If you buy or sell over the Internet, you likely have an opinion on The Marketplace Fairness Act. And if you’re like most Americans surveyed earlier this month, you don’t like it one bit. The proposed law, which passed the Senate 10 days ago and now awaits vote in the House, would permit states to [...] More »Would an Internet Sales Tax cost or win you customers?
To be an entrepreneur you need not own a business, risk your personal capital, create jobs, or even work your rump off. You just need to have a certain mindset. At least that’s the definition of entrepreneurship offered by the expanding freelance workforce. Survey results released today by the consulting firm Millennial Branding and oDesk [...] More »Generation Y gives entrepreneurship a new definition
In part four of our Smart and Simple Guide to Starting a Business we have been looking at naming your business. You can read an introduction to the topic in ‘The Name Game’ and follow an in-depth worksheet, ‘Naming Your Business.’ In addition, the links and articles listed below will provide more background and techniques as well as locations for how to do DBA searches. More »Resource Guide for the Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting Your Business Part 4: Naming Your Business
Big corporations and consumer product companies like Proctor and Gamble take naming very seriously – so much so that they have consultants and agencies JUST to help them with naming things. Fortunately you can replicate what most of those consultants and agencies do without the $500 per hour fees. And you can have fun doing it. More »Yahoo Smart and Simple Guide to Starting Your Business: Naming Your Business
Once you pick your company name, and throw yourself into branding it, it is hard to change the name. Not impossible, mind you, but changing midstream can be confusing for your clients, and potentially expensive for you. It is best to pick the right name right from the start. More »The Name Game: How To Pick a Business name that will be successful for years to come
By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Media giant Walt Disney Co reported a 32 percent increase in profit that beat Wall Street expectations, boosted by higher spending and attendance at U.S. theme parks, and the movie box office success of "Oz the Great and Powerful." Revenue for the company that operates cable networks, theme parks and a movie studio increased 10 percent to $10.6 billion. At the parks division, revenue gained 14 percent and operating income climbed 73 percent as resorts in Florida and California attracted more visitors and guests spent more. ... More »Disney's profit rises on parks, 'Oz' movie
By Malathi Nayak SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc forecast fiscal 2014 earnings above Wall Street's expectations as cost cuts take hold and higher-margin digital sales accelerate, lifting the video game publisher's stock 8 percent. Electronic Arts, which like the rest of the industry is struggling as players migrate to more casual games such as "Angry Birds" on mobile devices, estimated fiscal 2014 profit, excluding certain items, of $1.20 a share, beating an average estimate of $1.10. ... More »Electronic Arts expects stronger 2014 slate
(Reuters) - Whole Foods Market Inc said on Tuesday store sales have rebounded as it expands efforts to lower prices and reach beyond its core of upscale shoppers by adding more locations, and its shares rose more than 8 percent after hours. The news from the largest U.S. natural and organic grocery chain dispelled concerns that its store sales were slowing due to competition and sluggish U.S. economic growth. Same-store sales, a key gauge of performance for retailers, rose 6.9 percent for Whole Foods' fiscal second quarter that ended April 14. So far this quarter, those sales are up 9. ... More »Whole Foods store sales accelerate, shares rise
(Reuters) - Target Corp is rolling out Cartwheel, a service that combines social networking and discounts, the latest attempt by a U.S. retailer to lure shoppers into its physical stores rather that seeing them buy from online rivals. Target said its new program relies on shoppers using their Facebook accounts. However, shoppers can only redeem the offers they choose in Target's U.S. stores, not online. With Cartwheel, shoppers select the deals they want online and then bring a barcode - either on paper or on a mobile phone - to a Target store to get the discounts. ... More »Target tests if Facebook-driven deals bring shoppers into stores
By Yoko Kubota TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp refuses to be tempted away from its low-risk growth strategy, even as the world's bestselling carmaker met its mid-term profit goals in the year ended March, and foresees even higher earnings this fiscal year. The company has exceeded the target President Akio Toyoda set two years ago: to make 1 trillion yen in annual operating profit, and do so with a 5 percent margin. Its manufacturing arm in Japan also made a profit for the first time in five years, a symbolic triumph for a titan of Japanese industry. ... More »At cautious Toyota, low risk rules even as profit booms
(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp's April sales at established restaurants declined slightly more than analysts had expected as it faced tougher times in Europe, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The world's biggest restaurant chain by sales is coming off a long run of outperforming smaller rivals, which have been more nimble in introducing attention-getting menu items. Global sales at McDonald's restaurants open at least 13 months declined 0.6 percent in April, a little more than the 0.48 percent fall analysts on average had estimated, according to Consensus Metrix. ... More »McDonald's April sales fall more than expected
By Kate Holton and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Tom Mockridge, who worked closely with Rupert Murdoch in more than 20 years at News Corp, is to take over at Virgin Media, pitting the two men against each other in a battle for British pay-TV viewers. Mockridge will take his in-depth knowledge of Europe's media market to work with Murdoch's veteran American rival John Malone just five months after the New Zealander walked out of News Corp in frustration at being passed over for a top job in New York. ... More »Ex-Murdoch stalwart Mockridge to run rival Virgin Media
By Margaret Chadbourn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Freddie Mac , the No. 2 provider of U.S. mortgage money, on Wednesday said it reaped its second-largest profit ever in the first quarter, a reflection of housing market gains that have taken the steam out of efforts to revamp the nation's home loan system. The government-controlled company reported net income of $4.6 billion for the first three months of the year, up from $577 million in the year-ago quarter. It cited rising home prices, falling mortgage delinquencies and increased refinance activity for the improved performance. ... More »Freddie Mac posts second-biggest profit in its history
By Karen Jacobs (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc plans to return $1 billion to shareholders over the next three years, starting with its first dividend in a decade and a $500 million share buyback program, the company said on Wednesday. The initiatives are part of a five-year plan that seeks to generate as much as $5 billion in value for investors, the carrier said in a statement. The move shows that airlines, which weathered a tough decade after the September 11, 2001, attacks, have gained more solid financial footing and are now focusing on improving their investment potential. ... More »Delta to restart dividend, launch buyback to return cash
By Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - AOL Inc shares tumbled 10 percent on Wednesday after it posted another loss in its content group, reviving concerns that the company's profits were still mostly coming from a shrinking dial-up platform. The stock's plunge was the second-worst decline in 18 months, and follows what had been a 67 percent rise over the last year. "The core issue with this company is can they make content profitable?" said Ben Schachter, an analyst with Macquarie Research. "What you see every quarter is the only thing making money is the membership group. ... More »AOL shares sink as its websites still lose money
By Tom Bill LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News International is in talks to occupy the whole of an empty office block at the foot of London's Shard, Western Europe's tallest skyscraper, two sources told Reuters. News International, part of the News Corp media empire that publishes British newspapers The Sun and The Times, is negotiating a lease for a 430,000 square foot building called The Place, which, along with its taller and more famous neighbor, was funded by the state of Qatar. A Shard spokesman was not immediately available for comment. ... More »Murdoch's News International in talks to occupy Shard neighbor
News Corp results beat estimates, spin-off on track (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, aided by growth at its cable networks, and said it is on track to split off its slow-growing publishing business by the end of June. Its revenue rose 14 percent from a year earlier to $9.5 billion in the quarter, ended March 31, News Corp said on Wednesday. The company posted adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share, just beating the 35 cents expected on average by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. ... More »US-INDUSTRY Summary
Congress is considering legislation that would give states the ability to require out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes. If the measure passes, consumers would lose a loophole that has resulted in years of tax-free online shopping. Out-of-state merchants would have to collect statewide sales taxes on Internet, mail-order and other purchases — as well as any county and local sales taxes. Why is this necessary? And what will this mean for your online purchases? More »What will the online sales tax bill mean for you?
There's no business like small business. More »Reality TV's new stars: Small businesses
Traditional retailers and cash-strapped states face a tough sell in the House as they lobby Congress to limit tax-free shopping on the Internet. More »Internet sales tax bill faces tough sell in House
for good reason: A starring role on a reality TV show can dramatically boost a small company's sales. The shows get big national exposure, turning a tiny restaurant or hair salon into a household name. More »Small business reality TV shows at a glance
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