Cyberscams Befriend Social Networks
Now those phony Nigerians may log on as your “friend.” How Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites are fighting a rise in scams
Remember the associate of that deposed dictator who needed your help transferring a few million dollars from a Swiss bank account? Well, he’s back. And he—or one of his ilk—may show up soon posing as your “friend” on Facebook.
Someone bearing an eerie resemblance to those ubiquitous perpetrators of Nigerian scams ended up in the online social network of Australian citizen Karina Wells. Earlier this month Wells received a message on Facebook from someone she thought was her real-life friend Adrian. He wrote that he was stranded in Lagos, Nigeria, had no access to a phone, and needed Wells to wire $500 for a plane ticket home. “Adrian” even pleaded for help in a real-time conversation over Facebook’s chat service.
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Raising Capital from Customers
Selling shares in your 
to customers via a private placement can be a great way to raise capital. And there are other benefits
If you run an independent company and are looking for ways to raise capital, consider selling shares to your customers via a private placement. A private placement is a streamlined way to raise capital from a group of investors, whether individuals or companies. There is no need to get approval for a private placement from the Securities & Exchange Commission, though you do have to comply with other federal requirements and will need an experienced lawyer to help you with the process.
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FHA-Backed Loans: The New Subprime
The same people whose reckless practices triggered the global financial crisis are onto a similar scheme that could cost taxpayers tons more
As if they haven’t done enough damage. Thousands of subprime mortgage lenders and brokers—many of them the very sorts of firms that helped create the current financial crisis—are going strong. Their new strategy: taking advantage of a long-standing federal program designed to encourage homeownership by insuring mortgages for buyers of modest means.
You read that correctly. Some of the same people who propelled us toward the housing market calamity are now seeking to profit by exploiting billions in federally insured mortgages. Washington, meanwhile, has vastly expanded the availability of such taxpayer-backed loans as part of the emergency campaign to rescue the country’s swooning economy.
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Auto Bailout: Seeking Signs of Sacrifice
From left: UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, Chairman and CEO of General Motors Richard Wagoner, Chairman and CEO of Chrysler LLC Robert Nardelli and President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company Alan Mulally. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
House members push for workers to give up some pay and benefits, and ask why executives still don’t seem to get the need for change
Maybe it would have been a good idea for the chief executives of the U.S. Big Three auto companies and the president of the United Auto Workers to save a few dollars and share a ride to their appearance before Congress, where they are asking for at least $25 billion to keep from going bankrupt.
Three different members of the House of Representatives pointed out on Nov. 19 that the three CEOs and the union chief were flown to Washington in separate, private planes. The representatives used that example to express skepticism that the executives are prepared to make the needed changes in their operations, accountability, and culture to turn around their sinking industry.
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Use Googles Grand Central on a Mac
Maybe you’re a fan of Google’s Grand Central phone controller. Maybe you also happen to be a Mac addict. So how do you match those two loves into one? Vocito, that’s how.
Savvy to your Mac OS X desktop and things like Address Book, Automator, and the third-party engineered QuickSilver, Vocito manages your management of the multiple phone numbers in your life within slick fashion. In a manner of speaking, it makes easier a process that’s already been quite easy. Way easier, you might say, even if its job is technically more complex.
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Just What is Social Media, Exactly?
What is social media, and is social media actually media in the traditional sense of the word? This is the question Jeffrey and Brian Eisenberg take on and try to decisively answer at their marketing firm’s company blog.
They say it is disingenuous to call any of the various things we in the punditry business refer to as types of New Media as any type of media, since the fundamental nature of what we call New Media is communicative, and older forms of media are simply places for content to be surrounded by advertisements.
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Mint SMS: Monitor Your Finances On the Go
Personal finance service Mint has added a new feature for those who simply have to know what their entire net worth is in every imaginable situation. Users can send a text message containing the words “Balance” or “Bal” to shortcode “MyMint” (696468) and they’ll receive info for savings, credit, and loans they’re tracking on Mint.
The folks at Mint have been busy, adding several new features after leaving beta in October. Finance, economy, money; these words are on everyone’s lips these days, and though it may not be in a positive context, Mint is definitely riding the wave of heightened interest in personal finance.
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Where to Find Microloans
Whether you are a startup company or a small business that is growing, the SBA Microloan Program may be just right for you. The SBA funds nonprofit, community-based lenders to make loans up to a maximum of $35,000.
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GM: The Case Against a Bailout
Jack and Suzy Welch say that bankruptcy reorganization, with the U.S. as financier, would open the doors to meaningful structural change
Should the government bail out the U.S. auto industry to keep the players from going into bankruptcy?—Bill VanderMolen, Pittsfield Township, Mich.
How about this instead: The boards of Chrysler and General Motors (GM) put their companies into bankruptcy with the clear intent of reorganization and merger. As radical as that sounds, it’s the best road we can see to a viable future for the industry.
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Avoid the Greatest Loan Risk
The greatest risk in working with any lender is that you will get the poorest and the most expensive loan available. Since it is hard to find out this information from the lender, you need to comparison shop your loan. Go to every lender in the phone book, if you can. Prepare a one-page summary of your company that explains in general terms what products and services you sell, how many employees you have, and general information about your company and personal financial condition. This way, you can talk about your company and its financial needs the same way with each lender.
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