The 10 Top American Givers

Many of America's ultra-rich continued to give big donations to charity in 2008, despite the worst financial crisis in decades. In the past year, seven philanthropists gave north of $200 million and nine gave more than $100 million to causes ranging from wilderness preservation to fighting malaria. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates remain far and away the biggest givers overall, but two of 12 newcomers to the list pledged to give more than $1 billion away: William Barron Hilton, co-chairman of the Hilton hotel chain who pledged late last year to give away 97% of his wealth -- some $1.7 billion -- to his family's humanitarian foundation and Peter G. Peterson, co-founder of the investment firm Blackstone Group, who gave $1 billion this year to establish a foundation that promotes fiscal responsibility. Read their stories -- and those of the 48 other philanthropists on BusinessWeek's list -- here.

1. Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway CEO
2004-08 Giving* $40,655 million

Buffett's $31 billion commitment to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced in June 2006, resonated throughout the philanthropic community. The giving is aimed at funding education and global health initiatives. This year the commitment to the Gates Foundation still resonates, inspiring other donors with a new model of philanthropy. Buffett, the world's second-richest man, also earmarked billions for the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation -- independent family foundations that support causes ranging from reproductive health to worldwide conservation.

For more, visit the Warren Buffett Philanthropy

2. Bill & Melinda Gates

Microsoft co-founder
2004-08 Giving* $2,625 million

Bill and Melinda Gates give through their massive Seattle-based family foundation, which says it is "committed to ensuring all people have the opportunity to lead healthy, productive lives." With an endowment of nearly $36 billion, the foundation works with partners to give people a chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty in developing countries and, in the U.S., to ensure that all people have the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Its endowment is eventually expected to double, thanks to a long-term $31 billion gift from investor Warren Buffett, which pays out in installments. Recent initiatives include $100 million in micro medical-research grants; a $164 million grant to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa; and $125 million to fight global tobacco use as part of a $500 million partnership with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

For more, visit the Gates Foundation.

3. George Kaiser

Oil and gas, banking, investments
2004-08 Giving* $2,377 million

Kaiser's focus remains on early intervention in the cycle of poverty. Giving through his Tulsa-based foundation provides services that include early childhood education, pre-natal health care, public health, in-home parenting, and secondary education, as well as more generalized safety net services that deal with the symptoms of poverty. More recent initiatives have focused on women's incarceration, secondary schools, and reserving land to create an arts and entertainment district in Tulsa. The biggest payout may be yet to come: Kaiser has said he plans to increase his gifts "until I die with one dollar left, assuming I can get the timing just right."

For more, visit the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

4. George Soros

Investor
2004-08 Giving* $2,214 million

Soros distributes $400 million or more each year through his charitable network, which aims to foster open and democratic societies around the world. This year Soros gave some $535 million to dozens of initiatives, including education in Liberia, microfinance in India, and mental health in Moldova. In 2005 he gave an extra $200 million for his Central European University, a graduate school he helped found in Budapest in 1991. An immigrant from Hungary who made his first billion dollars in England, Soros has given nearly $7 billion to support his network of foundations in more than 60 countries.

For more, visit the Open Society Institute.

5. William Barron Hilton

Heir and former CEO of Hilton Hotels
2004-08 Giving* $1,700 million

New to list Following in his father's footsteps, Hilton late last year announced his intention to leave 97% of his wealth to charity after his stakes in Hilton Hotels and Harrah's Entertainment were bought out by private equity groups for billions. Hilton's fortune will go to his family's foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which works to alleviate the suffering of the world's most disadvantaged, with an emphasis on children and support for the work of Roman Catholic nuns. Grants go to causes such as stopping trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness in Africa; helping homeless families in the U.S.; and providing clean water in Mexico.

For more, visit the Hilton Foundation.

6. Walton Family

Family of Wal-Mart founder

2004-08 Giving* $1,380 million

The world's richest family is also one of the most united when it comes to philanthropy. The secretive Waltons commit the bulk of their gifts through the Walton Family Foundation, which supports a variety of charitable causes. Their areas of focus: K-12 education reform, quality-of-life initiatives in northwest Arkansas (home to Wal-Mart), economic development initiatives in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S., and most recently, marine and fresh water fishing sustainability initiatives.

For more, visit the Walton Family Foundation.

7. Herbert & Marion Sandler

Golden West Financial co-founders
2004-08 Giving* $1,329 million

The Sandlers have given away more than $1 billion to the Sandler Foundation, which works to strengthen progressive causes, such as: exposing corruption and abuse of power; advocating for vulnerable and exploited people and environments; and advancing scientific research. Last year, for example, the foundation committed $10 million a year to launch and sustain ProPublica, an independent non-profit newsroom, under the leadership of former Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger, that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. The foundation also helped establish the liberal think-tank Center for American Progress with a $50 million gift in 2004.

For more, visit the Sandler Foundation.

8. Peter Peterson

Blackstone Group co-founder
2004-08 Giving* $1,168 million

New to list Using his proceeds from Blackstone Group's IPO, Peterson donated $1 billion to establish the Peter G. Peterson Foundation this year. The focus: to encourage greater fiscal responsibility in the U.S. The foundation has already purchased, promoted, and distributed the documentary I.O.U.S.A. to educate Americans about swelling national and personal debt. (The film is likened by many to Al Gore's documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth.) The former Commerce Secretary's timing was uncanny as the financial crisis underscored his urgent message about excessive spending.

For more, visit the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

9. Donald Bren

Real estate developer
2004-08 Giving* $908 million

Using property and wealth from his real estate business, Bren has given more than $1 billion, much of it to support education. Bren's commitment to schooling runs the gamut from students to principals to school districts to university scholars on his Irvine Ranch. This year Bren gave $8.5 million to THINK Together after-school programs, one of the largest private donations to after-school programs in California history. In 2007 gifts included $20 million for a new law school at University of California at Irvine and $3 million in annual grants, teacher recognition, and student scholarships. In 2006 he gave a $20 million gift to fund elementary fine arts, music, and science programs at schools in Irvine, Calif.

For more, visit the Donald Bren Foundation.

10. Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg founder, NYC Mayor
2004-08 Giving* $903 million

This year, Bloomberg added a $250 million, four-year commitment to his Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, which was established in 2005 and has received more than $375 million from the New York City mayor. The new money is in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Late last year, Bloomberg's Family Foundation gave $9 million to promote global road safety, among others on the mayor's long list of charitable causes each year. Dedicated to making strides in education, he has also committed $100 million to alma mater Johns Hopkins University and purchased a townhouse on the Upper East Side for his future foundation. Bloomberg gave $10 million to the World Trade Center Foundation. Since 1997, Bloomberg has pledged more than $1.5 billion to charities and initiatives.

For more, visit the Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Microsoft Corp Over Yahoo Inc.

Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc.

Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc., CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, though he told shareholders that the company would still be "very open" to a collaboration on Internet search. His comments sent Yahoo shares diving more than 20 percent.

Let me be clear," Ballmer said at Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting. "We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo."

Yahoo spurned a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft in May, and later rejected Microsoft's bid to buy only its search engine. Ballmer has said repeatedly of late that the buyout remains off the table, though a search-related deal is possible.

But Wednesday marked the first time he had renewed that stance since the resignation announced this week by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who had resisted Microsoft's overtures. Yahoo shares rose when Yang said he would step aside, because investors hoped it meant a deal with Microsoft would now be more likely.

Ballmer said the companies are not currently talking about a search deal.

Yahoo shares plummeted $2.41, or 20.9 percent, to close at $9.14, its lowest level since early 2003, on a split-adjusted basis, and well below the $33 per share Microsoft offered in May. Microsoft shares tumbled $1.33 cents, 6.8 percent, to end the session at $18.29, a 10-year low.

Michael McDonald, a shareholder who flew from Atlanta to attend the meeting, blames Microsoft's run at Yahoo for depressing its share price and hopes the software maker doesn't try again.

McDonald, a retired advertising executive, called the race to win in Web search and advertising "the dot-com bubble all over again. The economic period we're in now is going to prove the questionable value of search."

Instead, he'd rather see Microsoft cut employees and expenses, or spend cash to buy business software companies.

"We don't need three Googles," he said.

Some analysts have interpreted Ballmer's public comments about a Yahoo buyout as negotiating posturing, and suspect Microsoft might still want to grab Yahoo at a low price, in hopes of improving their joint position in online search and advertising. However, analysts have also said Microsoft is likely to wait until next year before deciding, giving it time to watch Yahoo's performance and study the antitrust regulatory climate in a new administration in Washington.

In his remarks, Ballmer attempted to reassure shareholders that Microsoft can thrive despite the economic downturn, citing the software maker's long-term research and development spending and new products that mix desktop software and over-the-Internet computing.

When a shareholder, alluding to Microsoft's languishing stock price, asked Ballmer when Microsoft's best years would arrive, the CEO countered that every year is Microsoft's best year.

Then he jokingly added, "If we could get this economic thing headed in the right direction ... I'm not going to pretend we have control over that. You'd better call D.C."

Yahoo Inc. Founder Jerry Yang

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Yahoo Inc. founder Jerry Yang has never concealed how much he cares about his Internet company.

His emotional attachment is one of the reasons he balked at a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. six months ago. The same devotion finally led Yang to conclude he should step aside as chief executive, as the company seeks to bolster its depressed stock price and sagging earnings in an economic downturn that might prove even more wrenching than the dot-com bust of eight years ago.


Yang's surrendering of the CEO reins, announced Monday, won't occur until Yahoo finds a suitable replacement. The Sunnyvale-based company said it is interviewing candidates inside and outside Yahoo in a search led by its chairman, Roy Bostock, and the executive recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles.

It didn't take long for analysts to conclude Yang's departure will clear the way for a major overhaul that could culminate in Yahoo's sale to Microsoft -- something Yang refused to do in May, to the great irritation of shareholders.

"We still believe Microsoft will eventually own Yahoo," UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter wrote in a research note late Monday. "Jerry moving out of the CEO role may accelerate this."

Microsoft declined to comment Monday.

Although Yang had publicly expressed his desire to remain at the helm, Yahoo's board faced intensifying pressure to cast him aside as the company's shares plunged to their lowest levels since early 2003. The stock fell 19 cents Monday to close at $10.63 -- a fraction of Microsoft's last bid of $33 per share in early May.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer huffily withdrew the offer after Yang sought $37 per share. The negotiating breakdown triggered a shareholder revolt led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who called for Yang's ouster in July.

Icahn reached a truce that put him and two allies on Yahoo's 11-member board, but he still has been lobbying for Yahoo to pursue a deal with Microsoft that would either involve selling the company in its entirety or just its search engine, which ranks a distant second to Google Inc. An Icahn spokeswoman said the financier had no comment Monday.

Monday's shake-up comes as no surprise, given the challenges facing Yahoo.

"The shareholders were ready to pick up pitchforks and torches," said technology analyst Rob Enderle. "If Jerry wasn't a founder, he already would have been gone" months ago.

Bostock made it sound as if the change in command had been in the works for some time. "Jerry and the board have had an ongoing dialogue about succession timing, and we all agree that now is the right time to make the transition to a new CEO who can take the company to the next level," he said.

Yang, who started working on Yahoo with Stanford University classmate David Filo in 1994, will revert to "Chief Yahoo," a titular role he filled before replacing former movie studio boss Terry Semel as CEO in June 2007. He will also remain on Yahoo's board of directors.

"All of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple," Yang wrote Monday memo to employees, referring to the company's official color.

Sue Decker, Yahoo's president, is expected to be among the candidates to succeed Yang, although she has been an integral part of the management team that has exasperated the company's shareholders.

Dan Rosensweig, who resigned as Yahoo's chief operating officer, also could be lured back as CEO, or the board could turn to one of its own directors, such as former Viacom Inc. CEO Frank Biondi or former Nextel CEO John Chapple.

Investors appeared to be pleased with the decision to replace Yang, as Yahoo shares climbed more than 4 percent in Monday's extended trading.

Yang, 40, had been pursuing a strategy that he thought would prove Yahoo was worth more than Microsoft was willing to pay, but the rapidly deteriorating economy made a comeback seem increasingly unlikely.

After squandering the opportunity to sell to Microsoft, Yang tried to boost Yahoo's profit by forging an advertising partnership with Google.

But that backup plan fell through two weeks ago when Google walked away from the deal to avoid a court battle with the U.S. Justice Department, which had concluded the partnership would have throttled competition in the online advertising market.

Just a few hours after the Google partnership collapsed, Yang publicly said he thought Microsoft should hook up with Yahoo. But Ballmer threw cold water on the idea the next day by declaring he doubted a deal could be worked out.

Yang had also been exploring a possible acquisition of another fading Internet star, AOL, but most analysts panned the idea as a desperation move that threatened to hurt Yahoo more than it would help.

Although Yang's tenure as CEO is unlikely to be remembered fondly by shareholders, his legacy as an Internet visionary remains secure.

Yahoo's remarkable rise began in 1994 when Yang and Filo began compiling a directory of their favorite Web links while working on their engineering doctorates in a trailer at Stanford University. They initially called their site "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web," only to later decide to switch to an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle."

Yang and Filo became two of the Internet's first billionaires not long after Yahoo went public in 1996 with fewer than 50 employees on the payroll. At the height of the dot-com boom, Yahoo's market value stood at $130 billion. It was less than $15 billion Monday.

Citigroup to Cut Another 53,000 Jobs

NEW YORK – Citigroup Inc. is cutting approximately 53,000 more jobs in the coming quarters as the banking giant struggles to steady itself after suffering massive losses from deteriorating debt.

The plans, posted on the company's Web site, are being discussed by CEO Vikram Pandit at the company's town hall meeting in New York Monday with employees.

The company said total headcount is being reduced by 20 percent from its peak of 375,000 at the end of 2007; the company had already announced in October that it was eliminating about 22,000 jobs from those levels. The total workforce reductions include thousands of jobs that will be lost when Citigroup completes the sale of Citi Global Services and its German retail banking business.

The New York-based bank has posted four straight quarterly losses, including a loss of $2.8 billion during the third quarter. The company said that in addition to job cuts, it plans to lower expenses by about 20 percent, and that is has reduced its assets by more than 20 percent since the first quarter of the year.

Citi shares fell 42 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $9.10 in morning trading. The company's shares have been trading at 13-year lows.

Shortly before the town hall meeting in New York, Citigroup Chairman Win Bischoff said at a business forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that it would be irresponsible for Citi and other companies not to look at staffing in the event of a prolonged economic downturn.

"What all of us have done — and perhaps injudiciously — we've added a lot of people over ... this very benign period," Bischoff said.

"If there is a reversion to the mean ... those job losses will obviously fall particularly heavily on the financial sector," he added. "Certainly they will fall particularly heavily on London and New York."

A Citigroup spokesman said that while certain regions and businesses might have higher concentrations of job cuts, they would generally be across the entire company and around the world.

In his comments to the Associated Press, Bischoff did not rule out the likelihood that Citi's leaders would go without bonuses this year — a move that would effectively amount to a substantial pay cut for the company's executives.

"Watch this space," he said when asked about lost bonuses.

On Sunday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said seven top executives, including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, opted out of receiving cash or stock bonuses for 2008 amid the ongoing credit crisis.

Sources: Yahoo News

Say Godbye To BlackBerry? If Obama Has To. Yes He Can

WASHINGTON — Sorry, Mr. President. Please surrender your BlackBerry.

Those are seven words President-elect Barack Obama is dreading but expecting to hear, friends and advisers say, when he takes office in 65 days.

For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from his side — on most days, it was fastened to his belt — to provide a singular conduit to the outside world as the bubble around him grew tighter and tighter throughout his campaign.

“How about that?” Mr. Obama replied to a friend’s congratulatory e-mail message on the night of his victory.

But before he arrives at the White House, he will probably be forced to sign off. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful.

For all the perquisites and power afforded the president, the chief executive of the United States is essentially deprived by law and by culture of some of the very tools that other chief executives depend on to survive and to thrive. Mr. Obama, however, seems intent on pulling the office at least partly into the 21st century on that score; aides said he hopes to have a laptop computer on his desk in the Oval Office, making him the first American president to do so.

Mr. Obama has not sent a farewell dispatch from the personal e-mail account he uses — he has not changed his address in years — but friends say the frequency of correspondence has diminished. In recent days, though, he has been seen typing his thoughts on transition matters and other items on his BlackBerry, bypassing, at least temporarily, the bureaucracy that is quickly encircling him.

A year ago, when many Democratic contributors and other observers were worried about his prospects against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, they reached out to him directly. Mr. Obama had changed his cellphone number, so e-mail remained the most reliable way of communicating directly with him.

“His BlackBerry was constantly crackling with e-mails,” said David Axelrod, the campaign’s chief strategist. “People were generous with their advice — much of it conflicting.”

Mr. Obama is the second president to grapple with the idea of this self-imposed isolation. Three days before his first inauguration, George W. Bush sent a message to 42 friends and relatives that explained his predicament.

“Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace,” Mr. Bush wrote from his old address, G94B@aol.com. “This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you.”

But in the interceding eight years, as BlackBerrys have become ubiquitous — and often less intrusive than a telephone, the volume of e-mail has multiplied and the role of technology has matured. Mr. Obama used e-mail to stay in constant touch with friends from the lonely confines of the road, often sending messages like “Sox!” when the Chicago White Sox won a game. He also relied on e-mail to keep abreast of the rapid whirl of events on a given campaign day.

Mr. Obama’s memorandums and briefing books were seldom printed out and delivered to his house or hotel room, aides said. They were simply sent to his BlackBerry for his review. If a document was too long, he would read and respond from his laptop computer, often putting his editing changes in red type.

His messages to advisers and friends, they say, are generally crisp, properly spelled and free of symbols or emoticons. The time stamps provided a window into how much he was sleeping on a given night, with messages often being sent to staff members at 1 a.m. or as late as 3 a.m. if he was working on an important speech.

He received a scaled-down list of news clippings, with his advisers wanting to keep him from reading blogs and news updates all day long, yet aides said he still seemed to hear about nearly everything in real time. A network of friends — some from college, others from Chicago and various chapters in his life — promised to keep him plugged in.

Not having such a ready line to that network, staff members who spent countless hours with him say, is likely to be a challenge.

“Given how important it is for him to get unfiltered information from as many sources as possible, I can imagine he will miss that freedom,” said Linda Douglass, a senior adviser who traveled with the campaign.

Mr. Obama has, for at least brief moments, been forced offline. As he sat down with a small circle of advisers to prepare for debates with Senator John McCain, one rule was quickly established: No BlackBerrys. Mr. Axelrod ordered everyone to put their devices in the center of a table during work sessions. Mr. Obama, who was known to sneak a peek at his, was no exception.

In the closing stages of the campaign, as exhaustion set in and the workload increased, aides said Mr. Obama spent more time reading than responding to messages. As his team prepares a final judgment on whether he can keep using e-mail, perhaps even in a read-only fashion, several authorities in presidential communication said they believed it was highly unlikely that he would be able to do so.

Diana Owen, who leads the American Studies program at Georgetown University, said presidents were not advised to use e-mail because of security risks and fear that messages could be intercepted.

“They could come up with some bulletproof way of protecting his e-mail and digital correspondence, but anything can be hacked,” said Ms. Owen, who has studied how presidents communicate in the Internet era. “The nature of the president’s job is that others can use e-mail for him.”

She added: “It’s a time burner. It might be easier for him to say, ‘I can’t be on e-mail.’ ”

Should Mr. Obama want to break ground and become the first president to fire off e-mail messages from the West Wing and wherever he travels, he could turn to Al Gore as a model. In the later years of his vice presidency, Democrats said, Mr. Gore used a government e-mail address and a campaign address in his race against Mr. Bush.

The president, though, faces far greater public scrutiny. And even if he does not wear a BlackBerry on his belt or carry a cellphone in his pocket, he almost certainly will not lack from a variety of new communication.

On Saturday, as Mr. Obama broadcast the weekly Democratic radio address, it came with a twist. For the first time, it was also videotaped and will be archived on YouTube.

Sources: NYTimes.com

IT Spending to Slow in 2009: IDC

Worldwide spending on information technology (IT) is expected to slow significantly next year because of the financial crisis, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Market intelligence firm IDC said worldwide IT spending will grow just 2.6 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year, down from the IDC's pre-crisis forecast of 5.9 percent growth.

The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said IT spending in the United States is expected to grow by just 0.9 percent in 2009, much lower than the 4.2 percent growth forecast in August.

It said IT spending growth in Japan and Western Europe was also expected to hover around one percent in 2009.

"The emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America will continue to experience healthy growth, but at levels notably lower than the double-digit gains previously forecast," the IDC said.

"Although all the economic forecasts went from up slightly to down drastically in a matter of days, the good news is that IT is in a better position than ever to resist the downward pull of a slowing economy," John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC, said in a statement.

"Technology is already deeply embedded in many mission-critical operations and remains critical to achieving further efficiency and productivity gains," he said. "As a result, IDC expects worldwide IT spending will continue to grow in 2009, albeit at a slower pace."

The IDC said that on a sector basis, computer software and services were expected to enjoy solid growth next year while hardware spending, with the exception of storage, is expected to decline in 2009.

The IDC said it expects IT spending to return to growth rates approaching 6.0 percent in 2012 but estimates more than 300 billion dollars in industry revenues will have been lost due to slower spending over the next four years.

The firm said it had also developed a "downside scenario" in the event the impact of the financial crisis is more pronounced.

"In this scenario, IDC lowered the forecast for worldwide GDP growth in 2009 to 0.3 percent, which is 1.5 percent lower than the current forecast and worse than any year since World War II," it said.

"This produced a forecast of 0.1 percent growth in worldwide IT spending in 2009 with negative growth in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan."

Running Your Business While Traveling

Anytime that you operate or own a business, you should take the time to become familiar with business networking, and just what it can do for your business. In it’s simplest form,business networking is used to spread the word about your business, if people don’t know that your business exists, how do you expect them to come to you for the goods or services that you are offering?

Another important part of business networking is meeting other people in the business world, people who would be willing to help you spread the word about your business,and maybe even give you valuable tips that might help you in your future business endeavors, particularly if this is your first solo venture. You want to make as many friends and business acquaintances as possible, and let them know about your business, your products and services that you provide, and do it in a way that will interest them, so that they will be more likely to mention your business to their friends and acquaintances as well; there is no better way to get free advertising for your business.

Many business owners find that they have to spend a lot of time traveling for their business, meeting new clients and obtaining new contracts, obtaining supplies and goods needed for their business, etc. They may also spend time traveling just because they can, just because you have a business to run doesn’t mean that you have to be tied down. While you are traveling, take the time to meet and talk to people. Talk to people in the airport while you are waiting in line, talk to people you meet on the plane, and make sure that you casually mention your business somewhere in the conversation. The more people you manage to meet and talk to, the better odds you have of gaining a potential contact or customer for your business.

Some people find it extremely difficult to just strike up a conversation with someone they don’t know, which is understandable. When you are talking to people that you don’t know, just remember, you have nothing to lose. They will either think that you are strange and move away, or they will be glad for the friendly conversation and be happy to join in to pass the time, you never know until you actually try. When talking to someone you don’t know, remember to be polite, greet them by saying hello, and ask them how they are doing. People will be more willing to talk to you if you ask them general questions and they can simply respond. Soon, they will open up and start asking you questions in return, and before you know it, you have a full-fledged conversation going. You want to ask open-ended questions, to get the other person involved in the conversation as much as possible. You might ask them where they are traveling to, and whether they are just traveling for fun or for business purposes, which will give you a good lead-in to throw in some chat about your own business, and go into more detail about what your company does.

The more people you take the time to talk to and meet, the more you expand your business network. Don’t limit yourself by not talking to new people, as you may truly be missing out on some great business contacts and customers. How you do know that the person standing in front of you in line doesn’t have a need that might be met by one of the products or services offered by your business?

You have to learn to talk to new people, and get over that shyness or embarrassment, if you want to truly build your business networking contacts. Make the most of your traveling time, and use it to potentially build and expand your business network. You should strive to strike up a conversation with at least one new person everyday, and as you become more comfortable, raise the goal to two or three new people. If you
consistently practice your people and conversational skills, you will find that your
business will be the better for it, and for the new contacts you meet along the way.

So, the next time you are traveling, don’t forget to take the time to meet and talk to new people, you never know where the relationship may go!

Wired.com Trims Editorial Staff by 10 percent

Wired.com, the Internet arm of stalwart tech pub Wired magazine, has cut its staff by 10 percent and an unknown number of employees outside of editorial also were laid off, according to sources close to the company.

Out of 28 editorial positions, 3 employees were laid off, according to the sources. In an interview with CNET News, Evan Hansen, Wired.com's editor in chief, said the company downsized to prepare for the economic downturn.

"Revenues are expected to be up year over year but not as much as we expected," Hansen said. "We're concerned about 2009 because visibility is murky. We're taking steps to make sure we're in good position."

Hansen declined to discuss who was let go, but sources familiar with the situation said none of the publication's staff writers was cut. This is only the latest reduction of editorial staffing for Wired.com's publisher, Conde Nast.

Last month, The New York Times reported that Conde Nast was preparing to reduce company-wide budgets by 5 percent. The plan called for reducing the number of issues for magazines such as Portfolio and Men's Vogue and folding some of Portfolio's divisions into Wired magazine. The Times story said that most of the job cuts would come at Portfolio and Men's Vogue.

Sources: Greg Sandoval

The First Pup?


Ever since president-elect Obama mentioned that his kids are getting a puppy, dog lovers around the world have been panting with anticipation to learn what kind of dog will become first pup.

Obama, who described the decision as a "major issue," is on the hunt for an allergy-free dog, since daughter Malia is allergic. Seeing that Obama is the first "global president," it's not surprising that the Fido frenzy has gone international.

Peru has suggested its native Peruvian hairless dog, a bald, toothless breed, which actually looks cuter than it sounds. The country even has a specific dog in mind. Nicknamed "Ears," the four-month-old has been offered formally to the future first family in a letter sent to the U.S. Embassy. If the Obama girls reject the Peruvian pup, we hope it won't create an international incident.

But if the Obamas want to go American, there are plenty of allergy-free dogs to choose from. In fact, Yahoo! searches on "list of hypoallergenic dogs" surged over 3,000% as the curious researched on their own. Lookups on "goldendoodle," another low-allergy breed, increased 200%, as well as searches on "obama goldendoodle" and "goldendoodle rescue." As Obama mentioned himself, the family's preference is to adopt a dog from a shelter. A shelter dog would likely be, as he joked, "a mutt, like me."

It may be the first difficult choice of his presidency. But at least this decision will come with unconditional love.

Obama Becomes First Black President in Landslide

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation's first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.


The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his historic triumph by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Iowa.

A huge crowd in Grant Park in Obama's home town of Chicago erupted in jubilation at the news of his victory. Some wept.

McCain called his former rival to concede defeat — and the end of his own 10-year quest for the White House. "The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly," McCain told disappointed supporters in Arizona.

Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009.

As the 44th president, Obama will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.

The popular vote was close, but not the count in the Electoral College, where it mattered most.

There, Obama's audacious decision to contest McCain in states that hadn't gone Democratic in years paid rich dividends.

Obama has said his first order of presidential business will be to tackle the economy. He has also pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months.

Fellow Democrats rode his coattails to larger majorities in both houses of Congress. They defeated incumbent Republicans and won open seats by turn.

The 47-year-old Illinois senator was little known just four years ago. A widely praised speech at the Democratic National Convention, delivered when he was merely a candidate for the Senate, changed that.

Overnight he became a sought-after surrogate campaigner, and he had scarcely settled into his Senate seat when he began preparing for his run for the White House.

A survey of voters leaving polling places on Tuesday showed the economy was by far the top Election Day issue. Six in 10 voters said so, and none of the other top issues — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10.

"May God bless whoever wins tonight," President Bush told dinner guests at the White House, where his tenure runs out on Jan. 20.

The Democratic leaders of Congress celebrated in Washington.

"It is not a mandate for a party or ideology but a mandate for change," said Senate Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Said Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California: "Tonight the American people have called for a new direction. They have called for change in America."

Shortly after 11 p.m. in the East, The Associated Press count showed Obama with 338 electoral votes, well over the 270 needed for victory. McCain had 127 after winning states that comprised the normal Republican base.

The nationwide popular vote was remarkably close. Totals from 58 percent of the nation's precincts showed Obama with 51 percent and McCain with 47.9.

Interviews with voters suggested that almost six in 10 women were backing Obama nationwide, while men leaned his way by a narrow margin. Just over half of whites supported McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004.

The results of the AP survey were based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day polls and in telephone interviews over the past week for early voters.

Democrats also acclaimed Senate successes by former Gov. Mark Warner in Virginia, Rep. Tom Udall in New Mexico and Rep. Mark Udall in Colorado. All won seats left open by Republican retirements.

In New Hampshire, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen defeated Republican Sen. John Sununu in a rematch of their 2002 race, and Sen. Elizabeth Dole fell to Democrat Kay Hagan in North Carolina.

Democrats also looked for gains in the House. They defeated Republican incumbents Rep. Tom Feeney and Ric Keller in Florida, 22-year veteran Chris Shays in Connecticut and Rep. Robin Hayes in North Carolina.

At least two Democrats lost their seats. Rep. Kevin Mahoney fell after admitting to two extramarital affairs while serving his first term in Florida. In Louisiana, Democratic Rep. Don Cazayoux lost the seat he had won in a special election six months ago.

The resurgent Democrats also elected a governor in one of the nation's traditional bellwether states when Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon won his race.

The White House was the main prize of the night on which 35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats were at stake. A dozen states elected governors, and ballots across the country were dotted with issues ranging from taxes to gay rights.

An estimated 187 million voters were registered, and in an indication of interest in the battle for the White House, 40 million or so had already voted as Election Day dawned.

Obama sought election as one of the youngest presidents, and one of the least experienced in national political affairs.

That wasn't what set the Illinois senator apart, though — neither from his rivals nor from the other men who had served as president since the nation's founding more than two centuries ago. A black man, he confronted a previously unbreakable barrier as he campaigned on twin themes of change and hope in uncertain times.

McCain, a prisoner of war during Vietnam, a generation older than his rival at 72, was making his second try for the White House, following his defeat in the battle for the GOP nomination in 2000.

A conservative, he stressed his maverick's streak. And although a Republican, he did what he could to separate himself from an unpopular president.

For the most part, the two presidential candidates and their running mates, Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, spent weeks campaigning in states that went for Bush four years ago.

McCain and Obama each won contested nominations — the Democrat outdistancing former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton — and promptly set out to claim the mantle of change.

Obama won Colorado, Nevada, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Virginia, New Mexico, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia.

McCain had Nebraska, Idaho, Mississippi, Texas, West Virginia, Utah, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, South Dakota and North Dakota.


Key win for Obama

The state's hard-hit economy has been the focus of both candidates during the campaign.

Obama wins the battleground state of Ohio and its 20 electoral votes (AP). Heading into the election, Obama led McCain by 7 points. Ohio was considered a must-win state for McCain. However, the Obama campaign flooded the state with volunteers in March, specifically rural and suburban regions. Obama had 82 offices in Ohio, more than double the number McCain had. Ohio has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1964. According to NBC, Obama has a considerable lead in electoral votes: 200 to McCain's 90.

McCain has won North Dakota and Louisiana, totaling 12 more electoral votes (AP). ABC and CBS project McCain will win the big state of Texas and its 34 electoral votes.

NBC and Fox are also projecting Obama will win New Mexico's 5 electoral votes. Historically, the state has had close races: In 2004, George Bush beat John Kerry by fewer than 6,000 votes. In 2000, Al Gore squeaked by George W. Bush with less than 400 votes. Gov. Bill Richardson was a rumored vice-presidential candidate earlier this year and is expected to be a front-runner for a Cabinet position, should Obama win the election.


Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl130

Asian Stock Markets Mixed ahead of US Election

HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets were mixed in cautious trade Tuesday after Wall Street's relatively flat finish ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Japan's market jumped after being closed for a holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.2 percent after fluctuating through the day and South Korea's Kospi rose 2.2 percent, while benchmarks in Singapore and Shanghai gave up early gains to be down more than 0.5 percent.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index pared earlier losses to close slightly down after the country's central bank surprised the market by slashing interest rates by 0.75 of a percentage point -- a quarter point more than most analysts expected -- amid growing signs of a slowdown there.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average was up 537.62 points, or 6.3 percent, at 9,114.60 as major auto companies like Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. gained despite bleak U.S. sales data released overnight. The market was playing catch up after being closed Monday, when most Asian bourses gained.

Weekend reports Panasonic Corp. may acquire rival Sanyo Electric Co. sent share prices of the Japanese electronics makers soaring. Sanyo's stock was untraded because of a rush of buy orders, and was at a bid-only 195 yen ($1.96) in morning trading, up more than 34 percent from 145 yen ($1.46) Friday. Panasonic shares jumped 6.8 percent to 1,614 yen (about $16).

The deal, if realized, would provide cash for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of the U.S., which along with Japanese banks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Daiwa Securities SMBC invested 300 billion yen ($3 billion) in Sanyo in 2006.

Elsewhere, trade was tepid as many investors showed a reluctance to place large bets before U.S. election results come out Wednesday morning in Asia.

Wall Street's mixed session, along with a weak reading on America's manufacturing sector overnight, prompted others to take some money off the able after Asian bourses posted strong gains in the past week.

"There isn't any major driver that should lift demand right now, and there's some precautionary profit taking," said Thomas Lam, the senior treasury economist at the United Overseas Bank in Singapore.

In New York overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.18, or 0.06 percent, to 9,319.83 in its calmest session in some time, after rising as much as 86 and falling 70. The day's trading range was its lowest since Sept. 3.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.45, or 0.25 percent, to 966.30, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.38, or 0.31 percent, to 1,726.33.

U.S. stock index futures were down a touch. Dow futures were down 5 points at 9,327, while S& futures were down 2.2 peoints at 967.3.

In Australia, financial issues improved after the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed rates for the third time in as many months, taking the cash rate to 5.25 percent.

"International economic data have continued to point to significant weakness in the major industrial economies, and there have been further signs that China and other parts of the developing world are slowing as well," bank Gov. Glenn Stevens said in a statement.

Bank shares also rose in Hong Kong as lending conditions eased further. Hong Kong's interbank lending rate, known as Hibor, for three-month loans fell to 2.79 from 3.08, and the territory's central bank injected $853 million Hong Kong dollars into the market Monday night.

In mainland China, the key Shanghai Composite Index fell through the psychologically important 1,700 level before rising again.

Oil prices were slightly lower, with light, sweet crude for December delivery down 8 cents to $63.83 in Asian trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $3.87 to settle at $63.91 overnight.

In currencies, the greenback weakened to 98.91 yen from 99.03 late the previous day in New York. The euro was at $1.2610 from $1.2603.

Murdoch: Emerging China and India Will Help Reshape the World in the Next Few Decades

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch says the ongoing metamorphosis of China and India from historic backwaters into economic powers will help reshape the world in the next few decades.

The News Corp. chief gave an upbeat assessment of the future and made a vigorous case for free markets despite troubled economic times and what he called "naked, heartless aggression" in the world.

In the first of a series of speeches in his birth country of Australia, Murdoch spoke Sunday of "the great transformation we've seen in the past few decades, the unleashing of human talent and ability across our world, and the golden age for humankind that I see just around the corner."

He said China and India are great countries whose people are only recently emerging from long histories of being "incarcerated by communism or caste." The rise of their economies is creating a new middle class that would be three billion strong within 30 years and that is setting a new benchmark for global competitiveness.

"The world has never seen this kind of advance before," Murdoch said. "These are people who have known deprivation. These are people who are intent on developing their skills, improving their lives and showing the world what they can do."

Murdoch, whose New York-based conglomerate includes Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News Channel, Dow Jones & Co. as well as newspaper stables in Australia and Britain and the online networking site MySpace, described the global financial crisis as one of many challenges facing Australia.

He urged Australia to embrace internationalism and touched on a range of global issues, from international security to the commercial opportunities offered by the world's need for cleaner energy.

Murdoch's remarks came in the first of six lectures to be sent out on radio nationally by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. -- this year's edition of an annual series of talks by prominent Australians.

Murdoch said that in another speech he would give his opinions on the future of newspapers, which are suffering a severe downturn, especially in the United States, as advertising revenue is lost to the Internet.

He made a strong pitch for freer trade between countries, taking agriculture as an example and saying that reducing artificial barriers is a moral and strategic issue.

"So we must continue to leverage our connections and continue to push when others have left the conference table," he said. "The global trade dialogue should echo with Australian accents."

Touching on security, he chided Europe for appearing to have "lost the will to confront aggression" and said NATO should be reformed into a group based on common values, not geography, and include countries like Australia as members.

"In this promising new century, we are still seeing naked, heartless aggression -- whether it comes from a terrorist bombing in Islamabad or a Russian invasion of Georgia," Murdoch said.

"We can lament these developments, but we cannot hide from them," he said, noting Australia's contribution of troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.

In an interview published in The Weekend Australian on Saturday, Murdoch said governments have only limited power to fix the financial crisis, though they could make it worse.

Murdoch warned that a rise in protectionism in the United States "could add to all sorts of tensions in the world financial system and the world trading system and eventually all the way down to employment."

Read also in http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081102/as_australia_murdoch.html