Friday, January 8, 2010

“DBJ Business Pulse: Local businesses give themselves a 'C' average for ... - Denver Business Journal” plus 4 more

“DBJ Business Pulse: Local businesses give themselves a 'C' average for ... - Denver Business Journal” plus 4 more

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

DBJ Business Pulse: Local businesses give themselves a 'C' average for ... - Denver Business Journal

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:09 AM PST

DenverBusinessJournal.com readers who responded to our latest Business Pulse question gave their businesses a "C" average when asked about their performance in 2009.

In our unscientific online opinion survey, just over one in four readers gave a "C" grade to their 2009 business performance. About a third awarded themselves an "A" or "B" for 2009, while almost as many bestowed a "D" or "F" on their business.

There were 491 responses to our informal survey, which asked: "How would you grade the performance of your business in 2009?"

Your answers:

• A — 14%.

• B — 22%.

• C — 26%

• D — 20%

• F — 14%

• Other — 1%

• Don't know — 2%

This week's Business Pulse question: "What percentage of your state tax dollars do you think is wasted on unnecessary programs or personnel?" Click here to respond, and please leave a comment explaining your answer.

The deadline for replies to this question is Tuesday at 10 a.m. MST.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Winter weather brings business - Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:02 AM PST

Published: January 08, 2010 11:01 am    print this story  

Winter weather brings business

By CharLy Markwart
Princeton Times

PRINCETON — As below-average temperatures and above average snowfalls continue to define this young winter season, most Mercer County residents are finding reason to stay indoors as much as possible.

But, that doesn't mean they're staying at home.

"For the most part, we do see a big upswing in business during these real cold, wintry days," said Carla English, manager of Bluefield's Mountaineer Bowling Lanes, Inc. "Even through the big snows, they come out, because they want to be inside where it's warm, but they don't want to be snowed in. They've got to get out and about and be doing things."

That was clear Tuesday night, when single digit wind chills and flurries dumping a new 2-4 inches of snow into the area didn't keep the popular alley's lanes from being nearly full.

"You can see it; they come in excited and ready to have fun because they're so glad to get out of the house," said English. "This is very much our busy season; the summers are very slow."

For those active locals unwilling to let Old Man Winter keep them at home, the Cumberland Road business offers several entertainment options. Nightly leagues satisfy the competitive spirits of the serious bowlers, while open bowling opportunities, pool tables, a sports lounge and promotions like the Sunday lane rental special (2 hours for $17.90 plus shoe rental) keep casual entertainment-seekers coming back for more.

And, for those looking for a different kind of indoor action, there's always old-fashioned fun in store at Skatetown, Green Valley's roller skating rink.

"Our main season is generally January through April, because they want to be inside," said Prichard Clement, who owns the rink along with his wife, Debi. "As long as they can get out, they come, because they're tired of being pinned in at home."

With offers like free skating for parents, free pizza on Saturday nights, $12 birthday parties, and special events like a Jan. 16 appearance by nationally recognized jam skating team Vanilla Jam, Clement doesn't expect to see any slowdown in business throughout the rest of this winter season…except when the snow gets too deep.

"It depends upon whether the people can get off the hill," he said with a laugh. "That sounds silly, but even when they clear the main roads, the hills are still covered, and it's too icy for the people to get here. So, of course when snow hits like it did over the Christmas holidays, it makes a difference and we don't have anybody. But, as long as the people can get out, they come, because they have cabin fever and they just want to have a great time."

At her business, though, English sees it a little differently. There at Mountaineer Lanes, she says, it isn't the snow that keeps people away on some of winter's harshest nights; it's the extreme cold.

"For the most part, we stay busy all winter, but like this past weekend when it was real cold, it hurt us and we didn't have much business," she said. "They'll come out in the snow, but the really cold temperatures seem to keep them at home."

When extreme conditions do keep area residents at home, though, most of them still are not going without entertainment. Princeton Movie Gallery Manager Michelle Carter says when bad weather is in the forecast, movie and game rentals are a must.

"When snow storms are coming, we're kind of like the grocery stores; people make a stop in here to stock up," she said. "Our busiest time of year is always the winter, when we generally see a 20 to 25 percent upswing in our rentals."

And during this especially cold and snowy winter season, she says, Mercer County residents are making even more of an effort to keep themselves entertained.

"We've seen more people coming in this winter for a larger quantity of rentals at a time, because they're afraid they're going to be stuck in for longer periods of time," she said. "That's kind of a lot of them; they're worried the cable's going to go out and they won't have anything to do, so they come stock up on some movies. During the big storm in December, we had a lot of customers who had their power out and were going on generators, and they came in and said how glad they were to at least be able to watch some movies while they were stuck in for so long."

— Contact CharLy Markwart at cmarkwart@ptonline.net.

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Bank of Canada Business Survey: Continued Improvement? - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:05 AM PST

David Goodboy is Vice President of Business Development for a New York City based multi-strategy fund.

The Event:

At 10:30 AM on Monday, January 11th, the Bank of Canada releases its Business Outlook Survey.

Description:

This is a much anticipated quarterly report as it is used to predict future economic conditions. It surveys 100 critical Canadian companies as to their views on business conditions, sales, investments, spending and hiring.

Trader Take:

The quarterly report is broken into each of the 4 seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter. It is the winter report being released Monday. The last report indicated that the balance of sales remains negative but future growth expectations are growing. Hiring intentions were improving while investments in machinery stayed the same. Credit conditions had improved and signs pointed toward recovery. It will be interesting to see how the fairly optimistic sentiment in the autumn report will carry over into the winter release.

For more trading strategies, go to TradingMarkets.com/reports.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Virtual Workforce: The Key to Expanding the Business While Cutting ... - IT Business Edge

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:26 AM PST

Free Research Report

Virtual Workforce: The Key to Expanding the Business While Cutting Costs
With today's global economic challenges, most organizations are cutting costs. Surprisingly, many organizations are also using this opportunity to expand the business into new areas. How can organizations balance the needs of cutting costs, while at the same time hiring additional workers to make the expanded business successful? Forrester believes that to do this, companies should invest in a virtual workforce strategy. This research report focuses on the growing trends around virtual workforces and examines three key initiatives to meet the challenges that a virtual workforces can generate.

To download the report, you will need to provide Citrix the information requested below.

Doing Business in Bermuda - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 06:00 AM PST

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - 01/08/10) - Editors note: There is one photo accompanying this news release.

One of the most popular destinations for executives flying by private jet is Bermuda. The president of SwiftJet Inc, a leading Canadian private jet charter company, offers some insights into the reasons why.

- Privacy in the air: Hold meetings or calls with colleagues and clients in a secure and private environment during flight.

- No billable hours lost: Arrive minutes before the flight and eliminate the need for connecting flights and time lost in lines at check-in, security and customs.

- Maintain productivity and costs: Leave home after breakfast, entertain clients over lunch in Bermuda and be back in time for dinner. No overnight flights, hotel bills or extra hours wasted.

- Improve visibility to clients: For companies that need to stay in front of their clients, private jet travel can help businesses provide exceptional service face-to-face.

- Safe and secure: Keep employees and sensitive company information away from public exposure.

- Have control over the itinerary: Private charter flights are booked around the passenger's schedule, and can be changed whenever necessary.

"When executives charter private jets they want to maximize their best assets, employees and time," said Bassam Al-Sarraj, president of SwiftJet Inc., and a pilot. "Being able to travel on your own schedule down to the minute is essential, and that's the flexibility of private jet charter."

Bermuda sees a hub of activity. According to the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA), the main attraction of doing business in Bermuda is its established reputation as a financial centre and its well-regulated locale making the island ideal for business. The country now boasts a client base that includes many of the world's blue-chip companies and high net worth individuals.

About SwiftJet Inc.

Founded in 2008, SwiftJet Inc. is a Canadian on-demand private jet charter company that flies anywhere and anytime to destinations around the world. The fleet includes the Falcon 20F-5 and 15 Diamond D-Jets starting in 2010. The Falcon 20F-5 seats nine and is one of the fastest jets available in its class. The company is the only private jet charter company that offers cash for any delay. For more information visit www.swiftjet.com.

To view the photo associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20100107-Falcon800.jpg

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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