Seven To Ten

The price of milk and gasoline is so high now, filling up the grocery carts and SUV is really frustrating. Most people just wince, pay, and get along as best they can. But has it anything to do with ethanol?

This corn-into-fuel program has been around for years but gained vast new impetus from President Bush’s program to cure America’s “addiction to oil” by using biofuels. We’ll grow our way to self-sufficiency. Not only are oil prices at all-time highs but diverting agricultural land to energy production is a major factor in the rise of worldwide food prices. We’ve had food riots in Mexico and Egypt.

Had the Bush administration and Congress exhibited the wisdom and courage to slap a big honking gasoline tax on drivers after 9/11 - or even in 2006, when the President made his “addiction to oil” speech - it would have been a better energy policy than the corns.

We could have reduced consumption, cut oil imports, supported low-income drivers with income tax breaks, and used the rest of the proceeds for deficit reduction or something else useful. Food would be cheaper. So would fuel, because demand would be lower and we’d probably have fewer financial speculators.

So in avoiding a gas tax, higher prices persist and hundreds of billions of dollars are transferred to oil-producing countries. America need to demonstrate that it is willing to do painful things in the present to ensure future prosperity.

Turning biological waste like wood chips into fuel makes a lot of sense. But devoting vast acreage of America’s breadbasket to fuel - about a third of the U.S. corn crop is dedicated to ethanol - is a really terrible idea, as we’re now seeing.

The most common complaints for people who want to start a new business is that they do not have enough money. If this is your dream and you need a small initial capital to fulfil it (and the banks are not willing to help because of your credit or business plan), AfsLoansOnline.com is ready to help. Over here, it is possible to get unsecured Business Loans.

The site specializes as a loan consulting company which finds the perfect business loans for you. Regardless of credit history, you just need to go through a 5-minute, 4-step application for your Business Loans. Consider their other advantages: no application fee, no hidden charges, free credit pull, and a 1-2 days approval.

If you are interested in Business Loans, visit the site to find out more.

Frauds, from embezzlement, identity theft, patent infringement, and product counterfeiting - is increasing. The median loss from embezzlement cost small companies $190,000 in 2006, up from $98,000 in 2004, according to the latest numbers from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

The number of patent-infringement lawsuits rose 6% last year. New research has found that counterfeit goods account for an estimated 15% to 20% of all products manufactured in China. The advance of technology has made it easier than ever for the unscrupulous to victimize your business. Consider that hundreds of pages of sensitive financial information can be stored on a USB drive the size of a thumb - or that millions of dollars can disappear with the flick of a computer key.

In March the regional supermarket chain Hannaford Bros., headquartered in Portland, Maine, discovered that hackers had broken into its database and rerouted customers’ credit card information to accounts overseas.

In another case, an accountant who had electronic access to the books of 15 small companies diverted $1 million meant to pay taxes to his own account. In another case, a thief set up a phony website that mirrored that of a small business, ordered thousands of dollars of supplies from Office Depot, and then had the bills sent to the real business owner.

Given all the day-to-day challenges small-business owners face, most feel they don’t have the time, patience, or money to protect themselves. This helps explain why small businesses are nearly twice as likely to be victims of fraud as are big corporations.

Like many of the places on our list, Bellevue is a city in transition: no longer a bedroom community, but not yet a crowded, expensive metropolitan hub. Bellevue has grown with unusual grace in recent years.

Huge corporations exist symbiotically with startups, a booming downtown abuts healthy residential neighborhoods, and the rising skyline is tempered by an abundance of parks, as well as lakeside and mountain views. Flash retailers such as Neiman Marcus draw regional shoppers, but Bellevue’s excellent healthcare and schools are key attractions for relocating families.

While local businesses must pay the statewide Business and Occupations tax on their gross receipts, there’s no corporate income tax. Businesses with less than $135,000 in taxable revenues (the highest threshold in the area) don’t have to pay the B&O tax.

Easy airport access and a highly skilled workforce make Bellevue an attractive option for startups looking to break big

A sharp rise in food prices has developed into a global crisis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday. Ban said the U.N. and all members of the international community are very concerned, and immediate action is needed.

He spoke to reporters at U.N. offices in Austria, where he was meeting with the nation’s top leaders for talks on how the United Nations and European Union can forge closer ties.

“This steeply rising price of food - it has developed into a real global crisis,” Ban said, adding that the World Food Program has made an urgent appeal for additional $755 million.

“The United Nations is very much concerned, as all other members of the international community,” Ban said. “We must take immediate action in a concerted way all throughout the international community.”

Ban urged leaders of the international community to sit down together on an “urgent basis” to discuss how to improve economic distribution systems and the production of agricultural products.

You’ll note that this year many companies are reporting the specific performance targets on which CEO pay is based - saying not just that pay is based partly on free cash flow, for example, but reporting the amount that must be achieved.

Companies are doing that because the SEC is making them. But by wangling pay formulas in a dozen ways, they can still pay CEOs as crazily as they like. Look, for example, at one of America’s legendary pay abusers, Occidental Petroleum.

Its latest proxy is full of impressive-looking targets and formulas, but the bottom line is that the company has consistently paid CEO Ray Irani huge sums during his 17 years at the top, regardless of performance, which has mostly been terrible.

Even the way boards are elected appears immune to reform. Since the number of board candidates exactly equals the number of vacant seats, shareholders who don’t like a candidate can only “withhold” their vote, so even one vote is enough to get a candidate elected.

A popular reform proposal would require a majority of votes cast. The theory is that directors who could get voted off the board will more zealously serve shareholders - and that includes getting tough on CEO pay. But the worry is that they’ll adopt the go-along-to-get-along culture of many boardrooms.

It may seem obvious that CEO raises will have to slow down, if only because of simple arithmetic. Pay that gallops ahead far faster than the economy is one of those things that can’t go on forever. If it did, then someday the entire GDP would be used for paying CEOs, and that isn’t likely.

Meanwhile, let the reformers battle on. One of the most prominent, Nell Minow of the invaluable Corporate Library, which rates board effectiveness, says, “My colleagues and I have found that there is no more reliable indicator of investment, litigation, and liability risk than excessive CEO compensation.”

Boards that can’t manage to pay the CEO properly are damaging the company, punishing the shareholders they represent, and weakening America in a global economy. It’s in everybody’s interest to turn them around - or at least to keep trying.

New home sales fell in March to the lowest level in more than 16 years, according to a key government report on the battered housing market released Wednesday.

March sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000, the Census Bureau report showed, down 8.5%

In spite of the real estate recession and record-setting energy prices, the art collection market is still partying like it’s 1999. Every shattered record, though, recalls the specter of 1989, when a cooling economy overwhelmed the hot contemporary-art market like a nuclear winter.

A-list artists such as Koons saw their prices plunge, but the hardest hit were small-business owners specializing in contemporary art. In New York City alone, more than 70 galleries folded. Knowledgeable art dealers aren’t waiting around to see if the crash will finally come in May, during the Sotheby’s and Christie’s International annual spring sales of postwar and contemporary art.

Those entrepreneurs are turning to new markets and applying lessons learned in the last downturn to ensure that they’re nimble enough to succeed in either a continued boom or a bust. Burned by that experience, they are now more selective about what they stocks, and won’t deal in works by artists who are are overproducing.

Specializing in lesser-known and regional artists is one strategy as their prices are more stable than top-tier names. Some continue to represent elite names, but manages volatility by boosting prices no more than 10% or so between shows, no matter how an artist fares at auction.

It’s a strategy that worked. When the market was rising, some collectors complained that prices were too cheap and devalued their investments. But when the cycle turned, none of the work was marked down, thus maintaining the prestige and perceived value.

Broadening customer base by focusing on the international market. In the late ’80s high-end art buyers came from the U.S. and Japan; when those economies simultaneously tanked, the art market followed. Now China, the Middle East, and Russia also field wealthy collectors, all of whom are enjoying the effects of a weak U.S. dollar.

Art fairs are another new bright spot, because they bring in new clients and high-volume sales. The main thing is to understand there is a limit to how long people will pay attention. There may be a very nice revenue stream while it lasted. The trick is to know when to move on to the next one.

My wife loves to wear binikis and boy, does she have a superb figure! Since summer is here and we have planned a Europe vacation, I think it is right for her to shop for some swimwear.

There are many types of women’s swimwear, from one piece, two pieces, bikinis, skirtinis, tankinis, barthing suit, to resort wear. Many men like to ogle women who wear skimpy swimsuit, but being sexy is one thing, the swimsuit must ultimately be comfortable. It must fit your body like a glove, tight but not too restrictive.

At this website, swimsuitsforall.com, a wide range of products are available for people of all sizes. Some of the suits are so cute and sexy, they drive men men crazy. Women’s tankinis are one of the specialty items here. Tankinis are basically bikinis that are comfortable as a two piece, but they look like one piece. One piece swimwear is also available - it may show lesser flesh but they are elegant, just think of all the beauty pageants.

I know a lot of plus size ladies have trouble finding suitable apparel, not to mention swimwear. But not to worry as the products from this site are targeted towards this segment. You can purchase swimwear for all family members as they cater for kids, teens, men and women. The guys in your family will love the classic beach boy wear.

The items that you can see on their site are all branded so you are assured of quality swim dresses at affordable prices. I will get a christina swimwear for my wife as a gift. If you are interested, visit the site today and browse through the items. I am sure you will also have a happy summer flaunting your assets with your new swimwear.

1. Check your DUNS number

It’s a nine-digit identification number assigned by credit-rating company Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) that lets banks and other potential lenders see a snapshot of your company’s bill-paying history and general financial stability. To apply for one, go to D&B’s website and, under Customer Resources, click on “Get a DUNS Number.”

2. Clean Up Personal Credit History

Have a pristine personal credit history. For small firms, you are usually the guarantor of any loan a bank extends to your business, a loan officer will scrutinize your credit record. People who don’t honor their personal commitments generally don’t honor business commitments either.  Macieira-Kaufmann notes.

3. Your planned use for the loan

Banks love to see a business purpose likely to boost revenues. They are also impressed if you’ve invested a significant sum of your own money in the business. It shows you have a stake in its success.

4. Cash Flow and Profitability

When it comes to your repayment ability, a bank checks out your firm’s cash flow and profitability. The issue of collateral doesn’t really come into play with small business loans, which are usually unsecured.

But in service businesses with few material assets, banks do sometimes consider accounts receivable to be a form of collateral.

5. Geographic location

The location of your business and the general economic condition, your industry and whether it’s growing.

6. Deposit Balances

It always helps to have your business account at the bank you hope to borrow from.