I did something I doubt few people have dared. I took the liberty of a 13-hour flight back from Asia earlier this week to read all 2,300-plus pages of the bill. Yes, all of them.
My law professor verdict: There are many things to applaud in this bill and much in there that will substantially enhance the government’s power to regulate the financial industry. On the whole, if you think that the financial industry needs more supervision and financial regulators more tools, you should be relatively happy. If you are an advocate of big world changing ideas like breaking up the banks, you will be less so.
Author: CBPS
Peter Mehit is co-founder and Managing Partner of Custom Business Planning and Solutions, a business consulting firm that provides problem solving, planning and process help. He has worked from private equity to the Fortune 100 at all stages.
He can be reached at pmehit@wbpllc.com or at 800-741-8444.
Apple Becomes Big Brother | TAUW
Seriously, this is nothing that a little duct tape can’t fix:
Sadly, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Apple deleting discussion board threads on topics which are unflattering to Apple’s products. It’s closer to the fiftieth time. In fact, we’ve heard so many reports about this happening that it seems safe to call this standard operating procedure for Apple’s discussion boards. That’s not to say that there are no negative threads on the discussion boards, but the ones that are there are the ones that Apple’s moderators have decided to leave active.
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DOE Announces $30 Million in New Small Business Funding to Help Commercialize Clean Energy Technologies
Department of Energy Office of Public Affairs
For Immediate Release
Washington, DC — U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced yesterday that $30 million in funding from the Recovery Act and FY 2010 budget appropriations will be made available to qualified small businesses to support the commercialization of promising new technologies. Today’s funding announcement builds on the Department’s existing efforts under the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) to develop near-term clean energy technologies and support American small businesses that will play an important role in building the clean energy economy of the future. This is the first time DOE has offered Phase III awards under these small business programs.
“Small businesses are the engine of job creation and innovation, and we need their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to drive a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “By helping America’s small businesses bring these innovative technologies to market, we will spur economic growth and help reduce the country’s energy use.”
Small companies previously awarded Phase II grants through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) or the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) are eligible. Projects that include developed technologies with a strong potential for commercialization and impact on U.S. manufacturing and job creation are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants may receive up to $3 million over three years to research, develop, and deploy new technologies.
Continue reading “DOE Announces $30 Million in New Small Business Funding to Help Commercialize Clean Energy Technologies”
Fear is the Mother of Violence | Peter Mehit
The title is lifted from a Peter Gabriel song. I can’t remember the lyrics except that line, but it always stuck with me. I was reminded of it today when reading a comment on a blog post:
My opinion is the media wether it is newspaper article, online article or broadcasted news (not all MOST) are just agents of chaos.
–msgoddessoftruth
It hit me. The if-it-bleeds-it-leads, humiliation and degradation obsessed media are agents of chaos. Some say up to 14 trillion dollars have been vacuumed out of the economy by financial engineering. Does that get crisis coverage? No, Lindsey Lohan gets more air time than the senate hearings to uncover the crime.
Car chases. Snooki. Gay marriage. The terrorist next door. Whatever will agitate us while toothless regulations are passed to allow just a little bit less rape. It’s the same reason all plots have a diversion element. It makes people turn their eyes away from the actual crime. It happens in front of you and you don’t see it. Chaos makes money.
There is no conspiracy; It’s human nature. The wealthy don’t need to be told to watch each other’s back.
The problem with this machine is it’s whipping up more anger and division. People are stacking sandbags instead of reaching out. Fear is high. If it gets too high, it will cause violence.
Tell the truth. Build your community. Help your neighbor.
Who Is Generation X? | Lydia Mehit
Many business owners think that EVERYONE is their customer, so they create a coupon, find a monthly delivery system (a coupon magazine or coupon mailer) and hope for the best. But understanding your target customer can give you insights into how to price, how to promote, how to utilize media and what special offers will appeal to them.
Is Generation X the most likely group of people to purchase your goods and services?
How would you know? Start with your current customers. What is the average age of the majority of your customers? Who typically makes the largest purchase during an average visit. Who are return customers?
If you are not in business yet, look at the neighborhoods where you are thinking of locating your business. What is the average age and income of the people in the immediate one mile radius. Check out the three mile radius also. If you have a retail business, the majority of your customers will be local to those areas.
If your answer is Generation X, have you made them the target of your marketing dollars? Do you know how to make your message resonate with them?
Continue reading “Who Is Generation X? | Lydia Mehit”
Wine is a family dream for Yorba Linda business | The Orange County Register
These are our clients. The
y rock!
They started their planning with us a little under a year ago and they’re open and thriving.
They are located at 4861 Main St. in Yorba Linda. Check them out.
This is the Problem – Exhibit 1
Please forward to as many people as you can.
Spoiler Alert: The government does not care about you.
This isn’t a Democrat or Republican problem. This is good old fashion thievery.
Report: U.S. Green Building Market Will Balloon to $173.5 Billion by 2015 | Fast Company
Think the trend of businesses making green office renovations is just a passing fad? Not according to the latest issue of EL Insights, which reports that the U.S. green building market value will balloon from $71.1 billion now to $173 billion by 2015. Commercial green building is expected to grow by 18.1% annually during the same time period from $35.6 billion to $81.8 billion. In this case, green building is defined as building with resource use and employee productivity in mind.
Thiel’s Deals: The Best of What’s Around*…and Other Stuff | Paul Thiel
A newsletter of deal flow and human capital opportunities in the California counties of Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino.
How Goldman gambled on starvation | Johann Hari – The Independent
Goldman Sachs must die:
At the end of 2006, food prices across the world started to rise, suddenly and stratospherically. Within a year, the price of wheat had shot up by 80 per cent, maize by 90 per cent, rice by 320 per cent. In a global jolt of hunger, 200 million people – mostly children – couldn’t afford to get food any more, and sank into malnutrition or starvation. There were riots in more than 30 countries, and at least one government was violently overthrown. Then, in spring 2008, prices just as mysteriously fell back to their previous level. Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, calls it “a silent mass murder”, entirely due to “man-made actions.”
Dispatches From The Front 