative assistant for the past year. "People who don't know him have a lot of negative things to say about him, but if they knew him, they wouldn't."

Whittaker has little doubt as to his own legacy.

"I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery," he said. "I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people."

Thursday

2007-09-13T23:52:00.001-07:00

Investor's Business Daily Thu Sep 13, 7:00 PM ET

Mortgage rates decline in week
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The average 30-year fixed rate fell to 6.31% vs. 6.46% the week prior,
while average 15-year rates dipped to 5.97% from 6.31%. One-year ARMs
fell to 5.66% from 5.74%, Freddie Mac said. The government-sponsored
lender said the dip could "give some relief" to borrowers looking to
refinance loans or buy a home.

U.S. budget deficit nears $117 bil

The Aug. federal deficit rose almost 81% from Aug. '06 and was almost
$30 bil higher than forecasts. Much of the jump was due to the Labor Day
holiday that shifted some $44bil of Medicare and Social Security
payments into Aug. from Sept. The U.S. deficit for the first 11 months
of fiscal '07 has shrunk 9.8% to just over $274 bil.

Back-to-school helps retail sales

Aug. retail sales rose 0.3% as modest gains continue on decent demand
for apparel and electronics, SpendingPulse said. Sales were above July's
0.2% rise. Core sales, which exclude cars, gasoline and building
materials rose 0.4%, down from July's 0.7% rise. Sales remain generally
slow as the slumping housing market hurts consumers.

The Bank of England eased some deposit restrictions on commercial banks
to encourage lending and added $7.9 bil to money markets. It's the BoE's
first move to provide extra liquidity since credit markets weakened in
early Aug. China's industrial production rose 17.5% in Aug. vs. a year
ago. That's strong, but growth slowed for a second month as industry
reacts to higher taxes on exports. Russia's foreign reserves rose to
$417.1 bil in the week ended Sept. 7, up $1.1 bil from the prior week.
Russia currently has the world's third-largest reserve surplus. The ECB
said it will act in a "firm and timely manner" to resume its inflation
fight once current market turmoil subsides. The bank left rates
unchanged at 4% on Sept. 6. COMING UP FRIDAY

Retail sales for Aug., 8:30 a.m. EDT (forecast: 0.5%; 0.2% ex autos).
Industrial production for Aug., 9:15 a.m. EDT (forecast: 0.3%; 82%
capacity utilization). Business inventories for July, 10a.m. EDT
(forecast: 0.3%).

Target's Credit-Card Sale: Bad Timing?

2007-09-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

Target's Credit-Card Sale: Bad Timing?
The big-box retailer's credit-card biz has been a profit machine, but a deterioration in credit quality could greatly weaken a sale price

by Robert Berner
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    * Sears: Less Plastic, More Profits?
    * Credit Is Tightening—And That's Fine

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As recently as last November, Target (TGT) steadfastly said it had no intention of selling its $7 billion credit-card portfolio, one of the last ones held by a retailer. That changed late on Sept. 12, when the trendy discounter disclosed it would explore letting it go. The trouble is, Target is a little late to put out the for-sale sign.

Target's portfolio, which consists largely of its Target Visa receivables, has shown some of the most serious deterioration in credit quality of any major card company over the last year and a half. That will weaken the price Target can command, particularly as worries about a consumer-led recession grow. At the same time, the turmoil in the overall credit market sparked by the subprime mortgage meltdown will dampen what potential buyers are willing to pay. "Target may have gotten a higher price just six months ago," says Nathon Powell, a credit analyst at the Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA).

What changed Target's mind was the entrance of activist investor William Ackman. In July, his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed it had taken a 9.6% stake in the Minneapolis-based discounter and that it would prod management to boost shareholder value. Though Ackman hasn't given specifics, speculation has centered on his wanting Target to sell its card business. "They are responding to shareholder pressure," says William Ryan, an analyst at Portales Partners. Target didn't return a call seeking comment.
Underlying Signs of Weakness

There is precedent for such a sale. Sears (SHLD), Macy's (M), and Kohl's (KSS) all sold their card businesses at strong premiums between 2003 and 2006. Target and Nordstrom (JWN) are the last major retailers to underwrite their own card portfolios—others such as Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) contract with banks, who manage the cards and hold the risk.

Target's portfolio has been a profit machine. For Target's fiscal quarter ending Aug. 4, operating profits from credit rose 34% over the same quarter a year ago. Credit accounted for just more than a third of Target's overall 11% increase in operating profits for the quarter.

But underlying those profits are signs of weakness that could make potential buyers wary, says Powell. Since February, 2006, when bad credit-card debt bottomed for most major issuers, Target's troubled accounts have risen at a pace faster than the industry average. Accounts 60 days past due plus those that have been charged off have risen from 7.07% of receivables in February that year to 9.35% this July, the CFRA's Powell says.
"Not the Best Time" to Sell

Of the 16 largest credit-card issuers, only Bank of America (BAC) posted a larger percentage-point gain during that period, from 5.81% to 9.04%. The fact that a growing number of economists are concerned that consumers could lead the nation into recession next year weakens a potential price even further, Powell says.

Then there are the overall debt-market problems themselves, which hurt any buyer's ability to get favorable financing. The turmoil in the subprime mortgage industry has reached beyond companies such as Countrywide Financial's (CFC) ability to issue short-term debt. Major buyout firms such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts are now having to make concessions to finance deals. A buyer of Target's portfolio would face the same constraint. "It's not the best time for Target to consider selling," says Portales' Ryan. "It's not the top of the market anymore."

Of course, Target may not have any intention of selling. Ryan wonders if Target is simply going through the motions to placate Ackman. Then again, Target could be concerned about the outlook of its credit-card customers and believe it's best to try to get out now—even if not at a peak price. Target's credit division faces no pressure on profits yet—Target has reserved conservatively for bad accounts. Still, if consumers continue to head south, Target's credit profits will eventually follow.

Berner is a correspondent for BusinessWeek in Chicago.

Hot-headed investors make better decisions: study

2007-09-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

Hot-headed investors make better decisions: study

Thu Sep 13, 1:42 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sometimes it's best not to keep your cool.
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In fact, hot-headed stock investors make better decisions, a study in the Academy of Management Journal showed.

Adding emotions to the decision-making process can enhance creativity, engagement and decision efficiency, Myeong-Gu Seo of the University of Maryland and Lisa Feldman Barrett of Boston College wrote in a study published in the August/September issue.

The greater the average intensity of an individual's feelings, the higher their investment returns, the professors found. The study monitored 101 stock investors in a simulated trading exercise spanning four weeks.

"Contrary to the popular belief that the cooler head prevails, people with hot heads -- those who experienced their feelings with greater intensity during decision-making -- achieved higher decision-making performance," they wrote.

The conventional wisdom that emotions can make you irrational has less to do with how intense your feelings are than with how much you understand them, the study showed.

In other words, those investors who listened to their emotions were better able to regulate them.

But showing emotion on the trading floor is still a controversial subject.

"I'm no friend of emotion in trading," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey, who has been trading stocks for more than 25 years.

"It's much more important to be disciplined."

The Best Places to Launch a Career

2007-09-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

The Best Places to Launch a Career
The surprise in BusinessWeek's second annual ranking: Accounting firms
have raced to the head of the pack

by Lindsey Gerdes
SPECIAL REPORT
Best Places to Launch a Career

* The Best Places to Launch a Career
* The College Administrator: What's Different About the Ys
* The New Hire: Why I'm Delighted with Deloitte
* Video: Inside Scoop From Big Four Recruiters
* Profiles and Forums
* Personalized Ranking Table
* Slide Show: Wacky Ways to Land a Job
* Teach for America Taps Titans
* Video: Upward Bound at JP Morgan—One Analyst's Personal Account
* Reporter's Journal: Microsoft's Happiness Czar
* September 24, 2007 Issue of BusinessWeek

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Members of Deloitte & Touche's Class of 2007. Chris Buck

Accountants used to be spoofed as bean counters—dutiful, middle-aged,
gray-suited men with considerable analytical expertise but little
charisma. That was during the good times. After their uninspiring
performances in the corporate scandals of recent years, accounting
seemed like a profession without much of a future, and the firms
certainly no place to launch a career. Scratch that. This year
accountants became sexy. Accounting firms dominated BusinessWeek's
second annual ranking of the best companies for new college graduates:
Deloitte & Touche is No. 1, followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst
& Young. The last of the Big Four, KPMG, moved up four spots, to No. 11.

Why did the accounting firms do so well? Enormous demand. Across
industries, there is a mad scramble to recruit the best and brightest of
a new generation, the much-maligned, heavily scrutinized Gen Y. Nowhere
is the pressure more intense than in the Big Four. The Sarbanes-Oxley
Act has so greatly increased the need for their services that the firms
are facing an epic talent shortage.

That has put them in an unusual position: They are among the first to
rethink how to recruit college grads, keep them happy on the job, or
just keep them at all. Ernst & Young uses Facebook to let prospective
employees talk freely with real ones. Deloitte will show a rap video
about office life—made by interns—to give students a realistic view of
the company. And PwC requires some bosses to get a second opinion on
their evaluations of new hires to make sure the feedback is clear
enough, the goals ambitious enough for kids who are uncomfortable with
ambiguity. Welcome to the post-millennial world.
THE GOOGLE EFFECT

Our ranking is based on three extensive surveys: of career services
directors at U.S. colleges, the employers they identify as the best for
new graduates, and college students themselves. This year we were able
to examine the records of many more companies, which allowed us to
expand our list of employers from 55 to 95 and broaden our view of the
corporate landscape. Several newcomers, including PwC, IBM (IBM), and
Microsoft, (MSFT) eclipsed last year's favorites. Walt Disney (DIS) had
been No. 1; this year it fell to No. 7. Last year's No. 2, Lockheed
Martin (LMT), slipped to No. 9.

There were a number of surprises beyond the rise of the accounting
firms. Only nine companies in the top 50 last year offered starting
salaries of at least $55,000. This year twice that many pay big money;
among them are the brand-name tech companies, where, thanks to the
Google effect, first-year salaries now average $60,000 to $65,000 (and
that's before bonuses). We also saw the three pharmaceutical companies
surveyed last year fall in the rankings. Merck & Co. (MRK) (No. 49),
which was in the news because of its problems with Vioxx, did poorly in
the student poll.

Our survey shows how some of the smartest employers are starting to deal
with a new generation that expects a very different workplace from the
one of their parents. The intense desire to hire young graduates is
prompted by the retirement of the boomers, of course, but also the dead
certainty among executives that their success marketing to youthful
consumers depends on the insights of IM-ing, YouTube-watching
twentysomethings who are often heralded for their tech savvy, if not
much else.

The employers that did best in our ranking recognize that they have to
accommodate this new generation. Many of them are trying to appeal to
Gen Y by making themselves more transparent, flexible, responsive, even
nurturing. Their initiatives range from the conventional (more vacation)
to the questionable (a faux sitcom about office life).

Cash

2007-09-13T10:13:00.001-07:00

The English word cash is of the French caisse, itself a borrowing of the Provençal caissa. That Provençal word is a derivative of the Latin capsa (box, chest), most likely by way of an unattested Vulgar Latin form *capsea; Spanish caja and Portuguese caixa are their respective languages' reflexes.^[1] ^[2] From the original sense of a box or a chest, the word came to refer to a sum of money such as was or might be contained in one, and eventually to specie or, with the elimination of metallic standards, banknotes.^[1] In this sense, it is used in contrast to credit or other financial instruments.

The word "cash" can also be traced back to: Sanskrit karsa, a weight of gold or silver but akin to Old Persian karsha-, a weight. a unit of value equivalent to one cash coin.

SwissCash

2007-09-13T09:59:00.001-07:00

SwissCash 2007 – A Silent Revolution

My greetings to all SwissCash investors, Swiss Financial Planners, Consultants, and Regional Directors. Year 2006 has been a great one for SwissCash. All the investment strategies implemented by our investment teams have yielded very positive and satisfactory results. Our investors base has grown to hundreds of thousands in over a hundred countries globally. I couldn’t be more satisfied because we have basically achieved all we set out to do and we are already far ahead of our vision and mission. I believe that as the people who are representing and investing in the company, you have enjoyed a tremendous return from SwissCash in 2006 as well, which pleases me greatly.

As I gather information throughout the year from my Department Heads and Regional Directors, much interesting thinking comes my way. I would like to share with you “The Paradoxical Commandments” by Dr. Kent M. Keith because this is a perfect time to reflect, re-think, re-group and re-plan for the year ahead. This set of guidelines has been used by many people all over the world as an inspiration for the past four decades and I hope you will read through it carefully because it has the potential to reflect deeply in your personal life and throughout your financial career with SwissCash.

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

Every day we have requests from investors to show our financial reports or all our trading licenses; to provide them with our company’s Profit and Loss Account, our Investment Portfolios, the minutes of our BOD meetings; to hold road shows for them; to create media publicity; or to meet me and visit our offices worldwide. People want to make their own marketing materials, make their own websites to promote SwissCash, build a plan within the SwissCash plans, and make all sort of illogical, unreasonable and self-centered decisions that will benefit only them and bring bad repute and consequences to the company and other investors. Still, we try our best to be accommodating when possible, to help them understand and to love them all equally, as we accept that our investors all come from different cultural backgrounds.

I am sure that only just a few days ago, someone may have asked you if investing in SwissCash is secured. Will the company close next month? Can you please give me a lower exchange rate for the e-points I transact with you? Can you return me your SAP? You were dumbfounded. I can understand why, because you have received your returns punctually for the past five months. You personally know five people who made more than a million United States dollars in SwissCash. And these requests that come your way are breaking the company’s Terms and Conditions. Be patient. Please love these folks. Explain to them with logic and provide the best solutions. If that doesn’t help, move on, someone else is waiting.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

SwissCash and Swiss Mutual Fund have been accused by many unscrupulous parties and individuals of being a fraud, a scam, operating without a license, and operating with the agenda of reaping money from the public, and all because of the high returns we offer. Nevertheless we continue to build this business to a greater level every day, making those outside our circle more envious of our success. Yes, we continue to pay more than what conventional investment products are currently paying, because our obligation is to deliver the best return to our investors.

It may happen that, with the very best of intentions, you are enthusiastic to share SwissCash with your best friends and relatives. They look at you suspiciously as if you want to cheat them of out their money. Do not be alarmed or shocked. Move on to share this wonderful financial platform with those who are able to treasure your time and help.

3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

Today you have more financial freedom than you had 6 months or 12 months or 20 months ago. You notice a few more people trying to be your best friend, to be your new business partner, to help you manage your new-found wealth, and so on. This is only natural; it is human nature to want to associate with the rich and successful. At the same time, you earn yourself a few enemies who are jealous of your success. People badmouth you; people hope your business fails. You succeed anyway. I want you to ignore these negative influences; continue building and focusing on your strengths to continue your success in achieving your financial goals with SwissCash.

As for the company, SwissCash has been performing well for the past two years. We have enemies hiring top hackers to attempt to invade our site every day. We have “SwissCash copycats” around the world operating without proper license trying to associate their operation with ours. We have people spreading lies over the Internet and in other mass media to discredit us. We fail to respond to them, and we succeed anyway. Churchill had his critics. So does Sony Play Station 3. Microsoft has many enemies and their software has many loopholes. These people succeed anyway. Accordingly, we let our results become our testimonial and we leave it to our investors to defend our performance.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Some Swiss Financial Consultants have become multi-millionaires, and have gone on to forget the true vision of SwissCash. Some have turned their back to attack the company because of some other personal agenda. Some have launched attacks on the personality and leadership of their “up-lines.” This never has and must not stop us, and you, from performing our best for each other. Each day we continue to provide a better financial platform than the day before. We don’t complain to you how tired our team are at times, how many late hours we put in so that you may have 98.7% (average for the past 365 days) up-time for your online financial site, and so that you may continue to receive high returns for your SIP, SAP, SRP, SFP and EMF. SwissCash has never fallen short of doing good and supporting its genuine investors. Rather than expending energy claiming credit for their achievements, the SwissCash team and Swiss Mutual Fund would prefer to concentrate on congratulating our investors for helping this company to achieve the level it has reached today.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

We tell the truth to our investors. Does SwissCash have problems or issues every now and then? You bet we do. When we have a problem with our website security system, we locate the problem and we solve it. We have instituted plans to upgrade our system to make it more secure, but that doesn’t mean that we will never have any more problems. Effective December 1, 2006 we have discontinued receiving Incoming Wire Transfers from global investors as we are not able to enforce a strict KYC (Know Your Customer) policy through the current online platform. We were able to foresee we might face issues with regulators in some countries in the future, and that’s not acceptable to us. We have provided a long-term solution by launching a global dealership system, which will take a little time to fine tune and get running smoothly. This has predictably resulted in hearsay of SwissCash winding up, while nothing could be further from the truth. We have been upfront in revealing our problems, and at the same time we have come out with practical solutions for the next five to ten years. Mature investors will not have knee-jerk reactions when we tell you about our issues; you will instead judge us by results and solutions.

I can proudly say that SwissCash has paid every single cent to every investor. At times some issues do of course arise due to human error and unavoidable circumstances. The price of honesty and frankness may make us look vulnerable to outsiders, and even to some of our new investors at times. Nevertheless, we choose to be honest and frank anyway. It has never been the policy of this company to mislead our investors; likewise we appreciate our honesty and frankness being returned with good faith. As it is – so far investment has been growing at an exceptional pace!

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

Many Financial Consultants around the world say that it is impossible for us to maintain a global financial framework that pays 300% returns in 15 months for our SIP for up to 6 months, then 8 months, then 12 months, then 15 months; mind you at 20 months we are still growing stronger than ever. Some have set their own timelines for us to wind up or close down, because according to their current investment knowledge such returns are not possible, but these self-set deadlines have been extended and re-extended many times over. I tell you, put your money on it, they will be extended again! Not to be defeated, critics are now saying that we cannot continue to keep our overhead low in the coming years as we globalize, and that the performance of our investments will not be as consistent as it has been for the past 20 months, predicting that we won’t be able provide such high returns in the future. We, however, continue to think big, especially after launching EMF in December 2006.

I have read that people are saying that the launching of EMF signals the company’s desperation for new funds, but those of you who have been with us since 2005 know that this launch has been in the works since my 2005 year-end speech. EMF grew by an average of 25% in December 2006 alone... critics are again saying that this is phenomenal and impossible to maintain over the next few months. Likewise some short-term investors have sold their portfolios, well satisfied with such a lucrative return in a matter of weeks, but let me remind you to think big. It is you who think big, who are not shot down by the “smallest of men and women,” who are going to make the most money in SwissCash!

Remember when you first heard about SwissCash and you shared this investment opportunity with your friends and your spouse who were supposed to be more knowledgeable about international investment and financial markets than you were? They thought you were crazy; they said this company would close down within three months and rip everyone off, because they’d had bad experiences with off-shore investments before. Still, you carried on because you Think Big. You should be very proud of yourself that you think big in the first place. I congratulate you because if you hadn’t, you would not be reading this news today, and you would not be marching into 2007 in a better financial state than in 2005 or 2006. Einstein was mad. Newton was mad. Darwin was mad. Orville and Wilbur Wright were mad. They are all laughing from heaven now. So, continue to think and dream big!

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

People say Swiss Mutual Fund if true to its statistics should have been public listed long ago, and should also be more accessible and transparent to the public. Let me ask you if you know that the world’s ten most profitable financial institutions are all privately owned and located in off-shore jurisdictions, and are not recognized by top financial journals and magazines. They keep a very low profile for their operation and investment portfolios. They have their own investment strategies and they help manage billion of dollars of funds on behalf of world’s richest people.

People tend to follow top dogs because they dare not take risks; they prefer the status quo, which is what they were taught in financial school 20 years ago, and what they read every day in newspapers and journals. They want a safer return, a more predictable return on their investment by following the conventional basic parameters, structure and protocols. We say go ahead; there is nothing wrong with that path if you are comfortable with the returns. SwissCash is for those who want an alternative return for their investments. SwissCash is for those who dare to take a higher risk for a higher return. In fact SwissCash is now offering a fixed return product and a non-fixed return product. Still, SwissCash is not for everybody. SwissCash is for those who believe and want to fight for underdogs, those who can foresee an already changing global investment trend.

Your personal financial planner advises you to invest in structured products, mutual funds, insurance retirement funds, real estate and stock markets offered by international Tier-1 financial institutions. If you are already into those investments, I congratulate you because those are good investments. Trust me, I mean it. But you have made an even better investment in SwissCash because you believe in yourself, and this is an indisputable truth as well. Thank you for believing in me and in SwissCash. Thank you for not just following top dogs but also giving underdogs a chance. Make sure you continue to share your success story with others!

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

Let me tell you a true story. Swiss Mutual Fund was never assured of how successful SwissCash would be when we start planning this global financial platform in 2003. I for one could not have imagined SwissCash would be so widely accepted and grow so robustly in so many regions when I was appointed the Chief Financial Officer in 2004. Swiss Mutual Fund could have lost hundreds of millions of dollars had this project failed miserably – there were so many issues to consider, so many problems to solve and so much financial backing needed to start SwissCash, and even to maintain it now. I am amused when I read in some uninformed third-party forums or blogs or local media publications that SwissCash is a simple pyramid scheme with Internet investment facilities. It actually pleases me; what it indicates is that on the surface, everything looks so simple! Had we not structured this whole financial platform so brilliantly and spent so much money on so many key solutions, SwissCash would not have made it here, perhaps would never have taken off.

Still, despite many uncertainties, we build. And this team doesn’t just build; we have built one of the most successful online financial platforms in current time. Had the company never taken any risk, had this team never started building, there would be no today. But thanks to our commitment and vision, we are still building this financial facility with you, stronger than ever!

There are people discouraging you from investing and continuing to build your financial dream with SwissCash because they claim based on their own past experience and current expertise that your dream might evaporate. Let me ask you how much they know about SwissCash, and how much you know about SwissCash? Ask no one but yourself. SwissCash is an online financial “mega-structure.” A mega-structure takes time to plan, money and expertise to build and manage, and will not collapse overnight. One can always live in fear if that is the way one sees life; it is either the fear of trying and failing, or the fear of not trying. If anything, I would choose the latter. My point is, build anyway. And don’t just simply build, build a solid financial network in SwissCash because it is your financial future – build with confidence and pride!

9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Tens and hundreds of thousands of investors have become better off and thousands have become SwissCash millionaires, but still many get on our case for not helping them enough. For not giving in to their demands. For not following their suggestions and ideas. For not providing sufficient tools and facilities to make them instant millionaires. For not providing more financial products for them to market. For not processing their out-going money transfers fast enough. For not paying them more. For not replying to their emails instantly. For not replying to their telephone calls. For our regional directors not being helpful enough. Still, we never stop helping people who want to help themselves. Still, we grow at our own comfortable pace as we planned, secure in the knowledge of what is best for our company and our investors.

If this company were to be swayed by the ideas and demands of all of its investors, coming as they do from more than a hundred cultural backgrounds, I would tell you today to leave SwissCash at once! We help people in the ways we know best and I expect the same from you.

10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Please continue to share SwissCash with everyone. Help those you know as well as those you do not yet know. There will always be somebody who dislikes you. Dislikes you because you are rich, because you invested much earlier, because you work harder and because you are actively promoting SwissCash. Nobody is perfect, you and me included; give the world the best you have anyway. The world will do you good in return. I have never met someone who has always given it his or her best, and yet failed in everything he or she does. It just doesn’t happen that way.

Through our nearly two years in the global market, we have fully understood that no matter what we do, no matter what we say, no matter how fast and how much we pay, no matter how hard we try, no matter how well we plan, life is never perfect. We will never be the perfect company for everyone. We will always have new issues because the world is dynamic. The world is getting flatter day by day in certain regions, but at the same time borders and walls are being created in another part of the world. We will never be able to satisfy all parties, because SwissCash is a global “mega-structure” financial platform. In spite of all this, we pledge to continue to give the world the best we have.

Last year, I promised you that 2006 would be a growth year for SwissCash, and I was very right. I also promised you a new financial product for SwissCash by 2007, and EMF was launched in December 2006. I promised that every one of you would regret it if you didn’t hold at least 10,000 shares of EMF on December 1st, and so far that has proven true as well. Many are waiting to purchase more EMF shares. I am promising you now that EMF is an even bigger financial project than SIP, and 2007 will be a witness to it.

During my last meeting with the SwissCash and Swiss Mutual Fund management team before Christmas, we highlighted three very important milestones to be achieved in 2007:

1. An ongoing evolution of SwissCash into a global brand;
2. The diversification of the SwissCash financial platform by the introduction of several new financial products; and
3. The growth of SwissCash payment solutions that will cater to the needs of many people from every region and every walk of life.

Rally behind me, support this team to make SwissCash unrivalled. May all your New Years’ resolutions come true. Remember to continue building a healthy family, a wealthy family and a very successful future with SwissCash. Always proceed with pride, dignity and all honesty.

Again, I thank everyone for their support and understanding in the year 2006 and I congratulate all who together with us march into 2007 with renewed visions, aspirations and resolutions.

Humbly serving you always and in all ways,

Michael Mansfield and the whole SwissCash and Swiss Mutual Fund Management Team

Kelangkaan Minyak Tanah

2007-09-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Kelangkaan Minyak Tanah Bukan Karena Program Konversi

Pekalongan (ANTARA News) - Menneg Koperasi dan UKM, Suryadharma Ali mengatakan, tidak benar jika kelangkaan minyak tanah di beberapa daerah di Indonesia akibat adanya program konversi kompor minyak tanah ke kompor gas.

"Memang saat ini di sejumlah daerah terjadi kelangkaan minyak tanah akibat daerah itu belum tersentuh program konversi dan tidak benar jika kemudian program inilah yang dijadikan kambing hitamnya," katanya di Pekalongan, Sabtu.

Pemerintah, kata dia, sebetulnya telah memberikan kesempatan kepada masyarakat untuk memilih menggunakan kompor gas atau minyak tanah meskipun pada dasarnya pemerintah ada keinginan untuk menggunakan kompor gas karena alat ini dinilai bisa menghemat anggaran pemerintah dan pengeluaran keuangan rumah tangga.

"Jika masyarakat mau menggunakan kompor gas maka subsidi dari Pemerintah akan bisa menurun dan juga untuk keuangan rumah tangga karena harga gas lebih murah dibanding dengan minyak tanah," katanya.

Menkop menyebutkan, dengan mempergunakan satu kilogram gas akan setara dengan tiga liter minyak tanah dan jika setiap satu kilogram gas seharga Rp4.250,00 yang setara dengan tiga liter minyak tanah maka hal tersebut berarti setara dengan tiga kali Rp2.500,00.

"Coba bandingkan biaya mana yang lebih ringan antara penggunaan minyak tanah dengan gas dari segi penghematan pengeluaran rumah tangga," katanya.

Kendati demikian, ia mengaku, dalam program penggunaan tabung gas ini akan terjadi masalah yang ditimbulkan akibat masa transisi yang mendadak dengan adanya penggunaan kompor gas secara besar-besaran.

"Saya kira masalah yang timbul di masyarakat ini akan normal setelah proses pendistribusian kompor gas dari Pemerintah kepada masyarakat selesai karena hal ini akan dilakukan secara simultan," katanhya.

Untuk menghindari adanya penyelewengan pendistribusian kompor gas ke masyarakat, Menkop mengatakan, masalah pendistribusian akan disesuaikan dengan jadwal karena pembagian peralatan tidak bisa langsung dilakukan secara serentak tetapi bertahap.(*)

ORI-003

2007-09-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Pemerintah Naikan Batas Maksimum Pemesanan ORI-003

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Pemerintah menaikkan batas maksimum pemesanan Obligasi Negara Ritel 3 (ORI-003) dari rencana semula sebesar Rp1 miliar menjadi Rp3 miliar per individu.

"Menteri Keuangan(Sri Mulyani, red) menetapkan minimum pemesanan adalah Rp5 juta dan maksimum pemesanan adalah Rp3 miliar," kata Dirjen Pengelolaan Utang Departemen Keuangan, Rahmat Waluyanto akhir pekan ini di Jakarta.

Pada awal-awal pengumuman pemerintah terkait dengan rencana penerbitan ORI-003, pemerintah menetapkan batas maksimum pemesanan adalah sebesar Rp1 miliar. Namun akhir pekan lalu, pemerintah mengumumkan batas maksimum pemesanan adalah sebesar Rp3 miliar.

Pemerintah akan menawarkan ORI-003 yang berjangka waktu empat tahun itu mulai 27 Agustus 2007 hingga 7 September 2007. Setelah masa penawaran selama dua minggu, akan dilakukan penjatahan pada 10 September 2007, tanggal penerbitan 12 September 2007, dan tanggal pencatatan di bursa pada 13 September 2007.

Berbeda dengan penerbitan ORI-002 yang maksimum pemesanannya dibatasi sebesar Rp5 miliar per individu, maka pada ORI-003 dibatasi maksimal Rp3 miliar per individu.

Pemerintah belum memutuskan berapa dana yang akan diambil dari penerbitan ORI-003 karena harus mempertimbangkan penawaran yang masuk. Pada penerbitan ORI-001, pemerintah menyerap dana sebesar Rp3,283 triliun dan pada ORI-002 diserap Rp6,233 triliun.

Tingkat kupon pada ORI-001 mencapai 12,05 persen, ORI-002 mencapai 9,28 persen, dan pada ORI-003 ditetapkan sebesar 9,40 persen.

Menurut Rahmat, penerbitan ORI-003 ditujukan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pembiayaan APBN 2007 dan mengembangkan pasar surat utang negara (SUN) domestik melalui diversifikasi instrumen sumber pembiayaan dan perluasan basis investor.

Investor individu warga negara Indonesia merupakan sumber pembiayaan pembangunan yang potensial untuk dikelola guna mengurangi peran utang luar negeri secara bertahap dalam pembiayaan APBN.

Sosialisasi atau penyebaran informasi mengenai ORI-003 telah dilakukan di lima kota Denpasar, Ambon, Samarinda, Palu, dan Pontianak. Distribusi ORI-003 akan diperluas di seluruh wilayah Indonesia baik wilayah barat, tengah, dan timur.

Masyarakat yang berminat membeli ORI dapat menghubungi 16 agen penjual yang telah ditunjuk yaitu Bank Bukopin, Bank BCA, Bank Danamon, Bank BII, Bank Mandiri, Bank Mega, Bank NISP, Bank Panin, Bank Permata, Bank BNI, Bank BRI, Citibank, Danareksa Sekuritas, Bank Lippo, Trimegah Sekuritas, dan Valbury Asia Securities. (*)

Kenaikan Gaji PNS

2007-09-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

Kenaikan Gaji PNS 20 Persen Berlaku Untuk Semua Golongan

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Menteri Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara (Menpan) Taufiq Effendi menyatakan bahwa kenaikan gaji Pegawai Negeri Sipil (PNS) sebesar 20 persen berlaku untuk semua golongan.

"Kenaikan tersebut berlaku pada tahun depan (2008), dan untuk semua golongan," kata Menpan yang ditemui setelah acara penyampaian Pidato Kenegaraan dan Keterangan Pemerintah atas RAPBN Tahun 2008 beserta Nota Keuangan oleh Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, dalam rapat paripurna DPR, di Jakarta, Kamis.

Ia mengatakan kenaikan gaji tersebut merupakan upaya untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan pegawai.

Hal ini disampaikan Menpan terkait dengan pidato presiden yang menyatakan kenaikan gaji pokok untuk tahun 2008 sebesar 20 persen.

Presiden mengatakan pemerintah juga meningkatkan uang lauk dan pauk bagi TNI, Polri sejak 2005, serta PNS mulai 2007.

"Perbaikan daya beli secara bertahap di lingkungan pegawai negeri sipil, TNI, Polri, termasuk pensiunan dan para veteran, adalah hasil dari kebijakan kenaikan gaji pokok sebesar 15 persen pada tahun 2006 dan 2007," katanya.

Sementara itu, dalam kesempatan yang berbeda, Ketua Masyarakat Profesional Madani (MPM) Ismet Hasan Putro mengatakan kenaikan PNS pada 2008 harus melalui kajian komprehensif terlebih dahulu, baik dari segi kesiapan anggaran maupun tingkat inflasi saat ini.

"Kalau keuangan negara memungkinkan, sepatutnya gaji PNS memang dinaikkan karena kondisi PNS memang memprihatinkan. Tapi permasalahannya, keuangan kita mencukupi atau tidak," katanya.

Tindakan pemerintah, menurut Ismet adalah satu tindakan yang bijak mengingat kesejahteraan PNS saat ini masih belum terjamin sepenuhnya, tapi dilain pihak dapat menjadi dilematis.

"Kita sedang berada dalam kondisi dilematis. Menaikkan gaji akan membebani APBN tapi jika tidak dinaikkan akan menyusahkan PNS," katanya.

Selain itu Ismet juga mengatakan kenaikan gaji PNS ini seharusnya juga diikuti dengan peningkatan kinerja PNS.(*)

Rupiah Naik

2007-09-13T09:52:00.002-07:00

Rupiah Sore Naik Delapan Poin Jadi 9.409/9.415 per Dolar AS

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Nilai tukar rupiah terhadap dolar AS di Pasar spot antar bank di Jakarta, Kamis sore, menguat menjadi 9.409/9.415 per dolar AS dibanding penutupan hari sebelumnya 9.417/9.430 atau naik delapan poin.

Pengamat pasar uang Edwin Sinaga di Jakarta, mengatakan, pelaku masih berspekulasi membeli rupiah dalam jumlah relatif kecil, mereka masih memfokuskan perhatiannya pada pertemuan Komite Pasar Terbuka Federal AS.

Pertemuan yang akan berlangsung pada 18 September nanti, akan menentukan arah pergerakan pasar uang yang saat ini cenderung mendatar, katanya.

Karena itu, menurut dia, pergerakan rupiah selama dua pekan ini terjadi hanya berdasarkan market trading saja, sejalan dengan belum adanya isu baru yang menggerakkan pasar.

Akibatnya kedua mata uang itu bergerak dalam kisaran sempit, ucapnya.

Ia mengatakan, pasar uang saat ini membutuhkan likuiditas seperti masuknya investor asing yang menginvestasikan dananya melihat tingkat suku bunga acuan BI masih di level 8,25 persen.

Apalagi didukung pula oleh turunnya suku bunga The Fed, maka perbedaan suku bunga rupiah dan dolar AS agak tinggi, ucapnya.

Menurut dia, rupiah berpeluang untuk menguat mencapai level 9.200 per dolar AS, apabila isu positif itu masuk ke pasar, namun rupiah agak berat untuk bisa mencapai level 9.000 per dolar AS.

Karena itu posisi rupiah dinilai stabil apabila berada dalam kisaran antara 9.200 hingga 9.400 per dolar AS, ucapnya.

Tingkat rupiah pada kisaran itu juga didukung dengan merosot harga minyak mentah dunia yang saat ini berkisar di level 78 dolar AS per dolar AS, ujarnya.

Mengenai The Fed, ia mengatakan, The Fed kemungkinan akan menurunkan suku bunganya sebesar 25 basis poin, namun yang penting bukan penurunan suku bunga, tapi likuiditas di pasar dunia setelah bank sentral AS dan Eropa mencairkan dana talangan ke pasar.

Apabila semua bank sentrral aktif mengucurkan dananya ke pasar maka likuditas pasar akan semakin baik, katanya. (*)

Jaringan Telekomunikasi Tidak Terpengaruh Gempa Bengkulu

2007-09-13T09:52:00.001-07:00

Jaringan Telekomunikasi Tidak Terpengaruh Gempa Bengkulu

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Jaringan Telekomunikasi dari berbagai operator sudah normal dan tidak terlalu terpengaruh oleh gempa teknonik berkekuatan 7,9 pada skala Richter yang mengguncang Bengkulu pada Rabu (12/9) pukul 18:10:23 WIB dan diikuti beberapa kali gempa susulan.

"Pada prinsipnya jaringan Telkom Group termasuk Telkomsel sudah baik, tidak ada kerusakan yang berarti, hanya kerusakan kecil di sana-sini," kata VP Publik and Marketing Communications PT Telkom Tbk, Eddy Kurnia yang dihubungi ANTARA News di Jakarta, Kamis.

Eddy mengatakan, hanya ada sedikit kerusakan transmisi di satu lokasi di daerah Muko-muko, Bengkulu yang saat ini sedang ditangani.

"Sekarang sedang dalam perbaikan, sebentar lagi akan selesai," tambah Eddy.

Dia mengatakan, PT Telkom menyediakan layanan telepon gratis dan akses internet Speedy gratis bagi korban gempa yang ditempatkan di Posko Pemda dan Posko Telkom.

Division Head of Public Relation PT Indosat, Adita Irawati mengatakan, 90 persen coverage Bengkulu termasuk di Bengkulu kota masih normal.

"Hanya di daerah Bengkulu Utara yang efek gempanya cukup parah, masih ada beberapa BTS yang terganggu pasokan listrik dan transmisi yaitu di Kecamatan Muko Muko dan kecamatan Lais, " kata Adita.

Dia mengatakan, Indosat saat ini juga memberikan layanan telepon gratis dan posko kesehatan yang dipusatkan di daerah yang mengalami dampak gempa cukup parah yaitu di Bengkulu Utara.

"Kita juga kirimkan bantuan makanan yang dibawa dari Palembang," tambah Adita.

Sementara itu, PT Excelcomindo Pratama menyatakan jaringan XL di Bengkulu pasca gempa tidak mengalami gangguan yang berarti dan konstruktif.

"Sepuluh persen BTS mengalami gangguan non-konstruksi, saat ini 90 persen jaringan XL masih bisa melayani kota Bengkulu," kata juru bicara XL, Arum K Prasodjo lewat pesan singkat.

Arum menjelaskan sempat terjadi gangguan jaringan XL karena lonjakan traffic dan listrik di BTS mati sejak terjadinya gempa sampai pukul 20.00, namun hal tersebut dapat diatasi karena adanya pasokan listrik dari genset. (*)

Kenaikan Harga Minyak Tak Perbesar Defisit APBN

2007-09-13T09:51:00.001-07:00

Kenaikan Harga Minyak Tak Perbesar Defisit APBN

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Perkembangan harga minyak internasional yang saat ini mencapai hampir 80 dolar AS per barel diperkirakan tidak akan memperbesar defisit APBNP 2007 yang ditetapkan sebesar 1,5 persen.

"Kayaknya enggak (mempengaruhi), malah kalau naik kayaknya malah surplus. Nanti harus dilihat sensitivitasnya," kata Dirjen Anggaran Depkeu, Achmad Rocjadi di Jakarta, Kamis.

Ia mengakui, perkembangan harga minyak akan berpengaruh pada sisi penerimaan dan sisi belanja pada APBN.

"Ada beberapa elemen yang terpengaruh yaitu penerimaan, tapi di sisi lain belanja subsidi, dana bagi hasil ke daerah, dana alokasi umum (DAU) juga terpengaruh," katanya.

Namun ia memperkirakan, pengaruh kepada dua sisi di APBN akan seimbang sehingga tidak akan banyak pengaruhnya ke defisit APBN.

APBNP 2007 menetapkan anggaran pendapatan negara dan hibah sebesar Rp694,09 triliun dan belanja negara sebesar Rp752,37 triliun sehingga terjadi defisit sebesar Rp58,285 triliun atau 1,5 persen dari PDB.

Dalam kesempatan tersebut Achmad juga menjelaskan bahwa semua angka yang ada di APBN termasuk untuk subsidi, sesuai dengan UU Nomor 17 tahun 2003 Tentang Keuangan Negara, adalah pagu atas.

"Umpamanya dalam kondisi tertentu itu lebih tinggi dari pagu maka dia tidak boleh dikeluarkan. Tapi ada klausul lain, kalau hal-hal itu memang darurat maka boleh dikeluarkan kelebihan dari jumlah tersebut," jelasnya.

Ditanya dari pos mana kelebihan belanja itu harus diambil,
Achmad mengatakan, kalau untuk subsidi minyak dari kenaikan harga minyak.

"Biasanya kalau minyak itu, dengan naiknya harga maka penerimaan juga naik. Ya dari situ diambilnya," katanya.(*)

Peluang Dagang di Indonesia

2007-09-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

Lima Negara Timur Tengah Cari Peluang Dagang dan Investasi di Indonesia

Jakarta-RoL-- Lima negara Timur Tengah (Iran, Maroko, Tunisia, Aljazair dan Arab Saudi) berminat mencari peluang dagang dan investasi di Indonesia.

Oleh karena itu, Kadin DKI Jakarta akan mengelar Middle East Fair 2007 pada 11-15 Juli 2007 di Semanggi Expo SCBD-Jakarta. "Kegiatan ini untuk menjembatani promosi bisnis bagi negara Timur Tengah dan dalam negeri, khususnya kami memfasilitasi kepentingan UMKM dalam mencari pangsa pasar ke Timur Tengah," kata Wakil Ketua Kamar Dagang dan Industri (Kadin) DKI Jakarta Syafrizal dalam konferensi pers di Jakarta, Selasa.

Acara Middle East Fair 2007 itu akan diikuti oleh 69 pengrajin produk Usaha Mikro dan Kecil Menengah (UMKM) Indonesia dan negara-negara Timur Tengah serta sejumlah buyer (pembeli) dari Maroko (24 buyer), Iran (6 buyer), Arab Saudi (8 buyer) dan Tunisia (6 buyer). "Ini harus disambut karena artinya memberikan kepercayaan bahwa investasi di Indonesia aman," ujarnya. antara

mim

Bisnis Indonesia

2007-09-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Bisnis Indonesia

Dari Wikipedia Indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas berbahasa Indonesia.

Langsung ke: navigasi, cari

Logo Bisnis Indonesia.

Bisnis Indonesia adalah surat kabar harian dengan segmentasi pemberitaan bisnis dan ekonomi berbahasa Indonesia yang diterbitkan di Jakarta, Indonesia, sejak 14 Desember 1985. Bisnis Indonesia diterbitkan oleh PT Jurnalindo Aksara Grafika (PT JAG) yang merupakan kongsi bisnis empat pengusaha Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono (Grup Sahid), Ciputra (Grup Ciputra), Anthony Salim (Grup Salim), dan Eric Samola. Pemimpin Redaksi saat ini adalah Ahmad Djauhar dengan Wakil Pemred Arief Budisusilo.

Awalnya, koran ini berkantor di bekas bengkel reparasi mesin jahit Singer di Jalan Kramat V/8, Jakarta Pusat. Koran yang fokus pada berita bisnis, ekonomi, dan umum ini meroket berkat booming yang melanda lantai Bursa Efek Jakarta pada tahun 1987 dan akibat maraknya industri perbankan sebagai hasil penerapan kebijakan Paket Oktober (Pakto) 1988.

Pertumbuhan yang baik tersebut membuat koran ini mampu membangun gedung sendiri dan kantor pun pindah ke Wisma Bisnis Indonesia (WBI) di Jalan Letjen S. Parman Kav. 12A Slipi, Jakarta Barat, pada akhir 1990. Namun kemacetan luar biasa di lokasi tersebut dan perhitungan bisnis di masa depan membuat koran ini kembali pindah ke wilayah Segitiga Emas Sudirman.

Mulai 1 Januari 2005 kegiatan operasional Bisnis Indonesia berpusat di Wisma Bisnis Indonesia (WBI) lantai 5-8, Jalan KH Mas Mansyur No. 12A, Karet Tengsin, Jakarta Pusat. Saat ini, Bisnis Indonesia memiliki kantor perwakilan di sejumlah kota di Indonesia yakni di Medan, Pekanbaru, Batam, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Balikpapan, dan Makassar.

Sebagai lembaga pemberitaan, Bisnis Indonesia juga menjadi pemasok tetap beberapa lembaga pemberitaan internasional seperti [[NewsNet Asia]] (yang menerjemahkan berita Bisnis ke dalam bahasa Jepang, Factiva (usaha patungan Dow Jones dan Reuters), dan ISI Emerging Markets (dari kelompok usaha Euromoney Institutional Investor Group Co.), Xinhua (kantor berita China), dan Bloomberg (kantor berita berbasis di New York, AS).

Daftar isi

[sembunyikan]

Anak penerbitan

Pada 1992, koran ini melahirkan majalah berita ekonomi (MBE) berbahasa Inggris, Indonesia Business Weekly (IBW) yang kemudian ditutup.

Pada 19 September 1997, di bawah payung PT Aksara Solopos, lahir Harian Umum Solopos yang hanya dalam tempo satu tahun bisa mencapai titik impas. Pada ulang tahunnya yang kedelapan, Solopos yang berkantor di Griya Solopos, Jl. Adisucipto 190 Solo 57145, itu sudah menjadi kelompok usaha tersendiri dengan membawahi unit usaha percetakan koran PT Solo Grafika Utama, Radio Solopos FM, dan Tabloid Olah Raga Arena.

Tiga tahun berikutnya, tepatnya pada 17 April 2000, melalui PT Aksara Warta Mandarin, lahir harian berbahasa Mandarin Indonesia Shang Bao. Namun, karena satu dan lain hal, terutama masalah teknis, dua tahun kemudian sebagian besar kepemilikan saham ini beralih ke mitra usaha Sjamsul Nursalim dari kelompok Gajah Tunggal.

Tak lama berselang, Bisnis Indonesia kembali melahirkan koran komunitas Monitor Depok yang kini menjadi kebanggaan warga Depok dan sekitarnya, Tabloid Tren Digital yang mengupas seluk-beluk peranti digital, dengan penonjolan topik bahasan telepon seluler, serta Tabloid Bisnis Uang yang merupakan panduan bagi individu maupun keluarga dalam perencanaan keuangan.

Perubahan tampilan

Sejak 14 Agustus 2002, ada yang berubah dari penampilan harian ini. Jumlah halaman diperbanyak, diterbitkan menjadi tiga bagian/seksi.

Seksi pertama berisi masalah makro ekonomi, perdagangan, jasa, dan bisnis menengah-kecil. Seksi kedua mengulas seputar pergerakan pasar modal, bisnis keuangan, dan perdagangan komoditas. Sementara bagian ketiga membahas perkembangan bisnis teknologi informasi, manufaktur, agribisnis, dan berbagai informasi bisnis dari sektor riil.

Tampilan ini kembali berubah pada 1 Agustus 2005. Selain format koran makin compact, dicantumkan pula nama reporter penulis berita beserta alamat email si penulis berita. Pencantuman identitas secara lebih gamblang ini menandai semangat keterbukaan di kalangan pelaku pers di negeri ini. Bahkan, pencatuman e-mail ini merupakan yang pertama di Indonesia. Terobosan ini menyebabkan interaksi antara penulis berita dan pembaca semakin meningkat.

Profil pembaca Bisnis Indonesia

92,4& Pelanggan
78,7% Berjenis kelamin pria
79,4% Dalam usia produktif (25-44 tahun)
67,5% Berpendidikan tinggi (54% berpendidikan Sarjana dan 13,5% Pasca Sarjana)
51,9% Kalangan pengambil keputusan
78,0% Bekerja di perusahaan swasta dan ritel

Edisi elektronik

Bisnis Indonesia juga dapat diakses secara online di www.bisnis.com dengan layanan format digital edisi cetak serta breaking news. Selain itu, bagi pembaca setia Bisnis yang sedang menempuh perjalanan ke berbagai kota besar seluruh dunia, harian ini juga dapat diperoleh di Satellite Newspaper Kiosk yang dapat dijumpai di bandara maupun hotel-hotel ternama.

Situs www.bisnis.com diluncurkan pertama kali pada September 1996 dengan hanya menyajikan format digital dari cetak Harian Bisnis Indonesia. Kala itu, layanan tersebut semata-mata untuk melayani para pelanggan Bisnis yang berada di luar jangkauan edisi cetak, termasuk mereka yang berada di seluruh planet Bumi ini. Selain itu, situs tersebut juga disertai beberapa fitur yang tidak ditemukan dalam edisi cetak, misalnya pusat akses data yang ketika itu diberi nama Pusat Informasi Bisnis Indonesia (PIBI) yang kini bernama Pusata Data dan Analisa Bisnis (PDAB).

Cell Phones without Plans

2007-09-13T09:44:00.001-07:00

Cell Phones without Plans

For those who use their cell phone as their primary phone or make a lot of calls ‘on the go’, monthly service plans are the best bet for most people. But for those that use their cellphone less than 300 minutes a month, or just prefer to not have a monthly bill, contract, or credit check, a prepaid cell plan could be just what the doctor ordered.

Some pre-paid cell companies are:

Tracfone:

TracFone has very competitive prices and terms of service, and their service is generally quite reliable. With their basic plan, TracFone minutes will expire after 2 months unless you purchase additional minutes. Tracfone offers a 1-year activation for around $100 with a few hundred minutes, which is perfect for people who just require a wireless phone for emergency purposes. Once you are a tracfone customer, they will send you promotional codes and deals for added savings on minutes

Go Phone:

GoPhone Pay-As-You-Go plans include 2 service options offering either a 10cents/minute charge with a $1/day service fee, or a flat rate 25¢/-minute option. The 10cents/minute service option only charges the $1/day service fee on days that customers use their phone. Subscribers that select this option also receive unlimited in-network calling to other Go Phone subscribers.

Go Phones and Cingular Pre-Paid Cards are available at Walmart and other stores.

Virgin Mobile:

Virgin Mobile is currently offering two pay-per-minute plans. You can either pay 18¢ minute with no monthly commitments and no overage charges, or opt for 10¢ a minute with a 6.99/month charge. You need to add $20 every 90 days to keep your service active.

Other prepaid phone sources include:

http://www.libertywireless.com/

www.boostmobile.com/

www.cingular.com/myaccount/prepaid

Are Search Ads Safe?

2007-09-13T09:39:00.001-07:00

Are Search Ads Safe?

Are the ads you see on internet search engines, and on the web in general, safe to click? According to recent and not-so-recent articles in the wash. post, times online, wash. times, and vnunet, among others, using search and contextual ads to spread viruses and adware is becoming a favorite method.

Who should be concerned about this?

For starters, anyone who surfs the internet should be aware that merely clicking a link to another site can trigger an automatic download attempt. Also, in some cases ads may be mislabled and not always direct to the site that they lead you to believe.

Another group which may have a reason to be concerned about this problem are webmasters who employ contextual ads on their websites. (Contextual ads are ads for 3rd parties which search engines place on individual websites in return for a share of ad revenue).
Lets say you run a website. When a site visitor clicks on an ad on your site and is directed to a site which attempts a virus download, causing a virus warning on the visitors computer, naturally that person will be somewhat P/O’d and may be unlikely to return to your website.

What steps can you take?

1) Firstly, make sure you have a working, updated anti-virus program installed on your computer. Also an anti-spyware program. There are some free, quality spyware programs available such as Spybot and Ad-aware.

2) No virus program is 100% effective. It may be important for you and your sites visitors to avoid clicking on a ‘bad’ ad to begin with. There are some new products entering the market to address that issue such as LinkScanner Pro.

For their part, google has recently canceled some adwords accounts found to be spreading malware.

Kinds of Life Insurance

2007-09-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Kinds of Life Insurance

Following is a short overview of the different types of life insurance.

Although you purchase life insurance for yourself, your dependents are the ones who typically benefit from it. The primary purpose of life insurance is to enable your dependents to protect the family home should you die. The proceeds from life insurance policies, referred to as the death benefit, provide the financial resources for the family home to continue to run as closely to normal as possible.

Additionally, the proceeds from life insurance policies are often essential to replace the income that is lost by the death of a loved one. The money that is realized from life insurance enables the family to repay any debts that have accumulated.

Term Life Insurance provides this protection for a specific amount of time. The term varies according to the policy and the provider. Typically, the policy is renewable upon the conclusion of a term. Terms can last for as little as one year and as long as twenty years.

The premium due on a term policy generally varies according to the individual’s age. Typically, the premium is a lesser amount in the earlier years of the policy. This is usually helpful to individuals who are younger and have a large amount of debt. The lower premium allows the individual to acquire a larger policy with a greater amount of coverage for what amounts to an affordable cost.

Permanent insurance policies go by several different names including Whole, Universal, Variable, Ordinary, and Adjustable. Permanent life insurance policies are designed to last for a long time. As long as the premium is paid, the policy stays in effect. If you don’t intend to hold onto the life insurance policy for a long time, it might be better for you to go with term insurance.

Many whole life policies feature a cash value. This is also referred to as a cash surrender value. In the event that the policy holder needs some ready cash and decides to turn in his policy, he can redeem it for the cash value that it has earned to date.

In order to determine which type of life insurance policy is best for you, consider your needs. Are you getting the policy to cover household expenses for remaining family? Do you want the policy to enable your spouse to raise your children in the family home in the event of your death? Do you want a term life insurance policy to be in effect simply to pay off your debts should you die? Think about these and other questions before deciding which policy is the right one for you.

Worst Real Estate Agent

2007-09-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

The Worst Real Estate Agent

When it came time to sell my first home, I was unlucky enough to be the very first client of the realtor that I chose. Many of the things that this Realtor did were ridiculous, looking back on them, and most of them are confusing to me to this day.

Our house was a three bedroom ranch house with a small bonus room just off the kitchen. This realtor decided to call it a four bedroom house, and billed it as such. Consequently, when other realtors came to look at the house, they were angry that they had been lied to about the number of bedrooms and had wasted the trip, and one of them actually yelled at me over it. When I finally told our realtor how uneasy this was making me, I was told that her real estate agency was forcing her to list it this way and that she had no control over it. I was unsure about how true that was, and I still believe that she was simply misguided enough to think that fudging the information was going to bring in more buyers.

After about seven months, we finally got an offer. The offer was much lower than my asking price, and we instructed out realtor to negotiate to try to get a few extra thousand. After a few back and forth offers, our realtor reported back that the woman who had made the offer no longer wanted to negotiate and was rescinding her offer, which had only been verbal. Not only had the realtor not gotten the offer on paper, but there was great of confusion over the incident still to come.

A few months later I was lamenting about how we had gotten no more offers since that first one, and our realtor asked me why I didn’t just take that one. I explained that the offer had been so low that I could not, but that I wished the lady had been more willing to negotiate. The realtor looked at me in surprise and told me that the lady had been willing to negotiate and that she didn’t understand what I was talking about. She had no memory of the lady rescinding the offer, and I still don’t know if she had made the story up or if she just had severe memory problems.

It was at this point that I had been through enough with our realtor, and began to look for more competent representation. I had to wait until our contract lapsed, so after it she had represented us for one year, I had to cut her loose. My next real estate agent got us two offers in five months and sold our house. The entire bad realtor affair was an excellent, if expensive, lesson- the important thing to look for when buying or selling a home is experience, experience, experience.

Artis Cantik dan Seksi Indonesia

2007-09-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Artis-Artis Cantik dan Seksi Indonesia

Ade Herlina Adjie Massaid Agnes Monica Alda Risma Alena Aline Alya Rohali Amara Amelia Septianti Irmamo Ananda Lontoh Andhara Early Astrawinata Andi Soraya Andien Andre Hehanusa Anne J Cotto Anneke Gruno Angie Angelina Karamoy Angel Ibrahim Anggie Regia Angia Julia Anggun C. Sasmi Annie Anwar Annisa Larasati Pohan Anisaa Ramona Annisa Tri Banowati Annisa Tri Hapsari Anya Dwinov Amanda Dewi Ardina Rasti Widiani Arzeti Bilbina Asti Ananta Asti Asmodiwati Audrey Herawati Audy Ayu Dewi Ayu Diana Ayuni Sukarman Azza.

Bebby Julia Becky Tumewu Bella Saphira Berliana Febrianti Bunga Caroline Zachrie Cathrine Wilson Chandra Louis Cherry Tanos Cici Faramida Cindy Claudia Cindy Fatika Sari Cintia Hermawan Claudia Hidayat Conny Constantia Conny Dio Cornelia Agatha Cut Desy Cut Keke Cut Memey Cut Tari Davina Veronica Hariadi Dea Mirella Deasy Noviyanti Della Puspita Deliyanthi Indria Delia Dessy Ilsanty Syarif Dessy Maharani Desy Ratnasari De Ranika Denada Davina Devi Permatasari Dewi Gita Dewi Lestari Dewi Rika Dewi Sandra Dewiq Dhini Aminarti Diah Permatasari Diana Putri Diana Sumayouw Dian Nitami Dian Sastro Diana Pungky Diaz Astiza Dina Carol Donna Agnesia Wayong Donna Harun Dwi Asih Setyawati Dwi Putrantiwi.

Eddies Adelia Egidia Elizabeth Natalia Elma Theana Emmy Chaniago Emma Santos Emma Warokka Enditha Ermy Kullit Erna Libby Ersa Mayori Eva Ajeng Farach Diana Faturachman Febby Lawrence Febry Pudji Feby Febiola Fifie Buntaran Five-V Rahmawati Femmy Permatasari Ferry Irawan Fitri Handayani Fitri Kurnia Fridiana Lirifa Githa Thiananda Happy Salma Helena Andrian Helmalia Putri Herawati Helmy Iga Mawarni Iis Dahlia Ika Putri Imelda Lubis Indah Kalalo Indah Ludiana Indah Purnamasari Indira Setiaputri Ine Febriyanti Ineke Koesherawati Inez Tagor Inka Christie Ira Riswana Inul Daratista Ita Purnamasari Jihan Fahira Jovanka Mardova Flynn Karenina Karina Emiria Sari Karina Suwandi Keke Harun Ketty Wulandari Kirey Kiki Amalia Kiki Fatmala Koming Krisdayanti Larasati Leony Leydia Asterina Lia Ananta Lilis Karlina Linawati Halim Linda Rahman Linda Ramadhanty Lindia Sagita Linggasuri Lisa A. Riyanto Liza Natalia Lola Amaria Louise Anastasya Lucky Resha Lula Kamal Lulu Tobing Luna Maya Lyra Virna.

Macica Mochtar Maitreya Kasih Marcella Zalianty Maria Maulida Maribeth Marini Zumarnis Marissa Jeffryna Masayu Anastasia Maudy Koesnaedi Maya Kusuma Maya Yuliana Mayangsari Maylaffayza Wiguna Meisya Najelina Melanie Putria Melanie Subono Melly Manuhutu Melda Dahmin Melly Zamri Memes Merry Putrian Mila Karmelia Mira Asmara Mona Ratuliu Monica Oemardi Mozza Mulan Ratu Nadila Nana Khairina Nana Mirdad Natsha Novisha Nafa Urbach Naomi Angela Nathalie Margaretta Nathalie Sarah Natasha Dewanti Nella Anne Juliana Neta Nicky Astria Nien Indriyati Nilasari Nindya Nurmala Nina Taman Ninon Maryurini Markum Nirina Nita Tilana Noni Chirilda Nova Eliza Novelianty Novia Ardhana Noviati Monica Novita Angie Novita Wibowo Nur Afni Octavia Olga Lidya Olla Ramlan Pamela Indah Paquita Wijaya Paramitha Rusady Peggy Melati Sukma Pinkan Mambo Puput Puput Akmal Puput Melati Puput Novel Putri Malam Putri Patricia.

Rachel Maryam Sayidina Rahma Azhari Rally Marina SA Raslinna Rasidin Ratna Listy Ratu Felisha Rebeca Tumewu Regina Gunawan Reggyna Reviana Rena Tabitha Renita Sukardi Revalina S Temat Reza Rheinatha Angie Ria Irawan Ria Margaretha Rieska Lidiany Richa Novisha Rina Gunawan Rissa Susmex Rita Effendy Rossa Roweina Ruth Sahanaya Sahrul Gunawan Sally Hasan Sandra Naholo Sarah Azhari Sarah Sechan Sarah Vi Selfi Wahyu Ambuari Shahnaz Haque Shakila Serhalawan Shally Tria Amanda Shania Shanty Shirley Margaretha Sinta Bella Siti Nurhaliza Sissy Priscillia Sonia Sophie Navita Sophia Latjuba Soraya Abdullah Balfas Soraya Larasati Sousan Stefanie Hariadi Suci Indah Sari Sukma Ayu Susi Adella.

Taffana Dewy Tamara Bleszynski Tamara Geraldine Tere Terry Puteri Tia Ivanka Tiara Tina Zakaria Titi Kamal Tracy Trinita Tri Kurnia Tri Utami Unique Priscilla Usi Valerina Novita Daniel Vemmy Sagita Vena Ladonna Venita Daben Venna Melinda Vinny Alvionita Viona Rosalina Vira Yuniar Vitta Mariana Vonny Cornellya Wanda Hamidah Wina Van Den Berg Windy Winny Octaviani Wulan Guritno Yane Ardian Yeyen Yosefanny Waas Yuni Shara Yulia Rachman Yuline Sanger Yuyun Sukawati Zarima Ziana.

Greenspan says Bernanke doing excellent job

2007-09-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Greenspan says Bernanke doing excellent job

44 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is doing "an excellent job" running the U.S. central bank, former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan told the CBS program "60 Minutes," according to excerpts released on Thursday.

Greenspan was asked if he would lower interest rates as dramatically and quickly now as he did just ahead of, during, and after the 2001 recession.

"I'm not sure that's true," he told CBS. "We were dealing with an environment back then when inflation was easing. We could have acted without the fear of stoking inflationary pressures. You can't do that any more ... I think (Bernanke) is doing an excellent job."

Greenspan said he knew about questionable lending practices that were leaving subprime borrowers with adjustable rate loans vulnerable to harm from rising interest rates, but did not recognize those loans would trigger broader problems, CBS said. Such loans are extended to borrowers with poor credit.

"While I was aware a lot of these practices were going on, I had no notion of how significant they had become until very late," Greenspan said.

"I really didn't get it until very late in 2005 and 2006," he added.

Sun Opens a Door, Sells Windows

2007-09-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Sun Opens a Door, Sells Windows

As CEO Schwartz moves further away from former CEO McNealy's stance on Microsoft, the two companies announce an expanded partnership

by Peter Burrows

Technology

Story Tools

It can now be stated plainly: Sun Microsystems (JAVA) has officially lost its old-time religion. Thanks to an expansion of its three-year-old alliance with one-time nemesis Microsoft (MSFT), Sun will now resell and install Windows on its x86-based servers. In other words, the company that was famous for its scrappy David vs. Goliath war with the forces of Wintel will sell servers built around Intel chips and Windows software. That's a long way from the days when former Sun Chief Executive Scott McNealy proclaimed: "It's mankind against Microsoft."

But that doesn't mean the company has become agnostic. Rather, the Sept. 12 move was the ultimate expression of Sun's new religion—one that in some ways is just as risky. If Sun was once defined largely by who its rivals were, it's now partnering with many of them in an effort to ensure as many customers as possible have the option of buying its technologies.

The new Microsoft deal follows alliances with IBM (IBM) and Intel (INTC), which Sun is trusting to resell its Solaris server software for customers who want it. It's another aspect of Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz's plan to drive adoption of Sun technologies as broadly as possible. The linchpin of the scheme: The 2005 plan to give away the battle-tested Solaris, Sun's crown jewel, for free. As a result of these efforts, "We can do business with 100% of the marketplace now. That's not something we could have said a few years ago," Schwartz told BusinessWeek in a recent interview.

Expanded Alliance, Not Sales

By itself, the expanded alliance with Microsoft is no huge leap from the landmark deal the companies struck in 2004. Since then, the companies have quietly collaborated on a number of fronts—such as creating ways for Web services built on Microsoft's .Net Framework to work with those built around Sun's Java technology. Also, Sun has let customers run Windows on its servers that use x86 chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). While Windows still won't run on Sun servers built on SPARC chips—the source of most of Sun's sales—Sun will now preinstall Windows Server 2003 itself. The current deal does not give Sun rights to resell Microsoft's upcoming version of the software, Windows Server 2008, but sources say that such an agreement is likely in the future.

Very likely, none of this will amount to much in new sales for Microsoft. After all, every corporate technology buyer already uses Windows and knows how to buy Wintel machines from Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), and others. But executives from Sun and Microsoft say the new deal will let them more effectively serve the many customers that use both Solaris and Windows—typically with Solaris running the huge databases and complex programs that undergird corporate IT and e-commerce operations and Windows for less mission-critical jobs.

The Pros and Cons of Interoperability

In particular, the companies say they'll focus on customers who are trying to take advantage of virtualization technology, which lets companies boost the utilization rates of their servers by letting a single machine handle a variety of applications that in past years might have been assigned to dedicated machines. By melding their own flavors of virtualization, one server could handle both Windows and Solaris-based programs using this approach. "One hundred percent of Sun's customers use both Solaris and Windows," says Sun Executive Vice-President John Fowler. "We have an opportunity to extend our technology leadership in this critical area with customers that we share."

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