How to Write an Exit Strategy for Your Business

Exit strategy is a predetermined objective which is employed by a businessman who is planning to transfer his business responsibilities to another person, for various reasons. This article will help you to know how to write an exit strategy.
Exit strategy should be planned, keeping in mind the long and short-term objectives of the company owner. It should be considered and developed right from the beginning, once you have finalized with your long-term and short-term goals. Keeping the expectations according to your business, and planning the strategy will be helpful. Before you plan the exit strategy, it is required to concentrate on strategic planning, organizational planning, and financial planning of the company. The three important questions which you must address to yourself about your business before writing the plan are: to whom, by when, and for how much.

Writing the Exit Strategy

Choose the Best Exit Strategy for your Business

• Selling the business to a family member.
• Selling the business to other company, which is usually larger than yours (acquisition and merger).
• Selling the business to Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), in which the stocks of the company is sold to the employees of the company itself.
• Initial Public offering (IPO) is a risky strategy in which the stocks of the company are sold to the public. The investors need to take a risk because the traders get in (buy stocks) and out (sell stocks) and may cause a financial swing.

If none of the plan works out, the business owner may have to resort to liquidation.

Write Down the Questionnaire Document

• How much investable assets should I have in my account?
• What would be the tax impact on the amount that I would receive after I quit?
• What are the legal agreements that I should sign before I complete the disposal?
• Does my business have the required opportunities and value from the view of the buyer?
• How can I clear my debts, successfully?

Financing your Business

Choosing the source of capital is very important, as it will directly influence your decision to exit. The objective of choosing your financing is not only about increasing the funds, but it also concerns the cost of both money and relationships, if you are borrowing the money from your family or friends.

Dealing with the Taxing and Other Legal Issues

Discuss the legal and tax related issues with an experienced corporate attorney and other business accounting professionals. Some of the legal and tax issues that you must discuss with your advisors are listed below:

Legal Issues

• Liability of Owners, officers and directors
• State and federal security laws
• Rights of minority owners
• Cost of transfer of ownership
• Buy-sell agreements with shareholders and partners

Tax Issues

• Capital gains upon transfer or sale of the business
• Corporate and personal taxes
• Properties owned
• Reasonable compensation limits
• Retirement plans
• Income tax
• Capital Gains Tax (CGT) tax

Actions that Should be Implemented Before Exiting

Begin the planning and the implementations, once you have set the timeline. Implement the following actions before finalizing the agreements and the complete disposal.

• Train the new managers.
• Start your debt reduction program.
• Update your business plan.
• Dispose the loss-making subsidiaries and surplus machinery.
• Approach venture capital backing for MBO (Management Buyouts).
• Discuss the propositions with the concerned bank management.
• Appoint lead adviser.
• Conduct environmental audit.
• Reduce the stock levels of your company.
• Review personal financial positions.
• Undertake mock due diligence.
• Most importantly, plan the activities to get engaged after your exit from the business.

Planning out your exit strategy at the last minute will never be helpful, because, all the factors required for your successful exit will not fall in line. Also, finding out a buyer in a short period and disposing the assets quickly will not fetch you the desired profits. So, planning ahead is necessary. By Suganya Sukumar




From:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-write-an-exit-strategy-for-your-business.html

Automatic spending cuts a new threat to US economy

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Just as the U.S. economy is making progress despite Europe's turmoil, here come two new threats.

Deep spending cuts are set to kick in if a congressional panel can't agree by Thanksgiving on how to shrink the budget deficit. And Congress may let emergency unemployment aid and a Social Security tax cut expire at year's end. Either outcome could slow growth and spook markets.

Analysts are concerned. Yet most aren't panicking.

Many say the economy and markets can withstand the blows. That's because Congress or the Federal Reserve could take other steps next year to blunt the automatic cuts and lift the economy. And investors expect so little from the congressional panel that they're unlikely to overreact if no deal is reached.

"There's no doomsday scenario in reducing government spending," said David Kelly of JP Morgan Funds.

The 12-member bipartisan panel, or supercommittee, was created in August to defuse a political standoff over raising the federal borrowing limit. It's supposed to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts by Nov. 23. If it fails, federal spending would automatically be cut by that amount over nine years, starting in 2013.

The law triggers cuts in programs prized by both parties: social services such as Medicare for Democrats, defense spending for Republicans.

The panel appears to be deadlocked.

Economists say a stalemate makes it harder for Congress to extend the Social Security tax cut and unemployment benefits. On the other hand, if the supercommittee does forge a deal, it might include an extension of those benefits. Or it could at least clear the way for an extension later.

The Social Security tax cut gave most Americans an extra $1,000 to $2,000 this year. Unemployment benefits provide about $300 a week. Most of that money quickly and directly boosts consumer spending, which drives the economy.

By contrast, an expiration of those benefits could cut growth by about three-quarters of a percentage point, economists say. Throw in other cuts, like those passed in the August debt deal, and all told, federal budget policies could subtract 1.7 percentage points from growth in 2012, according to JPMorgan Chase and Moody's Analytics.

Given the tepid economy, such a hit could be damaging.

"It would be very difficult for an economy that's doing well to digest, let alone one that's barely growing at potential," said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's. "That could unwind a lot of the improvement we've seen so far."

The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. Some analysts fear it could fall below 2 percent next year, especially if the emergency unemployment benefits and Social Security tax cuts aren't renewed.

The U.S. economy faces other threats, too — from persistently high unemployment to Europe's spreading debt crisis, which could hasten a recession.

If the automatic spending cuts take effect, the defense budget could be cut by nearly $500 billion over nine years. Some contractors are nervous.

Wes Bush, CEO of Northrop Grumman, has told analysts that the company is bracing for spending cuts.

"It's certainly going to be a more challenging environment" next year, he said.

Another wild card: Some investors fear that the supercommittee's failure would spark fresh downgrades of U.S. debt. Standard & Poor's downgraded the government's long-term debt in August. That contributed to a stock market plunge. It's possible that a deadlocked supercommittee would lead the two other major rating agencies — Fitch and Moody's — to follow suit.

Yet S&P's downgrade did little to tarnish U.S. debt. Treasury prices rose, and yields fell. Bond investors still saw Treasurys as a super-safe investment. Federal borrowing costs actually declined.

"S&P showed that when a rating agency downgrades the best-known security in the world, it has little impact," Kelly said. The market for U.S. Treasurys is so broad, accessible and transparent that ratings downgrades don't pose much threat, he noted.

Kelly said Wall Street is unlikely to panic given that expectations for the supercommittee "are so low as to be subterranean."

Even so, some traders appear to be positioning for a shock. So-called "defensive" sectors of the stock market, like healthcare companies and utilities, which tend to retain their value in a weak economy, have been outpacing the S&P 500 index as a whole.

In the past month, the economy has shown surprising strength. Reports this week showed that manufacturers are producing more goods and consumers are spending more. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits for the first time is at a seven-month low.

Still, more than once since the recession officially ended more than two years ago, the economy has displayed vigor only to stumble again. High gas and food prices and Japan's earthquake sharply slowed growth in the first half of the year. Congress' debt-ceiling fight sent consumer confidence to recession levels.

Sweet thinks there's a good chance Congress will end up extending the Social Security tax cut. Partly on that assumption, Moody's foresees 2.6 percent growth next year. For this year, analysts generally estimate less than 2 percent growth.

Lawmakers could make other policy changes next year to energize the economy. The tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration, and extended in 2010, are set to expire after 2012. Republicans will push to renew them.

Some of the automatic cuts set to kick in in 2013 could be delayed or altered. That's particularly true if the White House or either chamber of Congress changes sides in 2012.

And some economists say the automatic spending cuts could actually boost confidence a bit: They would reassure the world that the U.S. government can make progress in shrinking its deficit.

Even so, the supercommittee seems likely to fall short of its goal to help reduce the federal debt load.

And there's more pressure to come.

Priya Misra, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimates that Congress will need to find $2 trillion more in cuts by August 2013 to prevent another credit downgrade.

Read More:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/automatic-spending-cuts-threat-us-080312061.html

Convert your Arts and Crafts Hobby into a Business

Hobbies like arts and crafts offer a good business opportunity for those who really like spending their time creating artwork or unique craft items. With a little investment and some information on how to start an arts and crafts business, you will soon be ready to start selling your products successfully...

Each of us has a hobby, engaging in which gives us a feeling of satisfaction. Arts and crafts are a favorite hobby of many people, which also offers a lot to explore. This hobby can be and is often converted into a business that has low risk, low investment and can give a good amount of profit. Many experts recommend this idea to beginners and those looking for small business opportunities to increase their total monthly income. So, if you are starting an arts and crafts business, then here are some things to consider before you start it, and ways to work it out well.

Things to Consider Before Start-Up

If you have never been part of a business, the points given below will tell you how to start an arts and crafts business successfully.

* You need to plan the business well to avoid any situations where the investment cost is more than the profit earned, the order is delayed, or the customer is not satisfied.
* Start reading about the basics of small business management, to convert your arts and crafts hobby into a successful business.
* From the wide range of arts and crafts, you need to decide which type of products you will be selling.
* Make a list of easy crafts to make and sell and find out which items have the maximum demand among your target customers.
* In order to make your business score more among your competitors, try to have a set of products not sold by others.
* When you start planning when and how to start an arts and crafts business, you need to have a certain amount of money for the initial expenses, which mainly includes the cost of raw material.
* Open a separate bank account for your business. This will separate the entire cost and profit details from your personal account and let you know the exact numbers.

Starting Your Arts and Crafts Business

You can have the business setup right in your house or backyard. This is one of the advantages of turning your arts and crafts hobby into a business. When you start your business, the first step is letting people know about the same. Start with your friends and neighbors. Moreover, you can look for simple and low-cost ideas to advertise your business. This includes paper posters and small pamphlets. Photographs of ready artwork and craft items work best in this case. You can e-mail these to your friends, add them to your social networking profiles and post them on free classified advertisement websites.

Finding a market to buy the raw material is a very important part of this business. You need to browse through online websites, nearby stores and wholesale dealers to find good shops selling the basic material required for making arts and crafts at the cheapest rates.

Remember that you might not achieve sales that will level your investment cost, for a few months at least. Hence, you must expect 'no profit' for the first few months, until your business is set-up well, marketed properly, and gains popularity.

Dedicating enough time for your business is very essential, at least in the initial stage. Even if you are a working individual, make a time-table to distribute your tasks properly through the day, week and month, hence, avoiding any problems and meeting deadlines.

Taking Your Business to The Next Level

Once people are aware of your business and you have started getting enough orders to meet the production cost, it is time to take your business to the next level. Well, that is not as difficult as you might think! Promoting your products and increasing the variety of products you sell, is a good way to attract more consumers. You can contact shops which sell artwork and craft items and sell your products to them instead of finding direct customers.

You can also have an exhibition-cum-sale of your products, say once in 3 or 6 months. Put up your items for sale on online shopping websites to attract more customers with minimum efforts. Taking good photographs of your work is very essential for this step.

Well, there are no really any strict rules to be followed while turning your hobby into a business. All you need is planning, dedication towards your work, good communication skills, and ideas to grow your consumer base. Explore areas that are not common and give importance to each part and step while you set-up your arts and crafts business.
By Mamta Mule
Published: 11/16/2011

Read More:
http://www.buzzle.com/

Careers in Interior Design

Interior designing as a career option is a very interesting field for people with an artistic bent of mind. Their work ranges from selecting the color of the walls to deciding the furniture, furnishings, lighting fixtures, and artwork. To develop a design style, they need to work in close contact with the architects of the building space as well as the occupants. In case the building is under construction or renovation, designers can be called upon to decide the placement of windows, doors, keeping in mind accessibility for the handicapped. They may have to work with the plumbers and electricians, and even the building contractor to ascertain that the design meets safety standards. Depending upon their choice and style of work, interior designers can make a career by working in various sectors, as mentioned below.

Interior Designing Careers

Residential Interior Designing
Home designing is a very popular career option for interior designers. Interior designers can be involved in designing an entire home or apartment to designing individual aspects like living room, master bedroom, children's bedroom, or the kitchen. They must take into account the residents' style, personal choices and space available, not to mention the budget restrictions.

Home Staging
An upcoming aspect of designing, home staging involves redesigning your current house in such a way that it looks presentable to a potential buyer. Many people take the help of professional designers to upgrade their homes, so that it fetches a higher price.

Interior Designing in the Corporate Sector
This involves jobs related to designing offices, banks, and business places. The real skill lies in the fact that professionals must design the space in such a way that a room with a formal feel to it should not look too drab and stern, but on the other hand, make employees feel comfortable and increase their social interaction to make the office a better place to work in, while adhering to the principles of ergonomics. It can also involve having a thorough knowledge of telecommunications and electronic appliances, since these two elements play a very important role while designing the office space.

Interior Designing in the Hospitality Sector
These professionals design the interiors of hotels, restaurants, cafés, convention centers, banquet halls, health clubs, etc. This field has a huge scope for creativity since it caters to a comparatively bigger audience. A lot of factors need to be carefully looked into, the most important being esthetics, comfort, and functionality, all within the budgetary limitations. It can involve purchasing furniture and decorative items on a big scale.

Interior Designing in the Healthcare Sector
This involves designing hospitals, nursing centers, doctors' offices, assisted living centers, and a host of other healthcare facilities. The interior designer must hold a specialization and possess excellent knowledge of the healthcare industry. Designing a hospital is by no means a small task. Inpatient facilities, outpatient departments, surgery rooms, clinical laboratories, housekeeping services, all these and much more go into making a hospital. Designing a hospital also involves taking into consideration factors like state-of-the-art medical equipment, telecommunications, and a complex system of electrical and electronic networks. The designer must work to make the best use of space available, leaving nothing redundant, while ensuring all facilities are easily accessible by patients, doctors, and hospital staff.

Interior Designing in the Retail Sector
Professionals specialized in this field have to design commercial spaces, shopping malls, arcades, art galleries, exhibition centers, etc. As with the healthcare and hospitality sectors, this is another field where designers can make full use of their creativity and imagination. Expert knowledge of the building's infrastructure is, without doubt, a must before designing and planning the interiors.

Other than these, interior designers may have to design school and educational facilities as well. Specialization can also include designing in the performing arts sector, like theaters, concert halls, and sets for television and movies. Other popular and upcoming niches are Green Interior Designing and Feng Shui Interior Designing. As the name suggests, green implies designing interiors in an environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient way, and feng shui means, designing a space using feng shui principles and components to create harmony and balance between its elements. There are also In-store Interior Designers that work in furniture, home decor and garden stores, selling design ideas and merchandise through catalogs, but never actually visiting a customer's home.

Educational Requirements for Interior Designing

* There are special programs accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, and students enrolling in these can get a bachelor's or master's degree.
* The National Council for Interior Design Qualifications conducts exams for potential students who can then receive the NCIDQ certificate, which states that the person is knowledgeable about those elements of interior designing that may affect the life, health, safety, and welfare of the public. To qualify for the examination, candidates must complete an interior designing course and gain supervised work experience.
* The National Association of Schools of Art and Design has college-level courses for students wishing to take up interior designing as a career option.
* Students can take up courses which teach subjects like space planning, lighting design, graphic designing, industrial and product design, photography, visual communications, CAD (computer-aided design), applied design, industrial arts, color schemes, safety laws, etc., as per their choice and intended field of specialization.

Interior designers can run their own design firms, work freelance, or work as an employee with a design firm. An innate talent to design, an eye for detail, and superb communication skills are a must for becoming an interior designer. An individual who runs his own firm should also possess basic business skills like financing, making decisions, management, and networking, especially if he has a team of junior designers working for him. Whatever type of space he is working on, whether it's commercial or residential, an interior designer must combine all his artistic and architectural capabilities to come up with the most innovative design ideas, within the allocated budget and also keep the client happy. Though it is a lot of hard work, interior designing is a job that can give you immense satisfaction at the end of the day.
By Sailee Kale

from:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/careers-in-interior-design.html

Small Business Cash Flow 101

Cash flow is the movement of money in and out of a business over time. For small business owners who don't have a financial background, understanding the importance of cash flow and the impact it can have can be challenging. But it doesn't have to be.
There are some simple rules of cash flow that can help you make sense of the money side of your business and improve your bottom line. Those rules are explained in today's feature article. I also included some additional resources to help you analyze and increase the cash flow in your business.

from :
http://sbinformation.about.com/b/2011/10/18/small-business-cash-flow-101.htm

UK banks in trouble? - Today's small business news roundup

UK bank downgrades, more quantitative easing, and an accounting exemption for small businesses - here's your need-to-know business news roundup.

A dozen major UK financial institutions had their ratings downgraded by Moody’s this morning.

Lloyds, RBS, Nationwide, and Santander were amongst the banks to have their ratings cut, after Moody’s determined that the government is less likely to bail them out if it were to become necessary. [BBC]

The Bank of England expanded its quantitative easing scheme amidst increasing concern about the scale of the economic slowdown.

The Bank will buy some £75 billion worth of government bonds – but many commentators want to see a more direct injection into the economy. [Guardian]

The government has proposed an easing of audit requirements for small businesses.

It launched a consultation on the scheme, which it says could save £600 million a year. But accountants have questioned the level of savings that could be achieved

from :
http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/news/2011/10/2011-10-07-uk-banks-in-trouble-todays-small-business-news-roundup/

Cash-Strapped Americans Can't Break the Overdraft Habit

Overdraft fees are like a movie monster that just won't die. No amount of public outrage or regulation can slay the beast.

But the banks aren't the only ones casting overdrafts in financial sequels: Truth is, consumers who don't properly manage their accounts, or who have money problems, keep breathing life into the overdraft dragon.

"Overdrafts are part of the small advance and loan market," explains G. Michael Moebs, CEO of Moebs Services. Other parts of that "market" include credit card cash advances, transfers from deposit accounts or small lines of credit, payday loans, pawn loans, even gifts and loans from family and friends -- and at the extreme, loan sharks. "The surprise is, no matter how much government tries to regulate and legislate away this small loan market, it keeps coming back," says Moebs. "People want and need a funding safety net."

According to Moebs Services, a consulting firm for the banking industry, overdraft revenue in the second quarter of 2011 was up b $700 million (from $30.1 billion in the first quarter to $30.8 billion) at both banks and credit unions. The average number of overdrafts per household remained fairly even.

In the majority of cases, overdrafts are accidents, something that happens when people don't keep track of their transactions. However, a surprisingly large fraction -- 26%, according to Moebs -- are intentional. The Moebs study found that 34 million Americans use overdrafts to fill a shortfall of funds, while 19 million of them go to payday lenders. "People have short term needs: medical, auto repairs, relative in trouble, or they are just short cash in some pay periods," says Moebs.

With median overdraft fees at $28, the cost of those accidents and choices adds up. Worse still, Moebs estimates that typically, 90% of overdraft fees are paid by the poorest 10% of customers.

The Pros and Cons of Overdrafts

Linda Sherry, director of National Priorities for Consumer Action, points out that there's more than one type of overdraft, and says the good and bad varieties of overdraft protection shouldn't be lumped together.

"While overdrafts can serve as a short-term loan, we have some important caveats," she says. "We are not talking about 'automatic' overdraft or bounce protection. We are talking about the kind of overdraft protection that you apply for and it covers your overdrafts and charges you only a reasonable transaction fee and any interest on the loan. This one spares you overdraft fees altogether. Most reputable banks offer this."

"Banks also offer the kind of overdraft protection that we don't believe in -- when people overdraft they pay the overdraft but still charge a hefty overdraft fee of $30 or so. We urge caution in allowing a bank to do this," says Sherry.

Moebs argues though, that increased regulation of overdrafts does more harm than good. "Those Americans that rely on overdrafts and advance payday loans, do not have the FICO score to qualify for a line of credit or credit card," said Moebs, in a prepared statement. "By creating unintended consequences, such as predatory lending from loan sharks, adding limits to overdraft volume or price will do more harm than good."

"Regulators should get out of and stay out of the short term money needs of consumers -- they cause more problems than solutions. Instead of trying to tell consumers what they need and how to manage their money, let the market do it," says Moebs, whose clients include banking and savings institutions.

"The huge mistake that many make when looking at overdrafts, payday loans and pawn loans, is trying to measure it by large loan standards -- namely APR. It's like bringing a baseball speed gun used to measure the velocity of a pitch to measure the speed of a college or NFL football player. Overdrafts are measured by fee amounts, not rates."

Consumers Still Need Protection

Regulators clearly disagree with that: Overdraft fees remain high on their agenda. In 2009, the Federal Reserve stepped in with new rules to make overdrafts and fees more transparent. Since then, some banks have gone even further and eliminated the overdraft option on ATM and debit transactions. Other banking regulators have either proposed or issued supervisory guidance governing the banks that they oversee.

The newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, too, is taking on overdrafts. "The Bureau will carefully assess how we can best ensure that the overall market for short-term credit is fair, transparent, and competitive," said Raj Date, special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the CFPB, in a recent speech at the Lessons Learned from the Financial Crisis: The Need for the CFPB event in Philadelphia. "We will be monitoring the impact of the recent regulatory and supervisory interventions. If we find that these interventions are not working as intended, we will adjust. And if we find that additional action is needed, we will act."

What's the best advice for consumers? Says Moebs, "Have your checking account at a community bank or credit union, because the price is less and you will get the short-[term] funding you need and want."

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/nfEnwx
&
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/23/cash-strapped-americans-cant-break-the-overdraft-habit/

IBM to pay $10 million to settle Asian bribe case

WASHINGTON (AFP) – IBM has agreed to pay $10 million to settle charges it gave cash and gifts to Chinese and South Korean officials to win contracts for mainframe and personal computers and other products.
The agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) calls for the US computer titan to pay disgorgement of $5.3 million, interest of $2.7 million and a civil penalty of $2 million.
Under the agreement, which is subject to court approval and was released by the SEC on Friday, IBM does not admit or deny the allegations it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
In the complaint filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the SEC outlined the accusations against IBM, which is based in Armonk, New York.
The complaint detailed instances of IBM Korea employees allegedly handing over envelopes filled with cash to South Korean officials in parking lots, providing them with free notebook computers, fiddling bid sheets and making payments to the bank account of a "hostess in a drink shop."
It said employees of IBM subsidiaries and a majority-owned joint venture provided cash and improper gifts, travel and entertainment to Chinese and South Korean government officials between 1998 and 2009.
From 1998 to 2003, employees of IBM Korea and joint venture LG IBM PC Co. paid $207,000 in cash bribes and gave improper gifts to South Korean government officials to secure the sale of IBM products, the complaint said.
It said that from 2004 to 2009, employees of IBM China provided overseas trips, entertainment and improper gifts to Chinese government officials.
"The misconduct in China involved several key IBM China employees and more than 100 IBM China employees overall," the complaint said.
IBM China employees "created slush funds at local travel agencies in China that were then used to pay for overseas and other travel expenses incurred by Chinese government officials," it said.
"In addition, IBM China employees created slush funds at its business partners to provide a cash payment and improper gifts, such as cameras and laptop computers, to Chinese government officials," it added.
"Deficient internal controls allowed employees of IBM's subsidiaries and joint venture to use local business partners and travel agencies as conduits for bribes or other improper payments to South Korean and Chinese government officials over long periods of time," the complaint said.
It said improper payments were recorded as "legitimate business expenses."
In a statement acknowledging the settlement, IBM said it "insists on the highest ethical standards in the conduct of its business and requires all employees to follow its policies and procedures for conducting business."
IBM shares were up 0.95 percent at $155.65 shortly before the closing bell on Wall Street.

Foolish FAQ: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis

Japan continues to deal with an incredible tragedy right now. The earthquake on March 11 triggered a tsunami that hit the country's east coast, killing thousands and decimating the landscape. We mourn the losses and pray for the survivors and relief workers.
In the U.S., our attention has now shifted toward the nuclear power generation plants at Fukushima Daiichi, heavily damaged by the quake and tsunami, as operators work tirelessly to fend off nuclear disaster.
The struggles at Fukushima have brought many companies into the spotlight, including reactor designer General Electric (NYSE: GE - News) and Exelon (NYSE: EXC - News), the largest nuclear power plant operator in the United States. We've also seen a renewed focus on alternative energy sources from solar power companies such as First Solar, Trina Solar, and Suntech Power and wind energy companies like Broadwind Energy. While we need healthy debate about energy policies in the future, we have the opportunity to learn more about nuclear power today.
To get the scoop, I interviewed my father, Butch Meier, who's had decades of experience working with nuclear energy. The views he will express are his own, but based on his experience, he's got plenty of interesting things to say. We'll learn more about the situation at Fukushima, what the workers are trying to prevent, and how you can help. So let's get right to it.
David Meier: I may know about your background, but readers don't. What's your experience with nuclear energy?
Butch Meier: I studied reactor theory and design at the United States Naval Academy and in graduate school on an Atomic Energy Commission Fellowship at the University of Arizona. I served in U.S. Navy nuclear submarines for 29 years. Since 1998, I have done consulting work in related fields.
David: Why is cooling water so important for the situation at Fukushima right now?
Butch: Keeping things cool is vital.
Here's the problem the Japanese are trying to overcome: The earthquake, followed by the tsunami, absolutely wiped out their infrastructure, causing the cooling pumps to lose power. They have also experienced fires in the pumps providing cooling water to the spent fuel pools. Without a flow of cooling water, the water in the core or spent fuel pool eventually boils. With no water to remove the decay heat, the temperature of the fuel rises, causing the pressure to increase. In the limit, it can increase to the point that the fuel cell ruptures, which would release radioactive fission products. Chernobyl is the only example where this has happened.
(Editor's note: Tokyo Electric Power is working hard to restore dedicated power to the reactors in order to get the cooling systems working.)
David: Are the reactors running right now?
Butch: No. The reactors are shut down, and there is no worry about them restarting. The issue centers on the fission products in the shutdown reactors -- atoms that are produced when uranium atoms split in the fission process.
David: Speaking of uranium, the fuel used in a nuclear reactor, what goes on inside to create heat and radioactive byproducts?
Butch: When a uranium atom fissions, or splits, it releases energy as it splits into two other midweight atoms. ... These unstable radioactive atoms decay as they seek a stable state, emitting radiation in the process. Fissions still occur when the reactors are shut down -- just not at the rate when the reactor is "critical" or producing power. The shutdown fission rate is 8-10 or more orders of magnitude lower than during reactor operation.
Two types of radiation -- gamma rays (think of X-rays) and neutrons -- emitted from these decay products generate heat by mechanical interaction. Some of the neutrons are absorbed in the uranium fuel, causing more fission and more heat. So while the shutdown reactor doesn't require anywhere near the cooling needed when it is operating, it still requires cooling. Even the spent fuel removed from the reactors still generates heat. Water is the most prevalent coolant.
You may have heard that boric acid or borated water is being pumped into the cores. (Editor's note: South Korea has agreed to send some of its boron reserve to Japan.) Boron has a tremendous affinity for neutrons. It prefers to absorb them rather than the fuel, reducing the heat generated.
David: There have been reports of explosions at the plant. How do you think those happened?
Butch: Steam pressure from boiling water in the uncooled core has to be vented, or it could rupture the core vessel and the containment around the core vessel. (Editor's note: For a reactor diagram, see "Inside the Reactors" here.) Hydrogen is also produced in the core. The gas is vented into the containment building around the two inner containments. The vented gas also contains some radioactivity. The explosions that have occurred involve this hydrogen-steam mixture buildup, coupled with the loss of power and the ability to ventilate the containment building.
David: News headlines flash that radiation levels are high or rising. That doesn't tell the whole story. Break down the types of radiation -- how it can interact with humans or the environment, and how can people protect themselves against radiation?
Butch: Radiation is a challenging subject to discuss meaningfully. You can't see it, feel it, or taste it. We are not familiar with units, which are millisieverts, unlike a gallon of milk or the yards on a football field. But the effects of the various types of radiation and doses/dose rates -- the intensity and accumulation of radiation -- are well understood and documented. (Editor's note: This CNN blog entry does a nice job of putting things in perspective.)
There are four types of radiation. Gamma and neutron radiation, discussed above, can penetrate the body and cause long-term health problems under chronic exposure. Exposure to extremely concentrated doses could be immediately fatal. From what I have read, Fukushima is nowhere near exposures that are harmful.
Two others -- alpha and beta -- don't penetrate, and are only a problem if you ingest them or absorb them. You mitigate the gamma and neutron radiation by time, distance, and shielding. You mitigate alpha and beta radiation by staying inside or using filters or masks. The contaminations you see and hear about on TV are predominantly alpha and beta. (Editor's note: Japanese officials have been ordering people to stay inside and pictures show relief working with masks covering their noses and mouths.)
The release of the fission products in the cores and spent fuel pose the radiation hazard due to large amounts of long-lived penetrating radioactivity. Two fission product isotopes, cesium and strontium, are readily taken up by the body (bones, marrow), plants, food supply, etc. While they are not the most abundant fission products, they are long-lived and are a significant hazard.
Another fission product of concern is iodine, which concentrates in the thyroid. The potassium iodide tablets the government passed out are designed to flood the thyroid so it can't take up any more, thus blocking any released radioactive iodine. Note that the government has just made the tablets available they haven't told the people to take them, because they do not presently anticipate fission products released. If they do direct the people to take them, the problem is getting worse.
David: Let's go back to the beginning. On March 11, there was an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale off the northeast coast of Japan. This caused a tsunami to hit the east coast, causing massive damage to homes, land, and infrastructure, including loss of power, reduced communication, and damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant. How well are Japanese officials and workers handling the situation?
Butch: Some perspective will help. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake is estimated as an 8 on the Richter scale -- it flattened the city. The 8.9 quake is one of the three or four most powerful ever. For perspective, the energy released in the Japan earthquake is about 30 times that released in San Francisco. Japanese officials have an almost impossible task, but they are doing well in my opinion.
David: The troubles at Fukushima conjure images of Three Mile Island for many, Chernobyl for others, and perhaps even Hiroshima and Nagasaki for some. Should operators lose control of the recovery effort in the plant, what would you be most worried about?
Butch: The release of the fission products in the cores and spent fuel -- no question.
David: We shouldn't take the possibility of a nuclear disaster lightly -- and no one is. What do you think is missing from the disaster in Japan?
Butch: Essentially the same thing that was missing in the Three Mile Island accident -- useful practical public education of the basics of nuclear power, including the risks, and media reporting that uses the context of technical facts. Our news media is quite driven by hysteria and sensationalism rather than facts and information -- that is not useful.
How you can helpThe tragedy in Japan gives us a great opportunity to learn. I hope that you leave this interview with more knowledge about the challenges at Fukushima.
There's also a chance to improve the lives of the survivors over in Japan by donating to the relief efforts. Please consider making a contribution. The story of the struggle at Fukushima has pushed the needs of the tsunami victims off of the front page, but you can read "Donating to Japan" to learn more about how to make a contribution.

French minister Besson against "destabilizing Renault"

He said Ghosn played a key role in Renault's alliance with Japanese carmaker Nissan (7201.T), and was also facing a major industrial challenge with the launch of electric cars.
Renault admitted this month it had wrongly dismissed three senior executives after it had been tricked into believing they had sold vital know-how on the electric car project to third parties, possibly involving China.
The three men were fired in January on suspicion of industrial espionage. All denied wrongdoing from the start and began legal action against the carmaker. A Renault security manager has been placed under investigation for suspected fraud.
Ghosn and right-hand man Patrick Pelata held onto their jobs after the climbdown, but despite giving up bonuses they have come under continued public pressure over the fiasco, whose impact rippled well beyond the world of automobile research.
The affair embarrassed France's government, which owns 15 percent of Renault, and caused a rift with China, weeks ahead of a key visit to the country by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Beijing implicitly rebuked France over its handling of the matter on Thursday, saying it hoped that people checked facts before unjustly implicating the country.
Relations were strained when a French government source, speaking before the case collapsed, said investigators were following up a possible link with China.
Besson and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde issued a joint statement last week saying the government would ensure anyone responsible for the discredited espionage claims was dealt with.

French minister Besson against "destabilizing Renault"

PARIS (Reuters) – French Industry Minister Eric Besson said on Sunday he did not want to destabilize carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) when asked if chief executive Carlos Ghosn should step down over a now debunked espionage scandal.
"As industry minister, I hear the voice of the people asking for punishment, but the industry minister's greater concern at this time is not to destabilize Renault any further," Besson told RFI radio in an interview.
He said Ghosn played a key role in Renault's alliance with Japanese carmaker Nissan (7201.T), and was also facing a major industrial challenge with the launch of electric cars.
Renault admitted this month it had wrongly dismissed three senior executives after it had been tricked into believing they had sold vital know-how on the electric car project to third parties, possibly involving China.
The three men were fired in January on suspicion of industrial espionage. All denied wrongdoing from the start and began legal action against the carmaker. A Renault security manager has been placed under investigation for suspected fraud.
Ghosn and right-hand man Patrick Pelata held onto their jobs after the climbdown, but despite giving up bonuses they have come under continued public pressure over the fiasco, whose impact rippled well beyond the world of automobile research.
The affair embarrassed France's government, which owns 15 percent of Renault, and caused a rift with China, weeks ahead of a key visit to the country by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Beijing implicitly rebuked France over its handling of the matter on Thursday, saying it hoped that people checked facts before unjustly implicating the country.
Relations were strained when a French government source, speaking before the case collapsed, said investigators were following up a possible link with China.
Besson and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde issued a joint statement last week saying the government would ensure anyone responsible for the discredited espionage claims was dealt with.

Activate The Energy Of The Universe For You

Did you know that you can not create energy yourself?

You can just activate the universal energy, which exists always and will always exist.
This Energy gave you life. It's always there, at every moment, for everyone.

There is no such thing like people with a lot of energy and other ones without energy.

The difference is that energetic people know how to activate this always available energy.
And the low energy people, they block this energy, which is although always available for them too!

Energy does not decide something like :"Hey I like this one so I will send her energy, and the other one over there I don't like so he won't get any of my energy". This is nonsense!
The same counts for diseases. A disease does not "choose" a body to attack. How would it do it? Can you imagine a cancer saying : "I don't like the way he cuts his hair, so I will attack his liver?" or "I can't stand the way she talks so I will attack her breast?"

There is no such thing. It would be absurd. We have much more to say to our body and our life than we can understand for now or than we will want to admit for ourselves. Because to understand this is to take responsibility. Once we know that we "ask" for disease - by thinking of it all the time, by running from one doctor to another, by reading all articles about diseases in magazines, by telling our friends and family about all our pains and troubles - than we have to change our behavior and start to behave like a healthy person, who tries to understand why he got ill, and tries to see how he can change his way of thinking and handling to stay healthy.

It's much the same for energy. Energy is always there. It never goes away, it never slows down, otherwise our whole galaxy would fall apart. The same energy which holds the stars at place in the sky, which makes grass grow and turn the earth on his own axis, is available for us. Can you imagine? It's tremendous and there for us!
You can activate this energy for you by thinking the right thoughts, that is thoughts which stimulate you instead of turning you down, thoughts which bring you health instead of disease, thoughts which make you feel loved instead of fearing loneliness, thoughts which bring you wealth instead of poverty.

Is thinking about all this nice stuff enough to bring it into your life? No! Otherwise it would be so easy just to lean back and think about everything you want and floops….it's there! We all would be fairies and make the world whatever we want without doing anything.

Luckily it doesn't work like that! It would be dangerous! We need something else to make our thoughts create what we want : it is action. The combination of both will give us what we want : dreaming about what we want and putting ourselves into action, that is taking steps in the direction of our thoughts.

At each step we take, the universe also takes a step toward us. By our thoughts and our actions we activate this enormous universal energy to work for us. We make it move in the direction of realizing our dreams.

So the formula is pretty simple : first you dream, than you take action in the direction of your dream. This will generate energy to help you take the next step. The energy generated by this step will help you take the next step. And so on….

How do you know which action to take? Follow your guts, follow your intuïtion. It's the best guide you can find!

Stop worrying. Instead dream, think of what you want and get yourself moving in the direction of your dream. That's it. Watch what's happening. Let the mystery unfold itself.

Learn To Love Growth And Change And You Will Be A Success.

Do you want to be even more successful? Learn to love learning and growth. The more effort you put into improving your skills, the bigger the payoff you will get. Realize that things will be hard at first, but the rewards will be worth it.

Many of us have to be reminded that almost everything worthwhile in our lives is hard at first. Learning to walk was hard at first, but gradually we learned and now it is effortless. The same holds true for our more advanced skills such as, sports, music, art, etc. We forget these past struggles to learn and take them for granted now.

When most people begin to try something for the first time, it usually doesn't turn out particularly well. It doesn't mean we are bad, or stupid, or anything like that, it just means that most things of any complexity take awhile to learn.

Given this, the surprising thing is how most people react when they begin to learn a new skill and it does not go well. Most people at that point feel such things as surprise, anger, frustration, and so on. We forget that the expression "beginners luck" means that doing something well at first is a fluke. We forget it isn't supposed to be easy; it is almost against the laws of nature for something to be good at first.

So what is a more positive way to handle the difficulties we will encounter when we are learning something new? We should take the attitude that we are supposed to fail at first, that is the way the system works. We should look for a way to find fascination with the process, and build enjoyment of the ups and downs into the process. We need to recognize the difficulties we will face and build them into the time and effort we plan on expending on the project. This is one place in your life where a healthy dose of pessimism will pay off. Just planning for difficulty will take much of the negative emotions we feel in these situations away.

Lets look at another situation where we encounter difficulty at first. Almost anything involving change is very hard for us to incorporate into our lives at first. One of my favorite expressions regarding change is "the only kind of change we like, is the change in our pocket." Making the decision to change is easy, it is just a decision. Staying changed is hard. We want to fall back to our old ways; we are discouraged, uncomfortable and so on. One again we are learning something new and it helps to build this into our plan for change.

In addition to learning to enjoy the process as above, we can add another element to help us through learning something new or the change process. We can keep reviewing the goal we are seeking, the payoff, etc. and continually tell ourselves that the pain is temporary, but the payoff is permanent. We need to take the pain and frustration and deal with it minute by minute, telling ourselves to hang on, hang on, we can make it. Life is a series of minutes we can make it through.

Many people use visualization techniques to help them learn a new skill or deal with change. They "daydream" or use guided imagery to see themselves going through the process of learning or change and attaining the goal. A person on a diet can see himself f becoming thinner and thinner, easing the pain and giving them the sense they can do it. The same with a new skill such as golf. They see themselves hitting the ball, in just the right way, and they see the golf ball going right where they want it. A word of caution regarding using visualization to learn a new skill. The technique is very, very powerful and you will tend to perform exactly like you visualized it, so if you visualize the wrong technique, chances are you will actually perform the wrong technique. So be very sure of the proper technique before you used visualization to help you master it.

One last point. I have stressed the need to recognize that new things will be hard to learn at first. While this "negative" view is helpful, it must be balanced with a positive outlook for the whole project. Plan and expect problems at first, but also plan and expect that you will eventually master the situation. Planning for a positive outcome will help give you the willpower to see the situation through and enable things that are needed to move you ahead to appear when they are needed. Remember if we expect good things, we tend to get good things.

We Are What Our Habits Make Us

We are what our habits make us. They are either moving us forward or holding us back.

Unfortunately, when it comes to habits, it's much easier to form bad habits than it is a good habit. This is because bad habits are usually easy to do. They take little effort. On the other hand, a good habit requires effort and self-discipline. They are much more difficult to acquire.

"All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits - practical, emotional, and intellectual - systematically organized, for our weal or woe, and bearing us irresistibly toward our destiny whatever it may be."

-Theron Dumont

Negative habits are time wasting, character eroding, and health destroying. Once developed. A bad habit is difficult to overcome. Once overcome, one must be constantly on guard against slipping back into it. Unlike bad habits, a good habit is much easier to let go. Maintaining a good habit demands constant attention.

It would be much easier to not have formed the bad habit in the first place, but unfortunately, they are often formed in youth, when one lacks the foresight to see ahead the consequences of their actions.

Good habits, once developed, are what drive a person toward success and accomplishment.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit."

- Aristotle

One thing that can help keep you adhering to your good habits is to keep your eye on the "big picture." Keep in mind that each daily task accomplished is moving you toward your goals. It takes about thirty days to form a habit. Once a good habit has been developed, a person feels uncomfortable and ill at ease if he neglects it. Instead of a burden, a new good habit becomes a comfort and a joy.

Don't be discouraged if you slip up, either by neglecting a good habit or falling back into a bad one. Just pick yourself up and get back on the right track. Admonish yourself to show more resolve but don't torture yourself and fall into a hopeless depression.

"The greatest glory is in never falling, but rising when you fall."

-Vince Lombardi

Don't let people ridicule you for persisting in your good habits. They are just trying to pull you down to their level. You will soon leave them in the dust. People who exercise regularly or try to eat healthy are often derided as being fanatics. Those that criticize are just feeling guilty because they lack the resolve to do what you are doing.

Sit down and think for a moment about what habits you may have. What are your good habits? What habits are hindering you? People of character are the ones who have built good habits into their lives and have eliminated the bad ones. It is your life and your responsibility to govern yourself. You are the master of your ship.

Just Try Earn Money From your Websire !!

Job at home

Whether you are looking for a succeed job at home or if you desire getting revenue on the internet; yes, in the end, you found it!

Contain financial independence

No computer experiences needed. You can be completely new to control our application - you don't need ANY knowledge. This is really simple.
You may stay at home and work at your free time. Even whether you don't have computer you may do this work in Internet cafe or on Internet cell phone.

How it works?

We make a internet-store for you with ready to operate e-commerce products. Your job is pretty simple; you have to submit material about your online-store to the Web directories.
We will provide you with pretty easy step-by-step instruction how to do this. The typical instruction asks you to open a internet page and fill in a form with data regarding your web-store and products.
You will be paid from US $20.00 to US 180.00 for each sale which is comes through your online-store.
There is no restriction for your revenue. No matter where you live your pay outs are 100% guaranteed.

Apply Now...

Register now to have financial freedom. All you need is the simple: sign up now and havepersonal internet business!

First Time

opportunities we never achieve a perfect .....
time is a chance but we were in a hurry ........ regret that the world .......
The world is strange ..........
......." REGRET ALWAYS IN OUR END OF STORY ".......

And my message do not be afraid of failure
and try something new

~~~trial and error~~~