Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:58:06 GMT

Sarkozy wants joie de vivre index

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.

- Woody Allen

I've been rich, I've been poor. Rich is better.

- Sophie Tucker

French president Nicolas Sarkozy wants to scrap GDP and replace it with happiness as a new measure of economic output. As the Financial Times reports, Sarkozy wants other countries to adopt new measures of economic output set out by an international panel of economists led by Joseph Stiglitz, the US Nobel Prize winner. The commission argued that GDP was perverse because it did not take into account public services and home based activities and included spending on prisons and security systems, as if these were for the greater good of society.

GDP is of course the holy grail of economists and statisticians so including accounting for people's wellbeing and for the sustainability of a country's economy and natural resources would turn that system on its head completely, not to mention do things to the heads of economists and statisticians.

As the Financial Times points out, it would also improve France's economic performance by taking into account its high-quality health service, expensive welfare system and long holidays.

So what exactly are these indicators? The Telegraph presents the list: work-life balance; traffic congestion; mood; chores; recycling; gratification; a sense of security; gender (as in are men and women treated fairly in the workplace; tax (as in does everyone get their money's worth) and relationships.

British academic Richard Layard argues that happiness is the only one true yardstick to measure society's progress.

It's not a bad argument. But my problem is that measuring happiness is, at best, open-ended. At worst, it's utter rubbish because there are no objective global standards or metrics to gauge a subjective emotional state. No one has come up with the perfect blissometer for hedonometrics.

Bhutan is the only country in the world to have a Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index. But Bhutan has also been had people fleeing as refugees to third countries, including the United States. Presumably, the GNH does not take their views into account.

When you think about it capitalism can make you rich, and it can even make you free. It's hard to see how anyone can expect it to make us happy as well. Posted by: Bose      Read more     Source

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:50:58 GMT

Top Venture Capital Blogs

TechCrunch had a nice resource piece last week on the top venture capital blogs. Are you reading them? It's a great way to keep up with the trends and issues involved in the VC industry today.

Guy Kawasaki's blog (How to Change the World) is at the top of the heap at the moment with over 24,000 readers. Fred Wilson (A VC) is in second place with about 21,000 readers. It's a long way back to Bill Gurley's Above the Crowd; he has almost 9,000 readers.

Almost all of blogs make for good reading. You can find the entire list here.


© Randy Stewart Posted by: Doris      Read more     Source

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:47:12 GMT

Manticore Technology

In the entrepreneurial world of today, startups often live or die based on their ability to market their product or service. So how are your marketing efforts going? If the answer is not something you really want to talk about, Manticore Technology can offer you a solution to the problem.

For many businesses, the solution to their sales problems could be the powerful, easy to use marketing automation solutions offered by Manticore Technology. Their resources can make lead management a more fruitful process for your business.Our software solutions enable marketers to generate more leads, improve marketing effectiveness, and decrease sales cycles through our powerful marketing automation platform. With unmatched ease-of-use, one-hour implementation and dedicated customer support model, Manticore Technology enables marketers to execute, automate, track, and analyze online lead generation campaigns, boosting revenues through increased sales efficiency and shortened sales cycles.Manticore Technology has the marketing and sales solutions you need. When the time comes at your company to look for such resources, think of them first.


© pjf@cpan
Posted by: Doris      Read more     Source

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:42:40 GMT

A Single Zune To Rule Them All

© jc.westbrook
I have owned a Zune, and to be honest, I really enjoyed it. If it had a disk mode or OS X support, I would still own it, and I would have already pre-ordered a Zune HD. But alas, Microsoft has no interest of expanding their market share to Apple users. It would appear that Microsoft also has no interest in the small, flash-based MP3 player market either because it is rumored that all other, non-HD Zunes have reached the end of their life cycle.

My Zune was a black 8GB flash model, and I loved it. The interface blew the iPod Nano away, it had really nice sound, and it was priced very nicely. Now the Zune HD looks even better. It has a 3.6 inch OLED screen, the NVidia Terga guts that will ensure beautiful video, a great touch screen and both the 16GB ($220) and 32GB ($280) units are too expensive. Like many people, I have an iPhone or some other high-end media player, and I want something to run with or beat up. That is the purpose of the iPod Nano or Shuffle, but there will no longer be a Zune to fill that niche.

I understand that competing with iPods, for whatever reason, is difficult. I am positive that only producing a media player that competes directly against Apples most popular unit, the iPhone / iPod Touch, is not the best way.

via Super Site for Windows
Posted by: Jeff      Read more     Source

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:27:07 GMT

Media misleads with Cerberus Hedge Fund

This morning on the HedgeCo hedge fund blog, Aaron posted this interesting piece on Cerberus and the new three-year lock up policy that they instituted for their new hedge funds. The article points at the main stream media who insinuate that the new lockup they instituted will affect existing investors.

One of the main misconceptions with most of the articles presented in the media is that the Lockups will affect existing hedge fund investors. This is not the case, as the Lock-Up period will only be effecting new funds created by Cerberus Capital in the future.

To balance out the 3-year lock-up, the new Cerberus funds will be offering lower management fees. The success of this new structure will no doubt be watched by hedge fund managers around the world.

As announced by Financial times these 3-year lock ups will apply to two new funds, Cerberus Partners II and Cerberus International II. These funds are slated to open in Q4 of 2009.

Aaron goes on to explain how Hedge Funds use Lockups in structuring their fund and investment strategy. Posted by: Aaron      Read more     Source

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:19:43 GMT

First Business? Some Tips....

Entrepreneur published some tips this month for rookie business owners. If this is your first business, you should take note....

Tip number one? Focus!Many first-time entrepreneurs feel the need to jump at every "opportunity" they come across. Opportunities are often wolves in sheep's clothing. Avoid getting side-tracked. Juggling multiple ventures will spread you thin and limit both your effectiveness and productivity. Do one thing perfectly, not 10 things poorly. If you feel the need to jump onto another project, that might mean something about your original concept.Other tips include knowing how to fire people and honing your business message down to 30 second. Check out the other seven.


© Alex E. Proimos Posted by: Mattew      Read more     Source

September 7, 2009, 3:28 PM CT

Luxury Vacation Rentals - The Blend of Style and Comfort

The word vacation carries different meanings for different people. Some people might just take few days time out to rest at a weekend resort and call it a vacation. To some others a vacation means to break free from any kind of rules that they are bound to and go to some place far from home. For them vacation means relaxing and enjoying themselves in a great way. Concierge hosting companies make sure that the luxury vacation rentals have all the amenities you require.

Different forms of luxury vacation rentals

Luxury vacation rentals come in the form of vacation homes, villas, lodges, inns and condos. All these luxury accommodation units are loaded with all modern amenities for guests. A luxury villa on the beach front is the best example of a luxury vacation rental. Sometimes these villas come equipped with spa and sauna facility, gourmet kitchen, hall, party area, gardens, home theatre, library and so on. Some of the luxury vacation rentals also provide maid service, laundry service, delivery of groceries and many more. There are luxury vacation rentals that can provide you with passes to the most popular clubs in the region as well. You can visit these clubs with your family and friends and enjoy your time there......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

September 7, 2009, 2:11 PM CT

Business Credit Cards are Making Business Transactions Easier

Business credit card and personal credit cards more or less share the same purpose of usage. However, a business credit card has some additional features that allow the businessmen to keep track of their expenditure. Business cards are also referred to as corporate cards. A business card is actually a credit account issued to a company. Individual employees of the company are provided business credit cards

with which they can make purchases approved by the corporation.

A business credit card is used to speed up the process of important business transactions. If there is an impending important transaction to be made, then the person concerned does not have to wait for the approval of a travel voucher or cash advance from the accounts department. He can make the transaction with the help of a business credit card which will also make it faster. Companies using such cards normally lay down certain rules to be followed while using them. This helps the company to track down the action of the employees. Small, large, medium and home based companies can apply for credit cards.

Advantages of using business credit cards

• The first advantage of using a business card is that it can save lot of time and reduce stress levels.
........


Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

September 7, 2009, 11:15 AM CT

Hassle free 'no fax payday loans' for your emergency cash requirement

Many people run short of cash before next payday, at that time 'no fax payday loans' come to their rescue. You are not required to fax any paper or get bogged down with completing formalities when you apply for no fax payday loans. There are hundreds of lenders available online to help you in filling your emergency cash gap through no fax payday loans.

The name 'no fax payday loan' itself indicates that it is devoid of faxing any document. This is an era where everything is fast, even food, and getting money is no exception. No fax payday loans are processed exceptionally fast. Money is transferred to your bank account within hours or sometimes within minutes of receiving your request. You can draw loan up to $1000 for duration of 2 to 4 weeks. You have to pay $25 to $35 as fee. There are a few conditions to qualify for no fax payday loans. These include:

• Minimum 18 years age
• Personal active bank account, minimum 3 months old
• Permanent residence even if rented
• Regular source of income

You are not asked to surrender any collateral, nor required to furnish your credit history. Even if you are in arrears of mortgage, you qualify for no fax payday loan.

Approved loan amount gets directly credited to your account. Repayment process is also simple and equally quick. No sooner money comes in your account on next payday; your borrowed amount is credited to lender’s account automatically. If you want extension of term you have to request in advance and pay extra fee to the lender. ........ Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:58:04 GMT

Having Your Moonfruit and Eating It, Too

A small, UK-based company that offers a free, DIY Web site builder came very close to blowing up Twitter earlier this month with a viral marketing campaign that, at one point, was generating 10,000 tweets an hour (about 165 tweets a minute) and outranked Michael Jackson and Iran in Twitter's trends.

The company is Moonfruit, and to celebrate their 10th anniversary they decided to give away 10 MacBook Pros in random drawings to people who put #moonfruit in a Twitter tweet each day - originally, according to the plan, for 10 days.

How well did it work? It was overwhelmingly successful. As a matter of fact, Lisa Barone thinks they got more success than they could handle. She seems some valuable marketing lessons in the experiences - among them, be ready if your marketing plan actually succeeds.

Checkout her article, and be sure to read the comments; one of them is from a representative of Moonfruit.
Posted by: Sue      Read more     Source