At the dawn of major sporting events, the events were about just that – major sports teams. In today’s commercialized world, however, sporting events more than a competition between the team playing on the field or court; there is another competition raging all throughout the event. This competition is worth more than just a win or a loss, its about billions of dollars. Corporations use sporting events as platforms to bombard spectators with all sorts of advertising messages. From the names of stadiums to the athlete’s uniform. Even in tennis and golf, sports perceived as pristine and pure allow millions of dollars of advertising. Just walking around Rod Laver stadium during the Australian Open you will notice logos upon logos of corporations “bringing you the…….whatever.”

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For the Love of the Game?

Amidst all of the talk about recession and a global slump in stock markets the Dow bounced back with a 300ish gain on Wednesday. This is good news for all investors whether it is big brokerages or individuals trading on online services.

Blue chips rallied Wednesday afternoon, with the Dow bouncing back from a more than 300-point loss earlier in the session, while the Nasdaq erased losses sparked by Apple’s profit warning.

The Dow Jones industrial added almost 300 points, after having fallen more than 300 points earlier in the session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.1 percent.

To read more about this story, click here.

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What Recession?

Hosting a major sporting event in a city or country can greatly increase the the respective location’s surrounding commerce. Glendale, AZ is the host of this year’s Super Bowl, and its surrounding economies (including Phoenix, Scottsdale, etc.) are already feeling the bump in their economy. Everything from hotel’s and restaurants to transportation and entertainment are going to feel the increase in their local commerce centers. On the other side of the globe there is another major sporting event in the Australian Open, taking place in Melbourne. This city down under will no doubt be basking in the warmth of an economic boost.

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Local Commerce Benefits From Major Sports Events

Stocks fell sharply worldwide Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government’s stimulus plan to prevent a recession.U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but were primed to open Tuesday’s session with steep declines, according to futures trading.

To read more about this story, click here.

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Global markets plunge on U.S. recession fears

Whether its brokers, investing companies, or online stock picking services you know the market is tremendously sagging. And seemingly each day there are more bad signs for investors and the market.

Like a fatigued swimmer flailing for shore, investors are just hoping to find the bottom. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has declined nearly 6% over the past three trading sessions, while the Dow Jones industrials are off 5% and the Nasdaq just over 5%. The Dow, down more than 8% for 2008, is at its lowest level since March, 2007, while the S&P 500, off 9% for the year, has hit a 15-month low.

To read more about this story, click here. More and more signs keep popping up indicating a recession; not that the economy is heading for one, but that we’re already in the midst of one.

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Bad Signs Continue for Investors

Crocs, the maker of what may be the ugliest shoes in the history of shoes, has named their new CFO and created a new position of senior VP of retail. Crocs are so ugly cave men wouldn’t even want to wear them.

Crocs Inc. Wednesday named Rush Hammer chief financial officer, treasurer and senior vice president of finance, effective immediately.

Hammer was previously the chief financial officer and corporate vice president of the Home Solutions Business at Motorola Inc.

Crocs, a Niwot, Colo.-based footwear retailer, also named Peter Case, its CFO, to the new position of senior vice president of the retail division, effective immediately.

To read more about this story, click here.

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Crocs Gets New Finance Chief

NanoGram Corporation, a leading developer and licensor of core process technology for the manufacture of unique nanostructured materials for optical, electronic and energy applications, today announced that it has closed on a third equity round of $32M to date to expand its solar technology and nano materials solutions businesses.

This about the time that Arthur Trueger and his company, BerkeleyVC would look to invest in a company; in the later stages of the start-up process. If you would like to read more about this story, click here.

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NanoGram Corp. Gets $32 mill to Extend Solar Technology

In the midst of recession speculations on Wall Street, US Commerce Secretary, Carlos Guierrez stays optimistic of the country’s overall economic health. This claim is hard to believe considering all the contradictory evidence and rumblings of a recession.

Gutierrez pointed to rising wages, an increase in the total amount of hours worked, growing exports and unemployment that remains below the 30-year average as all signs the economy is still strong.

“I look at the facts,” he said in an interview Friday with CNNMoney.com. “There are some very positive sides to the U.S. economy, the challenge is to keep it going.”

Despite all of the economic problems, venture capital companies, like Arthur Trueger‘s BerkeleyVC, seem to be finding plenty of start up tech companies in which to invest. That could be because of the always growing technology capabilities and the companies that provide and develop them. To read more on this story go to CNN, to read more about Arthur Trueger and venture capital news visit Arthur Trueger‘s blog.

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US Commerce Secretary Remains Upbeat About Economy

As social media has grown in popularity, both for recreational and business use, many investors, like Arthur Trueger, are interested in the outlook of the this new web technology.  Here are some proposed trends for the upcoming year.

1.   Consumers will continue to rely on social media platforms to research products and service.

2.   The growth in data and content created by the social media will also bring change to the traditional search models.

3.   Likewise traditional models for businesses to research their consumers will fundamentally change.

4.   Customer feedback and the social network will overtake price, and in some cases brand as a major factor in online purchase decisions

5.   The data generated from Web 2.0 will be increasingly important to all organisations, not just to web based businesses

To see what the other five trends are click here.

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10 Trends in Social Media and Business in 2008

Here are 10 tips that can help any person become more responsible at managing their finances.

1.   Get paid what your worth, and spend less than you earn – Make sure you know what your job is worth in the marketplace, by conducting an evaluation of your skills, productivity, job tasks, contribution to the company, and the going rate, both inside and outside the company, for what you do.

2.    Stick to a budget – You need a budget whether you make thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

3.    Pay off credit card debt – Credit card debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially.

4.    Contribute to a retirement plan – Ask your employer if they have a 401(k) plan (or similar plan), and sign up today. If you’re already contributing, try to increase your contribution. If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan, consider an IRA.

5.   Have a savings plan -  Resolve to set aside a minimum of 5% to 10% of your salary for savings BEFORE you start paying your bills. Better yet, have money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separate account.

To read the remaining 5 tips, click here.

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10 Great Finance Tips