How To Safeguard Your Identity

Everyday you may do things--online or off--that compromise your financial privacy and security.

Advice for staying safe online
- Use sites marked with "https"; the "s" indicates a secure location.
- Never open unsolicited e-mails.
- Keep your antivirus programs updated. read more...

Real State Myths, Busted!

Investing in real state is not only for the rich. “The key is finding a residential space which offers the right mix quality, affordability, and investment potential. Here, five real estate myths are dispelled:

Investing in real state is not only for the rich. “The key is finding a residential space which offers the right mix quality, affordability, and investment potential. Here, five real estate myths are dispelled:

Myth 1: You don’t need million to start investing in real estate. What’s important is an eye for choosing affordable yet prime properties, careful research, planning and access to easy payment terms. read more...

Now Even Small Firms Can Go Global

Four years ago, Houston-based SolArc was making plenty of dough selling it's energy management software and management software and services to big corporations like ConocoPhillips and Southwest Airlines.

All the company's clients, though, were domestic. With new airlines and energy companies popping up throughout Europe and Asia, company execs just knew there were great opportunities to be had if they were able to expand internationally, sys Tim Smith, the company's controller.

So SolArc set up offices overseas, later enlisting a consulting firm to help with a regulatory complexities. "We found it was too much to handle, Smith says. The result: It won new clients like Singapore Airlines. Smith says SolArc, with 135 employees, made about $10 million last year from foreign clients in nine countries, compared with "only a few hundred thousand" dollars from a single international deal in 2003. read more...

Top 10 Best Companies to Work at From 9-5 (or 10-6, or 11-3)

Some American companies rock at taking care of working moms--and all their workers. In 2007, Working Mother gave these employers tip-top scores for their family-friendly policies and attitudes.

1. Baptist Health South
Florida, Floral Gables, FL
Almost half of all employees at this health-care organization flex their schedule, meaning they work full-time but vary their arrival and departure times to meet their own needs. Plus, the company offers a loan of up to $10K to first-time home buyers.

2. Booz Allen Hamilton,
McLean, VA
Workers at this consulting firm receive a 10 percent discount at a national child-care chain, plus have access to low-cost backup care. There's also a career model for permanent part-timers. read more...