Dow crosses 13,000 for first time since 2008
Posted on February 27th, 2012
NEW YORK The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since before the 2008 financial crisis.
The Dow passed 13,000 about two hours into the trading day, then quickly dropped back. Its last time above 13,000 during a trading day was May 20, 2008, four months before the Lehman Brothers investment bank went under.
U.S. stocks got help from a long-awaited bailout deal for Greece, aimed at preventing a potentially catastrophic default, and from strong corporate earnings reports at home.
Just after 11:30 a.m. EST, the Dow was up 41 points at 12,990. In other trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up five points at 1,366. The Nasdaq composite index was up 10 points at 2,962.
The last time the Dow was above 13,000, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, far below today’s 8.3 percent.
Tags: 2008, First Time
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12 Tips For Attracting First Time Visitors to Your Site
Posted on February 24th, 2012
Almost every blogger and site manager seeks to maximize the traffic that their page can bring in. They look to put out quality content, utilize SEO techniques, and consult a creative agency in order to build an appealing and visible site that will attract a large readership.
A major element of the traffic-driving process is a site’s ability to bring in first-time visitors. Whether they click on a link or see the blog towards the top of a Google search, the first-time visitor usually arrives at their destination without having planned their visit at all beforehand. A good deal of online marketing necessarily targets the fist-time viewer.
While many sites succeed in attracting new visitors, few take concerted steps to insure that these visitors return to the site and join the ranks of its loyal readership base. <
Tags: Site, Visitors Site
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3 Mindset Musts For Effective Use Of Social Media
Posted on February 22nd, 2012
I am thrilled to share that the March 2012 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine features my dear friend and fellow entrepreneur, Dawn Fitch, CEO of Pooka Pure and Simple, in Orange, New Jersey. I have known Dawn April 2005 when she first joined the Indie Beauty Network. I remember clearly the day she joined because she called me to tell me how excited she was to connect with IBN. This collage features the magazine cover, Dawns best selling Pomegranate Body Butter, and the diva herself, along with me on last years #IndieCruise. (Ill see her in a few days on this years cruise too!)
Since Dawn joined IBN, I have watched her accomplish amazing things as she and her team have grown her company from her kitchen into the powerhouse beauty business it is today.
What’s Your Upgrade?
Posted on February 21st, 2012
A few months ago I checked into the Lenox Hotel for my brothers 40th. (Yes, hes significantly older than me.)
We were told that the room we had originally booked was not available, but they would upgrade us to one of their suites.
Needless to say, my wife and I were completely stoked by the news.
The room was beautifully furnished, had views out two windows (one shown above,) and plenty of room to move around.
It got me thinking of all the times we go to pick up a rental car and get the upgrade to a bigger vehicle, and how happy that makes us. (It almost makes up for that Dante-esque line they make us wait in.)
So much of the customer experience is managing expectations.
Promise people an 12 sub and give them a 10 sub and youre a thief.
Epcot exhibit joins fight against childhood obesity
Posted on February 20th, 2012
Taking aim at childhood obesity, Epcot unveiled its latest attraction this month — Habit Heroes. Housed inside Innoventions, the park’s futuristic showcase of ideas, Habit Heroes targets teens and their families.
A team effort of Disney and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the new exhibit takes visitors through a series of interactive experiences to fight bad habits.
Visitors — up to 12 at a time — enter the 4,700-square-foot attraction through an old, back-alley gymnasium where they meet video superheroes Will Power and Callie Stenics. From there, the buff duo takes them on an action-packed fight against the enemies.
In the first of three interactive rooms, visitors confront (remote) Control Freak and blow up raining televisions. Next they take on Sweet Tooth and Snacker, and wage a food fight with video-arcade style guns that abolish junk food using healthy food as ammunition. Brocc
French Company Buys El Dorado Cable Plant
Posted on February 16th, 2012
An El Dorado-based company is being bought by a company in France in a multi-million-dollar deal.
Nexans is paying $275-million to take over operations for AmerCable.
Nexans, a worldwide leading expert in the cable industry, is paying $275-million to take over operations at AmerCable, which makes highly engineered and mission critical cables for harsh environments, specifically for the mining, oil and gas (onshore and offshore) and renewable energy industries.
A Nexans news release says AmerCable employs about 400 people.
Commenting on the acquisition, Frdric Vincent, Nexans CEO said “We are happy to welcome AmerCable associates within our group. The acquisition of AmerCable fits well with Nexans’ strategy to develop its Industry division extending its presence in markets with high-growth prospects and above market profitability.”
AmerCable also provides a range of unique engineering field and support services and has growing operations in China, Latin America and Australia.
Nexans is a worldwide company with 24,500 workers, operating in 40 countries. Read full article…
Tags: Cable, El Dorado
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Don’t Do What You Love
Posted on February 13th, 2012
One of the most common pieces of advice to those who are thinking of starting a small business is to do what they love.
I’ve even given this advice myself. (Have a look at Top 10 Tips for Starting a Small Business That Will Succeed, for instance.)
But years of advising people who want to start their own businesses and watching them go through the start up process has taught me that I was wrong.
Or, at least, (being kind to myself), for many people, this advice is misleading. Particularly when you are at the stage of starting your own business where you’re casting about for ideas and deciding what kind of business you want to start, choosing to start a business based on what you love can lead you on a path headed entirely in the wrong direction – or even over a cliff.
You should not do what you love because:
1. Love is blind.
I know it’s a clich, but it’s also true.
Tags: Love
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