US Finance World

One of the positive effects of the current recession is that the home-based entrepreneur lifestyle dream is turning into reality for more and more people.

Starting your own business is like directing an adventure movie. The way to prevent it from turning into a disaster movie is to be very meticulous in your planning.

A Good Office Desk Makes a Good Foundation

It is easy to plan for some of the obvious things in a business. Issues like the marketing of your company, the impact of the new business on your family and the managing of your cash flow are pretty easy to anticipate.

But there is one piece of business that is often overlooked when home-based entrepreneurs are getting started and that is the importance of having the right office desk.

The Lynchpin of Businesses Large and Small

Selecting the right office desk is an often ignored feature of the creation of a home business—or any business for that matter. A

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After two days of polling for my Are You Smarter Than a Monkey question, here are the results. As I revealed after voting, visitors were each served up one of two different poll questions randomly, with an equal chance of getting either one. This worked out pretty well, with 49%/51% split of voters.

If you compare the questions side-by-side, you realize that they actually ask the exact same thing. Your two choices are essentially:

• $1,500 guaranteed, or a
• 50/50 chance at either $1,000 or $2,000

In statistics and gambling, there is a concept called expected value which is the probability-weighted sum of the possible values. In this case, the expected value for both options is $1,500.

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In their last week of summer legislating, Republicans and Democrats alike — on both ends of Capitol Hill — made gestures toward repealing a new tax-reporting requirement, raising hopes among small-business advocates who have lobbied fiercely against the measure. But with each side claiming the other’s maneuvers are just feints, the prospects for repealing, or softening, the new law are uncertain at best.

The reporting provision at issue is Section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which adds “amounts in consideration for property” to the types of payments over $600 for which a business must file an information return with the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, the provision also closes a loophole that made payments to corporations exempt from the filing requirement. Under the new law, a company will have to file a Form 1099 with the I.R.S. for every

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By Jonathan Cheng And Donna Kardos Yesalavich

Stocks finished slightly lower as investors braced for the government’s monthly payrolls report on Friday morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 5.45 points, or 0.05%, to close at 10674.98, after spending much of the trading day deeper in negative territory.

Investors searched for clarity on the sustainability of the economic recovery ahead of Friday’s employment data, with Thursday’s data offering only conflicting messages. Weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose while retailers reported mixed July same-store sales.

“It seemed like some optimism had been creeping into the market this week, which was dissipated by this morning’s jobless claims number,” said Tom Samuels, managing director for Palantir Investments. Mr.

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The U.S. government offers many resources and programs to help small business owners expand into overseas markets. But, you might be surprised at just how much Uncle Sam has to offer.

For example, did you know the government can help target and facilitate meetings with potential partners and buyers? Or that Uncle Sam provides U.S. exporters with international marketing and promotion opportunities?

Let me introduce you to Export.gov.

Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce as a collaborative effort with 19 other agencies, Export.gov is quite literally a goldmine of information, tools, and programs for anyone looking to navigate the exporting business and succeed in the global marketplace.

Whether you are new to exporting, looking to expand your existing exports or ready to take your export business online, here are eight essential resources that Export.gov offers small business owners.

1.

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Watching the Tour de France this summer, I found myself yearning for the single-minded focus of having one thing to do and doing it really well.

In the ad business, as with many others, we are always learning about new businesses and industries and deciding which of the many constantly evolving media and technology tools are the best fit for each client’s challenges. That diversity is what draws many of us to the business, but it’s also a challenge. It’s like studying for an exam and never knowing when you’ve studied enough. All you know is that tomorrow the cycle will start over again.

My day usually begins with digital triage. Before I get out of bed, I reach for my iPhone and check e-mail, news feeds and social media sites. We subscribe to dozens of e-mail bulletins, must-reads about branding, media, social media, search-engine optimization, search-engine marketing, e-mail marketing and new-business acquisition. And the

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“When you’re the business owner, there’s no one behind you. You’re the back-stop.” (Warren Brown, Washington, D.C. Small Business Person of the Year 2006).

How many days and nights has this reality kept you on your toes? From making sure your business stays on track to cheerleading your employees, day-to-day business ownership is about what you make it.

But what happens when you need help? Back-stop or not, you can’t go it alone forever. Help is at hand, if you know where to find it.

The government, in particular, offers a great deal of resources that support small business owners, both online and locally. Take a look at this Small Business Assistance and Training guide on Business.gov and you’ll find a variety of options – local SBA offices, Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, and more.

But just what does each of these provide? And where

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Cheap money means big borrowing by America’s largest corporations. A $450 million bond issue by McDonald’s (MCD) Wednesday will pay a record low 3.5% yield on 10-year debt, and other companies are also getting in on the low interest charged by the current capital markets.

According to The Wall Street Journal, corporate borrowing is surging even as investors see lower yields. Corporate debt issues are already at $1.4 trillion worldwide. That’s less than the $2.1 trillion worth of issues for the same period a year ago, but the European debt crisis had put the brakes on borrowing for most of May and June.

Although many U.S. companies are cash rich, low interest rates are spurring many to refinance existing debt, pushing down yields for bond investors.

Below is a list of the 12 largest bond issues so far this year.

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