Copyrights and trademarks can be a confusing lot for the small business owner. They are considered valuable assets by giant corporations and guarded vehemently.  However, small business owners should do the same. Do you guard your intellectual property properly?

Understanding Copyrights

A copyright is any artistic or creative material that is produced on a tangible medium. For instance, when you write and post a blog article, you have a copyright on those sentences and the way you present that content. No one can steal your blog post and print it elsewhere, or post it on another website.

Likewise, any printed materials, including catalogues, brochures, white papers, and sales letters, all have an inherited copyright that your business owns.

Read more…

One way you can save money is with the help of good health. Good health habits can reduce your health care costs, and many of the things that you do to improve your health can actually help you live a more frugal lifestyle. If you want to improve your health — and save money — here are some things to try:

Consider whether or not some errands you have can be accomplished walking or riding your bike. Even using public transportation can help you move more (walking to and from the stops). These actions will help you stay in shape, and they can help you save money on gas. With gas prices rising rapidly again, relying less on your car — more on your feet — can result in real savings each month.

Gardening is good exercise. Plus, b

Read more…

Continuing our series on a typical lawsuit filed against a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), after the defendant is served, it has two choices if it wants to not settle the case.

Either file an answer or a motion to dismiss.

In our next post we will discuss a motion to dismiss in more detail but in essence what a motion to dismiss says to the court is “There is no way the consumer can win so throw the case out of court.”

In an answer, either filed after being served or after a motion to dismiss is denied, the defendant admits or denies the allegations made in the lawsuit.

Read more…

Bond tumbled sharply following a better-than-forecast reading for retail sales. Earlier data from China also showed a still-bustling economy helping to undermine global slowdown theories. Yields on U.S. benchmarks responded by rising back above 3% as investors deployed cash into riskier asset classes.

Eurodollar futures – Longer-dated futures contracts fell by as much as 10 basis points after dealers were pleasantly surprised by a smaller dip in retail sales activity during May. Investors had been braced for a sharper 0.5% slide while the report showed a modest 0.2% dip. N

Read more…

You see them all the time. Those special ads on television that appeal to your funny bone, connect emotionally, or simply provide a good and solid marketing message that convinces you to go down to your local pizzeria and buy a pepperoni pie.

These ads can have tremendous success for the sponsoring business. Consider the “Old Spice Guy.” These clever ads have helped Old Spice become more than just a present for grandpa during the holidays. They have helped create a huge spike in sales for Old Spice body wash with purchases by both men and women (for their men).

Similarly, the E*Trade baby has brought considerable awareness of how simple it is to trade online. The

Read more…

On Tuesday, a WSJ article indicated that Germany was considering to be less strict in its conditions on further aid for Greece. At the same time, there was a lot of market talk that the EU was making progress on a new aide package for Greece. This sparked a wave of global investor optimism. EUR/USD extended its rebound off the recent lows.

EUR/USD traders experienced an extremely boring trading session on Monday, but a simple press article was enough cause fireworks on Tuesday morning in Asia. A WSJ article said that Germany was considering dropping its push for an early rescheduling of Greek debt.

Read more…

When I was an exchange student in Europe more than a decade ago, I used Traveler’s Checks. Anytime I needed to replenish my supply of Austrian shillings (this was before the currency union in Europe), I needed to find someone to change money. And, of course, I had to pay a commission. The commission paid at the airport or train station, I found, was higher than that paid at a bank in town. Now, of course, few people use Traveler’s Checks, as credit cards and debit cards are much easier to use.

If you have plastic branded with a major credit company logo, you can use it at a number of places. You can even use your card at an ATM to get cash in a local currency if needed. Doi

Read more…