Government, Politics, and the Economy Retail Sales Rebound Into Xmas as Shares Show Consumer Not Dead From the recent spike in sales, it's beginning to look a lot like the retail holiday season will be happier than predicted. Bloomberg.comManagement and OperationsWhy Unemployed College Grads Should Channel Their Inner Entrepreneur Recent college graduates who are unemployed should think about taking to their entrepreneurial skills and start their own business. BusinessKnowHow.comManagement and Operations [Read Full Article]

  Government, Politics and the Economy Democatic Senators: Climate-Change Legislation Should Be Dropped This Year Four Democratic senators as calling for the Senate to abandon efforts to pass legislation curbing greenhouse-gas emissions this year and concentrate on a narrower bill to require use of renewable energy. Bloomberg.com Management and Operations 10 Things Not to Say to Customers There are great things to say to a customer, and then there are things that will drive that same customer into the arms of the competition. Here are the top 10 things not to say to a customer and what you and your people should say instead.... [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics and the Economy Jobless Claims Rise There was an unexpected jump in first-time unemployment claims even as continuing claims drop. FoxBusiness.com Management and Operations The Most Annoying People to Work With: The Top 13 Irritations Wherever you work, even in your own business, you find people who have turned the merely annoying into high art. Now that art has been classified and here are the top 13 offenders. ManageSmarter.com [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics and the Economy Survey: Poor Sales Lead to Business Closings According to a recent NFIB survey, poor sales are the number-one problem afflicting America's small businesses. Moreover, few small business owners expect consumers to start spending again any time soon. CNNMoney.com Fed to Keep Rates Steady and Slow Bond Purchases The Federal Reserve is holding interest rates steady and intends to "slow the pace" of its emergency bond-buying program. USAToday.com Management and Operations [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics and the Economy Congress Urged to Raise Debt Limit Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has saddled Congress with the task—for the second time this year—of quickly increasing the maximum amount of money the federal government can borrow, something increasingly unpopular with the American people. WSJ.com Management and Operations Are Your Employees Ever Really Off? n the age of online social networking, when the goings-on in your business tweeted or written on Facebook walls, the after-hours activities of your employees may count as much as what they're doing "on-the-job." ManageSmar... [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics and the Economy Obama: Small Business Promises Kept and Broken President Obama promised to help Main Street where, but has he kept that promise? Here's a look at where he's followed through -- and where he hasn't. CNNMoney.com Survey Suggests Recession to End This Quarter With recent data suggesting that the recession has bottomed-out, the Blue Chip Economic Indicators survey of private economists showed about 90% of the respondents believe the recession will be declared over this quarter. FoxBusiness.com Management and Operations [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics and the Economy Small Business Job Losses Continue The mass-layoffs in the economy may have slowed, but small companies are still dropping employees to stay afloat. CNNMoney.com SBA's Mills Has the Answers for Small Business SBA chief Karen Mills discusses the challenges facing small business as well as her role in getting struggling companies the help they need. WSJ.com US Unemployment Slows Unemployment slowed last month and the overall un... [Read Full Article]

Government, Politics and the Economy Small Business Still Struggling Under Obama's Programs President Obama may have kept some of his promises to small business owners, but the credit crunch continues and it still has far too many small companies trapped in a death spiral. CNNMoney.com Romer: Stimulus Working In a recent speech, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer defended the Obama stimulus package and left the door open to a possible second stimulus. FoxBusiness.com Management and Operations [Read Full Article]