Another Record Week for Intermodal Rail Traffic

"The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported that U.S. railroads saw the highest weekly intermodal volume for 2010 and highest container count on record for the second consecutive week. For the week ending Sept. 25, 2010, intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads totaled 241,167 trailers and containers, up 17.3 percent from the same week in 2009, but down 2.1 percent compared with 2008. Container volume last week increased 19.2 percent compared with 2009, and rose 6 percent compared with 2008. Trailer volume last week rose 7 percent compared with 2009, but dropped 32.8 percent compared with 2008.

U.S. railroads originated 300,908 carloads for the week, up 10.7 percent compared with the same week in 2009, but down 8.2 percent from the same week in 2008. In order to offer a complete picture of the progress in rail traffic, AAR reports 2010 weekly rail traffic with comparison weeks in both 2009 and 2008."

MP: For the year-t0-date (38 weeks), carload rail volume is up by 7.2% and intermodal rail traffic is up by 14.7%. This marks the 37th straight week starting in mid-January of improvements in intermodal rail traffic compared to the same week in 2009, and except for a holiday-related decline in July, carload volume has increased for the last 31 weeks starting in late February.

Once again, Warren Buffett's favorite economic indicator improved last week and container rail traffic set an all-time historical high.  It has to be a sign of economic recovery that the amount of raw materials, natural resources, grains, chemicals, metals, lumber, paper, glass, sand, gravel, ores, coal, petroleum and farm products being shipped by rail around the country keeps increasing week after week.  After all, those inputs are being ordered by producers somewhere around the country, and will eventually be produced into some intermediate good or final product, and be counted as part of GDP in future quarters.  And an increased volume of inputs moving around the country and the subsequent increase in final output has to eventually translate into more employment. 

Markets in Everything: Ads on Currency?

Maybe this would help pay down the federal debt: sell advertising on U.S. currency?  Here are some possible designs that would allow companies to "cashvertise," including the one above for Campbell Soup. 

This blog points out that the USPS currently allows customized "branded stamps," so maybe the Bureau of Engraving and Printing should follow with "custom branded dollar bills."

$27.5m Because The Feds Don't Like the Font.....

NY Daily News -- New York City will change the lettering on every single street sign - at an estimated cost of about $27.5 million - because the feds don't like the font. Street names will change from all capital letters to a combination of upper and lower case on roads across the country thanks to the pricey federal regulation (see photo above).

By 2018, MADISON AVE. will become Madison Ave. and will be printed in a font called Clearview, the city Department of Transportation says. The Federal Highway Administration says the switch will improve safety because drivers identify the words more quickly when they're displayed that way - and can sooner return their eyes to the road."

HT: Steve Malanga

Not depressed, just sad, lonely or unhappy (Part 11)

Death - part of life

"Trauma" comes from the Greek word for a "wound", and in a medical sense, it is what happens to the body when a wound delivers a shock.

But bereavement, of which I have much sorrowful experience is, alas, part of the natural course of life's sad events.

As Shakespeare observes, with Hamlet, his father lost a father, and that father lost a father before him, and so on, ad infinitum, through the hinterland of human history.

Grief is desperately upsetting: it hurts you for ages, and the loss of someone you love is emotionally painful, and can be enduringly so. But why not call it by its proper name: bereavement: grief: loss?

One reason may be that we are losing old rituals which human beings have practised for eons.

When I was a young woman in France in the 1960s, you would come across a shop with its blinds drawn, and a notice saying: "Ferme pour deuil": closed for mourning.

t is still seen in France, and is also a usual response in Italy. Mourning symbols were widespread in all cultures - widows' weeds, black armbands - and the community was expected to respect those who mourn.

Outward signs of mourning have declined, if not been abolished in more secular societies now: but our sense of sadness and loss endure, and instead of this being called mourning, it is called "trauma".

It might be a start to revive or recapture some of the wider, non-medical vocabulary for the gamut of human experience.

Depression may also be melancholy: it may be discouragement, disappointment, abandonment, sadness, sorrow, mourning, rejection, regret, anxiety, grief, obsession, introspection, loss, separation, loneliness, isolation, alienation, guilt, loss of hope, temperamental woe and simple, pure, unhappiness.

It can be forms of low mood now out of date. The Edwardians were very keen on a condition known as "neurasthenia"; Virginia Woolf was diagnosed with it.

It was also known as "nervous debility", or, in its milder form, being hyper-sensitive and thin-skinned.

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Not depressed, just sad, lonely or unhappy (Part 1)

Is sad so bad?

Cases of depression have grown around the world. But while awareness of the illness has helped lift the stigma it once attracted, have we lost touch with the importance of just feeling sad, asks Mary Kenny.

Looking back on my own reasonably serene childhood in Ireland during the 1950s, I recall quiet murmurs about people who suffered from “nerves”.

I remember hearing that a neighbour - a well-to-do woman whose larger house and smart appearance was rather envied in the community - had had a “nervous breakdown”.

Although when I repeated this to my aunt and uncle, with whom I was living, I was hushed up with a peremptory word of censure. There was, clearly, something slightly shameful about a “nervous breakdown” and one didn’t speak about it.

I can see now, though I did not see then, that these were hidden incidents of depression among family and neighbours. But the stigma over depression, or even mental illness of any kind, must have added to their anguish.

How times have changed. It is an accepted truth, in our time, that depression is an illness with a global reach.

t seems that depression in various guises - whether chronic, uni-polar, bi-polar, clinical, recurrent, major or minor - accounts for a greater burden of disease, world-wide, than war, cancer and AIDS all put together.

This new openness is a good thing. Yet in the process, are we losing something?

Take the word, “trauma,” which is now frequently and commonly invoked in conversation today. A person who has suffered a bereavement is said to be “in trauma”.

A person who has been subjected to shock is said to be “traumatised”. The break-up of relationships - a sad human experience which brings us a sense of loss, and hurts our need for attachment - is, similarly, described as “a traumatic experience”.

In his excellent autobiographical study of depression which he so adroitly called Malignant Sadness, Professor Lewis Wolpert employs the concept of “trauma” to describe, for example, bereavement.

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Obama’s Speech

By Jonah Goldberg

Yes, there were some fine parts. How could there not be?

But I really disliked it. Maybe I’m letting other factors poison my take, and I should probably sleep on it before rendering final judgment. But here are a few things that really stuck in my craw.

1) As we speak, al Qaeda continues to plot against us, and its leadership remains anchored in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda, while preventing Afghanistan from again serving as a base for terrorists. And because of our drawdown in Iraq, we are now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense. In fact, over the last 19 months, nearly a dozen al Qaeda leaders –and hundreds of Al Qaeda’s extremist allies–have been killed or captured around the world.

I understand we’re launching a surge in Afghanistan, and I know Obama will never let go of the “Iraq was a distraction” stuff, but did the Commander-in-Chief really need to say that only now, thanks to the draw down in Iraq, can we go “on offense” against al Qaeda? Have we been on defense for the last 9 years?

2) As we do, I am mindful that the Iraq War has been a contentious issue at home. Here, too, it is time to turn the page. This afternoon, I spoke to former President George W. Bush. It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one could doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security. As I have said, there were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it. And all of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women, and our hope for Iraq’s future.

This is what passes for bipartisan graciousness at the highest level of national security? Bush was a really swell guy who loved his country. Okay. What about the fact that he was right about the surge and our ability to leave Iraq (as much as we are) is attributable not to Obama’s fidelity to his campaign pledge, but to a decision made by Obama’s predecessor, a decision Obama opposed vociferously. I don’t expect an “I was wrong” from an Oval Office address (though it would be nice — as it would have been from Bush more than once, too). But Obama’s lawyerly avoidance of reality makes him seem petty and raises the suspicion that he can’t think straight about these issues. That is dangerous.

3. And so at this moment, as we wind down the war in Iraq, we must tackle those challenges at home with as much energy, and grit, and sense of common purpose as our men and women in uniform who have served abroad. They have met every test that they faced. Now, it is our turn. Now, it is our responsibility to honor them by coming together, all of us, and working to secure the dream that so many generations have fought for –the dream that a better life awaits anyone who is willing to work for it and reach for it.

Our most urgent task is to restore our economy, and put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work. To strengthen our middle class, we must give all our children the education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete in a global economy. We must jumpstart industries that create jobs, and end our dependence on foreign oil. We must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines, and nurture the ideas that spring from our entrepreneurs. This will be difficult. But in the days to come, it must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as President.

This is what really disgusted me. If you read this closely, what Obama is saying is that not only do we owe it to the troops to rally around his discredited and partisan economic agenda (“It’s our turn”), not only is it a test of our patriotism to sign on with his environmental and industrial planning schemes, but that doing so “must be our central mission as a people.”

I find everything about that offensive.

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Create a Tempting First Impressions (Part 2)

People who smile are considered as people who believe in themselves because when we're nervous or not confident with ourselves or our surroundings, we tend not to smile. Smiling will lead to happiness that will bring us to people who are happy: Because we see them in a positive way.


The spirit is very important to create a good impression because of that spirit will be contagious to others. With a smile you indicate that you like the environment you are and happy to meet with people you meet, so in turn he will be more interested in meeting you.


In the end, a sincere smile shows acceptance and lead others to know that you are willing to accept him with sincerity. Have you ever wondered why dogs are so loved? Because these animals greet us with a genuine acceptance. If you have a tail, then kibaskanlah. But since you do not have a tail, then smile.


Even if you are not able to smile as sweet as the Mona Lisa, from now smile at everyone you meet. Then consider how your actions it magical. At first familiarize yourself smile like it was hard to swim in the agar-agar jelly, but with constant practice you will be personally guaranteed a charming and do not be surprised if your days will be preoccupied by a fan who wanted a photo together and ask for autographs.


"A smile is a curve that can straighten out any issue of"


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Create a Tempting First Impressions (Part 1)

To convey to you here is a favorite technique in creating a good first impression. A simple technique, but this is the key to my success became inspiration for harmonious relations. Of course, this technique is also effective when applied during the interview work.

The first time I learned to be a professional radio announcer, one important lesson instructed by instructor when it is broadcast Smile when talking.

According to smile can be heard. Listeners will easily be able to distinguish where the announcer was friendly and where broadcasters are not friendly or grumpy. As we know, that most people would prefer the people were friendly compared with the broadcaster that bitchy. If the radio listener can distinguish just which broadcasters are friendly or not, especially when dealing directly instead?

The opinion was increasingly strengthened again after I have studied Neuro Associative Conditioning System, an excavation techniques, development and structuring potential. A smile that seems an easy job in fact have a major impact in the "conquest" anyone's heart.

A smile is able to create four wonderful things:

1. Raises self-confidence

2. Happiness

3. Passion and enthusiasm

4. Genuine acceptance

Job , Jobs, Career

Job Searching at Work

By: Alison

What you do when you're job searching, especially when you're doing it at work, can be problematic when it comes to keeping the job you have already.

In addition to the folks who tweet that they hate their job, there are those who spend all day on Facebook, even though they are friends with their boss and he or she can see every update. That's not such a great idea when you are supposed to be working.

Then there are the mistakes that make you cringe. I heard from someone who was in a panic after he emailed his resume to his boss by mistake. The AutoFill tool that automatically enters email addresses in Outlook and other email programs can be dangerous and using your work email address for job searching isn't a good idea.

One solution is to set up a separate email account for job seeking. That way you won't send your resume to the wrong person by mistake and you'll have all your job search correspondence in one place. If you use Gmail or Yahoo mail or another web-based email account, you'll be able to check it from anywhere.

If you have already made the mistake of clicking the Send button, it's time for damage control. You'll need to act quickly. Here's how to handle it when your boss catches you job searching. In the future, you'll need to job search a little more carefully - some stealth job hunting may be in order.

Job , Jobs, Career

FalconStor Software (Nasdaq: FALC) - The Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser is a new column we are launching to discuss the most significant market capital loser of the day. On this inaugural edition, The Biggest Loser is FalconStor Software (Nasdaq: FALC).

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Tickers: Nasdaq: APRI, Nasdaq: GMCR, Nasdaq: OLCB, Nasdaq: BYFC, Nasdaq: MLNK, Nasdaq: PDEX, NYSE: ZZ, Nasdaq: RFIL, Nasdaq: CPSL, OTC: TXICW.OB, NYSE: SAY, Nasdaq: HFFC, Nasdaq: CARV, Nasdaq: OSBC, Nasdaq: MSHL, Nasdaq: CNST, AMEX: IOT, Nasdaq: VSCI, NYSE: AM, Nasdaq: ENMD, Nasdaq: FSGI, Nasdaq: CSHB, NYSE: ATU, NYSE: AM, Nasdaq: CPSL, NYSE: FDO, NYSE: OMN, NYSE: SNX, NYSE: WOR, Nasdaq: XRTX, NYSE: FDX, Nasdaq: AMSF, NYSE: DHI, NYSE: MFA, NYSE: VR, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: ABG, Nasdaq: DENN, Nasdaq: JACK, NYSE: MRT, Paris: BNP.PA, NYSE: CS, NYSE: EXC, NYSE: PGN, NYSE: F, NYSE: UBS, NYSE: KRA, NYSE: URI, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ)

FalconStor Software (Nasdaq: FALC) - The Biggest Loser

The day's biggest loser was FalconStor Software (Nasdaq: FALC), which dropped 22.4% Wednesday, after the abrupt resignation of Chairman, CEO & President ReiJane Huai. The reason behind the CEO's resignation was the key driver behind the collapse of the stock. But, what should shareholders and prospective shareholders do now? With an investigation still underway, that's not an easy question to answer.

FalconStor's official statement read:

"Mr. Huai tendered his resignation following his disclosure that certain improper payments were allegedly made in connection with the Company's contract with one customer. The Company has fully cooperated with law enforcement authorities with respect to the ongoing investigation, and it will continue to do so. In addition, a special committee of the Board has been formed to conduct a full internal investigation of these matters and the special committee has retained counsel to assist it in its investigation."

The company also announced these changes to its management team:

Eli Oxenhorn (board member) to non-executive Chairman of the Board
James McNiel (Chief Strategy Officer) to Interim CEO and President
James Weber (Chief Financial Officer) to CFO & Interim COO

The question for shareholders who withstood the storm today and for prospective shareholders is buy, sell or hold?

The answer to that question lies in several factors. First and foremost, there is an investigation underway that threatens to turn up more dirt. As an analyst, I learned to give respect to the possibility of another shoe dropping, and given the universe of stocks to choose from, why would a new shareholder risk touching FalconStor now? And I do not like the shift in management, unless we later learn it was a one man mistake. Too many of the old team remain in place to investigate the alleged crime for my comfort, but the news is still breaking.

The reason why someone might risk it is that the alleged criminal activity might be relegated to a certain individual or handful of individuals and might not threaten ongoing operations. If that were the case, then perhaps the stock might quickly regain the ground it lost today. But even if this is the case, now is probably not the time to buy in. The dirt is still turning up and shareholders remain more likely to sell than to buy. That is unless the story of the company or its product is much bigger than this scandal. That is only something that further detailed analysis can discover. And the question of the value of the company's assets comes into focus as well, and whether that might set a floor or whether an acquisition multiple might.

I can only comment lightly, since this is my first exposure to the company. What I note off the bat is that the earnings outlook is one that has deteriorated over the last quarter. Also, the growth outlook is a slower one than what the company has accomplished in recent years.

The stock's biggest shareholder is the guy who just retired from its operation. It also has a few interesting fund holders at Vanguard and Gabelli. The two analysts who cover the company appear to have not had a change in opinion in over a year or more (based on Yahoo Finance data). It is possible they have some tie to its capital raising efforts, or are following to serve the institutional ownership that exists already. Whatever the case, the analytical coverage is not impressive to me.

The stock has been in the dumps since the middle of 2008. The chart is not telling me anything good, except for the fact that the shares stabilized today after diving to as low as $2.63. FALC closed at $3.15 after trading flat from 1:30 PM or so.

My Call:

I would probably hold the shares if I owned them already, and not touch them if I were new to the story.

The Rest of the Day's Loser List Included:

Apricus Biosciences (Nasdaq: APRI): -18.8%
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR): -16.1%
Ohio Legacy (Nasdaq: OLCB): -16%
Broadway Financial (Nasdaq: BYFC): -14.3%
ModusLink Global Solutions (Nasdaq: MLNK): -13.7%
Pro-Dex (Nasdaq: PDEX): -12.5%
Sealy Corp. (NYSE: ZZ): -11.5%
RF Industries (Nasdaq: RFIL): -11%
China Precision Steel (Nasdaq: CPSL): -10.2%
Tongxin International (OTC: TXICW.OB): -10.2%
Satyam Computer (NYSE: SAY): -10.1%
HF Financial (Nasdaq: HFFC): -10.1%
Carver Bancorp (Nasdaq: CARV): -9.9%
Old Second Bancorp (Nasdaq: OSBC): -9.7%
Marshall Edwards (Nasdaq: MSHL): -9.7%
Constar International (Nasdaq: CNST): -9.5%
Income Opportunity Realty Trust (AMEX: IOT): -9.5%
Vision-Sciences (Nasdaq: VSCI): -9.4%
American Greetings (NYSE: AM): -9.2%
EntreMed (Nasdaq: ENMD): -8.9%
First Security Group (Nasdaq: FSGI): -8.8%
Community Shores Bank (Nasdaq: CSHB): -8.7%

In other corporate news, EPS were reported by Actuant (NYSE: ATU), American Greetings (NYSE: AM), China Precision Steel (Nasdaq: CPSL), CKE Restaurants (CKE.F), Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO), OMNOVA Solutions (NYSE: OMN), SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX), Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR) and Xyratex (Nasdaq: XRTX).

FedEx (NYSE: FDX) met with analysts. The JMP Securities LLC Financial Services and Real Estate Conference offered presentations by Amerisafe (Nasdaq: AMSF), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), MFA Financial (NYSE: MFA) and Validus Holdings (NYSE: VR). The Wells Fargo Securities Consumer Conference (NYSE: WFC) brings presentations by Asbury Automotive (NYSE: ABG), Denny's (Nasdaq: DENN), Jack in the Box (Nasdaq: JACK), and Morton's Restaurant Group (NYSE: MRT). The Bank of America Merrill Lynch Banking & Insurance Conference brought news from BNP Paribus (Paris: BNP.PA) and Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS). The Bank of America Merrill Lynch Power & Gas Leaders Conference offered presentations by Exelon (NYSE: EXC) and Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN). Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) appeared at the Paris Auto Show UBS Investor Conference (NYSE: UBS). The Oppenheimer & Co. Industrials Conference offered news from Kraton Performance Polymers (NYSE: KRA) and United Rentals (NYSE: URI).



Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Income or Yield Reach in 2010?

In his latest piece, our Real Estate Columnist Michael Douville says retired investors need not "reach" for yield at the peril of capital. He says, instead investors can find reliable and strong income that is within reach in the residential real estate market in 2010 and 2011.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

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Income or Yield Reach in 2010?

Income! The Retired, Semi-Retired, Newly-Retired, and Soon-to-be-Retired have a common problem: the bills need to be paid every month!!! Plans and budgets need to be drafted and drawn. A consistent source of monthly income is crucial to successful retirement planning. A growth portfolio of stocks can produce capital gains, but in order to keep the utility company satisfied or plan for a cruise, a portion of the portfolio would have to be liquidated each month. Unfortunately, relying on consistent capital gains has recently been proven to be a losing game. In addition, stock portfolios have been further exacerbated by the volatility of 200 points up on Monday and 220 down on Wednesday.

The volatility and the inability to assess risk have driven many retail investors out of the stock market and into fixed income. The income investor seeking a conservative and consistent revenue stream has created a very crowded trade in US Treasuries. Yields have dropped to insignificant levels… 10-year Treasuries are yielding in the mid 2% range. Often these instruments are bought by investors seeking a safe harbor in turbulent times; at this historic inflection point, the exact opposite may be the result. Should the economy collapse, Treasuries will still perform exceptionally well. If the economy shows any sign of recovering, the bond market will likely suffer severe losses.

The greatest threat to a retired investor is market losses. Many investors are of an age that has no capacity to recover and replenish depleted portfolios. Their life style and perhaps more will suffer if caught in another market bubble burst. The deployment of their financial resources is a very serious issue; consistent income without the depletion of capital is the goal of SWAN Investors (Sleep Well At Night).

Monthly income from Pensions, 401K's, and Social Security have been traditionally supplemented by the interest earnings of the families' liquid nest eggs, which have been accumulated over a life time of savings. No longer can individuals earn any significant amount from bank savings accounts or CDs that are currently earning less than 1%; liquid money markets earn less than 0.5%, causing conservative investors to move into instruments that have longer duration and poorer credit quality. And they do this to earn an extra $500, $1000, or $2000 per month. The consequences may prove disastrous.

"...the perceived safe and conservative investment may prove to be anything but safe and secure."

This "Yield Reach" has caused many closed end mutual funds and ETFs to be priced with Net Asset Value (NAV) premiums of 10%, 15%, and even 20% in some cases, over true asset liquidation prices. Should investors start to exit these assets, the prices would likely fall precipitously, in my view. With yields at historic lows, the path of least resistance may be up. With price declining as yields increase, both the disappearance of the NAV premium and the adverse market reaction could conceivable combine to produce losses of 10-50%. Thus, the perceived safe and conservative investment may prove to be anything but safe and secure.

With the volatility of the equity markets, and the possible bursting of the "Bond Bubble," where can a monthly revenue stream be obtained that, when the economy eventually recovers, will grow the revenue and increase in value? Residential Rental Real Estate today should provide consistent monthly income. I expect its cash flow and the severe price decline recently experienced in the Real Estate market would help to mitigate potential risk.

Not all properties make suitable investment grade rentals. However, in most markets across the US there are properties that have experienced a severe correction and may even be priced below insurance industry replacement value. The risk of further declines is possible, but that risk has been mitigated by the recent depreciation in value, and so we may be closer to the ultimate bottom than near a historic top. Long-term mortgage rates favor today's borrower, and when the recovery is firmly established, the loan costs will still be fixed, but the rental rates will trend higher, increasing the cash flow. As the economy grows, the income stream also grows. The nature of a common fixed rate loan fully amortized over 30 years should now guarantee internal growth, with the ultimate result of a free and clear property that will generate income year after year. No additional market action is necessary. Further, a simple amortizing mortgage with which everyone is familiar, can be customized easily to fully payoff in 10, 15, or 20 years.

No more market volatility to worry about; no more technical analysis needed; no more "Island Tops" and "Head and Shoulders"; no more market openings that gap below the stop order. Instead, a true long-term investment that I expect guarantees huge returns; the tenants will pay the mortgage off and produce free and clear assets with consistent monthly cash flow.

In my home market of Phoenix, Arizona the sun continues to shine, golf is played every day, and rental properties continue to generate cash flow well. Investors remain investors and hire property managers to be the landlord; the property becomes a passive investment vehicle yielding cash flow month after month.

As in any portfolio, diversification is appropriate and only a portion of an investor's total assets should be in Real Estate. As difficult as the Real Estate Market has been across the nation, a suitable property can probably be found close to home; if not, then it can be found in the Sand States of Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada, which I view ripe. If you believe the largest economy and richest nation in the world will eventually recover, then an enormous opportunity should await.



Editor's Note: Article should interest investors in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC.OB), Fannie Mae (OTC: FNMA.OB), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD), UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: SRS), Ultra Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: URE), ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR), Xinyuan Real Estate Co. (NYSE: XIN), Rydex Real Estate Fund H (Nasdaq: RYHRX), T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (Nasdaq: TRREX), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Lennar (NYSE: LEN), K.B. Homes (NYSE: KBH), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR), Gafisa SA (NYSE: GFA), MDC Holdings (NYSE: MDC), Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL), Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), Brookfield Homes (NYSE: BHS), Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF), M/I Homes (NYSE: MHO), Orleans Homebuilders (AMEX: OHB), Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSE: VNQ), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Hooker Furniture (Nasdaq: HOFT), Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowes (NYSE: LOW), AMEX: VAZ, AMEX: NKR, AMEX: MZA, AMEX: NXE, AMEX: NFZ, Nasdaq: XNFZX, Nasdaq: FSAZX, Avatar Holdings (Nasdaq: AVTR), Apartment Investment & Management (NYSE: AIV), Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), Avalonbay Communities (NYSE: AVB), UDR Inc. (NYSE: UDR), Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS), Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), Senior Housing Properties (NYSE: SNH), BRE Properties (NYSE: BRE), Home Properties (NYSE: HME), Mid-America Apartment (NYSE: MAA), Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS), American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC), Colonial Properties (NYSE: CLP), American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC), Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI), Associated Estates (NYSE: AEC), PennyMac Mortgage (NYSE: PMT), Two Harbors (AMEX: TWO).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Companies Leaving California in Record Numbers

Update: See related article "Companies Fleeing California For Utah Over Confiscatory Tax Rate" (HT: Juandos): 

"Computer software giant Adobe, computer game monster EA Games, and Internet auction king eBay are abandoning California to set up shop in Utah. Why? California’s horrid business climate and high taxes."

Free Cup of Coffee for National Coffee Day

This article is all about getting you your free cup of coffee for National Coffee Day. You'll find the important information on how to get that free coffee down the page, and so go get your cuppa jo!

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Tickers: Nasdaq: PEET, Nasdaq: GMCR, Nasdaq: SBUX, NYSE: MCD, Nasdaq: JAVA, NYSE: THI, Nasdaq: HAIN, Nasdaq: JMBA, Nasdaq: JSDA, NYSE: JVA, Nasdaq: JAVO, NYSE: UN, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ)

Free Cup of Coffee for National Coffee Day

The stock market is open on National Coffee Day, in case you were wondering or were like Kramer from Seinfeld and thought you should have off on Arbor Day and such. Well, since it is National Coffee Day, and because we have a column we like to call "Today's Coffee," and given the dearth of economic reports today, we thought we would give you a special Coffee article, and directions to where to get that free cup of Jo today.

It's true, by the way. It really is National Coffee Day, a day in which we honor coffee, and drink it up manicly like usual of course. I drink at least four cups a day, after cutting back due to hallucinations.

Unfortunately, there will be no coffee shop hop today, like the annual bar hopping fun that occurs in my Upper East Side neighborhood every St. Patrick's Day, but there are a few retailers offering special deals and even free cups of coffee for the hooked on this very special holiday. Take advantage of it dear friends, and get some of your hard earned money back from the servers of our addiction.

The most important thing about National Coffee Day is that you can score yourself a free cup across the country if you are smart. I would look for more if I were you, but here are the free coffee deals we found for today:

• LaMars Donuts and Coffee – Get a free 12 ounce coffee on September 29th when presenting this free printable coupon at participating locations.


• Dunkin' Donuts – Stop by participating Dunkin' Donuts and receive a free cup of coffee. The company will also donate a portion of their sales to Special Olympic groups.


• Boca Java – Boca Java is offering free shipping today in honor of the holiday. Come on! You can do better than that!


• Java Café – Java Café will offer drinks at a 50 percent discount from 7 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. on the 29th.


• Starbucks – Nada! No! You won't get a free cup from Starbucks today according to every source I checked, including their website (Nasdaq: SBUX).


• McDonald's – No free deal from McDonald's either! Talk about missing an opportunity! I'm a little p'd at McDonalds these days, after they tried to charge me $1.40 for a cup the other night, even though I ordered food. Come on McDonald's. We want Greek friendly service. (NYSE: MCD)


• Tim Horton's - No Deal!!! (NYSE: THI)


• Peet's Coffee & Tea (Nasdaq: PEET): Saw no special deals!!!


• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters – No deal as far as we can see, and the company is in trouble with the SEC today too; the shares are down some 14%. Yikes!

Not all locations will be participating in the free or discounted offer. Call ahead or check the website for details.

The Mayo Clinic published this bit of relevant information for coffee lovers who care about how much caffeine their cuppa joe (Canadian editorial - we employ all sorts) contains:

1. Dunkin' Donuts, brewed, 16 oz (480 mL) 143-206
2. Generic brewed, 8 oz (240 mL) 95-200
3. Generic brewed, decaffeinated, 8 oz (240 mL) 2-12
4. Generic instant, 8 oz (240 mL) 27-173
5. Generic instant, decaffeinated, 8 oz (240 mL) 2-12
6. Starbucks Espresso, 1 oz (30 mL) 58-75
7. Starbucks Vanilla Latte, 16 oz (480 mL) 150

So that's why I like Dunkin' Donuts coffee so much! (will accept money from DD for this, or coffee I guess). By the way, The Greek has yet to decide on his favorite brand of Greek Coffee... Send Coffee!



Article interests investors in Nasdaq: PEET, Nasdaq: GMCR, Nasdaq: SBUX, NYSE: MCD, Nasdaq: JAVA, NYSE: THI, Nasdaq: HAIN, Nasdaq: JMBA, Nasdaq: JSDA, NYSE: JVA, Nasdaq: JAVO, NYSE: UN, NYSE: PEP, NYSE: GIS, NYSE: KO, NYSE: K, NYSE: CPB, NYSE: MJN, NYSE: CAG, NYSE: SLE, NYSE: SJM, NYSE: MKC, NYSE: RAH, NYSE: CPO, NYSE: DLM, NYSE: FLO, NYSE: DHS, NYSE: THS, Nasdaq: DMND, NYSE: GMK, Nasdaq: JJSF, Nasdaq: LNCE, NYSE: BGS, Nasdaq: FARM, Nasdaq: SMBL, Nasdaq: CMFO, Nasdaq: MGPI, Nasdaq: JBSS, Nasdaq: FEED, Nasdaq: CNGL, NYSE: OME, NYSE: ALN, NYSE: OFI, Nasdaq: KTEC, Nasdaq: SNAK, Nasdaq: TSTY, NYSE: FRZ, Nasdaq: GLDC, NYSE: NWD.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Online Job Openings Reach 22-Month High in Sept.

"Online advertised vacancies rose 59,900 in September to 4,296,100 following a decrease of 57,100 in August, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series released today (see chart above). The gap between the number of unemployed and advertised vacancies (supply/demand rate) stood at 3.51 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in August (the last available unemployment data) but is down from its peak of 4.73 in October 2009. (see Chart 1 in the report).

“Since the NBER June 2009 end of the recession, HWOL has increased by 1 million advertised vacancies,” said June Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board. “The HWOL series trough in April 2009 led the NBER official trough by about 2 months, reflecting a rather typical pattern where labor demand leads at economic turning points. Following the rapid HWOL rises in labor demand in the 4th quarter 2009 and 1st quarter 2010, the end of 2010.” (see Chart 2)."

MP: Although the increases in the HWOL index have slowed in recent months, the 4,296,100 job vacancies in September were the highest level since November 2008, almost two years ago.  

Ngeblog Tanpa Resiko Kehilangan Kerja

Di era serba internet seperti saat ini, rasanya blog sudah jadi gaya hidup sehari-hari. Sama halnya dengan situs jejaring social lainnya seperti Facebook atau Twitter, blog dimiliki hampir semua internet savvy di luar sana. Mungkin juga termasuk Anda. Diperkirakan bahwa di Indonesia sendiri di tahun 2009 jumlah blogger akan mencapai angka 1 juta. Jumlah ini tidak mengherankan mengingat banyaknya alternatif layanan hosting dan web based tool gratis dan relatif mudah dikuasai sehingga dalam hitungan menit saja blog Anda sudah bisa diluncurkan untuk publik. Beberapa layanan gratis yang popular digunakan antara lain Blogger, Wordpress dan Multiply.



Blog yang merupakan singkatan dari weblog, digandrungi oleh banyak orang karena merupakan media yang memungkinkan pemiliknya untuk menuliskan topik kesukaan mereka untuk kemudian di-publish di dunia maya dengan singkat, tanpa proses panjang seperti halnya mengirim tulisan ke media cetak. Blog juga cara lain untuk berkomunikasi. Kerabat dan teman bisa mengetahui kabar terbaru pemilik blog hanya dengan membaca entry yang ditulisnya, bahkan memberikan komentar.



Banyak orang mengklaim bahwa blogging jadi hobi bahkan sudah jadi kebutuhan mereka. Di blog mereka bisa menuliskan pikiran mereka, menerima feedback dari pembaca, menambah jejaring dan teman, bahkan menciptakan sebuah komunitas khusus untuk blog. Munculnya layanan microblogging tidak membuat aktifitas ini kehilangan penggemar, justru malah membuat blogging semakin kuat karena bisa dijadikan tool yang turut bisa mempromosikan blog seseorang.



Kebanyakan pemilik blog adalah perseorangan yang menulis topik apa saja yang menarik bagi mereka. Namun saat ini semakin banyak perusahaan mengelola blog untuk berbagai kepentingan seperti promosi, branding, menciptakan image bahkan riset dan pooling untuk mengetahui keadaan pasar dan konsumen.



Kalau blogging sudah jadi keseharian Anda, ingatlah bahwa kegiatan yang menyenangkan, therapeutic bahkan menghasilkan ini juga memiliki resiko yang bisa membahayakan karir dan pekerjaan Anda. Jika Anda sudah lama bermain-main didunia blog, tentunya Anda ingat dengan Heather B. Armstrong yang kehilangan pekerjaannya sebagai web designer atau Ellen Simonetti yang dipecat dari sebuah maskapai penerbangan gara-gara blognya.



Beberapa tips yang bisa mencegah agar hal-hal buruk tidak timbul karena blog Anda adalah sebagai berikut :

• Jangan mempermalukan pihak lain maupun diri sendiri dengan menuliskan hal-hal yang bisa membuat Anda menyesal nantinya. Walaupun intensi Anda adalah mencurahkan isi hati, etika tetap wajib dijaga. Internet adalah dunia yang sangat luas dan semakin gampang diakses. Bukan tidak mungkin boss atau rekan kerja Anda bisa menemukan blog dan membaca hal memalukan tersebut. Jika Anda ingin kebebasan penuh dalam menulis, Anda bisa mencoba fitur protected entry yang ada di Wordpress atau fitur yang memungkinkan Anda untuk memilah pembaca seperti yang ada di Multiply dan Blogspot atau bahkan memberlakukan total proteksi terhadap blog.
• Jangan 'ngeblog' di kantor. Dengan mudah browsing history Anda bisa diketahui pihak manajemen. Hal ini bisa menuntun mereka ke online journal Anda yg bukan tidak mungkin pernah berisi keluh kesah Anda tentang kantor. Seperti pengalaman Anda saat sang boss mencuri ide Anda atau saat Anda kesal karena ditegur atas kesalahan yang tidak Anda lakukan.
• Jangan pamerkan identitas Anda seluruhnya. Gunakan nama lain atau inisial. Hati-hatilah dengan foto Anda, orang lain atau property kantor yang dipajang diblog. Selain berkaitan dengan copy right, Anda tidak akan tahu jika ada yang memanfaatkan foto-foto tersebut untuk kepentingan pribadi orang lain.
• Hindari untuk dengan gamblang mencantumkan identitas professional Anda seperti jabatan atau posisi, nama perusahaan dan alamat tempat Anda bekerja, bahkan jenis industri pekerjaan Anda. Playing safe is better jika Anda masih ingin memiliki pekerjaan Anda.
• Bijaksanalah dalam menulis hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan pekerjaan. Jangan membeberkan rahasia perusahaan, nama klien, konflik dalam perusahaan serta hal-hal lainnya yang tidak seharusnya diketahui umum, apalagi kompetitor.

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Etiket Bisnis Pebisnis Korea dan Jepang

Adakah beberapa dari Anda yang bekerja di perusahaan asing? Atau setidaknya selalu bertemu dengan orang asing untuk urusan bisnis dan pekerjaan? Jika ya, Anda pasti tahu betul bahwa berhadapan dengan orang asing yang berbeda kebudayaan memiliki tantangan tersendiri. Bukan hanya soal bahasa dan cara berkomunikasi yang terkadang menjadi kendala, tapi juga soal kebiasaan, adat, dan tingkah laku yang harus selalu disesuaikan. Mungkin Anda pernah mengalami kejadian unik atau memalukan berkaitan dengan cross-cultural business ini, misalnya Anda lupa tidak membungkuk ketika menyapa bos besar dari Jepang atau selalu kerepotan memenuhi permintaan atasan dari Korea yang ingin segala sesuatunya selesai dengan cepat.

Dalam menjalankan bisnis, setiap negara ternyata memiliki cara yang berbeda-beda yang dipengaruhi oleh kebudayaan yang dianutnya. Untuk bisa menjalin bisnis dengan rekan asing, terkadang Anda harus menyesuaikan diri dengan cara mereka. Bukan berarti mengubah budaya perusahaan dan kehilangan jati diri, tetapi mengetahui dan memahami etiket-etiket bisnis yang berlaku serta menerapkannya tatkala bertemu dengan orang asing sesuai dengan kebangsaannya.

Banyak panduan mengenai etiket bisnis internasional yang bisa dipelajari dan beberapa diantaranya adalah seperti dibawah ini:

Jepang.
Business card adalah hal terpenting yang harus Anda bawa ketika bertemu dengan pebisnis Jepang. Setelah Anda bertukar salam (baik dengan cara membungkuk atau berjabat tangan), berikan kartu Anda dengan cara yang sopan, yaitu memegang dengan kedua tangan. Jangan pernah melipat, mencoret-coret, memainkan, apalagi meninggalkan kartu yang Anda terima, sebab Anda akan dianggap tidak menghargai sang pemberi kartu. Simpan kartu-kartu tersebut di tempat yang pantas dan perlakukan dengan hormat. Untuk busana, gaya konservatif dan formal adalah pilihan yang pas. Untuk wanita, sebaiknya menggunakan rok daripada celana panjang. Berhati-hatilah dengan hand gesture dan ekspresi wajah, sebab bisa menimbulkan salah interpretasi. Selalu datang setidaknya 10 menit sebelum waktu pertemuan, terutama jika Anda akan bertemu dengan para bos atau eksekutif senior. Orang Jepang terkenal tepat waktu, jadi buatlah agenda rapat yang tepat waktu pula. Ketika rapat pebisnis Jepang akan mencatat apa-apa saja yang terjadi dalam rapat, maka tidak ada hal yang luput atau terlewatkan.

Korea.
Sama halnya dengan Jepang, pebisnis Korea juga menganggap business card sebagai hal yang penting dalam urusan bisnis, jadi pastikan Anda selalu membawanya. Dalam suatu pertemuan, jarang sekali Anda memperkenalkan diri langsung kepada lawan bicara, biasanya orang ketiga yang akan memperkenalkan Anda. Jika Anda lebih junior, maka Anda harus membungkuk terhadap lawan bicara yg lebih senior/posisinya lebih tinggi. Korea sangat menjunjung tinggi senioritas dan hubungan atasan dan bawahan. Sebagai bentuk penghormatan, biasanya mereka menyapa lawan bicara dengan nama jabatan/profesi/titelnya kemudian dikuti oleh nama keluarga, misalnya: Direktur Kim, Manajer Choi, atau Supervisor Lee. Atau jika Anda tidak yakin, panggil saja dengan sebutan international, misalnya Mr. Kim atau Ms/Mrs Lee. Orang Korea biasanya mengadakan pertemuan bisnis yang dibarengi dengan jamuan atau minum (beralkohol), Anda bisa mengggunakan alasan keyakinan dan kesehatan untuk menolak secara halus tawaran tersebut.

Dua negara ini merupakan negara Asia teratas yang berinvestasi di Indonesia setelah Cina. Mendekati pasar bebas, akan semakin banyak orang-orang asing yang masuk ke Indonesia untuk mendirikan bisnis. Hubungan kerjasama pun mau tidak mau akan semakin sering terjalin. Diperlukan pengetahuan yang luas dan kepekaan yang cukup tinggi terhadap kebiasaan dan kebudayaan negara yang akan menjadi rekan bisnis Anda. Oleh karena itu, pelajarilah lebih jauh etika-etika bisnis yang berlaku secara internasional agar pendekatan dan jalinan bisnis Anda dengan orang asing bisa berjalan dengan lancar.

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Working Smart: The Importance of Being on Time

By Elizabeth Hanink


Time — as my father-in-law (and Benjamin Franklin) used to say — is money. The follow up, of course, is that we have no right to anyone else’s money; so quit wasting your employer’s by being late. You may think that’s an unnecessary reminder, but, interestingly enough, not all employees recognize when they are late.


Take, for instance, the employee that punches in on time but then ever so comfortably settles in. First comes the stashing of personal items. Then comes the requisite cup of coffee, a quick bathroom break, and don’t forget the greetings that are necessary all around. By the time real work starts, a good 10 to 15 minutes are gone. There are no specific statistics, but do the math. Multiply by five days a week, times several, even tens, of employees, and you are talking a hefty hunk of change.


Then there are the folks who are late in the ordinary fashion: late for arrival, late for meetings and on it goes. The strange thing is that the events that cause people to be tardy are sooo predictable: lost keys, heavy traffic, dawdling kids. In short, people are usually late for preventable reasons. If they were organized, disciplined and competent, what difference would misplaced keys make? A second set would be nearby. Basing the time you need to get to work on the best of all possible worlds is foolhardy.


Vince Lombardi has my vote on punctuality: “If you are 15 minutes early, you’re late.” If you want someone with more authority than a football coach, how about Louis XVIII’s line: “Punctuality is the privilege of kings.”

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Working Smart: Balancing Work and School

By Elizabeth Hanink

Are you realizing that more skills will pay more bills? If so, you might be taking a short brush-up or certificate course, or you might be diligently pursuing a license. Maybe you work part time while you earn your college degree. In any case, balancing work and school is a true challenge, especially if you add family responsibilities.

Start by realizing that you can’t do everything. Some things need to go. Begin with the optional. Limit socializing to one night a week. Forego TV or surfing the Internet (or whatever you do for leisure) until there’s a school break. Exercise should be the last activity you cut back on, unless your training requires a serious daily commitment. Even so, this isn’t the year for a marathon. Do two after you graduate.

Be careful of volunteer commitments. Yes, they are worthwhile; but unless you can strictly limit your time, it is easy to overdo this category just because it is so necessary.

Realism in your schoolwork also helps. Exceptions exist, but for the most part no one needs to make straight A’s. At this point in your life, maybe a B and your sanity are sufficient. Likewise with your job commitment. You do owe your employer your best for the time you are paid, but ease up on overtime and other “extras” that until now were easy to do.

People rarely regret their education. They often look back and regret not trying a little harder to get more.

Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia

The U.S. Has More than 12,000 Tariffs

Most Americans think of the U.S. as a free-trade country with open markets, and countries like China and Japan as protectionist countries with closed markets. And yet the U.S. is quite protectionist, when we consider that there are more than 12,000 tariffs (i.e. taxes) on imported products that are sometimes as high as 350% in the case of tobacco (pictured above); 164% on peanuts; 100% on jam, chocolate and ham; and 48% on sneakers, see the 25 American Products That Rely On Huge Protective Tariffs To Survive, and read a short accompanying article.

HT: Juandos

How Sharp Are Your People Skills at Work? Take This 5-minute Quiz

By Kathy Simmons

The ability to interact with your boss and co-workers can make or break your career. Studies have shown that IQ takes second position to emotional intelligence in determining outstanding job performance and long-term success. Now, more than ever, you need to pay attention to your people skills to be hired, kept and promoted.

In the words of John Hancock, “The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions.”

Emotionally intelligent people have mastered the art of living in harmony with others. They respond appropriately when conflict arises, and seem to know the right thing to do regardless of the circumstances. Does this description fit you?

Measure how sharp your “soft” skills are by taking the following quiz:

1. A co-worker criticizes your idea in front of the boss. Which best describes your reaction?

a) Immediately remind the critic of his most recent flawed idea.

b) Say nothing. You'll vent with co-workers later.

c) Become angry and demand to know why the critic is being so non-supportive.

d) Thank the critic for his input, and promise to take the feedback under consideration.

2. Your boss is acting differently lately. She has been much less communicative and friendly. You would be most likely to…

a) Avoid her. Otherwise, you are likely to stay on her bad side.

b) Schedule a meeting and ask for her feedback on your work performance.

c) Assume she has personal problems and ask others if they are aware of details.

d) Begin working on your resume. You would rather quit than be fired.

3. You’ve just found out that you are the target of a nasty rumor at work. Which of the following best describes your response?

a) Do nothing. Rumors have a way of blowing over eventually.

b) Make it a point to find the source of the rumor and confront him or her aggressively.

c) Create a rumor about someone else to take the spotlight off yourself.

d) Become depressed and distracted.

4. A less-talented co-worker is promoted to a position you hoped for. How would you handle the disappointment?

a) Start looking for another job.

It’s obvious your talents are not appreciated where you are.

b) Resolve to make life difficult for the co-worker. She’ll earn that promotion!

c) Ask the hiring manager what areas you could focus on to be a stronger candidate in the future.

d) Pout, and hope someone notices your hurt feelings.

5. Your raise was much less than expected this year. How would you deal with the bad news?

a) Take a few extra sick days. That’s your way of evening the score.

b) Ask your co-workers how much they got. Then decide if yours was fair.

c) Go to your boss’s boss and express your disappointment.

d) Ask your boss what accomplishments would warrant a

re-evaluation in six months.

6. You discover that you made a huge mistake that will cost the company plenty of money. What is your solution?

a) Immediately bring it to your boss's attention and ask for advice on minimizing the damage.

b) Resign as quickly as possible.

c) Try to cover up the error as smoothly as possible — and hope nobody looks too carefully.

d) Blame others for their contribution. You won’t take the heat alone!

7. One of your co-workers regularly gossips about upper management. She seems to know quite a bit of information and it’s hard not to listen. You would be most likely to:

a) Listen eagerly, but never repeat what you hear.

b) Tell her in no uncertain terms what you think of her lack of loyalty.

c) Let your boss know she is gossiping.

d) Tell her you would rather talk about other things — then change the subject quickly.

BEST ANSWERS:

1. d, 2. b, 3. a, 4. c, 5. d, 6. a, 7. d

6-7 correct: Your soft skills are razor sharp! You consistently display maturity when it comes to coping with the inevitable conflicts and disappointments that arise at work.

4-5 correct: Most of the time your soft skills are sharp, but there are times you fall short of behaving professionally. Watch your tendencies to retaliate or take things personally.

3 or less correct: You have significant deficiencies in your soft skills. To raise your awareness in areas of emotional intelligence, start by reading any of the following books:

· Working With Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman

· People Skills, by Robert Bolton

· Be Your Own Executive Coach : Master High-Impact Communications Skills, by Peter Delisser

Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia

Did You Know? Facts about Social Media

By Working World Staff

Google's corporate philosophy embodies such principles as “you can make money without doing evil” and “work should be a challenge and the challenge should be fun.”

SOCIAL MEDIA JOBS (that didn’t used to exist)

Online Talent Scout

Discovers talent online, matching up creators of obscure YouTube videos with the online divisions of traditional media companies and ad agencies.

Social Media Marketing Manager

Sets up and manages a company’s social networking and bookmarking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Delicious; might write company blog.

Reputation Manager

Scours social media sites and addresses negative, inaccurate or damaging content about the company.

FACEBOOK EMPLOYEE PERKS

• Cost of breakfast, lunch and dinner for employees at the Palo Alto headquarters: Free
• Additional cost to invite friends to dine: $0
• “Baby cash” payment given to employees who become new parents: $4,000
• Annual daycare reimbursement for employees with kids under 5 years old: $3,000
• Reimbursement on monthly gym fees: 50 percent
• Number of annual sick days: Unlimited

Job , Jobs, Career

BlackBerry Messenger Jadi Platform Jejaring Sosial

Kompas

SAN FRANCISCO, KOMPAS.com - BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) yang merupakan salah satu fitur andalan BlackBerry selama ini hanya dapat dipakai sebagai instant messenger antarpengguna BlackBerry saja. Namun, ke depan, layanan BBM tak lagi eksklusif setelah Research In Motion (RIM) memutuskan untuk menjadikannya sebagai platform jejaring sosial.



"Para pengembang bisa mengambil aktivitas sosial di BBM dan memasukkannya ke dalam aplikasi buatannya yang dijual di App World," kata Mike Lazaridis, Chairman dan Co-CEO RIM dalam RIM Developer Conference di San Francisco, Senin (27/9/2010).


Lazaridis menekankan bahwa BBM akan diarahkan menjadi platform layanan jejaring sosial yang semakin luas. Misalnya diintegrasikan dalam aplikasi game sehingga pengguna BlackBerry dapat mengundang pengguna lainnya untuk bermain bersama dengan satu klik di aplikasi tersebut tanpa harus masuk ke layanan BBM.



Bagi para pengembang aplikasi akan disediakan application programming interface (API) agar dapat memanfaatkan akses ke layanan BBM. Namun, belum ada pengumuman resmi kapan BlackBerry Social SDK akan tersedia bagi para pengembang.



RIM mengkalaim saat ini ada 28 juta pengguna aktif BlackBerry Messenger di sleuruh dunia dan tumbuh 1,5 juta pengguna baru setiap bulan. Dengan menyediakan akses BBM ke dalam aplikasi, RIM telah menciptakan jejaring sosial mobile yang sangat besar.

Job , Jobs, Career

Great Resume Tips for Non-Writers

By Suzette Dean

Most often, even with the help of thousands of resume tips found on the internet and in books, writing a great resume can be a pain - especially for non-writers. While it's true that a resume is the advertising of yourself, it does not have to be written as a literary piece. A resume is just a simple statement of facts as to what you are capable of doing that will contribute to the growth of the company you're interested in joining. The first resume tip is to write the resume as straightforward as you can, highlighting your accomplishments and backing them up with numbers and concrete examples.

It is not right to think that a resume should be written in an artistic manner. The resume, being something that involves writing, is what intimidates those who have no inclination for prose. In the first place it's not compulsory that everything that you write in your resume is in complete sentence format. For the most part, bullet points will do. All resume tips say that your resume should be brief, concise and factual. You must also know that even for writers, it's often difficult to start any document, but once you have started it everything else will fall into place. Of course you start with writing your name, address and contact details at the upper left part of a plain white or ivory paper. If you have a unisex name such as Renee, Ali and Alex, don't forget to include the prefix mister or miss.

Now here are some resume tips for the content. Being a document that highlights your best professional assets, it's not a narration of your previous jobs, but of your accomplishments that are relevant to the job you are applying for. Limit the information that you will write down on your resume to that which is related to the job you are applying for. Relative to this, replace the phrase "tasks include" with "accomplishments were".

How about a resume tip on deciding whether to write your job experiences in a chronological or functional order? If you are just sticking to one field and have been upwardly-moving, chronological order will do. If your focus is your skills that are applicable from one field to the other, the functional order of work experience is better. If you are a fresh graduate, highlight your accomplishments from school, both formal and non-formal trainings and seminars that will contribute to your performance in your first job. Again, don't forget the resume tips on choosing only the relevant information, which also goes for your personal data.

You are not alone in your struggle to come up with a great resume that will make the employer want to interview and eventually, hire you. Above any other thing, it's your honesty, skills and determination that will sell you to the interviewer. Anything phony and fancy will show, so always strive for the truth in advertising yourself- and that's one of the best resume tips that you'll ever get.

Job , Jobs, Career

Political Fervor Taints Consumer Confidence Numbers

Tainted Tea & the Confidence Numbers

While The Greek is concerned about the significant decline in consumer confidence, something we have been warning would threaten the housing market and the general economy, we also smell a rat in the survey. Consumers have good reason to be troubled, don't get me wrong, but seasonal factors may be playing a role now as well. One such seasonal is of the irregular sort, and of political taint.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

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Political Fervor Taints Consumer Confidence Numbers

Consumer Confidence sank to a mark of 48.5 in September, according to the Conference Board, which reported the news this morning. The data marked a new low, down from 53.5 in August. In fact, the index has shed 14.2 points since May. Economists were shocked by the degree of depression, with Bloomberg reporting the consensus expectation for the data point at 52.0. Considering that consumer confidence and spending is critical to the US economy, you should be paying close attention to this news.

The Horrible Truth

Consumers have had plenty good reason to sour, including a stagnant and sad labor market. With little new hiring occurring, surely the unemployed are growing increasingly depressed. Depression is certainly a good describer of just how hopeless the survey participants seem to be feeling. Their view of current conditions deteriorated in this latest check, with the Present Situation Index slipping to 23.1, from 24.9 in August. Still, it is their view of the future that should bother you more. The Expectations Index dropped precipitously, to 65.4, from a higher ledge of 72 last month.

The Director of the Conference Board said, "Overall, consumers' confidence in the state of the economy remains quite grim. And, with so few expecting conditions to improve in the near term, the pace of economic growth is not likely to pick up in the coming months." Regarding the present situation, those viewing business conditions as "bad" increased to 46.1%, from 42.3% previously. Only 8.1% said business conditions were "good." With regard to the job market, the number claiming jobs were hard to get depicted a dire environment as well.

Expectations

The American household outlook is indeed grim, and we can find no better descriptor. The percentage of people expecting business conditions to worsen increased, as did the number anticipating fewer job opportunities. This future outlook can have a dramatic impact on spending, because as Americans worry about income and wealth, they will spend cautiously.

Seasonal Impact?

Indeed, back-to-school shopping can have a way of reinforcing the inadequacy of an unemployment check. As such, we expect survey participants were a little more stressed than usual in September.

Conspicuously, we wonder what degree of impact political passions had in influencing the responses of Republican respondents during this special fall month. While things are bad, we can understand easily how worse they can seem by turning on C-SPAN to catch Republican House Leader John Boehner giving a speech. Or, you could switch on Fox television. Active Republican election campaign staffers and simple backers are surely included in the 5,000 households surveyed by the Conference Board, and so as we near November elections, their fervor is no doubt intensified. Perhaps they are also captured in these numbers...

I would assume any self-respecting Republican would express their complete discontent with the state of the economy now, given the other party runs the show today. So, while we see good enough reason for further deterioration in confidence, we warn that there may also be a taint to the tea in this particular reading.



This article should prove interesting to investors in NYSE: PIR, NYSE: ETH, Nasdaq: HOFT, NYSE: HD, NYSE: LOW, Nasdaq: AAPL, NYSE: BBY, NYSE: LTD, NYSE: CHS, NYSE: ANN, NYSE: GPS, NYSE: M, NYSE: JCP, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: TJX, NYSE: KSS, Nasdaq: COST, NYSE: TGT, NYSE: WMT, Nasdaq: WTSLA, Nasdaq: HOTT, NYSE: AEO, NYSE: ARO, NYSE: ANF, NYSE: SAK, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: TLB, NYSE: LL, Nasdaq: BLDR, NYSE: FO, NYSE: LEG, NYSE: TPX, NYSE: AYI, NYSE: LZB, Nasdaq: SCSS, NYSE: ZZ, NYSE: FBN, NYSE: NTZ, Nasdaq: SHLD, NYSE: DDS, Nasdaq: BONT, Nasdaq: CPWM, Nasdaq: BKRS, Nasdaq: BEBE, NYSE: BKE, Nasdaq: CACH, Nasdaq: CMRG, Nasdaq: CATO, NYSE: CBK, Nasdaq: CTRN, NYSE: PSS, Nasdaq: DEST, Nasdaq: DBRN, NYSE: DSW, Nasdaq: FINL, NYSE: FL, Nasdaq: GYMB, NYSE: GES, NYSE: JCG, NYSE: JNY, Nasdaq: JOSB, NYSE: NWY, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: MW, Nasdaq: SYMS, Nasdaq: PLCE, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: GS, NYSE: MS, NYSE: C, NYSE: PNC, NYSE: WFC.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

ASA Staffing Index Reaches Two-Year High

From today's weekly report from the American Staffing Association:

"During the week of Sept. 13–19, 2010, temporary and contract employment rose 2.08%, pushing the index up two points to a value of 98 (see chart above).  At a current index value of 98, U.S. staffing employment is 42% higher than the level reported for the first week of the current year and is 23% higher than the same weekly period in 2009."

The index value of 98 for the ASA Staffing Index is the highest reading since the week of September 22, 2008, just about two years ago.  As I have previously reported, the ongoing improvement in the demand for temporary and contract employment, which is a leading labor market indicator, bodes well for positive broader-based and permanent employment gains in the future.