Stocks skid on renewed fears of global slowdown (AP)

AP – No matter where they look, investors are seeing economic trouble.

Stocks skid on renewed fears of global slowdown
(AP)

US unveils plan to make online transactions safer (AP)

AP – In the murky world of the Internet, how do you ever really know who you’re talking to, who you’re buying from or if your bank can actually tell it’s you when you log in to pay a bill?

Read more here:
US unveils plan to make online transactions safer
(AP)

Judge lifts offshore drilling ban as `overbearing’ (AP)

AP – A federal judge struck down the Obama administration’s six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico as rash and heavy-handed Tuesday, saying the government simply assumed that because one rig exploded, the others pose an imminent danger, too.

 
Judge lifts offshore drilling ban as `overbearing’
(AP)

As oil spews in Gulf, BP chief at UK yacht race (AP)

AP – BP chief executive Tony Hayward, often criticized for being tone-deaf to American concerns about the worst oil spill in U.S. history, took time off Saturday to attend a glitzy yacht race off England’s Isle of Wight

As oil spews in Gulf, BP chief at UK yacht race
(AP)

Tell me your problems

What makes your business different from someone else’s?

1. Are you cheaper?
2. Do you give good deals, like two for the price of one?
3. Do you give free gifts?
4. Etc

If you think that these are things that set your business apart from the others in the same line of business, then you are wrong. If you are doing these things, so are they. What you should be doing is listening to your customers and doing something with their feedback. That will set you apart.

You have to learn to adapt and improve your services or products to what your customers want. This is very important because it increases customer retention and it does your word of mouth promotion a lot of good. An advertisement screaming that you are the best is nothing compared to one person saying to another “these guys are good, you should go to them”. That kind of promotion guarantees you a 90 % sale right there.

Lead by example and tell your staff to be more engaging with the customers. Find out what issues they have with your service or product. If you have taken their advice and changed something, send an email to all of them and let them know. Do a separate set of emails to the ones who suggested the changes you did and let them know that their advice was what prompted the change. This will guarantee you a loyal customer for life and a champion for your business.

Listen to them, that is all you have to do to stand out.

Obama declares ‘reckless’ BP will pay Gulf cleanup (AP)

AP – Vowing to “make BP pay,” President Barack Obama accused the oil giant of “recklessness” in his first address to the nation from the Oval Office Tuesday night, eight weeks to the day after the catastrophic oil spill began destroying waterways, wildlife and a prized Gulf Coast way of life.

Obama declares ‘reckless’ BP will pay Gulf cleanup
(AP)

Spirit Airlines pilot strike could delay thousands (AP)

AP – Spirit Airlines pilots went on strike Saturday in a dispute over pay, and the discount carrier immediately canceled all of its flights for the day.

Spirit Airlines pilot strike could delay thousands
(AP)

Stocks climb, not slide, in volatile last hour (AP)

AP – This time, the stock market had a late-day rally.

Read more here:
Stocks climb, not slide, in volatile last hour
(AP)

Hungary backtracks on talk about default (AP)

AP – Hungary’s government on Saturday tried to calm investors and distanced itself from earlier comments by officials claiming that the country was close to defaulting on its debts.

 
Hungary backtracks on talk about default
(AP)

Business Forecasting

Once you get your business rolling forward there are several crucial decisions that you will be faced with. Some of these include further investment, diversification, optimization and forecasting. Of these forecasting is crucial to prepare for the future of the company.

Forecasting basically enables you to anticipate a growth or a slump in the market. This is crucial in order to survive and make smart decisions. For example, if you were a car spare parts manufacturer, forecasting will help you decide on how many of each part you would need to manufacture for the next year or next few years. If the factors are good, then you need to increase production. This may mean investing in more equipment, employing more staff or putting the existing staff on extra shifts and paying increased salaries, finding more ways to distribute the parts etc.

Conversely a prediction of a slump will mean that you have to find ways of cutting costs and riding out the storm. This could mean shutting down certain lines of production, laying off staff, cutting costs etc. However, forecasting is not an exact science. It can only take in the existing factors and give you a prediction based on those factors. One of the best ways to increase the accuracy of these predictions is to use business forecasting software. Using software means that you can easily input all sorts of variables and watch how they affect your business. Doing this by hand would be tedious and probably fry your brain in the process.

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