Government and Economy

Democrats Must Now Deal With Immigration Issues
President-elect Obama has nominated Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security. The Washington Post suggests that Napolitano push for broad immigration reform if confirmed.

Back on Capitol Hill, Auto Executives Still Find Skeptics
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, chair of the Senate Banking Committee, hinted at difficulties for lawmakers in approving a bailout for the Big Three automakers.

The Next Big Pain in the Economy
The folks at Forbes have gone over the books of thousands of privately held companies and may have found the next pockets of trouble.

Sweating The Recession?
The R-word is a scary thing, but here is what the latest economic crisis really means to business owners.

Advocacy: Letter to EPA Regarding Greenhouse Gas Regulations

On November 28, 2008, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), discussing Advocacy’s concerns with EPA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), "Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions under the Clean Air Act."

Benefit and Labor Issues

New Jobless Claims Drop Unexpectedly
WASHINGTON (AP) - New claims for jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week but the number of people continuing to receive government aid reached a 26-year high and large companies announced more job cuts Thursday.

Absent Worker Costs Add Up
Absenteeism costs employers of all sizes in payroll, productivity, revenue and morale, but a look at small businesses shows that it is often the result of the workplace climate, managers who are too authoritarian and policies that actually encourage absenteeism.

Unions Ready to Deal

Union leaders are worried, and rightly so. Potential job losses mean that pragmatic deal-making has become the order of the day.

CEOs Expect to Cut Workforces
The majority of U.S. CEOs say they expect to cut workers in the next six months, according to a survey that showed a rapid deterioration in the economic outlook from the nation's top executives.

Doing Business

Keep Tabs On Your Business
Look beyond your income statement and discover more meaningful metrics.

Survival Skills for Today's Working World

In an economic downturn, when recent graduates from some of the best schools may not have the skills that matter most in the new global knowledge economy, employers need to be very careful with their hiring decisions. Here are seven survival skills that employees need in today's workplace.

Deadbeat Customer?
Dun & Bradstreet will tell you which customers pay their bills and which don't, and they will do it for free.

Sales and Marketing

Leaders: Generating Revenue Their Biggest Priority
In a survey, 200 business leaders said that generating revenue is a bigger priority in an economic downturn while retaining staff is a larger issue in an upturn, that their most important skills are not rewarded and that managing change is the toughest challenge they face.

Recession Aside, You Still Need To Advertise

Cutting your budget may be inevitable, but cutting your advertising should not. Here are ten free or low-cost advertising ideas.