e-Commerce Retailing Continues Its Quarterly Return
October 27, 2010
e-Commerce spending in the second quarter was up an estimated full $1 billion from the first quarter, or $39.7 billion, the Census Bureau notes in preliminary figures ' a 2.6% rise for April through June, a gain of 1.5% from the first quarter and a healthy increase of 14% from the second quarter of last year.
When the Virtual Storefront Is the Home Front
October 27, 2010
One of the virtues of e-commerce has always been its low barrier to entry. For little investment of time or money, anyone can set up shop online, whether selling advice or widgets. But can something so easily accomplished really be a business? Will an entrepreneur run something out of her spare bedroom the same way as if she had venture capitalists peering over her shoulders, demanding a business plan, financial statements, budgets, marketing plans and everything that a bricks-and-mortar retailer has (except the expense of leasing space)? If not, she may treat it as just another hobby, something to handle in her free time.
Recruiting and Developing Associates
October 26, 2010
Ensuring longer-term and continuous improvements in providing greater value, and therefore sustaining higher levels of client satisfaction, requires addressing areas that have received little attention in the whole value discussion — the recruiting and development of associates.
Employer Accounting for Post-Retiree Health Care
October 26, 2010
The regulatory frenzy swirling about health care and employer plan accounting, coupled with our aging population and demographic shifts has created a perfect storm. We are besieged with commentary that Medicare is bankrupt, and the new accounting standards for employers require transparency to market and present value calculations of long-term liabilities, which creates havoc for employers for tax-planning and compliance purposes.
Developments in Distressed Lending
October 26, 2010
Recently, in two separate cases, secured lenders have received, as part of their adequate protection package, the right to obtain principal paydowns during a bankruptcy case.
Developments in Distressed Lending
October 26, 2010
Recently, in <i>In re TOUSA Inc.</i> and <i>In re Capmark Fin. Group Inc.</i>, secured lenders have received, as part of their adequate protection package, the right to obtain principal paydowns during a bankruptcy case.
Japan's Proposed Deregulation
September 30, 2010
It has recently been reported that the Japan Ministry of Justice has decided to revise its Practicing Attorney Law to allow a foreign law firm to conduct its law practice in Japan through a Legal Professional Corporation. These revisions may be submitted to the Extraordinary Diet session this autumn for introduction in 2012.
