Government and Economy

Obama Calls for Auto Industry Aid
President-elect Barack Obama is appealing for passage of an auto industry rescue package. Obama: “The government can't just stand by and watch the industry collapse.”

Murky Future for Auto Rescue
Prospects for the $14 billion auto industry rescue package dimmed amid strong Republican opposition, despite urgent appeals from Congress, President-elect Barack Obama and the Bush White House.

New Unemployment Surges Unexpectedly
New claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, one more blow for an economy stuck in a recession that only seems to be deepening.

Slow Credit Thaw Continues
The credit freeze appears to be thawing on hopes that the automakers will get their bailout. The cost of three-month dollar loans between banks fell below 2.00% Thursday.

Benefit and Labor Issues

Past Discrimination Case Before Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is revisiting a controversial subject—whether there is a statute of limitations in cases where a lawsuit is filed over past discrimination. The court is considering the case of AT&T employees who said their pension benefits did not give them full credit for maternity leaves they had taken in earlier years.

Go on, Enjoy Your Office Party

In a time of rising unemployment, you cannot help but wonder if canceling the office holiday party could save someone's job.

Healthcare Reform Means Risk and Compromise
Health care leaders need to seize momentum for reform proposed by the new administration to act in order to avoid the kind of failure that occurred in California last year when universal health care failed, say industry experts.

Doing Business and Finance Issues

Do Millennials Have the Stomach to be Entrepreneurs?
The oft-raised question—and it's a big one for the US—is whether millennials (also known as "The Everybody Gets A Trophy" generation) have been so coddled, so inoculated against insults and injury, that they are now too, well, soft to achieve entrepreneurial success.

Bartering Grows as Credit Tightens
Barter exchanges, fee-based membership groups, are growing as a viable alternative to now-scarce credit. Could this be right for your business?

Protect Yourself From Holiday Burglary

This is the prime season for business and residential burglary. Find out how you can protect yourself from thieves this holiday season.

Get Paid Faster
You work so hard to deliver your product or provide service(s) to your clients and in return for that you get paid. That last part is as much a part of the arrangement as any other. Here are some ideas to speed up that end of the deal.

Sales and Marketing

Get More From Your Existing Customers

If you're not leveraging your existing customer database, you're losing out on a cost effective source of potential new business. Here are eight ways you can get more business from your current customers.

Social Networks: Just be Yourself
The rule of being "you" on social networking sites is winning out while those who think they are being "professional" by sending blog links, promotional introductions, and other spam are fast becoming "professional outcasts."