THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AMAZON 'S NEW TABLET

1. It's cheap
It was widely assumed that the tablet would be priced somewhere between Barnes & Noble's $250 Nook Color and Apple's $500 iPad 2.

Amazon is shocking the market with a $199 price tag. It's not fancy. It doesn't come with a camera or a microphone. However, it's ridiculously cheap even for a rudimentary tablet. Instead of simply leaning on its brand and marketing muscle to push out a device to compete with the $250 Nook Color, Amazon is blowing Barnes & Noble out of the water.

2. It's small
Steve Jobs has famously referred to devices with screen sizes between 5 inches and 7 inches as "tweeners." They're too big to be pocket-friendly smartphones. They're too small to be multimedia-friendly tablets.

Kindle Fire's 7-inch screen is going to be small for those used to the iPad's nearly 10-inch screen, but it is larger than the traditional Kindle's 6-inch screen. It's still a lot of bang for the buck, and supply chain watchers have been pointing to Amazon releasing a larger 10-inch version early next year.

3. It's flexible
Some analysts are already tagging Amazon's tablet as Apple's biggest competitor for 2012 -- and that was before the mainstream-gunning $199 price became public this morning.

Tablet manufacturers that have tried to go big on specs -- and price tags -- have fallen flat against the iPad. Amazon is going smaller and more bare-boned, but it's a lot more flexible than its shortcomings would seem to suggest.

For starters, beyond the obvious Kindle bookstore connection, Kindle Fire also plays nicely with Amazon's digital music and video storefronts.

Video will be a big winner here, since Amazon is including a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime -- it's a $79 a year service that provides free two-day shipping and subsidized overnight deliveries on any Amazon-warehoused merchandise.

A key element of Prime is access to Amazon's growing catalog of streaming movies and videos at no extra cost. In other words, if you buy a Fire you'll have Wi-Fi access to what is now 11,000 titles for the first 30 days (and beyond for those who are or will become paying Prime members).

For those seeking fresher content, 100,000 digital videos and 17 million digital songs are available for purchase, and it all plays into Amazon's growing cloud-computing platform.

4. It won't be as easy to get as you think
With the rush to get a tablet out before the telltale holiday shopping season, many believe that there won't be enough production to keep up with demand. The original Kindle had this exact problem four years ago. Amazon was quick to brag about selling out within hours of its launch, but in reality it was because only a small number of the early e-readers were actually available to sell.

We'll see how this plays out.

Amazon claims to be ready this time. "We're making many millions of these, but I still recommend you preorder today," CEO Jeff Bezos suggested during this morning's rollout.

No matter how anxious you may be to get your hands on this $199 device, you will have no choice but to wait. It won't begin shipping until mid-November.

5. It may pay to wait
Scarce supply and ample demand may find buyers scrambling to resale markets, but don't overpay on eBay just yet.

Some reports circulating this week are suggesting that the rush to have a cheap tablet out in time for this holiday season is just a placeholder. A better version may come out early next year. There's an even stronger possibility of a 10-inch model, for those who want a more iPad-sized tablet experience.

Amazon also has a history of slashing prices on the Kindle e-reader. It debuted at $399 four years ago. There have been several price cuts along the way, and today the non-touch Kindle e-reader has come all the way down to as little as $79.

Don't expect such drastic price cuts this time around. Amazon knows that you only get one big swing at the tablet market, which is cornered by Apple. The $199 price is compelling enough that Amazon won't need to nibble away at its margins to deliver even cheaper Kindle Fire units in the near future.

Germany keeps alive hopes for euro's future

Germany kept alive hopes that the 17-nation euro currency can survive the sprawling debt crisis when lawmakers in Europe's largest economy voted overwhelmingly on Thursday in favor of expanding the powers of the eurozone's bailout fund.

The vote strengthened Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right coalition, which had struggled to win support from a bloc of rebellious members, and could bolster her ability to negotiate new European crisis measures.

While many investors and experts believe new steps will be required in Europe, such as letting Greece write off more of its debt pile, Germany's approval of the fund's new powers and scope was necessary to avoid a new bout of massive market turmoil.

"The support of the Bundestag is an important step for stabilizing the eurozone," Michael Kemmer, head of Germany's Bank Federation, told the news agency dapd. "With that, they have set a course that leads out of the debt crisis."

The euro440 billion ($600 billion) fund will be able to buy government bonds and lend money to banks and governments before they are in a full-blown crisis, making Europe's response to market jitters more rapid and pre-emptive.

Germany, which pays the lion's share of European bailouts, became the 13th member of the eurozone to support the expansion of the rescue fund, the so-called European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF. Cyprus and Estonia also passed the proposed expansion on Thursday.

Austria's parliament is widely expected to pass the measure on Friday, the same day Germany's upper house of parliament is set to finalize Thursday's vote, while the Netherlands is expected to approve it in the first week of October.

The biggest remaining hurdle is the final country to vote -- Slovakia -- where the government will not have enough support to pass it if the leader of the junior coalition Freedom and Solidarity party follows through with threats to vote against the fund's expansion. Its parliament is to vote later in October.

In Berlin, 523 lawmakers in parliament, the Bundestag, voted in favor of expanding German participation to guarantee loans of up to euro211 billion, compared with euro123 billion so far. Eighty-five voted against it and three abstained.

"It was a strong statement of Angela Merkel's position. She has the backing and the support of the coalition and she is able to negotiate on the European level," Peter Altmeier, the parliamentary whip for Merkel's Christian Democrats, said after the tally was announced.

Markets appeared calmer even before Thursday's votes, following weeks of turbulence triggered by uncertainty over Germany's position on the fund. The euro also traded slightly higher.

"The overwhelming majority in the Bundestag is a good sign and will hopefully mark a step change in German commitment to bringing the spiraling crisis under control," said Sony Kapoor of the Re-Define economic policy think tank.

The lingering problem, however, is that investors are resigned to the fact that Greece will have to default -- that is, impose tougher losses on its bondholders.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Paris on Friday to discuss the debt crisis, the president's office said.

Papandreou met Germany's Merkel for similar talks Tuesday. Germany and France combined represent about half of the 17-nation eurozone's economic output.

Greece was saved from default by an initial euro110 billion ($150 billion) bailout in May last year before the EFSF was established to help any other countries in trouble. A planned second rescue package for Greece this year includes a voluntary participation by private bondholders, who agreed to write off about 20 percent on their Greek debt holdings.

Many experts say those writedowns should be closer to 50 percent. The debate among European leaders now is whether to allow such a move under controlled conditions, providing help to banks that may take heavy losses on Greek bonds they hold.

Germany and the Netherlands are open to the option, with Merkel suggesting this week that Greece's second bailout deal might have to be renegotiated. France and the European Central Bank, however, oppose the idea.

Greece's international debt inspectors returned to Athens on Thursday to complete a review. Merkel has said that any new decisions would depend upon the results of the inspectors' report, which is not due for days.

Forging consensus over new measures -- particularly something as delicate as imposing more severe losses on Greece's creditors -- will likely be very difficult, however.

Indeed, the parliamentary debate on the EFSF in Berlin on Thursday was a feisty three-hour long affair, reflecting how high tensions in Merkel's coalition were running over the idea of providing more backing to the eurozone's weakest members.

Frank Schaeffler, a dissenter from the junior coalition partner, argued that bailout measures have worsened Greece's economic situation.

"Despite all arguments, the first bailout did not make the situation for Greece better, but worse," said Schaeffler, a Free Democrat. "Expanding the fund will make the situation even worse."

Schaeffler and others had long expressed their concerns, and opposition leaders had said going in to the vote that if Merkel's coalition had to rely on their votes, it would be a sign that her strife-prone and increasingly unpopular government is finished.

Yet after a night of intense lobbying, Merkel's camp was able to secure a majority of 315 -- enough to have passed the measure even without support from the opposition parties.

"This shows the clear determination of the coalition on this issue," Rainer Bruederle, the Free Democrats' parliamentary leader. "We have made an important decision for Europe."

Any future changes to the current fund will also require parliamentary approval and maintaining that determination will be crucial to making swift, effective decisions to combat the crisis.


Source:Associated Press

HOME OFFICE REQUIREMENTS

Your computer and phone will probably form the backbone of your home office, but there's plenty of other pieces of office equipment that will come in handy, some of which will be essential. You'll also probably need:

* A printer - think about whether you need to do any printing. If you have constant access to the data on a home PC, you might not need to print much at all. However, if you will be doing a lot of printing, think about the various costs involved before making a purchase. For example, ink-jet printers are cheap to buy but replacement cartridges are expensive.
* A scanner - scanners allow you to copy photographs and documents onto a computer. For example, you may need to email your driving licence to a car rental business. A scanner would allow you to copy your driving licence onto a computer. Some scanners also come with photocopying features
* A data backup device - you will need a way to back up your data and to store it away from your home. Many PCs now come with a built in CD/DVD drive that can create backup data sets. You may also want to purchase a USB pen drive which is a very cheap and effective way of transferring data
* A copier – although if your needs are light you might be able to make do with access to one at a local shop or library.
* A shredder – especially if you deal with confidential material.
* Cables – even so-called ‘wireless’ equipment needs cables.
* Lighting – we suggest you invest in task lighting that can be angled precisely to your work area ensuring you do not get glare from your computer screen.

MISTAKES IN SEARCH OPTIMIZATION

If you want to achieve a strong online presence, you need to optimize your website for search engines for a higher exposure rate. And on that count search engine optimization or SEO is the best option if you want an easy way to obtain huge traffic on your website. However, some beginners do commit some mistakes on SEO practices. So aside from helping their website achieve huge number of visitors, those mistakes only do harm to the website. It is therefore crucial that you know the common mistakes that you should avoid.

The use of too much flash and scripts on the website

One popular mistake in SEO is the use of too many flash and other scripts in the website. Of course, it is a plus point if your website is appealing to the eye thus many website owners try to incorporate flash pages, which are not optimized for search engine to crawl. Since there is not enough content for search engine to index your first loading page, the spider will not be interested in your website. This will result to a very low page rank. If you really want to use flash in your website, it is recommended that you make up your flash page with some text and graphics that optimized correctly for the search engine

Not maximizing what ALT tags can do for the content and the images

This is one recommendation that should not be forgotten- the need to use the ALT tags. These tags are used to describe the images that are used in the pages. Try to incorporate these tags every time images are used in the website. And when writing these ALT tags for the images, the best SEO efforts means including some of the keywords in these tags.

Keywords are considered as the foundation of search engine optimization. However, there are some who stuff their content with too many keywords. Overstuffing and using too much keyword in the resource will not help your cause. And when the spiders find out what you have been doing, then you are only courting disaster since the page ranking may be affected. Instead of keyword stuffing, a good strategy is writing good and informative resources that readers and internet users can really appreciate. At least by doing that, your site can get a return visit from the readers.

Content duplication

It is also a mistake to steal content from other websites. Take note that robots can distinguish an original content from a plagiarized one. You need to come up with good yet informative content to entice your readers to come back. Therefore, plagiarizing content is not conducive to your page ranking.

And lastly, most of the newbie SEO practitioners overlook the search engine guidelines. It is important to read and be familiar with these guidelines so as to avoid using the SEO techniques and practices that are prohibited. One of the bad or fraudulent techniques in SEO is the black hat. Consider these actions as unethical actions at least in the realm of internet and SEO. Once this is used, you may be at the risk of getting your website banned in the search engines. To put your online marketing on the right note means steering away from these common search engine optimization mistakes and traps.

About the Author: Seomul Evans is a SEO services consultant for Dallas based Search Engine Optimization Company specializing in white hat SEO.

BIOELECTRICITY PROMISES MORE MILLES PER ACRE THAN ETHANOL

Biofuels such as ethanol offer an alternative to petroleum for powering our cars, but growing energy crops to produce them can compete with food crops for farmland, and clearing forests to expand farmland will aggravate the climate change problem. How can we maximize our "miles per acre" from biomass?

Researchers writing in the online edition of the journal Science on May 7 say the best bet is to convert the biomass to electricity, rather than ethanol. They calculate that, compared to ethanol used for internal combustion engines, bioelectricity used for battery-powered vehicles would deliver an average of 80% more miles of transportation per acre of crops, while also providing double the greenhouse gas offsets to mitigate climate change.

"It's a relatively obvious question once you ask it, but nobody had really asked it before," says study co-author Chris Field, director of the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution. "The kinds of motivations that have driven people to think about developing ethanol as a vehicle fuel have been somewhat different from those that have been motivating people to think about battery electric vehicles, but the overlap is in the area of maximizing efficiency and minimizing adverse impacts on climate."

Field, who is also a professor of biology at Stanford University and a senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment, is part of a research team that includes lead author Elliott Campbell of the University of California, Merced, and David Lobell of Stanford's Program on Food Security and the Environment. The researchers performed a life-cycle analysis of both bioelectricity and ethanol technologies, taking into account not only the energy produced by each technology, but also the energy consumed in producing the vehicles and fuels. For the analysis, they used publicly available data on vehicle efficiencies from the US Environmental Protection Agency and other organizations.

Bioelectricity was the clear winner in the transportation-miles-per-acre comparison, regardless of whether the energy was produced from corn or from switchgrass, a cellulose-based energy crop. For example, a small SUV powered by bioelectricity could travel nearly 14,000 highway miles on the net energy produced from an acre of switchgrass, while a comparable internal combustion vehicle could only travel about 9,000 miles on the highway. (Average mileage for both city and highway driving would be 15,000 miles for a biolelectric SUV and 8,000 miles for an internal combustion vehicle.)

"The internal combustion engine just isn't very efficient, especially when compared to electric vehicles," says Campbell. "Even the best ethanol-producing technologies with hybrid vehicles aren't enough to overcome this."

The researchers found that bioelectricity and ethanol also differed in their potential impact on climate change. "Some approaches to bioenergy can make climate change worse, but other limited approaches can help fight climate change," says Campbell. "For these beneficial approaches, we could do more to fight climate change by making electricity than making ethanol."

The energy from an acre of switchgrass used to power an electric vehicle would prevent or offset the release of up to 10 tons of CO2 per acre, relative to a similar-sized gasoline-powered car. Across vehicle types and different crops, this offset averages more than 100% larger for the bioelectricity than for the ethanol pathway. Bioelectricity also offers more possibilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through measures such as carbon capture and sequestration, which could be implemented at biomass power stations but not individual internal combustion vehicles.

While the results of the study clearly favor bioelectricity over ethanol, the researchers caution that the issues facing society in choosing an energy strategy are complex. "We found that converting biomass to electricity rather than ethanol makes the most sense for two policy-relevant issues: transportation and climate," says Lobell. "But we also need to compare these options for other issues like water consumption, air pollution, and economic costs."

"There is a big strategic decision our country and others are making: whether to encourage development of vehicles that run on ethanol or electricity," says Campbell. "Studies like ours could be used to ensure that the alternative energy pathways we chose will provide the most transportation energy and the least climate change impacts."

This research was funded through a grant from the Stanford University Global Climate and Energy Project, with additional support from the Stanford University Food Security and Environment Project, The University of California at Merced, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and a NASA New Investigator Grant. .

How to Buy a Fleet Vehicle for Your Business

Nearly every vehicle manufacturer will give a discount to businesses that buy cars, vans or trucks in bulk. These so-called fleet sales are available through almost every dealership and offer new and used cars for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars less than the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Preferred pricing, as it's known, is open in many cases to business owners who purchase or lease as few as five vehicles.

Specific policies vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but getting a fleet vehicle on the cheap usually starts with a phone call to the dealership offering the specific car a business owner wants. Be sure to ask for the name of the fleet vehicle manager first to avoid being routed to a regular salesperson.

The fleet vehicle manager can guide potential buyers through the process, helping determine if they're qualified to establish a fleet identification number that will give them access to better pricing on leased or purchased vehicles.

Some dealerships require proof that a business is a legitimate legal entity. Others are more concerned with the quantity of vehicles that will be purchased. General Motors requires businesses to buy or lease five or more new vehicles in a 12-month period.

Toyota asks that a company operate or plan to operate 10 or more, but those 10 can be a mix of vehicles from different manufacturers. Honda's fleet sales have no quantity restrictions.

In many cases, fleet vehicles can be arranged with open-ended leases, prepaid maintenance, consolidated billing plans and other financially flexible perks.

CREDIT SCORE BASICS VIDEO

ABOUT CREDIT SCORE

When you apply for credit – whether for a credit card, a car loan, or a mortgage – lenders want to know what risk they'd take by loaning money to you. FICO® scores are the credit scores most lenders use to determine your credit risk. You have three FICO scores, one for each of the three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Each score is based on information the credit bureau keeps on file about you. As this information changes, your credit scores tend to change as well. Your 3 FICO scores affect both how much and what loan terms (interest rate, etc.) lenders will offer you at any given time. Taking steps to improve your FICO scores can help you qualify for better rates from lenders.

For your three FICO scores to be calculated, each of your three credit reports must contain at least one account which has been open for at least six months. In addition, each report must contain at least one account that has been updated in the past six months. This ensures that there is enough information – and enough recent information – in your report on which to base a FICO score on each report.

About FICO scores

Credit bureau scores are often called “FICO scores” because most credit bureau scores used in the U.S. are produced from software developed by Fair Isaac and Company. FICO scores are provided to lenders by the major credit reporting agencies.

FICO scores provide the best guide to future risk based solely on credit report data. The higher the credit score, the lower the risk. But no score says whether a specific individual will be a “good” or “bad” customer. And while many lenders use FICO scores to help them make lending decisions, each lender has its own strategy, including the level of risk it finds acceptable for a given credit product. There is no single “cutoff score” used by all lenders and there are many additional factors that lenders use to determine your actual interest rates.

Other Names for FICO Scores

FICO scores have different names at each of the credit reporting agencies. All of these scores, however, are developed using the same methods by Fair Isaac, and have been rigorously tested to ensure they provide the most accurate picture of credit risk possible using credit report data.
Credit Reporting Agency FICO Score
Equifax BEACON® Score
Experian Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model
TransUnion EMPIRICA®
More than one credit score

In general, when people talk about "your score", they're talking about your current FICO score. However, there is no one credit score used to make decisions about you.

VIDEO SHARING

Video sharing has becomes a much formidable method of traffic generation especially after the unbelievable popularity of YouTube .

Today, there are several other wannabes that are in the YouTube mould, but for a marketer, video sharing has become synonymous with YouTube marketing.
The concept is simple again. You make an interesting video about some interesting aspect about your product and then post it on YouTube. With its millions of viewers per month, you can be sure that your video will be watched several times. If your video is good, you can draw visitors from your video to your website directly.
YouTube is built for marketers. It has a unique feature in which you can insert a website link into the video itself and make it clickable. Since the viewer doesn‟t have to undergo the hassle of seeing and typing the email address, you can be assured to getting more visitors. Also, you can improve the prospects of your video through content. YouTube allows meta tag descriptions, which means great SEO and also has content such as headlines which again you can spruce up for SEO. You must also note that YouTube is a Google subsidiary and hence it uses the amazing Google search engine.
Another thing that you must note is that YouTube is also a social networking site. You can make your account there and comment on videos and stuff. This means people get to talking about your video and the product shown therein. This leads to another awesome aspect of traffic generation, known as viral marketing.
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Markets slump amid Bernanke warning

Global markets have taken a fresh hammering after bleak comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke stoked recession fears.

There was also a lukewarm response to measures announced by the Fed under which it will launch a 400 billion US dollars (£253 billion) programme to try to reduce borrowing costs for firms and individuals by buying long-term bonds.

With Mr Bernanke warning that there are "significant" risks to the US economy, the FTSE 100 Index slumped more than 4%, or 233.4 points, to 5054.3. Markets across Europe followed suit as investors braced themselves for more turbulence when Wall Street opens later in the session.

Mining stocks led the rout in London as investors feared a slump in demand for mineral resources. Fallers included Kazakhmys, which lost 10% of its value with a drop of 96.75p to 869.25p, while Antofagasta was down by 105.5p to 1008.5p and Rio Tinto dipped 326.5p to 3062p.
Financial stocks were also battered after Moody's downgraded the credit ratings on three big US banks and argued that the US government is more likely to allow a major institution to fail because contagion could be contained.

Barclays was down 7%, or 10.4p, to 142.8p, Lloyds Banking Group slumped 2.4p to 33.8p and Royal Bank of Scotland dropped 0.8p to 22.6p. Among the insurers, Prudential was hardest hit after shares fell 44.5p to 552.5p, off 7%. Even luxury goods group Burberry suffered in its sell off, with its shares nearly 10% lower, off 149.5p at 1358.5p.

There were no risers in the FTSE 100 Index but in the second-tier easyJet made impressive progress after it announced plans for a shares windfall.

In a move set to placate founder and major shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the airline announced a £150 million special dividend, on top of a £40 million maiden dividend for the year to September 30.

It added that cost cuts and good demand on city routes used by business and weekend break travellers meant profits for the year are likely to be between £240 million and £250 million, up from previous expectations. Shares rose 7% despite the wider market turbulence, up 20.85p to 332.85p.

The only other notable gain in the FTSE 250 Index came from JD Sports Fashion, which added 13.75p to 844.25p in the wake of half-year results on Wednesday.

ABOUT NANOTECHNOLOGY

Nanotechnology is defined as the study and use of structures between 1 nanometer and 100 nanometers in size. To give you an idea of how small that is, it would take eight hundred 100 nanometer particles side by side to match the width of a human hair.

Scientists have been studying and working with nanoparticles for centuries, but the effectiveness of their work has been hampered by their inability to see the structure of nanoparticles. In recent decades the development of microscopes capable of displaying particles as small as atoms has allowed scientists to see what they are working with.

The following illustration titled “The Scale of Things”, created by the U. S. Department of Energy, provides a comparison of various objects to help you begin to envision exactly how small a nanometer is. The chart starts with objects that can be seen by the unaided eye, such as an ant, at the top of the chart, and progresses to objects about a nanometer or less in size, such as the ATP molecule used in humans to store energy from food.

Now that you have an idea of how small a scale nanotechnologists work with, consider the challenge they face. Think about how difficult it is for many of us to insert thread through the eye of a needle. Such an image helps you imagine the problem scientists have working with nanoparticles that can be as much as one millionth the size of the thread. Only through the use of powerful microscopes can they hope to ‘see’ and manipulate these nano-sized particles.

SOCIAL MEDIA LESSON FOR BUSINESS

Social media has since become a way for us to improve our customer service—not merely a vehicle for us to talk about it n 2008 we started on Twiter but many of the solutions our customers were looking for needed more than 140 characters. In 2009 we launched our
Facebook page and a year later started a DIY (do it yourself) community online.

One of our more important decisions was to use store associates in much of our social interaction. They are the ones with the project and product expertise customers need. It was the right choice.

Here are five lessons we’ve learned about social media from our own still-evolving experience.

You can’t control the conversation. You have to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. You’re going to see and hear things about your brand that you might not like in a public forum. You can let people have the microphone exclusively, or you can be part of a conversation where you address their concerns. We shouldn’t just broadcast a message. It has to be a genuine dialogue.

On the plus side, the positive things people say about your brand are amplified as well. Customers will use your Facebook page to compliment a store or an associate, and that positive messaging about your brand has much more impact and credibility than anything the company itself could say to its Facebook fans.

Be authentic. Don’t try to make yourself a different kind of company online than you are offline. Social media will expose the real nature of your corporate culture. If you try to be something you’re not, it will be apparent—and you will get called out.

For example, don’t try to be hip or edgy in your social strategy if that’s not what you really are as a company and culture. Your social activity should reflect reality. Welcoming constructive criticism and feedback will make for authenticity and transparency.

Likewise, encourage associates who use social media on the job to write the way they speak. They shouldn’t be afraid to say “hey,” to keep it informal and conversational, and to use their real names.

It’s about people. To really engage your audience, strike a balance between making the communication about people as well as your products. We’ve found that the level of engagement and impressions created are significantly higher for our human interest content. We got positive reaction from a story about one of our team members building a wheelchair ramp for a veteran.

One of our stores adopted an abandoned kitten they found there; every week, associates posted about the cat’s progress on Facebook. Someone else created a page around the ubiquitous orange Homer buckets we sell—and where they’re spotted. These types of posts will draw people to your brand and make them realize you’re not just a faceless monolith.

Your people need hands-on expertise in what customers care about. We decided to use real store associates for most of our DIY content in our online community, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. We can teach store associates about social media (though, in many cases, they’ve taught us a lot), but we can’t give anyone else the knowledge and expertise our associates have about products and projects. That’s what our customers are looking to us for. Just as we are trying to mirror our culture online, we are striving to give customers the same experience they would have if they came into a store.

The challenge is in making sure that the associates stay connected to the product and the stores, which is why we have them do this only a couple days per week. If we need more content and input online, we won’t add hours to those of the associates we already use. Instead we’ll increase the number of associates who participate. Our reasoning? If associates spend too much time out of the store, their product knowledge degrades. It’s their up-to-the minute, hands-on knowledge that makes their advice so valuable to our customers.

Be patient and flexible. As we launch new initiatives in social media, we realize that things rarely turn out as planned. For example, we originally thought our DIY community would attract more professional contractors and hard-core DIYers, when in fact, it’s really more about direct interaction between everyday DIYers looking for solutions and our associates providing the answers. We love what our associates are doing—and what they are doing for our brand.

The advantage to doing it the way we’ve done it—minimal investment, not hiring people especially for these jobs—is that it gives you a lot of agility. If you make a big investment, you look for big returns. No one in the industry has been able to really home in on a definable ROI for this, so we’re happy to invest modestly, build organically, and tweak the model in line with changing technology and sentiment and shifting demand for new kinds of content.

Right now, we are more focused on quality than quantity. If there comes a point where we can say there is a definitive value we can place on a Facebook fan, that equation will change
(Source:Businessweek)

EMERGING MARKETS THE NEW SAFE HAVEN??

As far as return on investment is concerned, high risk is supposed to carry the chance to earn high rewards, and nowhere has that ratio been more implicit than in Emerging markets. But right now, a funny thing is happening in the US, Europe, and Japan resulting in the tail wagging the dog. "Emerging markets can actually be viewed a little more defensively than the developed markets today," says Jeff Palma, the head of global equity strategy at UBS. "Clearly over the last decade, Emerging market balance sheets have become much stronger, and clearly stronger than their developed market peers. So it does appear that they're more defensive. I am not sure investors are quite there to regard them as defensive yet, but we are clearly moving in that direction," says Palma. Even though the superior growth prospects have them in strong demand, Palma says the Emerging market universe is trading at about a 10% discount to the developed world. He says they are growing faster, their demand is more sustainable, and in the face of a global slowdown, they can still deploy fiscal or monetary measures to stimulate their economies. While UBS is recouping from a premature call on Europe made in July, Palma says the day will come when investors will need to revisit the battered continent. "On valuations alone today you would look at Europe and say it is cheap... but it's cheap for a reason," he reminds us. Palma is predicting things will get worse in Europe, until a massive policy response triggers a recapitalization of their financial system. Only then will Europe be worth a look. "Valuation is just not going to be the reason to buy Europe. You're not really paid to be early to that trade. But once you get that policy response, it seems to me, in a relative sense, Europe is the cheapest of all the markets we look at," he says. Similar superlatives are often used to describe US stocks, but Palma says stocks here aren't as cheap as they look, and has argued that low price-to-earnings (PE) ratios alone will not be enough to drive markets. "My view is that earnings expectations have to fall and that means that the PE is probably going to rise a little bit," Palma says, adding that the market is already discounting that to some degree. More precisely, he thinks earnings expectations need to move from the mid double-digits down to single-digits. Once we get to that point, he says "markets are going to be much more comfortable with those expectations. In the meantime, Palma's research shows that on a global basis we have only seen two-months of earnings reductions so far, but he thinks that will mark the beginning of a longer trend. "Those (earnings reduction) cycles tend to be be very, very prolonged. That's really because we are at a stage where analysts are continuing to forecast an increase in profit margin expectations, a view that I think is quite unlikely at this stage of the cycle," explains Palma. As a result, we need to see estimates and multiples come down, the European debt crisis brought under control, and our own economy producing some growth. Palma says "until we get some view that conditions are improving, markets will remain skeptical."

THEO PAPHITIS

Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis believes that the government should stop burdening the business community with “stupid regulations that actually make it impossible for businesses to flourish.”

In a revealing interview with Startups at the recent Entrepreneur Country winter forum in London, Theo Paphitis addressed current trends in the business community, and expressed the concerns he and his fellow businesspeople harbour about the coalition’s interference in the economy.

Paphitis implored the government to “leave us alone,” and said that, by creating “the odd ridiculous new fund,” the government was actually doing little or nothing to help Britain’s entrepreneurs.

Speaking about the challenges faced by start-up firms in today’s tough economic climate, the man who became famous by turning round major brands such as Ryman, Stationery Box and La Senza before earning international fame on Dragons’ Den, said that young entrepreneurs need to be in business “for the long term.”

He added that those who just want to get rich quick should spend their money at the casino or racetrack instead – because there are actually better odds of success in gambling than success in start-up business.

New series of Dragons’ Den coming soon

Theo Paphitis was speaking to Startups just weeks before he begins filming a new series of Dragons’ Den, to be broadcast later this year.

The new series will be notable for the absence of James Caan, who has decided not to continue his involvement, but the other key Dragons – Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden – will all be present.

THE NETWORKING TRENDS TO WATCH

There are many changes on the horizon for the field of business networking in 2011. Technology will continue to evolve, of course, but the biggest change will simply be the recognition of the field itself. When I wrote my first book on business networking in the late 1980s, the most common question I was asked was, “Isn't networking just a fad?” After 25 years, that question doesn't come up anymore. Times are changing and networking is, too.

Here's my take on three major trends I foresee in business networking over the next several years -- and how they will impact the future of the industry.

No. 1. Successful networks will integrate face-to-face and online opportunities.
Many business people have said to me, “I have thousands of connections on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Now what?” What they really want to know is how to turn their social media contacts into real business. I believe the answer lies in forward-thinking networks effectively integrating technology and social media directly into their face-to-face operations.

Soon we'll see "walled-garden" communities accessible only to members of that group. These communities will not be sub-groups of existing social media networks. They will be independent networks with tightly controlled access based on a membership database. In effect, they will be mini-social media sites with a niche.

The integration of online communities accessible to limited individuals linked with the establishment of face-to-face interactions will be increasingly popular over the next decade. The attraction to groups like this will be the niche orientation, as well as the shared values and mission of the organizations. The technology will allow a greater number of connections and the face-to-face aspect will deepen those connections.

Currently, only one or two universities in the world have a core-curriculum course on networking and social capital. I don't think that will change anytime soon. Some university professors appear to view business networking as a soft science and not something that can be taught. In my opinion, they are wrong.

I think networking will in fact be taught -- just outside the university environment. We'll see the emergence of private, professional training organizations, much the same way that private industry has controlled the educational market on sales techniques (another area where I think many colleges fail miserably).

The downside to this is that the consumer needs to be well informed about a training company's knowledge in the area it claims to have expertise. If you want to take a course in business networking, look over the qualifications of the company and the trainer. An increasing number of these programs will be offered by independent organizations in the coming future and it will be important for the consumer to weed out the hacks from the true experts.

No. 3. Attempts will be made to create associations of networking groups.

During my tenure in this industry, many efforts have been made to create an association of networking groups. The most recent was by the RNIA (the Referral Networking Industry Association). It failed, as I believe most groups of this type will.

Tax the rich - says billionaire Buffett

The mega-rich are not paying enough tax, government should stop "coddling" them and end their "extraordinary tax breaks". That's the view of Warren Buffett, right, whose net wealth of $80bn makes him the third wealthiest man in the world.
Buffett's opinion piece in this morning's New York Times is headlined "Stop Coddling the Super Rich" and it pulls no punches about "legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species".

And Buffett is particularly scathing of the "shared sacrifice" US politicians have asked for. "When they did the asking, they spared me," he says, going on "I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched."

Tax bill

He says his last federal tax bill was $6,938,744 – just 17.4% of his taxable income. And he points out "If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine." And he identifies the difference in taxes faced by the rich and the middle classes.

"The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15% on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It's a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15% and 25% income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot."

He highlights the fact that in 1992 the top 400 highest-earning Americans had aggregate taxable income of $16.9bn, on which they paid taxes of 29.2%. By 2008 the top 400 earned $90.9bn – an average of $227.4m – but the rate of tax they paid had fallen to 21.5%.

Investment

Buffett suggests a tax rise on all those earning over $1m a year, with a further rise on all those earning $10m or more. And he's pretty dismissive of the argument that says this will lead to a drop in investment, reminding readers of when tax rates for the rich were "far higher" in the 1980s and 1990s.

"According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends," he says. "I didn't refuse. Nor did others. I have yet to see anyone shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain."

Buffett's comments that the US government should "get serious about shared sacrifice" will resonate on this side of the Atlantic too as David Cameron continues to peddle that "we're all in this together" line. But this writer is not entirely convinced we'll be hearing from, say, Sir Philip Green any time soon.

Personal pension contributions fall

The number of people paying in to personal pensions dropped sharply last year in the wake of the recession, official figures suggest.

Total contributions dropped by £2 billion from £20.9 billion in 2007/08 to £18.7 billion in 2009/10.

A report on pension trends by the Office for National Statistics suggested that the drop in the number of people contributing to personal and stakeholder pensions was due to financial pressures during the recession.

Similarly, the number of people who paid into personal and stakeholder pensions decreased from 7.6 million in 2007/08 to 6.4 million to 2008/09, because many people who had been making small contributions stopped doing so as their income shrank.

However, total contributions to private (non-state) pensions rose to £85.6 billion in 2009 from £83.2 billion the previous year, fuelled by a recovery in employer contributions during that time.

This summer insurer Scottish Widows warned that only half of those aged between 30 and the state pension age were saving enough for retirement, and that one in five were failing to save anything at all.

And last week a government study showed that only 15% of young workers were paying into a pension scheme at work, compared to 58% of the 45-54 age group.

Pensions minister Steve Webb said there was a need to "inspire a culture of saving" as an estimated seven million people are failing to put aside enough for retirement.

Next year employers will be obliged to automatically enrol staff into a workplace scheme.

HOW TO RUN AN EMPLOYEE INDUCTION

As your business grows, it’s likely that you’ll have to take on new members of staff. Even if you’ve started out on your own and it’s going well, at some stage you’ll probably have to hire additional employees if you want your customer base, and revenues, to increase.

When you come to take on new starters, you’ll have to induct them into your business. The staff induction process is designed to welcome a new hire into your company, and familiarise them with your rules and culture. The induction can last any length of time, from hours to weeks, and the new hire can be asked to all kinds of things – from shadowing their new line manager to going out for drinks and dinner with the rest of the team.

There’s no legal requirement to run an induction – but it makes solid business sense. Ally Maughan, who works closely with small businesses as a HR consultant with People Puzzles, told us that, in her experience “many firms which don’t bother to do inductions run the risk of people not fitting in and leaving - so you either waste money on agency fees, or waste your own time.”

Start the induction early

When you’re interviewing prospective recruits, use the interview as a ‘mini-induction’ to give them an idea of the standards you expect – so they can hit the ground running if you hire them.

Dominic Ceraldi, HR manager at firm Pimlico Plumbers, says: “We’re pretty tough in the interview process, so when somebody gets offered a job they are aware of our standards. We impress it upon them so much that, by the time of the induction, they usually know what we expect from them, particularly in regards to personal appearance.

But bear in mind that this approach doesn’t always work – as Dominic was quick to point out:

“I had one fellow come to interview all suited and booted, looking like he’d just stepped out of Burton’s window. He was offered a position and invited to an induction. On the day of the induction I was lost for words – he was unshaven, dressed in army surplus gear and even had the commando beanie hat on! I rescinded the job offer on the spot.”

Go into detail

Explaining your company’s ambitions and culture is undoubtedly the most important part of the induction. Scott Martin, the entrepreneur behind the meteoric rise of Coffee Nation, told us: “During my inductions I would talk to all new starters in groups during a half-day, about the values of the business. What does ‘taking proper coffee to the nation?’ mean – obviously I knew, and I could tell them.”

If your company does anything quirky, make sure this is explained, or else the new starter might get the wrong end of the stick – as Iain McMath, managing director of Sodexo Motivation Solutions, can testify.

“I know a company that supplies beer on Fridays. Once, it was the first week of an induction for a particular person, and this wasn’t put into context. The new starter decided that he would help himself, and had a bit too much to drink. He was in telesales, and clearly, the link between the alcohol intake and his output was inversely proportional!”

Make the induction challenging

Running a staff induction isn’t all about giving speeches – you also have to provide active challenges which engage the inductee. According to Ally Maughan: “You should get people doing things as early as possible, even if it’s something like proofreading. Doing some actual work on your first day is important, work that’s relevant to your job description. My view is, in the first three months, a new starter should have done everything on their job description.”

Active training can also be a great way of showing a new starter what you expect – a point Scott Martin was quick to make.

“From 2006, every new starter, no matter what their role, was trained as a barista [coffee maker]. Even though we didn’t make coffee that way – we provided self-service coffee machines - hand-made coffee was a benchmark for us.”

Make it fun

If you don’t provide some light relief, the induction process can drag – and the inductee can lose focus. So it’s important to think of ways you can make the induction fun.

Simon Brownbill, partner at national accountancy firm HURST, told us that at his company, “each new team member is formerly introduced to their new colleagues at the team brief, where they are asked to share an interesting fact. We’ve unearthed all sorts of hidden gems, from fluent Japanese speakers to tenuous celebrity links. All new starters are required to write a tongue-in-cheek staff profile on the intranet too.”

It’s important not to take the fun aspect too far though, as Iain McMath told us about a bank he know, which ran an induction “all about how they were relationship-led. The HR director of the business, who was running the induction programme, had been moved over from the States to the UK and he decided, as a bonding exercise, to take all of the new people on their first night to a lapdancing club.

“Out of the 20 people, about eight of them were women! They’d spent the day talking about the values of the business, and ruined it by going to a lapdancing bar! That was culturally OK in the US (apparently), but not in the UK. About half of the people didn’t stay, because they didn’t like the culture. The HR director got sent back to America soon afterwards.”

Prepare for the unexpected

Even the most meticulous induction programmes can go awry – so it’s important to be flexible. Dominic Ceraldi of Pimlico Plumbers recalled one particularly memorable induction day:

“I was halfway through an induction with a plumber, when we were interrupted by Boris Johnson! Boris was visiting our premises in the midst of a Mayor of London candidacy campaign, and he came over to me to introduce himself. Boris, in his own characteristic style, then asked the new employee all about Pimlico and what he expected from the organisation. The new plumber’s expression was a picture!

“Boris brought an unplanned dimension to the induction but it turned out be an ice-breaker too. I particularly enjoyed his anecdote of how he hoped Red Ken would give him a thorough induction when he took over his job at City Hall later that month!”

SCIENTIST REVISIT POWER FROM PATATOES

This could very well be the magic formula for future power generation. Yes, scientists are busy crafting what is now called as “solid organic electric battery based upon treated potatoes.” These are absolutely eco-friendly batteries – based on the hidden powers of potatoes – which will be an economical answer to the growing power needs of developing and developed countries.

Simple sustainable solution:
There are still places in the world where basic infrastructure for lighting and other electrical needs is insufficient. The researchers at Hebrew University are now trying to create magic out of humble common potatoes to provide a solution for generating power to meet this need.

Potato powered battery:
It is the salt-bridge capacity that is latent in treated potato tubers which makes them the ideal medium for generating power easily and economically. An easy process of electrolysis is used in the construction of the simple yet efficient battery. A slice of our ordinary potato, zinc and copper electrodes are all that go to make the battery. By boiling the potato, the electric power is increased 10 times more than with the non-boiled potatoes, and the longevity is also greatly increased.

Similar to conventional batteries:
The principle scientists use to better the performance of the traditional batteries is almost similar. The less the salt-bridge resistance in the potato-power battery, the longer and more efficient the batteries are.

Potato power demonstrated:
The treated potato power batteries (with low power electricity) were used to power LEDs. These batteries can provide lighting, power telecommunication and transfer of information in the developing non-OECD populated areas. Where there is insufficient access to proper electrical infrastructure, these eco- and environmentally friendly green generators of power will be found useful.

CAN YOU MAKE MONEY BY WORKING FOR GOOGLE ONLINE ?

Google AdSense may be the best program that has helped thousands of webmasters become millionaires today. Google AdSense program help from small website publishers to large publishers to display targeted ads and earn per valid click from their visitors. That's cool and easy to make money by working for Google online. Don't seem to misunderstand about the topic. You don't work online for Google but you display Google ads on your websites or blogs and earn money from each valid click that generates from. Thousands of webmasters started out by working a few hours a day. After they have earned enough income, they quit their daytime job and work full time online. This is how thousands or even millions of people working these days.

There is no other affiliate program that can compare with Google AdSense. It has become a main source of online income that you can make a month. Each person can make different amount of income. There is no limit. Some people can make from $100 to $1,000,000 a month. It depends on how much traffic you have on your websites or blogs. How the Google AdSense program really works is that it displays their ads on your web sites based on your content. For example, if you web site has a lot of articles about auto insurance, then the ads will display insurance related ads. This is one of the best part of Google AdSense program because of matched content ads. When you users click on each ad, you will get money for each click.

Google AdSense ads have different types, including banner and text ads of different sizes. Each advertiser pays differently so you will get pay per click differently too. Generally speaking, the more traffic you have on your websites or blogs is the more earnings you will make by working for Google online. Each click you get paid from 5 cents to $5. This is the range you should know about. Google AdSense will deliver the targeted banner and text ads that match with your content. So, your readers will find them very useful to click on those ads. There are thousands of advertisers who advertise for Google. These advertisers range from global to small companies. There are many different types of categories.

When you display Google Ads on your blogs or web sites, you will maximize your income. So, all you need to do is to put the ads in the right place and try to get as much traffic as you can. The traffic you bring in is the more money you earn online. Google places cost-per-click and cost per thousands impressions ads so they can compete against one another.

If you have free time, one or two hours a day, you should start thinking about making money online. It is free to get started. Google AdSense is the way to go. You can apply for this program online, which takes a few minutes. When you are approved, you can log in to your AdSense account and copy an HTML code and paste it your websites or blogs. Good luck!

SWOT ANALYSIS

A SWOT analysis is a method for describing your business (or your business proposition) in terms of those factors that have the most impact.

Essentially you nominate the Strengths and Weaknesses of the business (its internal resources and capabilities), then you identify the Opportunities and Threats it faces (factors external to the organisation).

This is an easy, understandable way of identifying key issues and communicating them to others. And to make things even simpler to grasp, the typical SWOT analysis is done on a four-cell grid:

The exercise is simple: All you do is list factors in the relevant boxes. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors; the quality of your product or the skills of your management, for example. (Both might also be weaknesses, of course, if the product quality is low and management incompetent.) Opportunities and threats are external factors, for instance the development of a whole new market (opportunity) or the arrival of a clutch of new competitors (threat).

Sometimes it helps to start without the grid. List any issues at all that might affect the business – internal or external, real or perceived. When the flow starts to dry, organise the items into the SWOT categories.

So what are those categories?

Strengths

In the first box list all the strengths of your company. Why should you succeed? What do you do well? Why do customers say they enjoy doing business with you? What distinct advantages does your company offer?
The important consideration is veracity: don’t be modest, but do be realistic. Any SWOT analysis is essentially subjective, but try for a third-party viewpoint: what strengths does the outsider see?

Here’s a jump-start trick, especially for a group SWOT session: begin by brainstorming adjectives that characterize your company, write them down as quickly as people say them, and then use those words to construct a more considered profile of your company’s strengths. If you’re the sole proprietor or the prime mover in the business, try starting with a list of your own positive personal characteristics.

Weaknesses

A weakness something that seriously impedes a firm’s effective performance, a limitation or deficiency in resource, skills, or capabilities. What could be improved about the business – markets, staffing, management, control? What stumbling blocks do you continue to encounter? What does your company do that can be improved? What should be avoided? What do your competitors do better than you?
Don’t try to disguise weaknesses, and don’t merely list errors, omissions and mistakes.

Look at things from the outsider’s perspective, too. For instance, a one-man business might list the proprietor’s knowledge as a strength; the outsider might see total reliance on one individual as a weakness.

Opportunities

Where are the openings for your business? What customer needs are not being met by your competitors?

You’ll probably start with marketing issues, presumably because your business fills a niche or can compete effectively, but do include all the possibilities. For instance, what are the interesting trends in your business sector – in terms of markets, yes, but also in technology changes, the legislative and regulatory environment, social patterns?

Threats

Threats are key impediments to the firm’s current or desired position. What are the more obvious obstacles in your way, both actual and potential?
Obvious candidates would include a sudden rush of bad debts or a slack sales period leading to cashflow problems. But think further than that: What is your competition doing that could take business away from you or stunt your company’s growth? How might your competitors react to any moves you make? What trends do you see that could wipe you out or make your service or product obsolete? Might technology changes threaten your products or services? Or your job?

It’s important to include a couple of worst-case scenarios. Weighing threats against opportunities is not a reason to indulge in pessimism; rather, it’s a question of considering how possible damage may be overcome, bypassed or restricted.

Website Traffic Is Not The Key To Success

Website traffic is deemed the single most important factor when it comes to the success of a website but that statement needs to be qualified. Although it's true that a constant stream of traffic is the lifeblood of a website, the quality of the traffic is far more important than the quantity.

Of course, any amount of website traffic is better than no traffic at all but even if you have the most perfect website, your site is doomed to fail if you are not getting visitors that are looking for the products or information you have available on your site.

It's easy to get caught up in a numbers game. It's exciting to see the number of visitors to your site climb from a few a day to a few hundred a day. On the surface, this looks like exactly what you want but if your visitors are looking for something other than what you are offering, for the most part, your website traffic is wasted.

You could have a great website design, compelling copy, the lowest prices and fantastic specials but all your efforts will be useless unless your website is drawing traffic that is interested in what you are providing or promoting.

What you need are visitors specifically interested in your product or service -- you need 'targeted traffic'.

Don't think of targeted traffic as a sub-category of website traffic because they really are two separate entities. If you're marketing plan is designed to drive as much website traffic as possible to your site, no matter what kind of traffic it is, then you're not making effective use of your time and you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

The web is a very different venue than a shopping mall. A shopping mall relies on unfocused traffic, wondering from store to store, not looking for anything in particular but willing to spend it's money on an impulse.

Believe it or not, people surfing the web will leave a website after viewing it for only about 2 seconds. They're looking for specific items or information and if they don't quickly find what they are looking for on your site, they'll click out of your site and go to one of the other millions of sites on the web.

That's why most of the successful websites are tightly focused on their 'niche' and their marketing plan is focused on driving people to their site that are looking for what they offer - they understand the importance of 'targeted traffic'.

Of course, targeted traffic and a website focused on a particular 'niche' go hand and hand. Think about your website. Does it really lend itself to a specific product or service, or is it so broad that it tends to confuse potential customers?

Here are a few tips to help you prepare your website for targeted traffic:

Design your website to promote one particular product or service as your main item.

Determine the type of people that will be interested in your product or service and adjust your website to be attractive to them.

Establish the items or services that are 'closely' related to what you're promoting on your website. If you think that they would be interesting to your visitors, offer those items on your website as well.

Keep a constant flow of free content, that your visitors will find useful, on your website and add new content and information often. Invite your visitors back to your site to see the new material you're constantly adding.

Keep in mind, a website that's focused on a particular 'niche' item or service lends itself to targeted traffic simply because there is something specific to target and the more targeted traffic your site receives, the more productive your site will be.

There are many conventional and many not so conventional ways to drive targeted traffic to your website but we'll explore them in other articles.

The purpose of this article is to point out the difference between website traffic and targeted traffic. More isn't always better and if you focus your marketing on 'targeted traffic' you'll quickly find that the hits your getting on your website aren't just empty numbers - they'll be potential customers and, more importantly, sales.

OIL PRICE DOWN NEARLY 3 PERCENT

Oil prices fell Friday along with the prospects for global economic growth as the government reported the economy added no jobs last month.

Benchmark crude fell $2.48, or 2.8 percent, to finish at $86.45 after the Labor Department said employers stopped adding jobs in July. The unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent.

The U.S. jobs report follows a weak manufacturing report from China and concerns that the lingering debt crisis in Europe continues to hold back economic growth there.

Put together, concerns are growing that the global economy is weakening. A weak economy reduces demand for oil and oil products such as diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline because fewer goods are shipped and people travel and commute less.

"We were doomy and gloomy before the jobs report and then the jobs number became the crescendo of all the bad news," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at PFGBest. "The big story is the global economic slowdown."

Brent crude, used to price oil in many international markets, fell $1.96 to end at $112.33 per barrel In London.

Gasoline prices remained high, however. The average retail price for gasoline in the U.S. rose about 2 cents on Friday to $3.647 per gallon according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's the second highest level ever for this time of year. It was a little higher in 2008.

Oil was also pushed down as the dollar rose against the euro and some other currencies. Oil is priced in dollars and becomes more expensive to buyers with foreign currency -- and less attractive -- as the dollar get stronger.

Also, a Libyan official said Friday that five foreign oil and gas companies have returned to Libya to resuscitate production choked off by civil war and sanctions.

This encouraged traders that Libyan oil might begin flowing sooner than hoped, though most expect it to be several months before significant exports resume.

Concerns about the economy, the dollar and increased supply from Libya overwhelmed worries that the interruptions of oil and gas production caused by Tropical Storm Lee in the Gulf of Mexico might squeeze supplies and push prices higher.

The storm has forced several oil companies to evacuate personnel from production platforms and drilling rigs in the region. Nearly half of the Gulf's oil production has been cut off, as well as one-third of the region's natural gas production, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Forecasters expect the storm to dump a foot or more of rain on parts of Louisiana starting this weekend.

"Several days of decreased oil and gas production and major inland flooding are clear concerns with this system," said Bob Haas, Weather Operations Manager and Meteorologist at MDA EarthSat in a report.

The storm is not expected to damage rigs in the region, however. Oil production should resume shortly after the storm has cleared and companies can return workers to production platforms.

In other energy trading, heating oil fell 5.44 cents to finish at $2.9974 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 5.31 cents to finish at $2.8396 a gallon. Natural gas fell 17.8 cents, or 4.4 percent, to end the day at $3.872 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source:Associated Press