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 Feature
A
Close-up Look at Health Savings
Accounts
 "The best way to empower citizens is to
let them save and spend their healthcare dollars
as they see fit," President Bush remarked soon
after Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were
established as part of the Medicare prescription
drug bill that was enacted in late 2003. "Give
them control of a routine cost so that people see
the doctor when they need to, spend their dollars
wisely, and are still able to have coverage for
major medical bills."
 Have
greater control over healthcare
decisions |
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DeKaser's
Financial Market Outlook
The
Good with the Bad
Structural
job losses, as opposed to cyclical job losses -
reflecting a temporary decline in demand - are
permanent. Industries and occupations are reshuffled in
a process that better aligns the labor force to the
changing needs of the economy. There
are consequences with this change, and benefits,
too.
Where's the good in all this?
Download
The Region, Richard
DeKaser's new quarterly focus on economic developments
in the Great Lakes area.
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It's
an Event
National City to
Sponsor Windy City Summit
Once
again, National City will sponsor the Windy City Summit
opening day luncheon on Wednesday, May 25 with featured
speaker Sgt Keni Thomas. Stop by our booth (#324)
to learn about National City Return Check Management
Services, Check Management Services, Accounts Receivable
Centers, Stored-Value Debit Card, and Commercial
Card.
Find out how to register for the
Windy City
Summit |
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Business
Planning & Strategies
Getting Emerson
Humming Again
Emerson
Electric Company had one of Corporate America's longest
winning streaks. Then, with the collapse of the telecom
industry and a drop in most of Emerson's other
businesses, the streak came to an abrupt end in 2001,
with profits falling 27.5%. But Emerson wasn't down for
long.
Net
income to climb 15% on a sales increase of 9.5%
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Small
Business
Entrepreneurial
Personal Finance: After the Sale of Your
Company
As
an entrepreneur, you may eventually be fortunate enough
to have built up your company to the point at which you
are able to sell it for a considerable profit. At that
time, you will likely be faced with the daunting task of
what to do with perhaps the most significant single
influx of funds in your working lifetime.
It's essential to act
expeditiously |
Economics
The Central Bank's
Shifting Strategy
At
the start of this decade, deflation and recession became
the real bugaboos facing the economy. But now that
the Fed has won the war on deflation and the economic
expansion is more than three years old, the central
bank's strategy is shifting once again--and the markets
are getting woozy.
What's sending the market
into a
tizzy? |
Finance
& Treasury
Finance and
performance: Back to the Future of
Valuation
Business
valuation is a future-value equation-a methodology to
show the fair-market value (FMV) of a business as of a
future date. Traditional valuation methods, by
contrast, focus on net present value (NPV), which is
useful for valuing a company for purposes of a merger,
tax work, or litigation, but doesn't help executives
create future value.
Steps managers can take
today to affect the value of their company many years
from
now |
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International
& Trade
Industry Plans Effort
to Thwart Tighter Export Controls
Business sources oppose efforts to
tighten deemed export control rules because it would
stifle innovation by making it harder for U.S. companies
to hire experts who are foreign nationals. Business
sources charge that tougher controls could also spur
U.S. companies to move their businesses to the very
countries that the U.S. wants to keep from obtaining
advanced controlled technology.
More companies to move
overseas |
Trends
& Technology
Where Does the Money
Go?
Spend-management
software relies on linguistic analysis algorithms to
extract, cleanse, and classify, (by product, supplier,
and other criteria) the messy data contained in
invoices, purchase orders, contracts, and other
purchasing records. The goal is to automate spending
analysis: determine from whom the company buys goods and
services; narrow (or improve) the supplier base and
negotiate better terms; manage contracts efficiently;
and analyze the corporate spend.
Software helps to get a leg up
on procurement
strategies |
Human
Resources & Benefits
Staff Management
Getting
your so-called Generation X, Generation Y, and Baby
Boomer employees to work together is the stuff of
nightmares for Human Resource managers.
Understanding what drives the different generations is
the first step to exerting some control and leading them
to work together effectively.
Build a workforce out of
'squares,' 'hippies,' and
'slackers' |
Legislative
& Regulatory
The Coming Tax
Hike
What
will this mean for business? While it's impossible to
say for certain, it isn't too soon to make two
predictions. One is that radical change--the adoption of
a flat tax, for instance--won't happen. The other is
that incremental change will.
President has made
tax-code reform top domestic
priority |
Personal
Investing
The A.R.T. of
Investing
As
a corporate executive, I imagine that you spend the
majority of your day focusing on your company's
financial health and prosperity. We would like to take a
moment to ensure that you apply the same rigor to your
personal financial situation as you manage its growth
and preservation.
Develop an appreciation for A.R.T.
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Sales
& Marketing
Consumer Power:
Buying the Future
When
products were more individual, manufacturers had the
upper hand. As competition increased and became more
global, there were more products to choose from and they
increasingly resembled each other. Now the consumer is
taking command.
What will consumers do with their
assumed power?
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