Information technology management challenges

Wear living in a rapidly changing World. Information technology is rapidly changing. This increases the complexity of IT management. Previous research hypothesized that rapid change in IT causes eleven different categories of problems for IT managers. The current study developed a survey instrument based on detailed items about such problems from that research. The instrument was mailed to a nationwide sample of 1,000 IT professionals. Two hundred forty-six provided data which can be used. The data supported and clarified nine of the categories of problems of rapid change in IT. The categories are Vendor Neglect, Vendor Oversell, Acquisition Dilemma, Support Burden, Resistance, Cascading Needs, New Integration, Errors, and Training Demands. The research also offers suggestions for future investigation of the problems and a potential instrument with which to conduct it. Anticipating and planning for the problems may help IT managers avoid project delays and budget overruns.

In recent years, information technology has skyrocketed in capability and plummeted in cost. New IT products emerge and current ones change rapidly. As a result of these changes, the challenges of managing IT today are becoming increasingly complex.

However, little is known about the IT management problems that arise from rapid IT change. Nevertheless, combined with a corporate culture more aware and accepting of IT, such change has propelled IT into an increasingly strategic role in more and more organizations. This has increased the importance of managing IT in these organizations. Simultaneously, understanding the challenges of managing today's rapidly changing IT will enhance the understanding of tomorrow's challenges.

The primary goal of this research is to clarify the challenges of rapid IT change. A secondary goal is to develop a means of measuring and thus further investigating them. Specifically, this paper describes a study of the categories of problems due to changing IT as experienced by IT organizations. It thus attempts to confirm empirically a previously proposed framework of those categories of problems.

2. IMPORTANCE OF PROBLEMS TO PRACTICE AND THEORY

Understanding the problems of rapid IT change is important to both practice and theory.

2.1 Practice

"Over the last decade, the world has been changing so rapidly that one can no longer imagine managing in a steady state. The need to adapt and change continuously has become a given in managerial life. In no other domain has this observation been more relevant than the field of information technology" (Manzoni, and Angehrn, 1998, pp. 109). Such IT change is replete with "startling innovations and drastic, unpredictable shifts in technology's direction" (Sanders, 1999, p. 62). The change is not only rapid, but also is expected to continue into the future (Benjamin and Blunt, 1992; Boar, 1994; Geisler, 1992; Horn, 1999; Peha and Strauss, 1997). In fact, the pace of change is accelerating (Anonymous, 1999; Horn, 1999).

Industry observers have suggested that this swiftly changing IT is causing difficulties for today's IT management. Traditional IT structures cannot cope with continual change and the rapid introduction and utilization of information technologies (Boar, 1994; Boar, 1998). New IT must be absorbed, mastered, and controlled. This demands the ability to apply new ideas and practices that in turn require abstract thinking, problem solving, and inference (Montealegre, 1998). As a result, new IT is difficult to manage (Bhattacherjee, 1998).

Thus realizing the potential of new IT while avoiding associated risks can pose a complex challenge to IT management. Mistakes can be costly and IT managers cannot be experts on all emerging ITs. Because of the lengthy duration of IT acquisition and implementation processes, many ITs become old before ever actually contributing to their intended purpose. In fact, a new IT can even become obsolete before its initial use in production. This vulnerability to obsolescence is especially disconcerting (Sanders, 1999). Indeed, surveys of executives have repeatedly confirmed the fact that changing IT is a major challenge to many organizations (Paul, 1994; ComputerWorld, 1995; Pearson, 1998).

Global Car Business and China

In the current scenario China is striving its best to improve its industry. The Chinese government has become more aggressive about buying foreign assets. In may industrial items China has shown a good progress. Chinese leaders recently said they would begin to make investments in Europe through their sovereign wealth fund. The country has capital available to buy assets driven down by the recession.

Chinalco, China's huge metals company, recently spent $19.5 billion buying into global mining giant Rio Tinto (RTP). Rio needed the money to decrease its debt. There is speculation that China wanted to secure access to minerals. To that extent, the investment was a "strategic" one on China's part. The Australian government considered blocking the deal but did not. Perhaps debt-laden Rio made the case that it needed the money too much to help it through the economic downturn. In a move that may be even more important to the long-term interests of the mainland, the China Development Bank agreed to loan Brazil's oil giant Petrobras (PBR) $10 billion for exploration projects.
The South American oil company also apparently agreed to sell China-controlled oil company Sinopec (SNP) crude supplies for the balance of the year. It does not take detective work to come to the conclusion that the two arrangements were related. In late 2007, Petrobras said it had discovered new fields far off its coast that contain as much as 8 billion barrels of oil and gas, which would make it one of the largest reserves in the world. China will need a substantial part of that oil for its internal use over the next two or three decades. Brazil needed the capital now. China then has the oil to provide fuel for automobiles, the metal to build them and the country seems to be ready to shop for car companies.
According to Reuters, the chief of China's large Chongqing Changan Auto Co. is prepared to take a vulture-fund approach to buying assets. He said, "The longer the crisis lasts, the bigger the chance of failure or a scale-down of some American and European automakers." It is a brutal but honest assessment of the industry, and a clear and public sign that China believe that "money talks." China can afford to be in any business for the long haul if it is convinced that it is in its national interest. That cannot be said about any other nation in the world, especially the United States. The American government is putting its money to work trying to save the financial system and millions of jobs. Japanese companies were able to aggressively move into the U.S. and European car markets in the 1970s and 1980s to a large extent because of their low labor costs. The Japanese auto firms created brands, instead of acquiring them. Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) developed reputations for quality and service that often eclipsed those of their competition in the West. China plans to compress the decades that Japanese companies needed to build large branded auto firms. It plans to complete the process in a year or two by simply acquiring existing, well-known brands.


Chinese Car Firms and Government
There is no reason that a Chinese car firm cannot use government money to bid for Chrysler's assets if it is forced into bankruptcy. In France, Citroen and Peugeot are facing financial problems that could get much worse if car sales remain anemic. GM's (GM) Opel unit in Europe needs immediate capital and may be sold at a loss for the No.1 U.S. car company. The Chinese could pick up brands, manufacturing assets, product-development personnel and dealer networks on both sides of the Atlantic.
Hurdle In The Way of China's Interest
The only hurdle that stands in the way of China's interest in buying car-company assets in the West is the potential desire of governments in the U.S. and E.U. to block buyouts. That could cause trade friction, but it raises a much greater issue. When there is not enough money to go around, which assets will be protected? The economy has created a situation where many critical industries will have to suffer a substantial number of bankruptcies unless their governments step in. Or their governments can let the Chinese buy them which would likely preserve jobs and the tax income from the businesses. They are doing their best to win over the hearts of people.

For a Business Types of Ownership Structures

You have to do many things before starting a business. Here are few very important things which we have to do. Before you can decide on an ownership structure for your business, you must learn at least a little bit about how each structure works. Here's a brief rundown of the most common forms of doing business:

• If it is a sole proprietorship
• partnership should be carefully documented
  
• limited partnership, not a public one
  
• limited liability company (LLC)
• corporation (for-profit)
• nonprofit corporation (not-for-profit)
• cooperative.

Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships

For many new businesses, the best initial ownership structure is either a sole proprietorship or -- if more than one owner is involved -- a partnership.

A sole proprietorship is a one-person business that is not registered with the state as a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. You don't have to do anything special or file any papers to set up a sole proprietorship -- you create one just by going into business for yourself.

Legally, a sole proprietorship is inseparable from its owner -- the business and the owner are one and the same. This means the owner of the business reports business income and losses on her personal tax return and is personally liable for any business-related obligations, such as debts or court judgments.

Similarly, a partnership is simply a business owned by two or more people that hasn't filed papers to become a corporation or a limited liability company (LLC). No paperwork needs to be filed to form a partnership -- the arrangement begins as soon as you start a business with another person. As in a sole proprietorship, the partnership's owners pay taxes on their shares of the business income on their personal tax returns and they are each personally liable for the entire amount of any business debts and claims.

Sole proprietorships and partnerships make sense in a business where personal liability isn't a big worry -- for example, a small service business in which you are unlikely to be sued and for which you won't be borrowing much money for inventory or other costs.

Limited Partnerships

Limited partnerships are costly and complicated to set up and run, and are not recommended for the average small business owner. Limited partnerships are usually created by one person or company, the "general partner," who will solicit investments from others -- who will be the limited partners.

The general partner controls the limited partnership's day-to-day operations and is personally liable for business debts (unless the general partner is a corporation or an LLC). Limited partners have minimal control over daily business decisions or operations and, in return, they are not personally liable for business debts or claims. Consult a limited partnership expert if you're interested in creating this type of business.

Corporations and LLCs

Forming and operating an LLC or a corporation is a bit more complicated and costly, but well worth the trouble for some small businesses. The main benefit of an LLC or a corporation is that these structures limit the owners' personal liability for business debts and court judgments against the business.

What sets the corporation apart from all other types of businesses is that a corporation is an independent legal and tax entity, separate from the people who own, control and manage it. Because of this separate status, the owners of a corporation don't use their personal tax returns to pay tax on corporate profits -- the corporation itself pays these taxes. Owners pay personal income tax only on money they draw from the corporation in the form of salaries, bonuses and the like.

LLCs are similar to corporations because they also provide limited personal liability for business debts and claims. But when it comes to taxes, LLCs are more like partnerships: the owners of an LLC pay taxes on their shares of the business income on their personal tax returns.

Corporations and LLCs make sense for business owners who either 1) run a risk of being sued by customers or clients or run the risk of piling up a lot of business debts, or 2) have a good deal of personal assets they want to protect from business creditors.

Nonprofit Corporations

A nonprofit corporation is a corporation formed to carry out a charitable, educational, religious, literary or scientific purpose. A nonprofit can raise much-needed funds by receiving public and private grant money and donations from individuals and companies. The federal and state governments do not generally tax nonprofit corporations on money they make that is related to their nonprofit purpose, because of the benefits they contribute to society.

Cooperatives

Some people dream of forming a business of true equals -- an organization owned and operated democratically by its members. These grassroots business organizers often refer to their businesses as a "group," "collective" or "co-op" -- but these are usually informal rather than legal labels. For example, a consumer co-op could be formed to run a food store, a bookstore or any other retail business. Or a workers' co-op could be created to manufacture and sell arts and crafts.

Teens with Jobs , Rules and Regulations

Every year about 70 teens die from work injuries in the United States. Another 70,000 get hurt badly enough that they go to a hospital emergency room. Why do injuries like these occur? Teens are often injured on the job due to unsafe equipment, stressful conditions, and speed-up or teens may not receive adequate safety training and supervision.

Most teens work in retail fast food restaurants, supermarkets and stores. But they also work in nursing homes, schools, amusement parks and summer camps. Some work on farms. Most injuries and deaths result from driving cars or using heavy equipment and power tools, all prohibited by child labor protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Hours limitations

• Youths 18 or older may perform any job, whether hazardous or not, for unlimited hours, in accordance with minimum wage and overtime requirements.
• Youths 16 and 17 years old may perform any nonhazardous job, for unlimited hours.
• Youths 14 and 15 years old may work outside school hours in various nonmanufacturing, nonmining, nonhazardous jobs up to
  • 3 hours on a school day
  • 18 hours in a school week
  • 8 hours on a non-school day
  • 40 hours on a non-school week

Work must be performed between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when evening hours are extended to 9 p.m.

For answers to your questions about child labor, call your local Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor.

Procrastination Tips for Parents of Teens

Procrastination is a regular problem many teens face, sometimes daily. Often parents try to fix this behavior through reward or punishment. As procrastination has underlying reasons, these fixes don't work as well as parents would hope, leaving us and our teens frustrated. Here are some tips to help your teen overcome procrastination:

what needs to be done to your teen. When a task is not clearly laid out, your teen may procrastinate, as they are unsure of exactly what you expect. Ask your teen if they understand what is required. If not, explain it to them. If they think so, have them explain to you what they think they should be doing. Clarify any confusion.

Help your teen find their motivation. Motivation comes easily when doing something is important to the person doing it. Otherwise, it is very slow to show up and your teen will procrastinate. If your teen's teacher hasn't motivated their class about their latest algebra assignment, your teen might need another incentive to get them to the homework and do it well. Setting up a 'privileges based on completed responsibilities' can help you motivate your teen if this is the problem.

Encourage your teen to get extra help for things like school work, where your ability to help is limited. The inability to do something can cause your teen to procrastinate. Tell your teen: 'School is about learning, not knowing. If someone already knows everything, they don't need to go learn it, do they? Sometimes learning is fast, sometimes it's harder. The good thing is that there are teachers there to help you if you are up against learning a tougher topic for you.' The good thing about this strategy is that once it works for your teen, they will begin to do it more independently. If your teen is dealing with a difficult teacher and is unable to get the extra help they need, call the school and see if there are other tutor options.

Help your teen set goals. Make sure their goals are clear and come from the teen. Teens need to feel ownership of their goals in order not to procrastination and want to get the work done that is needed to achieve the goal.

Use preventative measures and address problems before they happen. Problems like perfectionism and anxiety can cause a teen to become stressed and procrastinate. Remind teens that they do not have to be perfect, that no one is. While they may be judged on their effort, doing their best is the purpose and they are always capable of doing their best.

Be understanding and supportive. Being afraid of what could happen is another reason teens procrastinate. Going out into the world and dealing with things that have outcomes you cannot control can be scary for everyone. Talk to your teen about this and role play if necessary.

How to Increase Your Online Business

Now a days man people are wondering that how to earn more many by online business. there are few tips for it ,but you shall have to make your web more attractive. The World Wide Web serves as a large repository of websites – personal, corporate, e-commerce portals, etc. – wherein each website is striving for the Internet users’ attention. As an online entrepreneur, your capacity to attract as well as retain user attention very much depends on your content and website design as well as web development proficiency.

The online marketplace is not different from any other marketplace anywhere in the world. With so much of competition all around, it is obvious that a few websites make a mark whereas most others just fail and get lost in the oblivion. You have to make sure your website is not one of them.

Listed herewith are some quality pointers which will help you ensure your web design is simple and smart.

Using Paragraphs in Writing:-
Do not try to bombard your visitors with heaps of information – it can be a great put off. When you lay out your content, make sure you use as many paragraphs as possible, especially if the write-up is long. It is advisable to use lots of headings, bullet points and sub headings and describe your company, products or services on your website.

Information Scattering :-
In an attempt to make the website design comprehensive, a number of businesses end up scattering their content and information throughout the website. As a result, users looking for a particular piece of information have to scan numerous pages of the site, often giving up midway. You need to make sure that every page of your website talks of something meaningful and relevant to your business. Moreover, the site navigation should be such that users can easily browse from one page to the other.

Dropdown, Sitemap page, menu bars on left or right side, bottom menu bar, etc., are just some of the ways in which you can make things clear for your target audience.

Fonts must be variable:-
A permanent font size can act as big roadblock for those visitors who want flexibility of choice and opportunity for changing their font size as and when they want to. Not everyone has good eyesight. Therefore, to make your site more usable and readable, you will need to stick to this basic web design and development guidelines.

Broadway Infotech:-
Broadway Infotech is a premier online services company which provides e-business solutions to a diverse clientele. When it comes to website design and web development, we make websites that are sure to leave a positive impression on the minds of users. By doing so, you will not only be able to rake in more visitors, but also increase your online business revenues.
these are some unique techniques to improve you online business.

How to Save Money on Texting on Mobile!

Do you want to text a lot , but due to its cost you are restricted . Now you can have very easy way to do this. You can even promote your business.

Many people today like texting on their cell phones. It can be a quick and efficient way to communicate to people, especially in those situations when you can't make a voice phone call.

Unfortunately, one huge issue that some have faced is spending way too much money on texting. The good news is that there are things that you can do that will help you cut costs and save money on texting.

The first thing that you need to do is understand your cell phone plan. Many times people get in trouble because they don't know how many texts they actually have. If you go over your limit, you will waste so much money. Know what you have available to you and never go over.

This is also very simple you may have the users manual to go through.

The simplest thing is to just get unlimited texting and never worry about having too many texts. For some though who don't text but a few times a month, not getting this could help save money. For others, having this protects you.

Even if you have unlimited texting available to you, you have to realize that all texts are not free. You will have other costs associated with texting that you might not be aware of.

If you text to enter into a contest, this can cost you money. Read the instructions carefully to see what kind of charges actually apply.

If you vote for certain things, there are normally additional costs.

If you text for information, many times this charge will be added to your cell phone bill.

If you text for ring tones, these will cost you money when delivered to you.

At times you might text somewhere to get a free item for your phone. While this sounds nice, you can many times have additional charges that will show up on your bill monthly.

Keep an eye on your cell phone bill just in case to understand if texts are costing you extra money. This will help you catch the charges that you might not be aware of so that you can cancel them and save money.

Why Cell Phone Credit Card Processing is Great For Any Business , How to create Merchant Accounts.

Business and Cell phone go Together :

Mobile or cell phone credit card processing...Regardless of how you refer to it; its here to stay. It's the new, very cost effective, and scalable way of processing credit card transactions from anywhere and from just about any cell phone.

Below are the few reasons why mobile or cell phone credit card processing is great for any business. Although they can also be a source of annoyance.

You can Accept Card Payments Anywhere
You can transactions from anywhere without having to use any special equipment. You will never again have to worry about receiving payment and losing the sale because you can't take the payment on the spot.

You can Run Transactions Wirelessly From Any Cell Phone
Run card transactions on-the-go wirelessly through any mobile phone. There is no limit to the number of phones that a business can use to process mobile card transactions. If you need a more secure transaction, you can purchase a swiper that will attach to your cell phone.

No More Carrying around Customer's Credit Card Numbers
Processing transactions wirelessly through a cell phone allows you or your sales team to complete the transaction right on the spot instantly. This eliminates the problem of you or your sales team losing a valuable customer's card number which can lead to fraud. This could be a liability. There are more facilities which you can avail with the help of your cell phone.

Deploy Mobile Credit Card Processing Capabilities to Field Sales...Instantly
Your field sales team can process transactions instantly with their mobile phones. This will save you a ton of money and you will not have to purchase each of your sales representatives their own wireless terminal. Also, it's looks very professional for your sales team to use their own phone instead of tying up a customer's home phone.

Solution to Getting Rid of the Bottleneck back at the Office
Mobile transactions will solve the bottleneck problem at any office. Your sales team will no longer have to rely on someone to run transactions for them back at the office. This happens a lot when a business has multiple employees or departments that run transactions and there are not enough terminals for all employees and/or departments.

So let's recap. With mobile or cell phone credit card processing a business can process transactions anywhere with any cell phone. A businesses sales team will be able to process credit cards instantly, on the spot which in turn will secure a customer's card information and help to eliminate the bottleneck back at the office.

Merchant Accounts

INTERNATIONAL MERCHANT ACCOUNT , How to help you out!

Why Do You Need a Merchant Account?

Here we are guiding you about marchant accounts. Merchant accounts provide you with the ability to accept credit or debit card payments from customers for goods and services. A merchant account establishes a relationship between your business, a bank and a credit card processor, such that funds generated from sales where you were paid by credit cards are deposited into your bank account on a regular basis, less merchant account fees.

Without a merchant account, your customers will not be able to pay you using their credit card. Given that credit card payments are still the dominant form of payment on the Interne this would place you at a competitive disadvantage in a highly competitive business environment.

The Merchant Bank assigns you a unique number called a Merchant ID Number or MID. This unique number is attached to each credit card transaction that originates from your Web site. The Merchant ID number is also associated with your business checking (current) account. This allows funds captured from your customer’s credit card payments to be automatically deposited into the proper business checking account. To qualify for a merchant account, you must meet the bank’s requirements.

What Are the Different Types of Merchant Accounts?

There are two primary kinds of merchant accounts that are issued, depending upon your method of capturing the credit card information at the time a payment is made.

The first type of merchant account is called a “card present”, “signature-based” or “retail” merchant account. This type of account is issued to merchants whose customers will be physically present at the time of payment. In such a case, you would be able to inspect the card and the signature on the reverse of the card, and would also be able to match the sales receipt signature against that on the back of the card. Typically, these types of payments are captured by using either a card imprinter (using credit card slips) or a “card swipe” (Point of Sale) terminal.

The second type of merchant account is called a “card not present”, “non-signature-based”, or “MOTO” (Mail Order/Telephone Order) merchant account. This type of merchant account is issued to merchants whose customers are not physically present when they make a payment. This is typical of most Internet payments, where customers key their payment information into an online payment form; and phone-in payments, where operators key the payment information into some type of payment application. The types of merchant account you require will be a key factor in determining your fees, since banks typically view card not present payments as higher risk (i.e. a higher risk of fraud) than card present payments.

What is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway is a separate service and acts as an intermediary between the merchants’ shopping cart and all the financial networks involved with the transaction, including the customers’ credit card issuer and your merchant account. It checks for validity, encrypts transaction details, ensures they are sent to the correct destination and then decrypts the responses which are sent back to the shopping cart.

This is a seamless process and your customer does not directly interact with the gateway; as data is forwarded to the gateway via your shopping cart and a secure (SSL) connection. The shopping cart is configured via plugins to send information in a format that is acceptable to the particular gateway.

The proper choice of payment gateway is another vital element which will contribute to your success or failure as an online business.

Since the payment gateway is the secure connection and transmission of the orders through to banking networks, it is independent of the interface (point of sale software or catalog/cart) that you use to transmit the order information through the payment gateway.

Where Can You Obtain a Merchant Account?

Merchant accounts are traditionally obtained through a bank that issues merchant accounts called an “acquiring bank” or “acquirer”. Generally, there is a separate group within the bank that processes merchant account applications.

When you apply for a merchant account, the merchant account risk group will assess a number of factors before approving your application, including (but not limited to):

• Your company and/or personal credit history.
• The type of product/service you are selling (note that it is extremely difficult to obtain merchant accounts for certain types of “high risk” products and services such as online gambling, pornography, outbound telephone sales, prepaid phone cards, travel agencies and others. What is perceived as high risk varies by acquirer). Falsifying the nature of the product or service you are selling when applying for a merchant account could lead to termination of your merchant account.
• Estimated sales volume.
• Average order size.

Another option for obtaining merchant accounts is through a credit card broker or “ISO” (Independent Sales Organization). These companies have relationships with many banks, and attempt to match your credit history and type of business with a bank that will accept your application. They are typically paid a commission from the acquiring bank for your business, and this is passed on to you in the form of a set-up fee or a percentage of sale fee. There are many ISO’s to choose from. Be aware that not all of them are reputable, so you would be well-advised to do some research on them before “signing on the dotted line”. We typically recommend that merchants obtain their merchant account through a bank if possible, since the rates are typically lower, and they are unlikely to go out of business. That said, many reputable ISO’s do exist and provide a valuable service to merchants that are unable to get a merchant account through other channels.

The merchant account business is highly competitive, and it is not uncommon for rates to vary even within acquiring banks, depending upon which merchant account representative you speak with, and how valuable they perceive your business. Having said that, price should not be your sole factor in obtaining a merchant account. Service is important too. Understand the acquiring bank’s policies with respect to such factors as charge-backs (when a customer refuses to pay a charge). You may wish to reevaluate your merchant account provider if, for example, their policy is to revoke your merchant account status after a small number of charge-backs.

Requirements for Setting up a Merchant Account

Getting important information together ahead of time will ensure that you go right through your merchant account application process. Here’s what you may or may not (depending on the provider) need in order to obtain your merchant account:

• Corporate bank account.
• Set of your corporate documents, such as Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Incorporation, business license, by-laws, etc. The purpose of this is to prove you are a legitimate business.
• Have a web site.
• Details of your refund policy information.
• Provide trade or bank references.
• Photocopy of recent tax returns (may or may not be needed depending on monthly sales volume you expect through your merchant account).
• A photocopy of your identity, like passport, identity card, etc.

What Fees are Associated With a Merchant Account?

The fees that you will pay for a merchant account vary depending upon many of the factors discussed earlier, such as perceived level of risk, estimated dollar volume, the aggressiveness of the acquiring bank, etc. In general, however, the following rates will apply:

Setup Fee: sometimes called an “application fee”, this one time fee varies widely, from $200 to $500 depending upon the acquiring bank.

Discount Rate: the discount rate is the percentage of the total sale that you pay to the acquiring bank, and is typically the largest cost of having a merchant account. These rates are determined using a number of factors, including the average order dollar amount, estimated total monthly dollar volume, the perceived business risk, etc. Internet-based merchant account discount rates range from approximately 2% to 5%. Small variations in discount rate can have a large impact on your total cost if you are processing significant dollar volume.

Transaction Fee: some acquiring banks levy a transaction fee in addition to the discount rate. Of those that do levy a fee, they typically range from $0.10-$0.50 per transaction. Note that banks that waive the transaction fee sometimes “build it in” to the discount rate to make their fees appear more competitive. Comparing the total cost of different providers will allow you to make informed decisions by comparing “apples to apples”.

Statement Fee: this fee covers the cost of producing your monthly statement. Typical fees are $10 or under, and some banks do not charge a statement fee at all.

Monthly Minimum: some acquiring banks will charge you a minimum fee (e.g. $25) if your discount rate plus transaction fees do not exceed the minimum amount.

Chargeback Fee: if a customer successfully repudiates a charge from you, the bank will charge you a “charge-back” fee. This rate varies from $10 to $25 for each chargeback. Note that too many charge-backs will likely result in the loss of your merchant account status, so be sure to take advantage of available fraud control technology and apply sound business judgment in order to reduce incidences of charge-backs.

Reserve Funds: if the acquiring bank perceives that your level of risk exceeds their standard guidelines but is not high enough to result in a rejected application, you may be required to set up a reserve account with the bank. This typically consists of a percentage of your sales volume (e.g. 10% of your estimated first six month’s sales). This provides a fund that the merchant account provider can access should you exit the business or you experience excessive charge backs.

Oil Prices, It is Running out !Find Alternatives !

If you look in the near past then you will see that how the oil prices are changing . For example Oil prices hit a record high of $97 a barrel on Tuesday, but the next generation of consumers could look back on that price with envy. The dire predictions of a key report on international oil supplies released Wednesday suggest that oil prices could move irreversibly over the $100-a-barrel threshold in the not too distant future, as the global economy faces a serious energy shortage.

This gloomy assessment comes from the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based organization representing the 26 rich, gas-guzzling member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The agency is not known for alarmist warnings, and its World Energy Outlook is typically viewed by policy wonks as a solid indicator of global energy supplies. In a marked change from its traditionally bland, measured tones, the IEA's 2007 report says governments need to make urgent, bold decisions on energy policy, or risk massive environmental and energy-supply crises within two decades — crises and shortages that could spark serious global conflicts.

"I am sorry to say this, but we are headed toward really bad days," IEA chief economist Fatih Birol told TIME this week. "Lots of targets have been set but very little has been done. There is a lot of talk and no action."

The reason for the IEA's alarm is its expectation that economic development will raise global energy demands by about 50% in a generation, from today's 85 million barrels a day to about 116 million barrels a day in 2030. Nearly half that increase in demand will come from just two countries — China and India, which are electrifying hundreds of cities and putting millions of new cars on their roads, most driven by people who once walked, or rode bicycles and buses. By 2030, those two countries will be responsible for two-thirds of the world's carbon gas emissions, which are the primary human activity causing global warming.

India and China have argued against enforcing strict emission controls in their countries, on the grounds that these could hinder their economic growth and prompt a global economic slowdown. But the new IEA report says working with China and India on alternative energy sources and curbing emissions is a matter of global urgency.

The bad news is not only environmental. As the world scrambles to boost energy supplies over the next two decades, an ever-greater percentage of its supplies of oil and gas will come from a dwindling number of countries, largely arrayed around the Persian Gulf, as the massive North Sea and Gulf of Mexico deposits are finally exhausted. That will leave the industrialized countries far more dependent on the volatile Middle East in 2030 than they are today, and the likes of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran will dictate terms to companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron, which increasingly operate as contractors to state-run oil companies in many producer nations.

"Most of the oil companies are going to be in an identity crisis, and need to redefine their business strategies," Birol says. The soul-searching may have already begun, as oil executives begin sounding the alarm about the supply crunch that lies ahead. Last week, Christophe de Margerie, CEO of the French oil giant Total, told the Financial Times that even the target of 100 million barrels a day is an optimistic one for an industry that currently produces 85 million — far short of the 116 million barrels a day the IEA projects will be needed by 2030 to fuel the global economy.

And in a sharp departure from the usually reassuring comments offered by Big Oil executives, De Margerie said companies and governments now realize that they have overestimated the amount of oil that could be extracted from places difficult to reach and costly to explore. "It is not my view, it is the industry view," he said. In other words, the message is that the current sky-high oil prices may not be a temporary burden on the world economy.

Forecasting prices, however, has become an increasingly inexact science for analysts, as prices in recent months have galloped ahead of their worst predictions. Says Oswald Clint, a London-based analyst for Sanford Bernstein: "A year ago, our predictions for November 2007 were about $50 to $62 dollars a barrel" — at least $35 short of Tuesday's price. The oil-research firm predicts that expanded production will bring oil prices back to $70 a barrel by 2010. But to Birol, that sounds optimistic.

"If you want to lower prices you have to slow down oil demand growth in China and India, use cars more efficiently, use biofuels, and also convince producing countries to pump more oil," says Birol. But he is uncertain any of that will happen. "I don't see the political will." Then again, nothing fuels political will like a soaring price at the gas pump.

What will be our future ? Allah Knows! We are going in the stone age we are not serious for the preservation of oil. We must start using solar energy at a larger scale . Oil dependence must be discouraged. The new enterprising companies must invest in the energy resources and renewable sources of energy. It shall be a profitable business, specially in the third world countries.

Do you want to Lead Campaigns for Change? But How?

Normally you can interact many different cultures. Everyone agrees that culture is the hardest thing to change, whether ethics in the financial system or the eating habits of individuals. That's because change is not a decision like appointing a new CEO, nor is it an event like winning an election. If somebody wants some changes then he must keep in mind that change is an ongoing campaign.

Even in a hierarchy, top officials can declare a new policy or restructure by fiat, but they can't change behavior without a campaign to win hearts and minds. If culture change is difficult within a company, it is even harder in looser systems such as communities and countries. In his book, All Deliberate Speed, Charles Ogletree examines the 50 years after the Supreme Court passed Brown v. Board of Education ordering the desegregation of U.S. public schools; yet decades later schools remain de facto segregated. If laws don't produce change, then leaders must become adept at campaigns to change behavior.

The best campaigns for change have five elements:

Campaigns, like brand marketing, start with a clear, succinct, easy to repeat, emotionally compelling message. The designated driver campaign, spearheaded by Jay Winsten at the Harvard School of Public Health 21 years ago, reduced fatalities from drunk driving by 25% in its first four years alone using the slogan "The designated driver is the life of the party." The message plays off of "life of the party" to signify that the party will be fun, while reminding people that "life" depends on a driver who doesn't drink. Similarly, playful yet compelling images animate Dr. Hugo Tempelman's campaign to stop HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The campaign features billboards with a cartoon condom and slogans accompanied by a soccer ball that start with the line "Men with balls..." and complete the sentence with safe sex behavior.

Predictions for business intelligence

Analyst firm Gartner has tabled five predictions for business intelligence (BI) for 2009-2012.

Gartner analysts will discuss BI market dynamics at the annual Gartner Business Intelligence Summit 2009 in The Hague, Netherlands on 20-22 January.

"Organisations will expect IT leaders in charge of BI and performance management initiatives to help transform and significantly improve their business," said Nigel Rayner, a Gartner analyst. "This year's predictions focus on the need for BI and performance management to deliver greater business value."

Through to 2012, more than 35% of the top 5,000 global companies will regularly fail to make insightful decisions about significant changes in their business and markets, said Gartner.

Another view is this that in 2012 business activities will give maximum benefit to third word countries , but there are few problems which will be discussed later.

The economic downturn though will force many businesses to be aware of changes in their organisations, re-think their strategies and operating plans and face demands from stakeholders and governments for greater transparency about finances, operations, decisions and core performance metrics.

However, most organisations do not have the information, processes and tools needed to make informed, responsive decisions due to underinvestment in information infrastructure and business tools, said the analyst.

"IT leaders in companies with a strong culture of information-based management should create a task-force to respond to the changing information and analysis needs of executives," said Bill Hostmann, another Gartner analyst.

"IT leaders in businesses without such a culture should document the costs and challenges of adjusting to new conditions and propose a business case for investing in the information infrastructure, process and tools to support decision making," he said.

The other four business intelligence predictions:

• By 2012, business units will control at least 40% of the total budget for business intelligence.

They business units may be controlled by few hands.

• By 2010, 20% of organisations will have an industry-specific analytic application delivered via software as a service (SaaS) as a standard component of their business intelligence portfolio.

• In 2009, collaborative decision making will emerge as a new product category that combines social software with business intelligence platform capabilities.

• By 2012, 33% of analytic applications applied to business processes will be delivered through course-grained application mashups.

U.K. Labels Target 'Physical Fanatics,' Its Aim is To Boost Digital Business?

Sale of physical CDs, is it decreasing?
The trend of music are changing day by day . In the same way trend to sale is also changing. The demise of the physical CD and vinyl formats in the digital age has been well and truly exaggerated, at least in the United Kingdom, said speakers at the Music Tank debate in London. Called 'Never Mind the Box Set: The Album Post-iTunes,' the May 20 event was organized to determine the fate of long-playing albums, when consumers are happy to buy individual downloads via legal online stores such as Apple's iTunes. Is it possible to stop the sale of hysical CDs? Sales of the physical albums continue to thrive, concluded a presentation by Sony Music Entertainment and trade body U.K. Music called 'Not All Consumers Are the Same.' The latest IFPI data for 2009 shows U.K trade revenue is 73% physical, 19% digital and 8% performance rights. Physical Fanatics Seek Innovative Releases Based on findings by the Future Business Research Group and described as the first-ever industry-wide segmentation of the British music-buying public, the study found that 'Physical Fanatics' were among the segment of music fans prepared to spend significantly on CDs and vinyl recordings. "Physical fanatics represent about 11% of the [U.K. music-buying] population and about 11% of the total music spend," said Mark Uttley, Sony Music Entertainment's head of insight. "Although tech savvy, they are older [than digital buyers]. For them, discovery is about discovering old gems from back catalogs. They want a big connection with artists and love box sets. They want innovation in physical recordings." These include extras added to CDs, such as DVDs of the artist in concert or a documentary of the album's recording, and free coupons for ordering merchandise. "The industry is unlikely to get them to start downloading unless digital begins to have the trusted voice of old record stores. They have been buying [physical recordings] all their lives and they want to be rewarded for their loyalty," Uttley explained. 'Traditional Physicals' and 'Digital Dabblers' are in their loom :- Other segments of high-spending music fans were those 'Going Digital,' who are just starting to discover online music; 'Music Obsessives,' who have adopted digital but also illegal file-sharing; and the 'Digital Converts,' who are fully committed to legal digital music. Yet, among the low-spending segments of the U.K. music fans, there are the 'Traditional Physicals,' 'Digital Dabblers,' the 'Budget Conscious,' and 'Generation Free', with the last relying heavily on pirated music. Emma Pike, Sony's VP communications and artist relations, said that 'Digital Converts' account for 11% of the (music-buying) population but 23% of the total spend. "Quite a lot have tried legal digital but stopped; we need to think of ways to shift consumers into that environment," she said. One way of encouraging physical fans to adopt digital is to offer them free digital copies of the physical recordings they pay for, suggested Steven Hill, head of marketing and new projects at indie label Warp Records. "We're increasingly trying to give our customers both because I don't see why we have to segment people into boxes by saying people are 'digital' or 'physical' buyers," he said. HMV Exploring Bonus Download Option An audience member Gennaro Castaldo, head of press and PR at U.K. entertainment retailer HMV, disclosed that HMV customers will "soon be able to buy the physical [release] and find a digital file also waiting for them when they get home." He agreed HMV would need the labels' support for such a strategy. Keynote speaker Keith Jopling, the music industry strategy and business development consultant, stated that digital music still needs to make greater inroads in the U.K. "Only 13% of the U.K. buyers consume music digitally, which strikes me as a small number, considering that 40% of the [total] population buys music," he said. During the event's panel debate, Steve Bunyan, director of marketing at compilations specialist Union Square Music, declared that "physical isn't going away." However, he queried how the industry will generate revenues when making digital copies is so easy. "If one CD ends up on 10 different iPods, how do we make money?" Although Simon Singleton, manager of London-based retailer and live-events organizer Pure Groove, said its store is phasing out CDs in the coming months, "we found there are strong loyal vinyl fans and that won't decrease." Paul Conroy, the former Virgin Records U.K. managing director, revealed that he was developing a venture that created premium quality artist-branded merchandise and gifts for Universal Music Group. "We've seen a gap for high-end collectibles from a company that has the biggest collection of repertoire," he said. "I am talking about 'beyond the box set.'" Yet, he also had scathing remarks for the current trend of U.K. mass merchants that force CD prices to be so low, it is putting independent stores out of business. But he blamed the music industry for allowing it to happen. In this era of fast track every thing is changing.

Jordan Islamic Bank experiences double-digit growth

Despite financial crisis The Demand for Islamic bonds rises:-

This is the Islamic Banking System, which is the demand of today!

Jordan Islamic Bank, the country’s largest Islamic lender, expects double-digit growth this year as it taps fast-rising demand for Sharia-compliant products in an otherwise sluggish overall market, its CEO Musa Abdel-Aziz Shihadeh said.

The bank, with total assets of 2.47 billion dinars ($3.5 billion), has capitalized on higher demand by depositors seeking a safe haven in Islamic banks perceived as less affected by the financial crisis, said Shihadeh.

“The crisis has made depositors feel more confident about going to Islamic banks and this is why we have seen a surge in deposits,” said Shihadeh, whose bank is the largest and the oldest among three Islamic banks operating in Jordan.

The bank, whose main shareholder is AlBaraka Banking Corp, has since it was set up in 1979 executed 5.3 billion dinars of Murabaha or cost-plus financing, which is widely used to finance the purchase of assets from real estate to machinery.

Shihadeh said the bank saw deposits rise by 305 million dinars in 2009 – a 16 percent rise from the last year.

Islamic Sharia-compliant financing and investment, which accounts for about 60 percent of Jordan Islamic Bank’s assets, grew 10 percent in 2009 to 1.56 billion dinars.

The bank bucked the trend in a tough economic environment in Jordan where the banking sector suffered in the global downturn. Murabaha transactions were at the core of the bank’s fast-growing niche market, Shihadeh said.

Among the faster-growing products achieving 22 percent growth in 2009 was also leasing or Ijarah Muntahiyah Bitamleek (a lease where a debtor acquires at the end of the lease).

The year 2010 should see steady double-digit growth in the bank’s assets, deposits and investments, Shihadeh said.

Jordan Islamic Bank’s ability however to expand financing by utilizing excess funds would be given a boost when the authorities speed up a legal framework that allows issuance of sovereign Islamic bonds or sukuk, Shihadeh said.

“The higher returns we are giving are attracting more deposits which in fact increases the burden on us to invest in the absence of a law for sukuk. The legal changes will enhance our involvement in the economy.”

Islamic banks must first buy an asset which they then sell to the borrower, but current Jordanian laws do not allow the state to forgo title to assets or property when they borrow as required for Sukuk under Islamic-complaint Sharia terms.

Jordan said it was planning to iron out legal impediments soon and Islamic bankers say this will enable them to offer the state more favorable borrowing than conventional banks, especially for privatization and infrastructure projects.

“We hope these obstacles are lifted soon to ease the work of Islamic banks and allow them to invest more,” he said.

A move by Jordan’s central bank to apply the Islamic Financial Services Board’s standards on their capital adequacy ratios would also help Islamic banks to expand their financing ability. Due to the absence of Islamic compliant paper, only conventional banks now enjoy exemptions for investing in interest-based government Treasury-bonds and bills.

Can Electric Vehicles be an alternative to oil crises!

Today every where there is oil crises . The oil is remaining only for few years ten there will be the time with carts and horses. The coming wave of battery-powered vehicles is good news--a step toward addressing concerns about climate change and oil dependence . But electric vehicles also present new challenges for electricity providers, utility companies , smart grid and charging startups and traditional oil companies.

Converging factors, such as radical cost reductions in lithium ion battris, are pushing us toward an "electrification tipping point" when electric vehicles will become economically viable for the masses. By 2020 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids could account for nearly 10% of new vehicle sales globally. By 2030 this figure could accelerate to about 30%, with an additional 20% of hybrid vehicles using batteries.

The market is still young, but automakers are committing to electric vehicle technology. Several electric vehicles will be introduced in the coming year, including Nissan's ( NSANY - news - people ) Leaf and the Chevy Volt.

Electric-powered vehicles will create significant growth across the entire transportation value chain, expected to reach nearly $300 billion by 2020, according to global management consultant firm PRTM (my employer). This rapidly growing market will drive a shift in revenue pools from natural resources like oil toward high-tech components like the battery.

For utility companies this trend offers new revenue opportunities, since each electric vehicle consumes the same amount of electricity as an average household. The proliferation of battery-powered vehicles will require the upgrade of the electric grid. Many utilities are preparing for this shift and working to avoid expensive capital upgrades by adopting new smart grid technologies. Utilities are also employing new customer strategies, like offering discounts to encourage charging during off-peak hours. As we look ahead, electric vehicles will likely become the smartest "appliances" to connect to the grid; as such, they will be a catalyst for many smart grid solutions.

But how to overcome the speed problem and quick filling of batteries

While utilities can embrace these market changes in exciting new ways, they still face substantial challenges in the move toward electrification. For example, installation of the vehicle charging infrastructure, including the IT backbone to provide services and address cross-state roaming, will require an investment of about $2,000 per vehicle, or more than $30 billion in the U.S. and Europe by 2020.

Interest Free or Low interest Crdit Cards for Business :-

In business we need a credit card.

The number of business credit card choices is the fact that you can compare different deals. As you know that there are man companies which are in competition with each other. In fact, some business credit card issuers offer low or zero introductory rates to keep up with the competition.

If you are presently in search of a credit card for your small business, don't forget to check zero rate business credit cards that are available in the market. In this post, let's discuss what zero rate business credit cards are and how you can use it to your advantage.

You can Save Your Business Budget with a Low Interest Business Credit Card:

A business credit card with a low rate or a zero rate can enable an entrepreneur to cut back on business costs. The low rate or zero APR may be applied for a certain period which can range from 6 months to 12 months or longer, depending on the credit card.

During the introductory period, the business credit cardholder can actually charge purchases to the account and submit only the minimum monthly payment without incurring additional interest rate charges. However, it is important to remember that as soon as the introductory period ends, the regular APR will be applied.

You can even find zero interest business credit cards that offer different types of reward programs such as cash back, gas rebates and miles rewards. Indeed, being able to enjoy a zero interest rate plus the opportunity to get incentives is an opportunity worth taking.

Choosing a Low Rate Credit Card for Business :

You may find yourself confronted with a couple of choices and the only way you can be sure that you will be making the right choice is by studying the complete Terms and Conditions of a business credit card. Remember that a zero interest rate or a low rate offer does not automatically make a credit card the best one. Beyond the 0% APR, you need to check all the other fees associated with the business credit card such as the annual fee, penalty fees, balance transfer charges, etc.

What about the functions and features that comes with the credit card? Are those features especially designed to help business owners manage their tasks? For instance, will you be provided with a Purchase Protection warranty in case there might be issues with your purchases? Will you be provided with a quarterly or yearly account summary report that you can use as reference for your accounting tasks or in filing your taxes? Will you be able to access your account online? Does the business credit card issuer offer 24/7 reliable customer service? Will you be able to do online banking or send your payments online? These are just some examples of credit card functions that can help you in managing your business tasks.

Another important factor to consider is the credit reporting provision of a potential business credit card. Will your payments be accurately reported to the major business credit trackers? Aside from enjoying a reasonable interest rate or rewards, you need to ensure that your business credit card will enable you to build up your business credit history as a preparation for your future business goals and projects.
One should read all the terms and conditions before signing a credit card.

Advertising a Small Business, Few Ideas!

Are you looking for advertising ideas? This collection of small business advertising ideas presents both the tried and true and advertising ideas you may not have tried yet – advertising ideas for your small business to effectively reach your target market and attract new customers.

Here are few solid Ideas to promote your small business:-

Word of mouth is excellent small business advertising – but it’s slow, and may be practically non-existent for new businesses. If you want to grow your customer base more quickly, you have to advertise.

This collection of small business advertising ideas presents both the tried and true and advertising ideas you may not have tried yet – advertising ideas for your small business to effectively reach your target market and attract new customers.

1. The Yellow Pages.

There’s still a lot of people who use the yellow pages to find the businesses they’re looking for – and they won’t find you if your small business isn’t listed there. Get the biggest yellow page ad you can afford; the more visibility the better.

2. Newspaper advertising.

Besides box ads and advertising inserts, local newspapers also often offer special advertising features showcasing particular businesses – all powerful small business advertising opportunities. Don’t overlook special interest newspapers as an advertising idea if they exist in your area. They may be delivered to exactly the audience you want to reach.

3. Direct mail.

Direct mail can be very effective small business advertising – and is much more favourably received than other direct marketing media, such as email or telemarketing. And even if you don’t have a mailing list, you can still geographically target your mail.

4. Magazine advertising.

This advertising idea can be a very effective way of reaching a target market. The trick is to choose the magazines or e-zines that best match the market you’re targeting.

5. Business cards.

Sure, they’re advertising. Every time you hand one out to a prospective client or customer, you’re advertising your small business. But why not take this advertising idea further and Make Your Business Card a Marketing Vehicle?

6. Joining professional/business organizations.

Every professional or business organization offers exclusive advertising opportunities for their members, ranging from free promotion on the organization’s website through special section newspaper advertising. And being a member can be good small business advertising in itself.

7. Vehicle advertising.

The reason you see so many vehicles emblazoned with advertising is that it works; vehicle advertising is very visible small business advertising. If you’re not ready for custom graphics or a magnet quad sign that sit atop your vehicle, go for a magnetic sign that you can take off when you want.

Advertising Ideas You May Not Have Tried Yet

8. Sending promos with invoices.

Little advertising ideas can be powerful, too. If you’re sending out an invoice, why not take the opportunity to include some small business advertising? To draw new customers, try something such as a “bring-a-friend” promotion.

9. Cable TV advertising.

So you can’t afford to advertise your business during the Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the household reach of TV. Cable TV companies offer advertising ideas within the budget of small businesses, from advertising on the TV Guide Listings or Real Estate channels through running infomercials.

There are more small business advertising ideas you may not have tried yet on the next page. Click to continue reading.

What other small business advertising could you use to get the word out about your products and/or services and grow your customer base more quickly? What about these seven advertising ideas?

10. Radio advertising.

Another advertising idea you may not have thought of is radio advertising. Running ads on a local radio station can be both effective and relatively inexpensive.

11. Bench/bus stop advertising.

Looking to reach a mass audience? Then transit advertising may be the best advertising idea for you. Contact your local transit company for information on bench, bus and shelter advertising possibilities.

12. Local website advertising.

More people are spending more time online than ever before. Cover all your small business advertising bases by ensuring that your business is listed on websites providing business information for your local area. Many municipalities, for instance, offer business listings on their sites.

13. Trade show participation.

One of the main reasons to participate in trade shows is to be seen and get known. While participating in big trade shows can be quite expensive, there are a lot of smaller opportunities that may work well for your business, from trade shows put on by local business associations through trade shows focused on particular industries. See Trade Show Marketing for how to make the most of your trade show experience.

14. Email advertising.

If you already have an in-house mailing list or are able to develop one, email advertising can work for you. I see this advertising idea as more of a way to communicate with current customers than to bring in new ones because of the ever-growing hostility to spam.

15. Community involvement.

Visible, tangible involvement with your community is more than good PR; it’s also very effective small business advertising. So choose a charitable event or community association to get involved with and let yourself be seen as a business that cares.

16. Cross-promotion.

Joining forces with other businesses can greatly increase your advertising power and your marketing reach. Kare Anderson explains how this advertising idea works and how to jump-start your cross-promotion efforts in Attract More Customers through Cross-Promotion.

17. eBay listings.

eBay can be a fast and inexpensive way to make your potential customers aware of your products. When you list an item for auction, you’re also advertising your business to whoever views the listing. Get started selling successfully on eBay with 7 Tips for Selling on eBay.

Will all of these seventeen advertising ideas work for your small business? No! But by choosing several of these advertising ideas and focusing on them, you’ll be able to grow your customer base much more quickly than you would by relying on word-of-mouth alone. Like any kind of marketing you do, of course, your small business advertising will be most effective if you plan your advertising campaign and track your results.

Hope you will apply these ideas to promote your business ! Wish you best of luck!

Green businesses you can start to Make Money

If you really enjoyed biology in school, or are some kind of science major in school now, the more technical ideas in this book will be right up your alley.

For each of the seventy-five business ideas profiled, Croston summarizes the market need, the mission, the knowledge needed, the amount of capital required, how long it would take to get off the ground and any special challenges. Following the quick breakdown, he analyzes the idea in further detail, writing three or four pages about each one. He also identifies related trends for each business idea and includes links to web resources that are especially helpful when dealing with the more scientific opportunities.

The seventy-five business ideas are divided into eleven chapters. Let’s go through each one:

1: Fueling Green Energy

I’d assumed that this entire chapter would be devoted to solar panel business opportunities, but surprisingly only two of ten ideas dealt with solar power. Two standout ideas in this chapter were wind-turbine installation and biodiesel production, both of which could be good for small business entrepreneurs.

Seeding Entrepreneurial Green Careers

The ideas this chapter were less about business opportunities and more about being green jobs. The best idea in the chapter was starting a green elementary school. I can see a private school like this appealing to a wide variety of well-heeled parents, especially in urban areas.

3: Building Green Homes and Businesses

This chapter describes eight business opportunities related to increasing the energy efficiency of people’s homes. The home energy efficiency consulting idea is an especially good one. If I could hire someone like this to decrease my $500 a month electric bill, I would, and I’d pay a large portion of my annual savings to do so.

4: Investing Green Money

If you have money to invest, or know people who do, the ideas in this chapter will be helpful. Idea #28 in the book is carbon trader. I’m glad that this one was included, because although I’d heard this mentioned before, I never quite understood the concept. Croston’s explanation is the most clear I’ve ever read.

5: Finding Business Solutions in the Living World

Unfortunately, I thought that this chapter’s ideas were the most out of reach for the small business entrepreneur. Although bio-prospecting, for instance, sounded interesting, it’s large capital requirements were a turn-off.

6: Wasting Less

This chapter has some excellent and inexpensive ideas. My favorite was the paperless office consultant. Businesses could hire you to digitize their internal business practices so that they could save paper, and ultimately money.

Providing Green Food

I thought that this chapter would be all about farming, instead it offered some interesting non agricultural ideas including one for eco-friendly restaurants. The idea that most excited me, though, was for home food-safety test kits. I know I spent a quite a bit on a home test to check for the presence of nitrites and nitrates in my well, and would probably spend a decent amount of money to check the level of pesticides and chemicals on the foods we buy and eat, at least once. In our safety-conscious world, I think that only testing once might be the exception and not the rule. If you could find and market inexpensive home tests, I think you’d have a home-run.

8: Using Water Wisely

There are some esoteric ideas in this chapter, but also one very down to earth one: low water-use landscaping. Because of our years of drought, in California, and increasingly other states, there are restrictions on when we can water our yards. In some communities it’s every other day, and in others, once a week is all that is allowed. This could probably easily be solved if our water wasn’t subsidized and we paid the true cost, but in the meantime, there’s a big opportunity out there for landscapers that can develop yards that don’t use a lot of water, but aren’t just cacti, sand and boulders, either.

9: Delivering Green Services

I don’t know how realistically it could compete on price, but green dry cleaning, an idea in this chapter, is a good one. Even I know that dry cleaning is heavily dependent on all kinds of toxic chemicals and I think that plenty of people would switch to a green dry cleaner to assuage their conscious.

10: Green Transportation and Cities

The best idea in this chapter is a green car dealership. Although the startup expense might be relatively high, a dedicated cross-brand dealership for hybrid, electric, hydrogen, and biodiesel powered cars would be a popular place to purchase their automobile for a certain demographic of people.

11: Green Farms

Eco-friendly pest control was my favorite business idea from this chapter. There’s a company in North Carolina called The Beneficial Insect Company that raises and sells beneficial insect predators like ladybugs and praying mantises. Imagine if every couple months the pest control man came out and instead of spraying the outside of the house with toxic chemicals instead spread ladybugs? I think people would pay for that.

The Group of 20: Too Big to Succeed, How?

The Summit in Toronto .The G-20 synchronized monetary and fiscal policies during the financial crisis. As its meeting on Apr. 23 showed, coming up with policies to avert the next one will be tougher. On June 26-27, the G-20 will hold a summit in Toronto that will take up financial regulatory reform. Here's a guide to the issues that divide them.

Hedge Funds

The EU aims to more tightly regulate hedge funds and may require U.S. funds to register if they want to operate in its markets. The U.S. objects.

Capital Ratios

The U.S. and U.K. want banks to hold far more capital in reserve; Germany, France, and Japan prefer letting banks gauge their own risk exposure.

Bank Tax

Canada is resisting a push by the U.S., Germany, and U.K. to tax banks to fund future bailouts, arguing it is punitive and might encourage recklessness.

Yuan Devaluation

The U.S., Brazil, and India want Beijing to revalue the yuan, which they argue is undervalued and gives China an unfair edge in global trade.

Social Media Trends for 2010

In 2009 we saw exponential growth of social media. According to Nielsen Online, Twitter alone grew 1,382% year-over-year in February, registering a total of just more than 7 million unique visitors in the US for the month. Meanwhile, Facebook continued to outpace MySpace. So what could social media look like in 2010? In 2010, social media will get even more popular, more mobile, and more exclusive — at least, that's my guess. What are the near-term trends we could see as soon as next year? In no particular order:

1. Media or social Media begins to look less social
With groups, lists and niche networks becoming more popular, networks could begin to feel more "exclusive." Not everyone can fit on someone's newly created Twitter list and as networks begin to fill with noise, it's likely that user behavior such as "hiding" the hyperactive updaters that appear in your Facebook news feed may become more common. Perhaps it's not actually less social, but it might seem that way as we all come to terms with getting value out of our networks — while filtering out the clutter.

2. Corporations look to scale, SCale
There are relatively few big companies that have scaled social initiatives beyond one-off marketing or communications initiatives. Best Buy's Twelpforce leverages hundreds of employees who provide customer support on Twitter. The employees are managed through a custom built system that keeps track of who participates. This is a sign of things to come over the next year as more companies look to uncover cost savings or serve customers more effectively through leveraging social technology.

3. Social business becomes serious play
Relatively new networks such as Foursquare are touted for the focus on making networked activity local and mobile. However, it also has a game-like quality to it which brings out the competitor in the user. Participants are incentivized and rewarded through higher participation levels. And push technology is there to remind you that your friends are one step away from stealing your coveted "mayorship." As businesses look to incentivize activity within their internal or external networks, they may include carrots that encourage a bit of friendly competition.

4. Your company will have a social media policy (and it might actually be enforced)
If the company you work for doesn't already have a social media policy in place with specific rules of engagement across multiple networks, it just might in the next year. From how to conduct yourself as an employee to what's considered competition, it's likely that you'll see something formalized about how the company views social media and your participation in it.

5. Mobile becomes a social media lifeline
With approximately 70 percent of organizations banning social networks and, simultaneously, sales of smartphones on the rise, it's likely that employees will seek to feed their social media addictions on their mobile devices. What used to be cigarette breaks could turn into "social media breaks" as long as there is a clear signal and IT isn't looking. As a result, we may see more and/or better mobile versions of our favorite social drug of choice.

6. Sharing no longer means e-mail
The New York Times iPhone application recently added sharing functionality which allows a user to easily broadcast an article across networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Many websites already support this functionality, but it's likely that we will see an increase in user behavior as it becomes more mainstream for people to share with networks what they used to do with e-mail lists. And content providers will be all too happy to help them distribute any way they choose.

Toyota waited for months to issue '05 steering recall

Toyota waited nearly a year in 2005 to recall trucks and SUVs in the United States with defective steering rods, despite issuing a similar recall in Japan and receiving dozens of reports from American motorists about rods that snapped without warning, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Why is it so? The lengthy gap between the Japanese and U.S. recalls — strikingly similar to Toyota's handling of the recent recall for sudden acceleration problems — triggered a new investigation Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which could fine the automaker up to $16.4 million. That was also the amount Toyota paid last month in the acceleration case.

"Our team is working to obtain documents and information from Toyota to find out whether the manufacturer notified NHTSA within five business days of discovering a safety defect in U.S. vehicles," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said in a statement.

Federal regulators "are taking this seriously and reviewing the facts to determine whether a timeliness investigation is warranted," NHTSA spokeswoman Karen Aldana told the AP in response to questions about the 2005 recall. An automaker is required to notify NHTSA about a defect within five days of determining one exists.

NHTSA has now linked 16 crashes, three deaths and seven injuries to the steering rod defect. When a steering rod snaps, the driver cannot control the vehicle because the front wheels will not turn.

The AP reviewed hundred of pages of court documents, including many of Toyota's internal communications from the period when the steering problems first emerged. The AP also analyzed government files and complaints from drivers who experienced trouble behind the wheel.

After the 2004 Japanese recall, Toyota claimed initially that it had scant evidence of a steering rod problem among U.S. trucks and SUVs. But the AP found that the automaker had received at least 52 reports from U.S. drivers about the defect before vehicles were recalled in Japan.

Toyota told the AP that it has now confirmed seven total cases in the U.S. of steering problems in the T100 small pickup and no reports of accidents or injuries. Company spokesman Brian Lyons said Monday that the automaker received an information request from NHTSA and intended to cooperate with the agency's inquiry.

Toyota claimed in a 2004 letter to NHTSA obtained by the AP that driving conditions in Japan were so different from those on U.S. roads that a recall was not necessary for 4Runner SUVs and T100 pickup trucks, known in Japan as the Hilux and Hilux Surf. That was despite the vehicles having nearly identical steering components, according to company documents filed with NHTSA.

In the October 2004 letter, the company told the agency there were differences between left- and right-hand drive vehicles and that Toyota "believes that the unique operating conditions in Japan, such as frequent standing full lock turns, such as for narrow parking spaces and close quarters maneuvering, greatly affects the occurrence of this problem."

In addition, Toyota insisted to U.S. regulators the company had only scattered reports by 2004 from U.S. drivers about the steering problems. However, company documents that surfaced in a 2009 lawsuit show Toyota received 35 complaints through its customer service department — four formal complaints to its legal department and 13 warranty claims through dealers before the 2004 recall.

The company later acknowledged in court documents that it received at least some letters from U.S. customers whose steering rods had broken.

Yet it was not until September 2005 — 11 months after the Japanese recall began — that Toyota issued a recall in the U.S. for nearly 1 million 4Runners and Toyota trucks from model years 1989 to 1995, and T100s from model years 1993 to 1998, to repair steering rods.

Last month, Toyota agreed to pay a $16.4 million fine for delaying its recalls of millions of vehicles to replace floor mats that can trap accelerator pedals and accelerator pedals that can stick. The attorney for an Idaho family suing Toyota over the steering issue now says there are strong parallels between the 2005 steering recall and the accelerator situation.

On Monday, California attorney John Kristensen said Toyota failed to meet its obligation to promptly notify the agency about a vehicle defect. Kristensen represents the family of 18-year-old Michael "Levi" Stewart, who was killed in a 2007 accident.

"They clearly had evidence. They clearly had problems in the U.S.," Kristensen said. "They've got to be held responsible for misleading the U.S. government about why they weren't doing a recall in the United States."

NHTSA is also reviewing whether Toyota improperly delayed for six weeks the January recall of the 2009-2010 Venza in the United States to address floor mats that could trap accelerator pedals. The company had made a similar recall in Canada six weeks earlier.

Earlier Monday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met with top Toyota executives in Japan and said the company could face additional fines for safety-related issues. LaHood said investigators are going through some 500,000 Toyota documents. A determination on new fines probably will not be made for months.

In Stewart's death, Toyota acknowledged in a 2009 filing that the company was contacted by two U.S. drivers complaining of broken steering rods in 2002 and 2003 but emphasized "the fact that a steering rod broke is not in and of itself evidence of the recall condition."

The reports uncovered in the Stewart lawsuit tell a different story. One motorist who wrote in 2002 to Toyota urged the company to do something after the steering rod broke on his 1997 T100 pickup.

"I bring this evidence to your attention because of the obvious safety hazard," wrote Yigal Schacht of Flushing, N.Y. "Had this fracture in the center link occurred even 10 minutes later, I would have been traveling on the Long Island Expressway, and without steering, surely a horrific tragedy would have ensued."

The Toyota steering recall in Japan began after a highly publicized accident in which five people were injured after a steering rod snapped, leading to a criminal investigation there of Toyota executives involving the timing of the recall. Ultimately, Japanese prosecutors decided not to file professional negligence charges against the executives.

The Stewart case is one of four lawsuits that were filed in state courts after the U.S. steering recall and the only one drawing close to trial, which is set for November in Los Angeles. In addition to the defective vehicle, the Stewart family is claiming Toyota's 2005 recall was faulty because it repaired only about a third of the vehicles — far below the 70 percent level that is the typical goal under NHTSA guidelines.

NHTSA officials cautioned, however, that repair levels for older vehicles are often lower because many of them are not in use any more.

Stewart was killed Sept. 15, 2007, while driving friends home in his 1991 Toyota pickup near Fairfield, Idaho. Toyota has said in court documents that the steering rod may have broken on impact rather than before the crash and has suggested the crash may have been alcohol related. Stewart's blood-alcohol level was 0.03, within Idaho's legal limits.

"Stewart was under the influence and speeding" before the accident, Toyota said in one filing.

Kristensen said Stewart drank "half a beer" that night and was the group's designated driver. If the recall had been performed sooner and more efficiently, "it could have saved Levi Stewart's life," the attorney said.

Similar claims are being made today in hundreds of lawsuits against Toyota over the sudden unwanted acceleration problem, which NHTSA has linked to 52 deaths in the U.S.

Stocks surge on effort to ease Europe debt , Great Effort !

Stocks rocketed higher and bond prices fell Monday after investors were reassured by a nearly $1 trillion plan to avoid a European debt crisis. Not only this but read more.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 360 points. The Dow and broader indexes were all up more than 3 percent. Markets also jumped in Europe.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.54 percent from 3.43 percent late Friday. Its price fell by about a point, or $1 per $100. The drop in demand for safety holdings like Treasurys meant investors believed that debt problems in Greece could be contained.

The market is breathing a huge sigh of relief that the EU has taken aggressive steps to contain the EU crisis in the weaker states,

The 16 countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to create a nearly $1 trillion rescue fund to support European nations burdened by heavy debt loads. Markets around the world plummeted last week as fears escalated that Greece's debt problems would spread throughout Europe and upend a global economic recovery.

Investors also feared that if Greece didn't get a bailout, the fate of the euro, which is used by 16 countries, could be in trouble. The euro rose Monday against the dollar.

"Europe has unequivocally said, 'We will defend the euro's integrity,'" said Oliver Pursche, executive vice president at Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, N.Y.

The U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks also stepped up with financial support to help head off what some analysts believe could have been a broader financial crisis.

The Fed reopened a program launched in 2008 during the credit crisis under which dollars are shipped overseas through the foreign central banks. Those central banks can then lend the dollars out to banks in their home countries.

Aside from the Fed, other central banks, including the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan are also involved in the dollar swap effort.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow rose 358.46, or 3.5 percent, to 10,738.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 41.41, or 3.7 percent, to 1,152.29. The Nasdaq composite index rose 91.89, or 4.1 percent, to 2,357.53.

Stocks were highly volatile at the end of last week as investors shrugged off signs of an improving U.S. economy and focused on Europe's sovereign debt problems. The Dow fell 5.7 percent last week to erase its gains for the year, while broader indexes fell even further. On Thursday alone, the Dow was down nearly 1,000 points late in the day before recovering much of its losses.

Stocks have dropped four straight days as triple-digit Dow moves have again become the norm. Big swings were also common as the credit crisis grew in late 2008 and the market bottomed in early 2009. In recent months, however, the Dow had been climbing slowly and steadily on repeated signs the economy was recovering.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index fell after spiking last week. The index, which is known as the market's fear gauge, last week jumped to about 41 from 20. That meant more investors were expecting big drops in the market. The VIX slid 30 percent Monday to about 29.

Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh, said the market's bounce reflects short-covering. That occurs when investors are forced to buy stock after having earlier sold borrowed shares in a bet that the market would fall. That rush to cover ill-timed bets can hasten the market's climb.

"You don't solve the problem of debt by printing new money," Smith said. "Whatever euphoric action we're seeing, there is going to be a need for EU banks to raise more capital."

As investors jump back into riskier assets like stocks on Monday, U.S. bond prices tumbled. Gold also fell. Both surged late last week as investors piled into safe assets.

A rise in the euro and a drop in the dollar pushed stocks higher. The weaker dollar boosts the price of commodities traded in dollars because they become more attractive to buyers outside the U.S. A drop in the dollar also helps boost earnings at U.S. companies that do business abroad.

Gold fell $8 to $1,202.40 an ounce. Crude oil rose $1.01 to $76.12 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

At the New York Stock Exchange, 2,985 shares rose while only 144 fell. Trading volume came to 918 million shares compared with 1.3 billion traded at the same point Friday.