Saturday, September 19, 2009

“Geithner ends program for money-market funds - Honolulu Advertiser” plus 4 more

“Geithner ends program for money-market funds - Honolulu Advertiser” plus 4 more

Geithner ends program for money-market funds - Honolulu Advertiser

Posted: 19 Sep 2009 05:02 AM PDT

WASHINGTON Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said an emergency program that had guaranteed as much as $3 trillion in assets in money market mutual funds was allowed to expire yesterday.

"As the risk of catastrophic failure of the financial system has receded, the need for some of the emergency programs put in place during the most acute phase of the crisis has receded as well," Geithner said in a brief statement.

Geithner had said last week that the financial system was healthy enough to begin unwinding some of the programs put in place a year ago after the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered the worst financial crisis in seven decades.

FDIC considers tapping Treasury

WASHINGTON The chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says she is "considering all options, including borrowing from Treasury," to replenish the dwindling fund that insures bank deposits.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair's remarks go beyond what she said just three weeks ago when asked about tapping the Treasury after the fund that insures regular deposit accounts up to $250,000 hit its lowest point since 1992, at the height of the savings-and-loan crisis.

The FDIC estimates bank failures will cost the fund $70 billion through 2013.

Microsoft suing over online ads

NEW YORK Microsoft Corp. has filed five lawsuits aimed at halting the flow of malicious online advertising.

The Redmond, Wash., software maker filed the claims Thursday in Washington state court against five unknown individuals under the business names Soft Solutions, DirectAd, qiweroqw.com, ITmeter INC. and ote2008.info.

Microsoft's associate general counsel, Tim Cranton, announced the move in a blog post. Microsoft accused the defendants of spreading "malvertisements," ads that can end up infecting computers with damaging software.

American Airlines' expects traffic fall

MINNEAPOLIS American Airlines said it expects its September traffic to fall 16.4 percent from August as capacity drops 9.7 percent.

Airlines typically reduce flying after Labor Day. This year's fall schedules have been especially lean as airlines try to match their flying with reduced demand.

American said it expects third-quarter unit revenue, or revenue divided by capacity, to fall 14.5 percent to 15.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

Big jump for natural gas prices - Times Union

Posted: 19 Sep 2009 02:03 AM PDT

 NEW YORK -- Natural gas prices have mostly moved in one direction this summer, down, and the vast caverns that hold it are close to reaching capacity. Yet since the beginning of the month prices have spiked 44 percent.

A record number of futures contracts were snapped up this week, most likely because buyers didn't see prices for natural gas getting much cheaper.

The jump in price would certainly be a troubling sign for people who use natural gas to heat their homes, save for the fact that, even with a 28 percent run-up this week, prices are still about a third of they were last year.

It's extremely cheap and no one expects that to change anytime soon.

"It's going to be very good winter for natural gas customers," analyst and trader Stephen Schork said.

Natural gas for October delivery added 32 cents Friday to settle at $3.778 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

All other types of fuel sank. Benchmark crude for October delivery gave up 43 cents to settle at $72.04 a barrel.

Just as oil prices spiked and then leveled off earlier this year, natural gas prices jumped more than 44 percent after sinking to $2.40 per 1,000 cubic feet on Sept. 4.

Investors flooded the market and natural gas futures reached a record 404,450 contracts on Tuesday, according to derivatives market CME Group.

The reason consumers and businesses that use a lot of electricity needn't worry is simple. The supply of natural gas is enormous.

American power plants are using a lot less natural gas because the recession has sapped demand for power. Stockpiles are quickly approaching the limit for what can be stored in underground caverns, and producers may start pushing excess supplies onto the open market.

"Where else will it go? We're not going to be able to put any more gas into the ground," Schork said.

The government said Thursday that there is nearly 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in storage, 16.4 percent more than the five-year average for this time of year.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Amity Business School holds fifth Global Leadership Summit - Top News India

Posted: 19 Sep 2009 07:32 AM PDT

Amity Business School holds fifth Global Leadership SummitNew Delhi, Sep. 19 : Amity Business School (ABS) on Saturday organized its fifth annual Global Leadership Summit with the theme "Businesses Beyond the Downturn".

A number of corporate veterans, including D. K. Purwar, Executive Director, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), V K Sharma, CMD, National Fertilizers Ltd., Priti Mathur, Executive Director and Chief of Corporate Planning, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and others attended the event.

'Amity Leadership Awards for Corporate Excellence" were conferred on several corporate honchos for their contribution towards the growth and development of the country.

Corporate giants also used the event to discuss how to combat recession.

The summit provided students with the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with corporate giants, who shared their experiences.

" "Boom" and "downturn" are the two phases of economic cycle and after one phase other phase is bound to come. "Recession is a time of economic crisis; a time full of adversaries and throwing plenty of challenges. This phase has different meaning for different organizations; for some organizations recession is a blessing in disguise," said Purwar.

Purwar also outlined how despite the recession, GAIL has been contributing to the development of the country with the help of its efficient management and their leadership.

V. K. Sharma said recession is unavoidable and an inevitable part of business.

Priti Mathur shared several ONGC strategies to combat the recession.

Honouring and acknowledging the unparallel and incomparable contribution of several corporate " Amity Leadership Awards" were bestowed upon them during the Summit such as:-

'Amity Leadership Award for Corporate Excellence in the Oil & Natural Gas Industry'

ONGC received the 'Amity Leadership Award for Corporate Excellence in the healthcare Industry', Stryker Global Technology Center received the 'Amity Leadership Award for Excellence in Umbilical Cord Blood Banking', Cryobanks International India received the 'Amity Leadership Award for Excellence in the Oil & Gas Exploration and Production' ,Cairn India Ltd. received the 'Amity Leadership Award for Excellence in the Networking and Systems Integration' Spanco Ltd.

'Amity Leadership Awards for Corporate Excellence" were also conferred upon Hilton Hotels, Tata Teleservices Ltd, Koutons Retail India Ltd., MBD Group, Bharti Teletech Ltd., PVR Ltd. and many more

The second session on " Leadership Challenges for CEO's" focused on the major challenges faced by the CEOs and top management in dealing with strategic perspectives related to growth, customers, crisis and risk. (ANI)

How do I write a business plan? - sign on sandiego.com

Posted: 19 Sep 2009 02:46 AM PDT

That's it. You are sick of working for "The Man" or you're searching for Plan B. You are ready to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit, be your own boss and start a business. But before you go running off to buy a snazzy new executive chair, you need a plan. To be specific, a business plan. Intimidated by the very idea? Don't be. Here are some pointers on how to go about crafting one.

Why do I need a business plan anyway?

There are tons of reasons. If you are looking for a loan from a bank or seed money from investors, the first thing they will ask you for is the business plan, says Monty Dickinson, president of the San Diego chapter of Score, a nonprofit that provides consulting services for businesses.

Even if you are launching a modest at-home business, a cohesive business plan is an important start, advises Joe Molina, who is in charge of training at the San Diego Business Development Center in Oceanside. It's a road map to where you want to go and a way to gauge your success going forward.

What exactly is a business plan?

It's just what it says it is: a plan for your business. Molina says to think of it as a story about how you would like to see your company grow. "The story needs to flow so the reader — whether it be a banker, an investor or yourself — knows where the business is going," he advises.

That sounds a little conceptual. What is actually in a business plan?

Molina says business plans, which are typically between 10 and 15 pages, have four basic sections: the executive summary, management information, a marketing plan and financial projections. The executive summary is the equivalent to a two-minute elevator speech and tells the reader exactly what your company does and why it exists.

The management section explains who will be doing what, providing employee qualifications if relevant. The marketing portion looks at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing your company as well as details on how you plan to promote the company, Molina says. Finally, the financial section gives specific projections on how much money you expect to bring in on a monthly basis, as well as your costs.

For a detailed description of what goes into a business plan, go to score-sandiego.org and explore its business library. You need to sign up to access the information, but all the materials in the library are free.

It seems that a business plan requires a lot of information. How do I figure all that out?

By doing research, lots and lots of research. Molina recommends picking three to five companies similar to your proposed business and learning everything you can about their operations. If you need help getting realistic financial projections, Molina suggests checking in with the Risk Management Association (rmahq.org/RMA) .It costs money, but the organization can provide you with solid revenue estimates for a variety of businesses. Banks will quickly reject any business plan with out-of-whack financial projections, he says.

So what are the biggest business plan mistakes?

Not having one, says Dickinson.

Another is being overly optimistic about revenues and underestimating costs.

Not setting specific goals, says Molina. "Saying 'I want to have a good company' is not a specific goal," he says. What is specific is saying, "By the end of 2010, I will have 20 customers and make $5,000 a month."

Forgo hiring someone to write your business plan, Dickinson says. Aside from the steep fees those types of companies charge, the learning process involved is critical to the ultimate success of your business.

Where The San Diego Business Development Center in North County has counseling services and free business plan workshops. Go to its Web site, sandiegosmallbiz.com .

Score also has business plan workshops, which cost between $79 and $99, as well as consulting services. Check out their offerings at score-sandiego.org.

The Small Business Administration also has a free online course on writing a business plan. For more information, go to uniontrib.com/more/sbabizplan. The SBA is a good first stop for a number of business services, so make sure to check out sba.gov/ca/sandiego .

Union-Tribune

Jennifer Davies: (619) 293-1373;

Related Terms: North County, Oceanside

Business As Usual - Philippine Star Online

Posted: 19 Sep 2009 04:04 AM PDT

Bringing yet another unique bazaar experience in the South, The Bellevue Hotel in partnership with Four Seasons Creative Ventures recently treated shoppers to a fabulous two-day bazaar event held inside the hotel's luxurious Laguna and Alabang Ballrooms.
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