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Not a day goes by without yet another article extolling the virtues of the Internet. An estimated 30 million worldwide users to date and more logging on every day. To the small business owner, the real question is, Where does the hype end and the reality begin? Is the Internet really a viable proposition for the traditional small business, normally constrained by lack of time, staff and money? 10 questions to ask yourself The best way to determine whether or not the Internet makes sense for your business is to apply a simple “yes” or “no” answer to 10 important marketing questions: 1. Do my clients require specific product information before they can buy my product/service? 2. Do I spend a majority of my time selling the benefits of my product only to be asked, “Can you send me more information?” 3. Is my long-distance phone bill more than $100 per month? 4. Have I lost business as a result of playing phone tag with a potential customer because I was unable to “sieze the moment?” 5. Would a new employee handling sales paperwork free me to increase my companys revenues? 6. Is there an international market for my product? 7. Does my product have a story to tell? 8. Am I spending more than 20 percent of every dollar I make on marketing-related expenses? 9. Would instant customer feedback benefit my business? 10. Would the ability to capture orders 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, help my business? If you answered “yes” to just one of these questions, you should at least explore the possibilities that Internet commerce can offer. If you answered “yes” to five or more, you should dedicate some serious time and resources to finding out how the Internet actually works (and how it can work for you). If you answered “yes” to eight or more of the questions, you need a fast-track education about the Internet before your competitors claim the medium for themselves. The smart small business owner will make plans to explore the Internet, find out what the Web can deliver and then formulate a strategy to exploit it. As Jeff Vick, Marketing Specialist at Creative Video explains, “The Internet will do to business in the 21st century what the telephone did to business in the 20th century.” The Web — How does it work? According to Vick, the Internet works well as a commercial sales tool for businesses that need to exchange information in order to specify a particular products size, color, model, price, etc. Multiple orders can be booked, billed and fulfilled through a simple response mechanism included on an Internet site. Much of this information can be communicated through the Web. While it is actually only one portion of the Internet, the Web serves as an extensive reference library that can provide any level of additional information about a particular subject, issue, item or product. As in a spiders web configuration, the Web provides an ever-increasing source of interlocking information about the subject in question. Simply point and click and you can dive deeper into additional layers of information. The Web also has certain features that make it ideal for marketing. It can display pictures and massive amounts of text about your product as well as send and receive order information while at the same time generating a receipt. If your product requires a lengthy explanation in order to communicate its benefits, the Web is the place to do it. Customers and prospects can view that information at their own pace — in many instances, via sophisticated video and audio commercials. Since were talking digital information here, there is very little difference between one word and one thousand words. And if you feel that youre spending too much time processing paperwork and not enough time selling, a well-designed Web page may be one of the potential keys to your businesses future success. How important is e-mail? An important byproduct of the Internet is e-mail, or electronic mail. Once you learn to use this valuable tool, youll wonder how you ever got along without it. Forget about what time it is, or whether its “worth a call” — with e-mail, it costs no more to send a message to Sydney that it does to Syracuse (the actual cost is about $1.00 an hour). And time zones become irrelevant as well. You and the recipient can view the messages at your convenience, thereby eliminating the dreaded game of telephone tag. So get serious! How does the smart business operator approach the formidable and intimidating task of investigating the Net? First, gather your thoughts as to what you would like your Web site to accomplish. Imagine that your customer can ask you anything he/she wants to know about your company and product — anything from product price to employee birthdays — and in no particular order. Analyze each possible scenario and list all the information relevant to it. Then, and only then, begin to organize the scenarios into a flow chart. Once you have the flow chart polished, try to find flaws in it. If your customer is browsing through the pricing section of your flow chart, will he/she be more interested in going to shipping next or reading your companys mission statement? After you feel that youve developed a solid grasp of the different portions of the business that youd like to present to your clientele, you are now ready to interview potential agencies who are skilled in creating Web pages. According to Vick, there are 3 questions you should ask a potential Web page creator: 1. Have you done this before? 2. Who have you done this for? 3. May I call them? While creating some Web pages may require the skills of a computer Ph.D., most will not, and there are competent companies in most major markets capable of accomplishing the task in a cost-effective fashion. Prices for creating a simple Web site can range from a low of $2,500 to high of $20,000. In fact, some of the Fortune 500 marketers have created sophisticated and complex Web pages that can literally run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, the millions. But for the average small business, the investment will probably be in the $5,000 to $10,000 range. And remember, you must keep your Web site content fresh, or your prospects will have no reason to come back. Seeing your own World Wide Web site up and running on the Internet can be a proud moment for any business owner. It also can mean the start of a whole new way of doing business. It has the potential to increase productivity by extending operating time to a full 24 hours a day. But this will only happen if your business really needs this technology and can use it effectively. Evaluate your situation honestly. If its right for you, acquire it. If its not, save the money. And if you want to see what its all about, contact a Web creator and ask to see a demonstration. One picture is really worth 1,000 words. Alf Nucifora is an Atlanta based marketing consultant. He may be contacted by e-mail zubicon
E-commerce today is enjoying the fastest growth rate of any business sector because, among other things, it is fast, convenient and cost-effective! Consider just a couple of examples I heard a consultant from Arthur D. Little present recently on CNBC: 1) A typical banking transaction, which costs one dollar, will only cost one cent when conducted over the Internet! 2) A typical brokers transaction, which costs $150, will only cost $6 when conducted over the Internet!
I. INTRODUCTION This study empirically examines person-to-person transactions within the Internet market known as eBay. In this virtual market of unseen participants and products, buyers and sellers face the risks of repudiation, as the counter party may deny the agreement after the fact. Buyers assume risks associated with lack of seller integrity and asymmetric information about the particular product, as the buyer is typically required to send payment before the seller ships the product. In addition, for many eBay transactions, the cost of enforcing a contract is high relative to the transactions value, resulting in a practical absence of legal enforcement. (2) By providing a history of trade execution information, eBay benefits market participants by reducing information asymmetries while achieving substantial transaction cost economies. Market participants relate personal experiences, which eBay uses to calculate a numerical reputation measure for each user. Market participants, in turn, can use this reputation measure to assess counter party risk and adjust bidding behavior accordingly.

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Business Editors The Internet Marketing Edge launches its 10 step method to successfully selling on-line. This book will give you the edge on Internet marketing guaranteed or your money back.
I. INTRODUCTION This study empirically examines person-to-person transactions within the Internet market known as eBay. In this virtual market of unseen participants and products, buyers and sellers face the risks of repudiation, as the counter party may deny the agreement after the fact. Buyers assume risks associated with lack of seller integrity and asymmetric information about the particular product, as the buyer is typically required to send payment before the seller ships the product. In addition, for many eBay transactions, the cost of enforcing a contract is high relative to the transactions value, resulting in a practical absence of legal enforcement. (2) By providing a history of trade execution information, eBay benefits market participants by reducing information asymmetries while achieving substantial transaction cost economies. Market participants relate personal experiences, which eBay uses to calculate a numerical reputation measure for each user. Market participants, in turn, can use this reputation measure to assess counter party risk and adjust bidding behavior accordingly.

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Meridian Capital Group LLC announced the following transactions: * Meridian Capital arranged financing of $13.35 million on a 98,500 square foot 8-story loft building, with 9 tenants, on W. 32nd Street in New York City. Avi Weinstock Moshe Majeski negotiated the transaction. * Meridian negotiated new mortgages totaling $6.15 million on (2) elevator apt. buildings with 196 units on Duncan Ave./Kennedy Blvd. in Jersey City, NJ. The loans featured rates at 5.95% with 10 year terms. Israel Schubert Elliot Treitel arranged for the financing.
Economic development and business financing rolled into one In addition, under the Resources Links section, you can find several Web sites of national organizations that provide financing services. For example, links are provided to the Community Development Venture Capital Alliances and The Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions–two groups that provide business financing and investments in an economic-development context.
> * Enhanced Capital Partners, Greenwood Village, provided $1 million in subordinated debt financing to GolfTEC. The golf-instruction company plans to use the capital to increase company-owned store growth by 50 percent and to fund new franchises. GolfTEC, also based in Greenwood Village, is the first golf-instruction company to combine the skills of PGA teaching professionals with a patented blend of video, motion analysis, launch analysis and biofeedback technology.

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The community in Washington is being urged to find out how it will benefit from a new childrens centre. Central Washington Childrens Centre is one of 12 to be established by March next year, each offering a range of services to support families and the development of young children. Information about the centres is available from Norma Hardy, early years and childcare manager, on (0191) 553 5782.
Relationships with family and friends matter a great deal to children and are also important to long-term emotional and psychological development. The United Kingdom compares poorly in that area with other countries. Most distressingly, we have the lowest proportion reporting that their peers are kind and helpful - less than half say that is the case compared with more than 80 per cent in Switzerland.
RUGBY stars dressed up to promote their clubs new family ticket. Fans will be able to buy a family ticket, for two adults and two children, for pounds 50. Tickets can be booked by calling 0871 226 6060.

T-Shirt Printing

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Nowhere perhaps do the health and beauty offerings of drug chains converge more than in the skin care category. Its the perfect category for a drug store, one chain drug category manager says of skin care. The products are good for our customers in terms of protecting their skin from damage -even from cancer–and vital to their looks. A skin care product is a health product and a beauty product at the same time. Its our stock in trade. It is no wonder that leading drug chains have made skin care a major area of focus. At Rite Aid Corp. chairman, president and chief executive officer Mary Sammons noted in June that a new marketing program on summer skin care had already been implemented in the retailers just acquired Brooks Eckerd Pharmacy stores. CVS/Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co. for their part have made a point of highlighting their proprietary skin care lines. At CVS an antiaging line, Skin Effects by Dr. Jeffrey Dover, is among the chains exclusive brands that have 60 points of margin and that are driving the business, president and CEO Tom Ryan said earlier this year. The products are only available at CVS, he stressed.
NEW YORK — Drug stores continue to solidify their reputations as health care destinations, and the trend toward mineral makeup fits in perfectly with that positioning. Although mineral makeup has been used for ages to add color and beauty to the face, the latest wave of such products has a particularly strong health component. Mineral makeup is based on hypoallergenic loose powder, contains no alcohol, perfumes, dyes or preservatives, and naturally nourishes the skin.
Masada Health and Beauty Corp., P.O. Box 4118

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Is your credit union on the hunt for a new core processing system? If so, be aware that nobodys going to make it easy for you. In fact, sometimes theyll do quite the opposite. If vendors arent going to tell you what you want to know, who is? You are, but youll have to do a little digging. Dont accept proclamations at face value. Unearth some skeletons. And never lose sight of the way you want to serve your members, because thats why youre looking for a core processor in the first place.
After seeing the picture on page 75 of the October 2005 issue, I beg the question, What on Earth were you thinking?! publishing such a spectacle for the world to see. The photo of target practice to end the life of a defenseless and otherwise benign beast sends all the wrong messages about guns and those who own and use them. I was particularly dismayed because it gives gun owners and users the reputation as senseless takers of life for no other reason but for target practice. Shame on the ones using their weapons this way!
You must be able to give your PIN number, your list of players - and dont forget to give your name, address and a daytime telephone number.

Guided New York Goose Hunts

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institute next March in Florida. The Faldo Golf Institute by Marriott in Orlando will consist of a nine-hole course, a 27-hole putting facility and one of the largest practice areas in the United States.
The Heaths up so high! In the latest in a series of articles Huddersfield University sports historian Dr Peter Davies explores the heritage of one of the towns most famous golf clubs. HUDDERSFIELDS brightest golfing prospect, Chris Hanson, boasts a first-class sporting pedigree. The 21-year-old learned his trade at Myerscough College, Preston, where he studied sports studies and golf and leisure management.

Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday

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Business Editors High-Tech Writers MISSION VIEJO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 11, 2001 Sir Speedy and PIP Help Enhance the Yahoo! Print Center
For the past several years printing technology has been radically changing the printing industry, and while many printing companies are reluctant to invest in new, state-of-the-art equipment and software out of concern for their return on investment, Print Tech believes it is essential. Print Tech has always considered itself a leader in the quick printing area, and to grow within that arena the company understands that it must evolve within the industry. With that understanding, Print Tech is now offering its customers PrintFLEX(TM), a Web-to-print document customization technology. Print Tech has been working on this technology for the past two years and invested millions to bring its clients to the cutting edge of customized business and marketing communications. “Print Tech has developed PrintFLEX(TM), a technology that will set the benchmark for all print marketing customization, or as we like to say variable data printing on steroids,” says Russell Evans, CEO. “With traditional print, direct marketing returns of .5% to 2% are the norm. PrintFLEX(TM) customization, however, has proven results 10 times the norm and has seen response rates of over 20%. Its about helping our customers market and communicate more successfully to their current and potential clients.”
Gary Morin envisages the day — in the not-too-distant future — when a scanner monitors his household refrigerator and prints out a shopping list. For a man whose business life revolves around printing, the concept is appealing. Morin is executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Lexmark, which with Hewlett-Packard is engaged in a two-horse race to rule the global printing industry. In this age of the Internet, the pace of growth shows no signs of abating.

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Golfs governing bodies are to introduce a one-stroke penalty rule in an attempt to combat slow play. The words “slow play” are to appear in the rulebook for the first time from 1 January. Among the other changes coming into effect next year are ones that permit committees to make local rules to prohibit play from an environmentally sensitive area. A further amendment will deny a player relief when his stance, not the ball, is affected by casual water, ground under repair or certain damage to the course.
Golf - TD Waterhouse tickets on sale — Tickets for the TD Waterhouse Seniors tournament, scheduled May 14-20 at Tiffany Greens Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo., are on sale through TicketMaster, 877-280-6031. Single day tickets are $20. A week-long grounds badge, good Monday through Sunday, is $75. A week-long badge providing clubhouse access costs $100. The 54-hole tournament will run Friday through Sunday.

Putting Contest

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I. INTRODUCTION This study empirically examines person-to-person transactions within the Internet market known as eBay. In this virtual market of unseen participants and products, buyers and sellers face the risks of repudiation, as the counter party may deny the agreement after the fact. Buyers assume risks associated with lack of seller integrity and asymmetric information about the particular product, as the buyer is typically required to send payment before the seller ships the product. In addition, for many eBay transactions, the cost of enforcing a contract is high relative to the transactions value, resulting in a practical absence of legal enforcement. (2) By providing a history of trade execution information, eBay benefits market participants by reducing information asymmetries while achieving substantial transaction cost economies. Market participants relate personal experiences, which eBay uses to calculate a numerical reputation measure for each user. Market participants, in turn, can use this reputation measure to assess counter party risk and adjust bidding behavior accordingly.
Many of the old rules and limitations no longer apply to this new form of marketing, which seeks to talk with, rather than at, the reader. At last count, the Internet links some 46,318 computer networks at sites in 91 countries worldwide. More than half (27,614) the networks are in the United States; not surprisingly, some 20% of these are in California. According to the Internet Domain Survey, conducted in January 1995 by Net Wizards, some 4,852,000 host computers were linked to the Internet. The greatest percentage of these computers were being used in business (27%) and education (23%). The Internet Society estimates an average of 10 users per host. Total users on the net are approaching 50 million, with another million or so getting connected monthly.

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A survey of management holidays in the Wall Street Journal last week claimed that there is a Catch-22 for senior workers: “The enhanced mobility of wireless communications is making it harder for people to disconnect.” According to the report, numerous European high-flyers are spending the beach bars Happy Hour talking to colleagues back home on their mobiles. Technology, naturally, is to blame. The simultaneous arrival of the mobile phone and laptop means theres no escape. The only solution for hard-pressed senior executives is to switch their phones off and claim they are in a location too remote for a signal. But deputies remember - bosses deserve it, thats what they get paid for.
GOOD TO see St George maintaining tradition and ignoring the annual bank holiday. We wonder whether a holiday really is necessary in this day and age?

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> * Enhanced Capital Partners, Greenwood Village, provided $1 million in subordinated debt financing to GolfTEC. The golf-instruction company plans to use the capital to increase company-owned store growth by 50 percent and to fund new franchises. GolfTEC, also based in Greenwood Village, is the first golf-instruction company to combine the skills of PGA teaching professionals with a patented blend of video, motion analysis, launch analysis and biofeedback technology.
We expect heightened activity in the importation of money for capital projects in 2006. Here in Anchorage, funds will be raised ($100 million) for the new Anchorage Convention Center. Additionally, we expect to see additional funds raised for utility development. Alaska Housing Finance Corp. can be expected to continue issuing bonds for ongoing housing and the Alaska Railroad is progressing toward raising funds for rail and economic associated projects. Federally appropriated transportation funds, coupled with large state surpluses of oil revenue, will result in increased state budgets for both operations and infrastructure development. Anchorage will spend federal port appropriations on its major port expansion. As discussions related to the gas pipeline construction continue, it is anticipated that interest of financial giants will be stimulated and result in an increased visitation and interest in Alaska gas line and offshoot industrial projects along the pipeline and its spurs.
FINANCEDividend policy is the decision regarding funds to be distributed or returned to the equity investors. This can be done with common stock dividends, preferred stock dividends, or stock repurchase by the business of its own stock. The aim of this decision is to retain the resources in the business that are required to run the business or make additional investments in the business, as long as the returns earned exceed the required return. In theory, management should return or distribute all resources that cannot be invested in the business at levels in excess of the required return. In practice, however, dividends are often maintained at or changed to certain levels in order to convey the proper signals to the investors and the financial markets. For example, dividends can be maintained at moderate levels to demonstrate stability, maintained at or reduced to low levels to demonstrate the growth opportunities for the business, or increased to higher levels to demonstrate the restoration of a strong financial (capital) structure (debt and equity capital) for the business.Capital is the total of financial resources invested in the business. In terms of the sources, there are two types of capital: interest-bearing debt funds, such as loans, bonds, short-term notes, and interest-bearing payables to trade suppliers; and equity, such as common and preferred stock and the earnings retained in the business that add to stockholders share of the entities. In terms of uses, there are also two types of capital: net working capital, such as operating cash, inventory, and receivables, less interest-free payables to trade suppliers; and fixed capital, such as property, plant, and equipment. Capital is managed to maximize wealth by maximizing the rates of return on investments of capital and thus maximizing the total net present value of the business. This can be done by minimizing the amount of capital used for given business investments with given business returns.Weighted average cost of capital is the weighted average of the returns on investment or future dividends for the stockholders and interest rates on debt for the creditors. This average return should be used as the required return for investments, as mentioned earlier, because it represents the weighted average of the required returns of all the different debt creditors and equity investors. It also represents the weighted average of the costs that can be saved by the business if the resources or financial funds are returned to the creditors and investors instead of being used for investments within the business.

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NEW YORK — The demographic trend that is driving sales of prescription drugs, namely the aging of baby boomers, is also having a positive effect on demand for homeopathic remedies. Consumers who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, when suspicion of mainstream practices–health-related and otherwise–was widespread, are more open to alternative medicine and accepting of homeopathy than earlier generations were. Today many of those consumers are turning to homeopathic remedies to treat themselves and their families.
Sir: The risks of unregulated and irresponsible alternative medicine are rightly highlighted in your report of the article in the New England Journal of Medicine (”Alternative medicine a health risk, say experts”, 17 September). The public may be unaware that in many areas the evidence base for orthodox medicine is non-existent, and the potential for harm substantial. The evidence base for medical homeopathy is far from complete. However, one example of the many supportive studies is as follows. Of a group of 506 outpatients at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital with a range of conditions including back pain, arthritis and allergies, 81 per cent improved with regard to their main problem and 80 per cent in their overall well-being. Of the 300 who were on conventional drugs at the outset, two- thirds reduced or stopped them.

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The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) has issued its March Printing Business Conditions Report, with all indicators signaling that the recession is over for print. The report cautions, however, that the pace of the recovery will be slowed until corporate profits and the ad budgets they support strengthen late in 2002. It also points out that given the way the printing industry is changing, not everyone will share in the recovery–even when it hits full speed. NAPLs Printing Business Conditions Special Update includes information on printing industry sales and profitability, as well as macroeconomic data for the national economy. The update is published six times a year by NAPLs Printing Economic Research Center. The NAPL Printing Business Index (PBI), the associations comprehensive measure of printing industry activity, rose to 53.0 in March, up from 49.6 in February and 39.9 in January, marking the fifth consecutive month the number has risen and the first time since October 2000 that it stands above 50. A PBI reading above 50 signifies that more printers report business is picking up than report business is slowing down. Conversely, an index reading below 50 indicates the opposite position. The PBI is a measure of printing activity that includes critical factors such as current business conditions, expected future business conditions (confidence), work-on-hand, hiring plans and pretax profitability. How much an individual company participates in the upturn ahead will clearly depend on the client mix, and even more on how well the company prepares for the structural change that is redefining our industry, said NAPL vice president and chief economist Andrew Paparozzi. Our markets are changing. So are the kinds of services our clients expect, how we produce and deliver those services and our competition. Thats why, as weve emphasized all along, this wasnt just another recession–and this isnt just another recovery. We are a growth industry, and growth will accelerate considerably over the next 18 months. But this time, a rising tide isnt going to lift all boats.
HP has responded to the trend for colour adoption in in-house marketing, with the recent launch of a suite of high performance LaserJets, OfficeJet all-in-ones and printers, and ScanJets - 17 new imaging and printing products in all.
Dexter will continue to invest in its growing semiconductor and electronic materials businesses.

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The Warwickshire club, Leek Wootton, are to host the World Left-Handed Amateur Championship on 23-26 July, the week after the Open at Lytham. It is the first time the event has been staged in the United Kingdom.
Golfs governing bodies are to introduce a one-stroke penalty rule in an attempt to combat slow play. The words “slow play” are to appear in the rulebook for the first time from 1 January. Among the other changes coming into effect next year are ones that permit committees to make local rules to prohibit play from an environmentally sensitive area. A further amendment will deny a player relief when his stance, not the ball, is affected by casual water, ground under repair or certain damage to the course.
Michael Williams, golf correspondent of the Daily Telegraph,died suddenly yesterday at the age of 63.

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“There are [more than] 30 million Americans who have no health insurance and another 20 million who have inadequate health insurance,” says Rep. Louis Stokes (D0Ohio), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust. “It is mandatory that we begin to try and give Americans–particularly minorities–adequate health care as a right.” The Bush plan would give people not covered by Medicaid tax credits, and families making less than $80,000 a year tax deductions to pay for medical costs. He would also pass laws to ensure that even chronically ill patients could receive health insurance. The plan has received a cool reception on Capitol Hill, and alternate proposals, including a full-scale, government-paid national health insurance plan, are under development. But what does America really want for its health care system? The views are many.
Part II, explanatory economics, represents the bulk of the book. The economics of demand, price elasticity, risk aversion, and the effect of insurance on the demand for medical services are explained clearly and well. Behavior of suppliers in the medical care market is reviewed, with attention given to differences in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. A solid explanation of competitive markets allows discussion of timely issues such as the limits of applicability of the competitive model to the medical care market, price and nonprice competition, and market power of providers, purchasers, and patients. Outside readings on current managed competition proposals would augment the textbook discussion well.A short section on the economic effects of information asymmetries in the medical care and health insurance market introduces the concepts of supplier induced demand and adverse selection. Both discussions are short, but the portion on adverse selection especially needs expansion. More rigor, explanatory graphs, and a more extensive bibliography would make the adverse selection concept more useful. This topic is critical to a sound understanding of the functioning of medical expense insurance.The final section deals with value judgments and evaluative economics. The nontechnical explanation of efficiency versus fairness criteria for evaluating medical care policy is somewhat cursory. More technical material is needed to improve the precision of this discussion. However, even without any additions, the text provides a general background on issues of access to medical care, affordability, and quality of care. The difficulty of making allocation decisions given scarce resources is clearly laid out and opens the way for a discussion of policy alternatives.

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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The day after the worst blackout in U.S. history, Verizon Wireless came out boasting. ATT Wireless and Sprint both reported widespread service outages thanks to a combination of power failures to back-up systems and a huge spike in phone usage. Verizon Wireless, however, reported that its network is fully operational, although customers in the New York City and other impacted areas are asked to be patient if their calls do not go through on the first attempt due to very heavy calling.

EOS Wireless

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In Print THANKSGIVING WITH THE PILGRIMSWhen Stevie decides he doesnt believe in Santa and publicly says so, worldwide naughtiness surges. So Santa decides to make a believer out of Stevie by taking him on a behind-the-scenes look at Kringle Industries. Author James Solheim and illustrator Barry Gott fill Santas Secrets Revealed: All Your Questions Answered About Santas Super Sleigh, His Flying Reindeer, and Other Wonders with lots of humor and imagination. For ages 5-8. 40 pp. $15.95 from Carolrhoda Books. To order call 800-328-4929.
In Print

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ABSTRACT Policy makers in beach communities are faced with limited resources and continuing demand for public services, and must make difficult decisions about how to allocate the public funds entrusted to them. Those in charge of protecting and managing vital beach resources must justify their decisions in terms of benefits to the natural environment and demonstrate fiscal accountability if they wish to maintain public support. Often they are asked to justify their decisions in terms of the economic value that is generated for the community (Font, 2000). One of the primary economic benefits that these communities enjoy is spending related to beach tourism. Beach related tourist activity in the Northwest Florida area has long been a major source of employment for local residents, sales for local companies, and tax revenues for local government. Tourisms contribution to economic activity in the area is therefore an important consideration in community planning. Economic analyses that provide tangible estimates of these economic interdependencies and a better understanding of the role and importance of tourism in a regions economy are valuable to policy makers.
The poll also lists the top five components travelers are looking for in a family vacation, which are cost, safety, sightseeing opportunities, reliably good weather and opportunities for recreation.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most Americans will still take their hard-earned summer vacations and dine recreationally this year, albeit more frugally because of the troubled economy, tourism and hospitality analysts predict. However, many travelers are not expected to venture as far from home as in past years or stay away as long, said tourism experts and restaurateurs with locations in seasonal-getaway destinations.

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More hotel news, as we got word last week that the Holiday Inn Little Rock-Airport East will temporarily close its doors on Nov. 17 to begin a $10 million renovation. The hotel at 3201 Bankhead Drive is expected to be closed nearly 18 months during the makeover, which also includes the addition of a new restaurant. The once-hopping Bobbisox nightclub inside the hotel will become a Bostons the Gourmet Pizza Restaurant Sports Bar. Dallas-based Bostons (go figure) features a wide range of entrees from sandwiches to baby-back ribs and, you guessed it, gourmet pizzas.
Tv bosses are on the look out for a family who are happy to swap Tyneside for Las Vegas on a free holiday. RDF media, makers of the award winning Faking It and Wife Swap, are producing a new prime time holiday show for ITV1. It will involve matching up families who feel passionately about their holiday, whisking them away to their favourite holiday destinations where they pursue each others holiday plans.

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NEW YORK — The demographic trend that is driving sales of prescription drugs, namely the aging of baby boomers, is also having a positive effect on demand for homeopathic remedies. Consumers who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, when suspicion of mainstream practices–health-related and otherwise–was widespread, are more open to alternative medicine and accepting of homeopathy than earlier generations were. Today many of those consumers are turning to homeopathic remedies to treat themselves and their families.
The drama of mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and the managed redirection of health care resources away from acute care hospitals and high-technology medicine has overshadowed another change in the contemporary health care culture (Duva, 1990; Edmonds Hallman, 1995; Gabel, 1997; Salmon, 1995). The purpose of this article is to discuss the growing interest in alternative health care and offer an explanation for this phenomenon. Alternative health care is not easily defined. Often it is explained by describing what it is not — the scientific practice of nursing or medicine as it has come to be understood in first world countries during this century. Physicians who are sympathetic to the movement say that alternative therapy encompasses a broad spectrum of practices and beliefs (Eisenberg et al., 1993), and reflects a holistic world view of health and illness that is outside the biomedical mainstream of medicine (Rauckhorst, 1997). Other writers compare and contrast traditional and alternative medicine as a way of defining its practice. Western medicine is specialized; alternative care is holistic. Scientific practice is evaluated by its outcomes and its coherence with protocols; alternative therapy is not in conformity with the standards of the medical community and is considered to be unorthodox. Little is known about its safety, efficacy, or effectiveness (Gevitz, 1988; Lohr, 1997; U.S. Congress, 1990). The science of medicine is taught and practiced in universities and hospitals; alternative care is not widely taught is U.S. medical or nursing schools and is generally unavailable in American hospitals (Eisenberg et al., 1993; Engebretson Wardell, 1993). Insurance companies and federal and state governments pay for traditional medical care. With few exceptions (acupuncture and chiropractic medicine), alternative therapy has not been included as a health benefit by health insurance companies (Eisenberg, 1997). Recently, however, Oxford Health Plans announced its intention to offer coverage for alternative health care and provided its enrollees with a list of providers and services (Oxford Launches, 1998). There is an elaborate certification and licensing system for health care providers and hospitals; the world of alternative therapy is unregulated and its practitioners are usually unlicensed and uncertified (Eisenberg, 1997).
NORWALK, Conn. — Theres an old tradition in standard medical circles of dismissing so-called alternative medicine as everything from witchcraft to nonsense. The move, the first by a major U.S. health-care company, suggests that the industry is giving some credence to consumer claims that certain kinds of alternative medicine work. In fact, many insurers already cover some types of alternative medicine, such as therapy by chiropractors — although few cover less conventional treatments like herbology, in which herbs are used to treat diseases. “Its really driven by consumer demand,” said Hassan Rifaat, manager of Oxfords alternative-medicine division. Analysts and industry executives say the market for alternative medicine amounts to billions, though the exact amount is up in the air. Norwalk, Conn.-based Oxford pegs the market at about $50 billion; others estimate a more conservative $18 billion to $20 billion. Today, most of that money is paid out of pocket by consumers. Yet, the size of the alternative-medicine market doesnt necessarily translate into a boost for the bottom line of health- care companies or insurers. For example, employers that subscribe to Oxford plans can sign up to provide coverage for alternative treatments by paying a 3 percent increase in premiums, the company said. Even if all Oxford customers added that coverage, it would represent only a small portion of the $1.73 billion in premiums that the company collected in 1995. “Its not an area with any real commercial significance,” said Paine Webber Inc. analyst David Lothson. That could change — or thats what alternative-care providers hope. HMOs now cover 60 million Americans, while another 80 million are covered through other forms of managed care and traditional medical insurance. “As more services are covered, the more alternative treatments people will try,” said Neal Heller, chairman and chief executive of Natural Health Trends Corp., which runs schools that train massage therapists and operates clinics that offer alternative-health treatments. Plenty of people are already convinced that alternative treatments work. The American Chiropractic Association reports that about 20 million people visit chiropractors each year, though only half of the nations HMOs cover those services. Oxford said its recent decision was based on member demand after a tremendous response to an article on the subject in its member magazine. The company, which provides coverage to about 1.4 million people in the eastern United States through its HMOs and other plans, isnt just limiting coverage to treatments now widely seen as effective, such as visits to chiropractors. Included in its new network of 1,000 alternative-medicine specialists are acupuncturists, naturopathic doctors, massage therapists, yoga instructors, clinical nutritionists and registered dietitians, along with a division to sell herbs and holistic devices. It said it also plans to add other services, like the Chinese martial art taichi. Some other health care companies, such as American Western Life Insurance Co. and Kaiser Permanente Health Plans, offer a limited range of alternative-medical services, but none have developed a full network and benefits plan comparable to Oxfords. “Mainstream HMOs and insurers are skeptical,” said Natural Healths Heller. Indeed, more Americans have taken a greater interest in their own health and preventive care, particularly as HMOs strive to cut costs by placing limits on certain types of treatments. “They feel as though modern medicine has failed them,” Heller said. While coverage of alternative treatments is on the rise, it will take several years before theres wide acceptance among benefit plans and insurers, analysts and executives said. When that happens, Heller said, his clinics will be ready.

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Patterns Patterns is a three-part video that casts a critical eye on the behavioral issues surrounding sexual harassment. It addresses prevention as well as the skills needed to respond to potentially harassing situations. The three programs in the series are Preventing Sexual Harassment (for all employees); Responding to Sexual Harassment (for organizational leadership); and Rights and Responsibilities (a new-employee orientation program). Preventing Sexual Harassment. The video opens with a discussion that defines sexual harassment but soon moves on to the behaviors associated with harassment and its effect on individuals and the organization. At the videos heart is a series of vignettes that enable the audience to examine inappropriate patterns of behavior and the appropriate response to each. Clear and explicit examples of unsuitable workplace behavior are followed by comprehensive explanations of why each constitutes sexual harassment.
SKS VIDEO PRODUCTIONS

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The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2002;187(3), Part 2, focuses on how and why womens health and gender-based competencies should be woven into the fabric of undergraduate medical education. It discusses appropriate components of the health and medical curriculum, and combining health care competencies with educational objectives and models for teaching reproductive health.
Part II, explanatory economics, represents the bulk of the book. The economics of demand, price elasticity, risk aversion, and the effect of insurance on the demand for medical services are explained clearly and well. Behavior of suppliers in the medical care market is reviewed, with attention given to differences in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. A solid explanation of competitive markets allows discussion of timely issues such as the limits of applicability of the competitive model to the medical care market, price and nonprice competition, and market power of providers, purchasers, and patients. Outside readings on current managed competition proposals would augment the textbook discussion well.A short section on the economic effects of information asymmetries in the medical care and health insurance market introduces the concepts of supplier induced demand and adverse selection. Both discussions are short, but the portion on adverse selection especially needs expansion. More rigor, explanatory graphs, and a more extensive bibliography would make the adverse selection concept more useful. This topic is critical to a sound understanding of the functioning of medical expense insurance.The final section deals with value judgments and evaluative economics. The nontechnical explanation of efficiency versus fairness criteria for evaluating medical care policy is somewhat cursory. More technical material is needed to improve the precision of this discussion. However, even without any additions, the text provides a general background on issues of access to medical care, affordability, and quality of care. The difficulty of making allocation decisions given scarce resources is clearly laid out and opens the way for a discussion of policy alternatives.

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Business Editors Personalized Information, Shopping and E-mail Now Available
Porta Phone is the leading supplier of full duplex simultaneous wireless headsets. Digicom digital wireless is a full duplex system that affords coaches a hands-free, open line of communications, with no buttons to push.
Booth 3058 The NetLink s340 and s640 Docking Stations provide a desktop telephone set that charges the NetLink e340 or NetLink i640 Wireless handsets, as well as functioning as a full-featured digital PBX extension. Equipped with a speakerphone, charging cradle and optional push-to-talk capability, the desksets are ideal for managers and staff personnel who need the convenience of a desk phone and the flexibility of a wireless handset. Because the docking stations communicate via the wireless infrastructure, they also reduce wiring costs and provide telephone access in difficult-to-wire environments.–Spectra Link

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William Jay Smiths The Girl in Glass: Love Poems is forthcoming from Brooks Co.
HUNTING SEASON DRIVES NORTHWEST COLORADOS ECONOMY Without hunting season, I would not be in business, said Jim Simos, owner of Cashway Distributors in Craig, what Simos calls one of the last of the great general stores of the retail industry. I would not be able to maintain this inventory and would be out of business in a year. Simos has plenty of neighbors who are just as reliant on big-game hunters.

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In PrintWritten by experienced science educators Karen Rohrich Ansberry and Emily Morgan, Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Childrens Books to Guide Inquiry, Grades 3-6, contains 15 standards-based, ready-to-teach science lessons that integrate science and reading in a natural way for young learners. Drawing on diverse and high-quality picture books, this volume covers a broad spectrum of science content and provides lesson plans with reproducible student pages and assessments. 304 pp. $28.95 from NSTA Press. To order, call 800-277-5300.BRINGING UP BOYS
In Print THANKSGIVING WITH THE PILGRIMSWhen Stevie decides he doesnt believe in Santa and publicly says so, worldwide naughtiness surges. So Santa decides to make a believer out of Stevie by taking him on a behind-the-scenes look at Kringle Industries. Author James Solheim and illustrator Barry Gott fill Santas Secrets Revealed: All Your Questions Answered About Santas Super Sleigh, His Flying Reindeer, and Other Wonders with lots of humor and imagination. For ages 5-8. 40 pp. $15.95 from Carolrhoda Books. To order call 800-328-4929.

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The smallest number of domestic vacationers (8 percent) travel between 500 and 599 miles. Since 84 percent of all vacation trips utilize a car, truck, or recreational vehicle, and 54 percent of all family trips include kids, its easy to see why 599 miles isnt a terribly popular travel distance, falling just after Im so bored I could scream and a little before I want to go home. According to the TIAs forecast, 63 percent of Americans intended to do some vacation travelling this summer, a number that has remained fairly stable during the past six years - as has the number of people for whom vacation travel means trips to the bathroom - 14 percent of those polled by the TIA predicted they would be spending their vacation time going nowhere in the summer of 1999. The reason? Money, for one.
The poll also lists the top five components travelers are looking for in a family vacation, which are cost, safety, sightseeing opportunities, reliably good weather and opportunities for recreation.
Military recreation areas and lodging facilities offer an array of low-cost, fall and winter vacation spots. Deciding what you want to do is the tough part For many, fall and winter are the best travel times of the year. Some want to escape the ice and snow while others embrace its recreational offerings. Whatever your pursuit, there are special military facilities and resorts available to you and your family. WINTER VACATION WITH THE CANADIAN MILITARY. Falls Lake, Nova Scotia, is a year-round resort that the Canadian military operates just a 45minute drive from Halifax. During the winter, guests can enjoy their lodge and ski nearby at the Mattock Ski Area. They invite all U.S. military LD. cardholders to join in the fun.

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BET you cant wait to book your hols now that we hear theyre slashing prices everywhere.
A pretty poor World Cup, apart from one half against Australia, has left Scotlands reputation damaged but with new coach Matt Williams on board, there is at least a fresh feel around Murrayfield. Current form: Not great. A win over Italy before the World Cup was followed by defeats to Wales and Ireland. Then narrow wins over Japan and Fiji got Scotland through the group stage but there was a record defeat to France before the inevitable exit at the hands of Australia. Weaknesses: The centres are not the strongest and there is no proven scorer out wide, although Simon Danielli looked impressive in the RWC match against the US.

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The video, Khyal: Classical Singing of North India, Producer: The Open University, Milton Keynes, England. Reviewer: *Krish Nanda, is a fan of Indian classical music, and teaches Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University as an adjunct professor. (drnanda@bellatlantic.net)
THE LORD OF THE RINGS (PG) Legions of Ringers will be happy as Tolkeins fantasy novel and much- pilfered epic finally makes it to the small screen in this suprisingly faithful adaptation. Middle Earth is fabulously realised by the director Peter Jackson; shot in New Zealand, the Shires, home to the Hobbits, looks like the Home Counties crossed with Wales. An embarrassment of famous names and faces populate Tolkeins world, but the particularly hirsute Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen - as the wizards Saruman and Gandalf - steal the film from beneath the far- too-cutesy feet of the enthusiastic Elijah Wood (pictured left), who plays Frodo. Still, at least the video format helps offset the longueurs of the big-screen version - fast-forward through the unremitting journey- fight-rest pattern of the film and it will seem far pacier than when you sat through it in the cinema.
VIDEO: AOL chief Jonathan Miller has seen the future of television–and reckons its the PC. Video consumption is exploding online, and on-demand is going to be the dominant way to consume content, Miller said last month at the MIPTV/MILIA trade show. Indeed, its arguably a sign of the times that the Emmys have a new category this year for outstanding original programming for computers, cellphones and other handheld devices, including the video iPod (the winner of which was to be announced after we went to press).

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It is difficult to write objectively and dispassionately of something about which one feels strongly, for or against. Tell me a mans a foxhunter and I loves him at once said Mr Jorrocks. Today he is more likely to be an object of censure, Mr Jorrocks too. The future of hunting hangs in the balance, a prospect unthinkable to Will Ogilvie who wrote in the twenties:
By Lindsey Geisler The Governors Annual Easter Egg Hunt was anything but a sure bet this year. Storms that raged Friday night threatened to continue into Saturday. That would have forced the event to move to a downtown parking garage where candy would have been handed out.
You must be able to give your PIN number, your list of players - and dont forget to give your name, address and a daytime telephone number.

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Daimler-Benz yesterday decided not to let its German rivals leave it in the dust in super-luxury cars, approving plans to go ahead with production of a limousine to compete with Rolls-Royce. As Volkswagen and BMW reached a settlement on taking over Rolls brands, Daimlers management board gave the go-ahead for production of the Maybach, which it has previewed at auto shows for the past year. “With the positive decision for the production of the Mercedes- Benz Maybach, we are underscoring once more our claim to represent the absolute top in every market segment,” said Daimler chief executive Mr Jurgen Schrempp.
GREAT food, cheap wine and an unspoilt landscape make France the most popular destination with Britons for short breaks and longer holidays. JACQUI THAKE takes a trip through the countryside of Limousin. AS we planned the morning hike across the countryside of Limousin our French hostess urged us: “Make sure you wear your baskets.” Confusion turned to hilarity when we realised that baskets in French meant trainers. Anyway, suitably booted for our expedition round the magnificent Lac du Causse in the Couze Valley, we set off in high spirits as the sun had come out at last.
Limousine has diverse meanings, from an inhabitant of the region around Limoges, once called Limousin, and which in the 18th century was looked at askance as home to “an old barbarous French, formerly brought into this country out of France”. The OED overlooks the limousine which was a cloak worn by the driver of a cart whose passenger section was shielded from the elements - hence the vehicle itself and all those gaudy, dark- windowed successors which could house nine cows.

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David Holmes, Chief Executive of BAAF
BET you cant wait to book your hols now that we hear theyre slashing prices everywhere.

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Limousine has diverse meanings, from an inhabitant of the region around Limoges, once called Limousin, and which in the 18th century was looked at askance as home to “an old barbarous French, formerly brought into this country out of France”. The OED overlooks the limousine which was a cloak worn by the driver of a cart whose passenger section was shielded from the elements - hence the vehicle itself and all those gaudy, dark- windowed successors which could house nine cows.
PLEASANTON — From the moment Bill Wheeler told his friends and family that he was serious about getting into the limousine business, few took him for his word. Wheeler was the last person they could picture going into a business that revolved around punctuality. “I had never been on time anywhere in my life,” Wheeler said. “What people didnt understand is that if I were paid to be on time, then thats an entirely different matter.”

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Valley Inc. 2
Valley Inc. 2
for Debra Kang Dean PETER MAKUCKs most recent collection of poems, Against Distance, was released by BOA Editions in 1997. His short stories have lately appeared in Texas Review and Ohio Review, and a personal essay on guns is forthcoming in Hudson Review.

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for Debra Kang Dean PETER MAKUCKs most recent collection of poems, Against Distance, was released by BOA Editions in 1997. His short stories have lately appeared in Texas Review and Ohio Review, and a personal essay on guns is forthcoming in Hudson Review.
Capitol City Real Estate2

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Ask an expert A Colorado Springs woman who decided to drive to Denver instead of flying the first leg of her trip to Chicago showed up at DIA only to find her entire trip had been canceled by the airline. How did this happen? Local travel agent Tim Lange gets asked questions like this all the time. Hes a member of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents, and if he doesnt have an answer, hell find one.
Rockin on the River If you dont already have plans today, head south to Pueblo for the third annual River Rockn Blues Fest at the Greenway Nature Center. The music starts at noon and continues till 10 p.m. and features local and regional blues groups, as well as guest star Billy Earl McClelland from Alabama. No pets or alcohol permitted. Call (719) 549-2414 for more.
Denver bound?

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Real estate is a popular investment among Canadians. There are several advantages to investing in real estate. Real estate is leveraged. You may pay only a fraction (as low as 10%) of what the property is worth when you buy it. Real estate has utility. If you buy stocks or bonds, you cannot do anything with them; but when you buy real estate, you can use it until you sell it. For example, you can live in a house.
Real estate practice is a broad and widely defined area of the law. In a pristine sense it deals with the esoteric subject of real property law and titles. In practice the subject matter handled by real property lawyers is much broader. Many of the areas of law within real estate practice are areas of specialty themselves. Real estate lawyers examine and evaluate real property titles, handle real estate sales, purchases and other transactions, foreclose mortgages, represent developers and contractors in drafting and negotiating development and construction agreements, handle real estate financing, structure and draft the governing documents for planned developments such as condominiums, serve as counsel to community and condominium associations, draft and negotiate leases, litigate title, boundary, and other land disputes, and advise clients respecting zoning and land: use matters. The examination of real estate titles requires knowledge of corporations and other forms of business organization, wills, trusts and estates, and a practitioner handling transactions must understand contractual, business, and tax subjects as well. The subjects that are tested on the certification exam attest to this diversity. They are title issues; real estate finance; environmental and land use; condominiums and homeowner associations; landlord tenant; closings; sellers, buyers, brokers, and title insurers; real property litigation; taxation of entities and other tax issues; and ethics. Some hold an impression that at least some aspects of the real estate practice are not challenging, that the practice is increasingly title company, form, and paralegal driven, and that when business is light any lawyer with a good paralegal can Ado real estate closings. This impression is not accurate. As with any area of practice, successfully representing clients in real estate matters requires knowledge, skill, and experience. The diversity in real estate practice may mean that no one lawyer can be an expert in each practice area encompassing the modern real property practice or that are tested by the certification program. That, however, is not a reason to not seek certification. The committee recognizes that few lawyers are likely to possess specific and detailed expertise in each of the many subjects that fall within the scope of real estate.

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Ask an expert A Colorado Springs woman who decided to drive to Denver instead of flying the first leg of her trip to Chicago showed up at DIA only to find her entire trip had been canceled by the airline. How did this happen? Local travel agent Tim Lange gets asked questions like this all the time. Hes a member of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents, and if he doesnt have an answer, hell find one.
Butterfly expansion The World Travel 101 workshops, sponsored by Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels, will visit Colorado Springs with a session on traveling in Australia and New Zealand. It will cover possible itineraries, transportation options, ways to save money, packing, travel documents and safety. The free event is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the REI store at 13476 E. Woodmen Road. Call the store at 260-1455.
Hut! Hut! Hut!/ NOT JUST FOR WINTER ANYMORE The 10th Mountain Division Hut system isnt just for cross- country skiers. The huts are open all year around for hikers and mountain bikers, too. Learn more at a free program given by Jarod Trowe at 7 p.m. Thursday at REI, Academy Boulevard and Woodmen Road.

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Mary Skiffington has joined the fine homes residential division of Cassidy Associates Real Estate, Inc. Peter Middleton, real estate sales agent for RE/MAX of La Jolla, has been ranked among the top 100 RE/MAX sales agents in California for sales volume from January to June 2002. Gina Drucker and Karen Pado have joined RE/MAX of Rancho Bernardo as a real estate sales team. International Real Estate has added Eric B. Shwisberg as vice president and general counsel.
Noonan has nine years of experience in sales and marketing, specializing in North County coastal neighborhoods.
Real estate is a popular investment among Canadians. There are several advantages to investing in real estate. Real estate is leveraged. You may pay only a fraction (as low as 10%) of what the property is worth when you buy it. Real estate has utility. If you buy stocks or bonds, you cannot do anything with them; but when you buy real estate, you can use it until you sell it. For example, you can live in a house.

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Eastenders star Daniella Westbrook gets her mum, Sue, to handle her finances. Daniella, 22, walked straight out of the Sylvia Young Theatre School into her part of Sam Butcher when she was just 16. “The first thing mum did was to take me off to an accountant to get my financial affairs sorted out,” she says. “The one thing they dont teach you at stage school is about doing your income tax and VAT.
THOUGH HE WAS ONCE tarred as a “Keating Five” Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is now running hard on a platform of cleaning up a campaign finance system We checked in with CEOs who keep a keen pulse on Washington to get their take on how to stem the stench-and the perception of stench-that often flows with large campaign donations. All agree that reform is badly needed, but each has his own, often unique, take on how to go about it-and whether it will ever really happen. A couple of our CEOs formed their views of the money pit from both sides of the hollow, having recently run for elected office themselves. -MERYL DAVIDS

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Eastenders star Daniella Westbrook gets her mum, Sue, to handle her finances. Daniella, 22, walked straight out of the Sylvia Young Theatre School into her part of Sam Butcher when she was just 16. “The first thing mum did was to take me off to an accountant to get my financial affairs sorted out,” she says. “The one thing they dont teach you at stage school is about doing your income tax and VAT.
UNION, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 2, 1995–The Money Store Inc. (NASDAQ-MONE) today announced the establishment of The Money Store Auto Finance, a new division that will focus on financing previously owned vehicles.Headquartered in Sacramento, California, the new auto finance unit will purchase sales contracts from both franchise and independent auto dealers.With The Money Stores name recognition, experience in building and managing national origination networks and credit and servicing systems, knowledge of the sub-prime borrower, and commitment to technology, we believe we have the ability to establish a national presence in this market.

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How To Save Money And Organize Your Finances 1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403
UNION, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 2, 1995–The Money Store Inc. (NASDAQ-MONE) today announced the establishment of The Money Store Auto Finance, a new division that will focus on financing previously owned vehicles.Headquartered in Sacramento, California, the new auto finance unit will purchase sales contracts from both franchise and independent auto dealers.With The Money Stores name recognition, experience in building and managing national origination networks and credit and servicing systems, knowledge of the sub-prime borrower, and commitment to technology, we believe we have the ability to establish a national presence in this market.
Money and Finance in the Age of Merchant Capitalism, by John Day. Malden, Massachusetts, Blackwell, 1999. viii, 165 pp. $29.95 U.S. (paper). The first essay, an outline of general trends in European monetary history from the middle ages to the industrial revolution, including inflation and the development of bank money, is pithy and engaging. Two other essays are specific studies of monetary problems in the economies of Venice and Sardinia, and there is a lengthy survey of the various problems different early modern states had in maintaining the mint standards of their respective metallic currencies. A general theme which surfaces in all of these essays is, as Day puts it, the chronic instability of the metallic money supply (p. 108) which became even more exacerbated in times of bullion shortage. Day provides plenty of evidence of the pressures this put on governments to engage in devaluation in attempts to counter the shortage of specie in the economy. In addition, he also shows that the huge, but very under-researched, social problem created by currency shortages, in the form of an extreme scarcity of reliable small change which could be used by the poor, was a general European phenomenon. Although the first essay provides an introduction to Days interests, it was not written specifically to introduce this set of essays and thus his position on monetary history is not explicitly stated. These essays show, however, that he clearly subscribes to the quantity theory of monetary history, although he does not address any of the criticisms which have been levelled against it. For Day, economic expansion was directly linked to the amount of bullion available to the European economy. Thus he sees the depression of the fifteenth century linked to a bullion famine in these years, while the subsequent economic expansion of the sixteenth century was caused by new mining and the influx of American gold and silver. He then sees a subsequent economic slowdown in the seventeenth century followed by a renewed growth in the bullion supply in the eighteenth century — permitting the industrial revolution. There was certainly an important relationship between money in circulation and economic expansion, but it is not such a simple longue duree functionalism as suggested by Day. There was a third factor in the equation which was credit, and this did not inevitably expand proportionally in relation to the bullion supply, even though it was stimulated by an expanded circulation of the latter. Thus for instance J .R. Wordie has argued that, while much new silver may have come into England in the sixteenth century, it did not stay there because of the costs of foreign war and recurring trade deficits. But, despite this fact, credit increased dramatically. Along similar lines, customs revenues show that Englands import trade was expanding rapidly in the late seventeenth century, as her money supply shrank, partly to pay for such imports. This famously led to the great recoinage and the creation of the Bank of England, but it would be hard to characterize the 1670s and 1680s as a period of economic depression because of a shortage of bullion. The shortage did cause problems in the 1690s, but this didnt translate into an economic depression for the whole of the seventeenth century. Thus, any examination of the relationship between money and economic performance needs to take credit into account as a linked and equally important component in financial systems and should be looked at micro-economically in the short term because of the institutional nature of credit.

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Political Economy of Money and Finance Macmillan, London; and St. Martins Press, New York, 1999. This is an exceedingly important book. it is probably the most important contribution to the Marxian theory of money, credit and finance to appear in English since the translation of Suzanne de Brunhoffs Marx on Money in 1976. Itoh and Lapavitsas book includes a wealth of information, superb literature reviews, profound analyses of the historical evidence and substantiated discussions of controversial policy issues, whose digestion will keep even the most demanding readers busy for a long time. Their argument is invariably thorough, and their research ranges widely, and admirably, from the logical and historical origins of money to free banking, and from long wave theories to socialist money. In spite of its virtues, and partly because of them, this book will probably not become an icon of the literature, although it will certainly become a major reference in the field (which may well be a better option). The reason is simple: Itoh and Lapavitsas probe very deeply into Marxs theory of money and credit, marshal evidence widely, and engage in a wide variety of debates, not least with Marx himself (eg., they criticise certain aspects of Marxs theory of money, on pp.37-40, and credit, on pp.64-5). As their work is very ambitious, complex and controversial, it is unlikely to be universally acclaimed.
Eastenders star Daniella Westbrook gets her mum, Sue, to handle her finances. Daniella, 22, walked straight out of the Sylvia Young Theatre School into her part of Sam Butcher when she was just 16. “The first thing mum did was to take me off to an accountant to get my financial affairs sorted out,” she says. “The one thing they dont teach you at stage school is about doing your income tax and VAT.

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The joys of flying on your birthday have been much discussed in this column: cakes, champagne and even upgrades can be laid on for the celebrant. But Kate Thorman of Oxford found that becoming 12 provided her with a Catch-22 problem. “So, on the one hand Kate is old enough to pay the adult fare, but on the other hand she is too young to travel without a paid escort,” says her exasperated father. At this point, Mr Thorman gave up and booked with another airline; then poor Kate found her birthday flight delayed by four hours at Birmingham airport. “Come back, Gorbachev, all is forgiven,” pleads Philip Robinson of Sheffield. “The last time I visited my friend in Minsk, this city was in the USSR. I flew to Moscow, took a train to Minsk, and all was well.”
The Lying Game James W. Loewen, a guy obsessed with the dissemination of misinformation (”Lies My Teacher Told Me”) is back with “Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong” (Touchstone, $15). Its not precisely a travel guide, but its a good guide for travelers who visit historic sites. Did you know the Traditional Lincoln Birthplace Cabin in Kentucky is a composite of several old cabins, none of which are where the late great president was born? Some examples he gives are lies by omission, others an attempt to be politically correct - but inaccuracies are rife, nonetheless.
World Travel 101 Want to travel on the cheap? Holly Ridenour of Hostelling International, Rocky Mountain Council, will talk about using hostels as inexpensive accommodations while traveling. Her free talk is 7- 8:30 p.m. Thursday at REI, 1376 E. Woodmen Road. Call 260-1455 for information.

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Noonan has nine years of experience in sales and marketing, specializing in North County coastal neighborhoods.
Real estate practice is a broad and widely defined area of the law. In a pristine sense it deals with the esoteric subject of real property law and titles. In practice the subject matter handled by real property lawyers is much broader. Many of the areas of law within real estate practice are areas of specialty themselves. Real estate lawyers examine and evaluate real property titles, handle real estate sales, purchases and other transactions, foreclose mortgages, represent developers and contractors in drafting and negotiating development and construction agreements, handle real estate financing, structure and draft the governing documents for planned developments such as condominiums, serve as counsel to community and condominium associations, draft and negotiate leases, litigate title, boundary, and other land disputes, and advise clients respecting zoning and land: use matters. The examination of real estate titles requires knowledge of corporations and other forms of business organization, wills, trusts and estates, and a practitioner handling transactions must understand contractual, business, and tax subjects as well. The subjects that are tested on the certification exam attest to this diversity. They are title issues; real estate finance; environmental and land use; condominiums and homeowner associations; landlord tenant; closings; sellers, buyers, brokers, and title insurers; real property litigation; taxation of entities and other tax issues; and ethics. Some hold an impression that at least some aspects of the real estate practice are not challenging, that the practice is increasingly title company, form, and paralegal driven, and that when business is light any lawyer with a good paralegal can Ado real estate closings. This impression is not accurate. As with any area of practice, successfully representing clients in real estate matters requires knowledge, skill, and experience. The diversity in real estate practice may mean that no one lawyer can be an expert in each practice area encompassing the modern real property practice or that are tested by the certification program. That, however, is not a reason to not seek certification. The committee recognizes that few lawyers are likely to possess specific and detailed expertise in each of the many subjects that fall within the scope of real estate.

Chicago Gold Coast real estate

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CHARLIE Parker said, “Romance without finance is a nuisance.” And whether youre just married, just moving in, or just starting out, you know that making romance and finance work can be a frustrating and confusing experience. Navigating the mess is critical because financial problems can strain some relationships to the breaking point, says author Nick Chiles. The South Orange, N.J., resident has written a series of relationship books with his wife, Denene Millner, including What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know About Sex: The Real Deal on Passion, Loving and Intimacy. “When we start thinking about spending the rest of our lives with someone, security becomes the prominent necessity. For both sexes, when we think about loving someone, we think about what our lives will be like with this person,” says Chiles, an award-winning journalist who has a psychology degree from Yale University. “So money pops up pretty immediately.”
Money, Finance, and Capitalist Development, edited by Philip Arestis and Malcolm Sawyer. Northampton, Mass.: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2001. Cloth, ISBN: 1840645989, $95.00. 269 pages. John and Wendy Cornwall begin the essays by outlining what they call an evolutionary-Keynesian analysis of capitalist performance (p. 11). They correctly note that economic change cannot be adequately analyzed within the neoclassical framework, which assumes a self-regulating system always tending toward a full-employment equilibrium. Their alternative stresses aggregate demand and its institutional determinants. It also stresses endogenous structural change and the impact of history upon capitalist development. Alth