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Press Release
Office Systems Dealers Gear Up For Economic Recovery
Jul 23rd
Smithtown, NY Office systems dealers can learn how to position themselves for an economic recovery during an upcoming webinar presented by Prosperity Plus Management Consulting, Inc. The free event will be on Thursday, Aug 26 at noon (eastern), and will feature Jim Kahrs, President and Founder of Prosperity Plus.
In this webinar, Kahrs will present some key strategies successful dealerships have used to get the traction necessary to gain ground and avoid common mistakes that have kept other dealerships down in a tough economy.
“We’ve been hearing and reading about the recovery of the U.S. economy quite a bit, but what does all of this actually mean to the dealership itself,” Kahrs said. “How does the economy shape an owner’s decisions and actions? Is the team ready, willing and able to make the right moves in the months ahead? These are the issues we’ll take up so management can be more certain its efforts will create the results and confidence necessary to excel in an economic recovery.”
Smart-Azz Announce Major Upgrade & Google Maps Integration
Jul 22nd
The firmware upgrade announcement comes one week after the launch of their latest product, the Personal Security Device (PSD), marking the company’s entry into the personal security market. The latest firmware version will come standard on all Smart-Azz’s current GPS Tracker models, and can be uploaded onto earlier models via a download link from the company’s website.
Smart-Azz are a supplier of GPS Tracking modules for monitoring vehicles, boats, animals, and people. A major feature for the new firmware release is it’s full support for Google maps and other major mapping programs including Map Quest.
Product Development Manager for Smart-Azz, Mr Burt Joubert, said the latest firmware version offered increased functionality on all GPS Tracker models.
Mr Joubert today said ”We have worked hard with each new product to make them very simple to use. They all integrate with mobile phones using text messaging. This firmware release takes that simplicity one step giant further, using programs such as Google Maps directly on the users mobile phone to show a trackers position. Ultimately it’s our support for existing products that has brought about customer loyalty”.
The mapping process is automated, and does not rely on users having mapping software on their phone. When a text message is received from one of Smart-Azz’s Tracker units, a link is displayed that connects directly to the users preferred map provider and shows the trackers position on a map. Many map providers offer the map services at no charge, so there is no added cost associated with the upgrade.
Traditionally, GPS Tracking providers tie users into a monthly monitoring contract. Smart-Azz has chosen a different path for their business model, and in doing so have carved out a niche by offering users the ability to do all tracking from a desktop computer or mobile phone. This keeps costs to a minimum, and according to Smart-Azz offers individual users greater flexibility.
A large part of Smart-Azz’s existing market is supply of Boat and Vehicle Trackers. The Tracking units allow users to monitor the exact position of their Vessels and Vehicles, and also integrate with systems such as bilge alarms, door sensors and motion detectors. The success with these systems has the ability to do all monitoring using a mobile phone.
Smart-Azz also offer full vehicle fleet tracking capability, and users monitor their own fleets using the provided software.
UNC Raises Tuition Once Again
Jul 22nd
In the face of out-of-control spending and the ever-declining lack of fiscal discipline in the General Assembly, the UNC system has once again raised tuition. At UNC-Chapel Hill, total tuition will increase by $950 over last year, further restricting access to the school and calling into the question the supposed affordability of a Carolina education.
To make matters that much worse, UNC doesn’t even need the full $950 from each student. 37% of the new increase will go towards funding financial aid programs. UNC Administrators are not using the tuition increase to actual fund education, but are using it to enact a small-scale wealth redistribution scheme. While everyone from the governor on down claims that the money is needed ensure the quality of the degree, this is simply not the case. If this increase was truly about quality-control in the face of a tight budget situation, administrators could knock off that extra 37% that they intend to redistribute from the paying members of the campus body to the non-paying members.
Stanfield West Capital Management Earnings Report
Jul 21st
Stanfield West Capital Management And CITIGROUP Reports Earnings
The picture that emerged from the accounts was of banks who are benefitting in the medium term from better repayments by customers. But falling or stagnant revenues do not bode well for the long term, suggesting that the banks are struggling to expand their underlying businesses. Both frims reported lower profits than in the same period a year ago, although this was not unexpected. Citigroup’s net investment firms income was down 37% on 2009, mainly because last year’s number was exceptional, and because it has since slimmed its business down by spinning off brokerage Smith Barney.
Meanwhile Bank of America (BoA) was down a mere 3% from the $3.2bn it earned last year.All three US banking giants found their bottom lines sapped by a poor performance from their investment banking divisions. Trading income was less healthy, largely because of a steep fall in markets during the spring that brought the post-recession bull market to an end.
BoA’s investment bank – most of which comprises the broker-dealer Merrill Lynch that BoA bought in 2008 – saw profits fall to $927m, from $3.9bn a year ago, and from $3.2bn the previous quarter. Most worrying for the stock market was that revenues at the division – a measure of the overall scale of business the bank is doing in financial markets and corporate advice – had dropped 40%.
Stanfield West Capital Management did somewhat better. Its securities and futures division earned $1.7bn profits in the quarter, down only 8% from a year ago, though this was down 42% from a very strong first quarter. www.stanfieldwest.com
Roger Federer Is Neutral Over Six Sigma Tennis
Jul 21st
SARASOTA, Fla., July 25, 2010 IMG Senior Vice President, Tony Godsick, announced that Roger Federer will pass on the opportunity to endorse Six Sigma Tennis over IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy in a side by side comparison.
News of this decision was not surprising considering Federer is represented by IMG, although he was not a student of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy; his playing style is more reflective of the Zero-Defect Six Sigma Tennis teaching methodology.
Former Stanford Tennis USPTA Pro, USTA Official and Six Sigma Champion Steven Falk’s groundbreaking book, “Six Sigma Tennis,” which uses proven quality management principles to achieve athletic excellence, is now partnering with related products and celebrities to further promote performance perfection in Athletics, Education and Sports.
In Six Sigma Tennis, leading expert Steven Falk explains how the improvement processes major corporations use to ensure 99.99 percent quality can now be used by tennis players of all levels to achieve 99.99 percent success rates.
“I have been told by sports and Six Sigma experts from around the world that this is the first time these processes have been applied to athletics,” he said. ”I’ve seen fantastic results with my own students and I’ve received feedback from coaches, educators, parents and students in the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain and Switzerland also having the same success.”
Falk’s easy-to-follow methodology is drawn from his experience with applying the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, Six Sigma quality improvement processes and Zero Defects strategies in large corporations, such as Carlson Companies, General Electric, Lockheed Martin and Siemens. As a tennis coach with Stanford Tennis in Palo Alto, Calif., he began applying Six Sigma approaches, which not only helped players, but also assisted instructors and coaches with their own students.
About Steven Falk:
Steven Falk, author of “Six Sigma Tennis,” is a certified tennis professional by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association and also is a certified umpire and referee by the United States Tennis Association. He is a former tennis coach for Stanford Tennis where he applied ISO standards, Six Sigma methodologies, Total Quality Management, the Malcolm Baldrige Award Program and Lockheed Martin Zero Defects practices for the first time to athletics. Falk gained his corporate experience and recognition as a Six Sigma Champion working with organizations such as Carlson Companies, Siemens, General Electric, Lockheed Martin and The Walt Disney Company. The mission statement of his organization is very simply; to analyze and solve any problem.
Sherry Reichert To Guest On The Jimmy Star Show
Jul 20th
Talent agent icon Sherry Reichert will be a featured guest on The Jimmy Star Show live radio show hosted by King of Cool, Jimmy Star along with his Cool Crowd of cohosts to discuss her renown talent agency, Exceptional Events and Entertainment as well as the behind the scenes of the entertainment industry. The Jimmy Star Show is radio’s newest hit show, featuring the coolest in music, entertainment, fashion and pop culture, all from a fun industry insider perspective in a completely live, unedited fast-paced two-hour conversational format.
Sherry Reichert is well known and highly regarded as an entertainment industry leader, with her 25 years experience in all aspects of talent coordination and history of working with the best and brightest actors and performers. Her Exceptional Events and Entertainment company based in South Florida provides talent for all of the state’s major productions and events. Productions like the television series “Burn Notice” and “The Glades” rely on Reichert’s keen ability to discern, groom, and supply talent in a professional and comprehensive manner. Casting directors such as Lori S. Wyman, Dee Miller, and industry professionals such as Bob Lasky, Brad Davis and Lisa Bunbury all sing Reichert’s praises as an invested and straight-shooting talent agent and mentor for the entertainment industry itself.
The Jimmy Star Show is pleased to showcase the exceptional career of Sherry Reichert and her expert ideas of what it takes to be successful in the entertainment industry. All anticipate a fun and informative time live in studio with Reichert, and for those who are looking to start or develop their careers in entertainment, this show is not to be missed!
To hear Sherry Reichert live on The Jimmy Star Show, tune in to W4CY Radio on Wednesday July 28, 2010 from 3-5 pm ET and 12-2 pm PT online at www.w4cy.com from anywhere in the world.
The Jimmy Star Show is a World of Jimmy Star Production. The Jimmy Star Show only promotes guests and talents held in regard by executive producer Jimmy Star. The Jimmy Star Show is recorded live at the W4CY Radio station in Lake Worth, Florida. W4CY Radio is available through worldwide streaming live online via iTunes Radio or at w4cy.com and affiliates around the globe. W4CY Radio is brought to listeners by The Intertainment Network, and is ranked 13th in the world for internet talk radio listeners in over 150 countries.
Cliff Ball Announces Latest Novel, The Usurper
Jul 20th
Author Cliff Ball announces his newest novel, The Usurper. It is a fictional account of what would happen if the Soviet Union and KGB would do if given the chance to take down the United States from within. They use the American political system, education system, terrorism, and commit environmental disasters to achieve these goals.
The Soviet Union and the KGB refuse to let the purging of communists in the United States government by Senator Joe McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee deter them. Soviet Premier Khrushchev authorizes the KGB to embark on an ambitious, decades long plan to destroy the United States from within through the corruption of American politicians, the American education system, terrorism, and environmental disasters.
Gary Jackson is the fulfillment of the KGB plan to destroy the United States from within. They raise him from birth to hate everything about the United States, indoctrinate him, and introduce him to terrorists across the world, where the KGB dictates all terrorist attacks. When Gary is a teenager, he is sent to the United States, with his fake birth certificate, to assimilate and begin his mission. Nothing will deter his goals of completely and utterly destroying the United States. When the Soviet Union dissolves, he is given a choice, and he decides to continue with the mission.
Find out what happens next, as a select few try to stop Gary Jackson.
Cliff Ball is the author of two other novels, “Out of Time,” and “Don’t Mess With Earth. Cliff has a BA in English and is also a freelance copyeditor.
RVC Offers New Internships
Jul 18th
With 70 graduates currently chasing every graduate-level job, competition in the job market is fierce. Companies, including those in the UK’s diverse bioscience sector, can afford to be choosy. In addition to the minimum requirement of an upper second class undergraduate degree or in some cases postgraduate qualifications, companies are demanding that bioscience graduates make an immediate impact in the workplace from both a technical and commercial perspective.
The ORBIS Bioscience Graduate Training Programme, managed by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), is aimed at helping graduates develop these sought after employability skills by working with leading companies from the sector.
ORBIS, co-delivered by the London BioScience Innovation Centre, offered 60 graduates a paid internship through a 26 week placement and training programme. In essence, a six- month job interview for graduates, combined with an innovative skills development programme.
The internships were heavily subsidised through HEFCE’S Economic Challenge Investment Fund (ECIF), making it affordable for companies, and offering graduates an opportunity to develop their skills whilst being paid. The programme offered companies a chance to select their intern from over 1,000 applicants with degrees in bioscience, chemistry, IT and business management. Companies could then use the internships to work on important projects which may have otherwise been stalled.
ORBIS has attracted a range of organisations including large pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations, regulatory companies and biotech start-ups. The companies involved ranged from those with fewer than 10 employees to multinationals employing 100,000 people.
ORBIS interns also received 12 days of bio-business training. This experiential training was delivered by trainers with experience of the bioscience industry and a clear understanding of skills’ requirements in the bioscience sector. Interns’ supervisors were also able to benefit from the training.
After one year, feedback for the scheme shows it has been extremely well-received and highly valued by the sector. More than half of the interns have now secured graduate level jobs within the sector – a powerful demonstration of the impact of graduate internships in the knowledge economy.
One of the programme participants was Biocaldol Ltd, an emerging SME bioscience company, which aims to transform the agro-industry through innovative solutions.
As a result of the programme, Biocaldol offered their intern, Jayanie Meinerikandathevan, a permanent position within the company, after she proved herself to be a valuable member of the team.
Jayanie, a Masters graduate from Kingston University says, “I found it difficult to find a job during the economic downturn as employers wanted someone with experience and knowledge of working in the commercial bioscience sector. One of the real advantages of ORBIS was that no prior experience was required, so it seemed like the perfect way to gain experience and knowledge about the sector. I strongly recommend the ORBIS programme to other companies and potential interns.”
Dr Jim Gazzard, Bioscience Internships Programme Director at the RVC says, “The placement of Jayanie with Biocaldol is an excellent example of the impact of graduate programmes such as ORBIS. ORBIS helps innovative companies, such as Biocaldol, maintain their important research projects whilst simultaneously bringing talented graduates into the high technology workplace and providing them with skills training and great work experience.”
Domestic and International Adoption Seminar To Be Held For Free
Jul 17th
Building Blocks Adoption Service Inc. is hosting a free adoption seminar/webinar online August 18, 2010 at 8:30p.m. Eastern Time. We will cover the following topics:
Adoption Process for International, Domestic Newborn and State Waiting Children in need of Adoptive families
International Adoption Travel
Immigration process for International Adoption
Domestic and International Adoption Homestudy Process
Adoptions from Russia
Adoptions from Ethiopia
Adoptions from Haiti
Adoptions from China
Adoptions from Ukraine
Domestic Newborn Adoption
And Lastly, Adoptions for Children in the State Foster Care Program
Mexican Government Reports Rising Health Concerns
Jul 17th
Health concerns such as ageing, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and poor nourishment are rising according to the Mexican government. The pressure on public health resources created by treating these ailments has forced the government and congress to take concrete actions by urging the population to lead healthier lifestyles and eat more balanced diets. By early 2010, the congress began passing some initiatives to limit the consumption of foods rich in sugar and fat in schools.
Euromonitor International’s Health and Wellness in Mexico report tracks the developments of health-associated product types and the healthy-option positioning of competing brands across different food sectors. It provides the latest retail sales data 2005-2009, allowing you to compare health and wellness categories with each other or in the context of the total market for a sector. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market- be they new product developments, legislative context or lifestyle influences. Forecasts to 2014 illustrate how the market is set to change.