Brazilian President Lashes Out over U.S. Spying

http://www.scribd.com/doc/170673506/Brazilian-President-Lashes-Out-Over-U-S-Spying-really

Brazilian President Lashes Out overU.S. Spying

by Krishnadev Calamur

September 24, 2013 2:38 PM

President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil was so angry about reports that the National Security Agency was spying on her and others in her country that she recently called off a high-profile visit to the U.S.

The Brazilian leader was still in a fighting mood Tuesday as she used her speech at the United Nations General Assembly to deliver a broadside against U.S. spying. She also called for civilian oversight of the Web to ensure the protection of data.

"Tampering in such a manner in the affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and is an affront to the principles that must guide the relations among them, especially among friendly nations," she said.

"The right to safety of citizens of one country can never be guaranteed by violating fundamental human rights of citizens of another country," she added. "The arguments that the illegal interception of information and data aims at protecting nations against terrorism cannot be sustained."

As Eyder Peralta over at our Two-Way blog has noted, President Obama spent time during the G-20 summit in Russia earlier this month trying to smooth relations with Brazil. Obama told her at the time that the U.S. relationship with Brazil was "very important."

Revelations about the U.S. spying came in a series of stories published by journalist Glenn Greenwald in Brazil's O Globo newspaper.

The stories detailed NSA spying on Brazilian citizens and companies as well as political leaders, including Rousseff. Brazilians reacted with anger.

As NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro said at the time Rousseff postponed her trip:

"Brazil has reacted a lot more strongly to the spying scandal than other countries who've been implicated, like Mexico, Colombia. There's a couple of reason for this. First off, issues of sovereignty. Brazil takes this extremely seriously. Brazil has a massive economy, a growing political clout in the world stage, aspirations, for example, for a seat at the U.N. Security Council.

"And you also have to remember the U.S.'s long history in the region of bloody intervention. And so, any act of perceived American overstepping is taken very seriously. But of course there are always domestic politics at play and Dilma's position has been precarious since protests swept Brazil over the summer. Her approval ratings have nose-dived, and, yes, there is an election coming up."

The allegations about the NSA's spying activities have created ripples far beyond Brazil. Documents released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden indicated the agency was also spying on the U.N. as well as U.S. allies in the European Union

10 Tips for Growing Your Family Business

http://www.scribd.com/doc/108855972

Family businesses bring special rewards, such as inherent trust, the camaraderie of working with loved ones and the joy of building a lasting legacy. However, running a family business also poses some special challenges. Perhaps that's why, according to the Family Business Institute, fewer than one-third of family businesses last beyond the first generation and just 12 percent survive to the third generation. How can you make sure your family business doesn't fall victim to those odds?

 Follow these 10 tips. 

1. Run your family business like a business. If most or all of your key employees are family members, it's easy to get sloppy about things like keeping your corporation in compliance, properly documenting decisions or maintaining accurate financial records. Always treat your business like a business.
2. Create a succession plan. If you want your business to survive, you must develop a plan for what will happen when you retire, die or otherwise exit the company. But a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey found that nearly half of family businesses had no succession plan. Enlist your accountant, attorney, key employees and family members in developing a succession plan that details who will take on key roles.

3.       Develop leadership among all employees. Hold regular performance reviews for family and nonfamily employees alike. Provide training in-house, through local community college and adult education programs, or through industry associations to develop employees' strengths and streamline the succession process.

4.       Don't play favorites. If non-family employees believe they have no chance of moving up in the company, they'll quickly become resentful and unmotivated. Set a clear path to promotion and advancement for both family and non-family employees.

5.       Separate business and family expenses. You might be tempted to make loans from the company to family members, or to let them write off personal expenses (such as the purchase of a car or vacation home) as business expenses. Even if such actions don't get you in trouble with the IRS, they will foster resentment among non-family employees.

6.       Set boundaries. Decide when discussing the business is allowed and when it's off-limits (such as during dinner, or at holiday gatherings). This helps ensure that family relationships don't revolve solely around business and aren't poisoned by business conflicts.

7.       Communicate openly. Non-family employees often feel they're kept in the dark about the inner workings of family businesses. Whenever possible, share information openly with family and nonfamily employees alike.

8.       Don't guarantee employment.  Each family member should have an opportunity to work in the business, but not everyone will be suited to continue doing so. Base hiring decisions on the business's - not the family member's-needs. Talk to your attorney about structuring the business so that  nonemployee family members can still have some ownership.

9.       Learn to resolve conflicts. Business conflicts can infect family relationships; family problems can flare up disguised as business issues. Develop a plan for dealing with business-related disagreements between family members, both those who work in the business and those who do not.

10.   Get outside input. Whether you're dealing with personal conflicts or trying to make business decisions, seeking opinions from trusted outsiders such as your board of directors or an SBDC Business Advisor can give you much-needed perspective.

Rieva Lesonsky is founder and President of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Before launching her business, she was Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. Follow Rieva at Twitter.com/Rieva and visit her website SmallBizDaily.com to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for free TrendCast reports.   

Sears to close 100 to 120 Kmart, Sears stores

Sears Holdings plans to close 100 to 120 Kmart, Sears stores as sales disappoint ( by  By Anne d'Innocenzio)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sears Holdings Corp. plans to close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores after poor sales during the holidays, the most crucial time of year for retailers.

The closings are the latest and most visible in a long series of moves to try to fix a retailer that has struggled with falling sales and shabby stores.
In an internal memo Tuesday to employees, CEO and President Lou D'Ambrosio said that the retailer had not "generated the results we were seeking during the holiday."
Sears Holdings Corp. said it has yet to determine which stores will close but said it will post on http://www.searsmedia.com when a final list is compiled. Sears would not discuss how many, if any, jobs would be cut.
The company has more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Its stock dropped $8.67, or 18.9 percent, to $37.18 in morning trading. The shares dipped to their lowest point in more than three years at $36.51 during the first few minutes of trading.
The company's revenue at stores open at least a year fell 5.2 percent to date for the quarter at both Sears and Kmart, the company said Tuesday. That includes the critical holiday shopping period.
Sears Holdings said the declining sales, ongoing pressure on profit margins and rising expenses pulled its adjusted earnings lower. The company predicts fourth-quarter adjusted earnings will be less than half the $933 million it reporter for the same quarter last year.
Sears Holdings also anticipates a non-cash charge of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion in the quarter to write off the value of carried-over tax deductions it now doesn't expect to be profitable enough to use.
Sears said it will no longer prop up "marginally performing" stores in hopes of improving their performance and will now concentrate on cash-generating stores.
"These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers," D'Ambrosio said.
The weaker-than-expected performance reflects what analysts say is a deteriorating outlook for the retailer.
The results point to "deepening problems at this struggling chain and renewed worries about Sears survivability," said Gary Balter, an analyst at Credit Suisse. "The extent of the weakness may be larger than expected but the reasons behind it are not. It begins and some would argue ends with Sears' reluctance to invest in stores and service."
Balter also said Sears' weakening performance may lead its vendors to start to worry about their exposure.
The company has seen rival department stores like Macy's Inc. and discounters like Target Corp. continue to steal customers. It's also contending with a stronger Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, which has hammered hard its low-price message and brought back services like layaway, which allows financially stressed shoppers to finance their holiday purchases by paying a little at a time.
The tough economy hasn't helped, either. Middle-income shoppers, the company's core customers, have seen their wages fail to keep up with higher costs for household basics like food.
But the big problem, analysts say, is Sears hasn't invested in remodeling, leaving its stores uninviting.
"There's no reason to go to Sears," said New York-based independent retail analyst Brian Sozzi, "It offers a depressing shopping experience and uncompetitive prices."
Sears Holdings Corp., based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., said that the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash from inventory sales. The retailer expects the sale or sublease of real estate holdings to add more cash.
Sears Holdings appeared to stumble early in the holiday season, as it opened its Sears, Roebuck and Co. stores at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Rivals including Best Buy Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys R Us opened as early as Thanksgiving night. Sears stores had opened on Thanksgiving Day in 2010. Kmart has been opening on Thanksgiving for years.
A hint that trouble might be brewing came in mid-December when Sears Holdings unexpectedly announced that 260 of its Sears, Roebuck and Co. locations would stay open until midnight through Dec. 23.
Kmart's 4.4 percent decline in revenue at stores open at least a year was blamed on diminished layaways and a drop in clothing and consumer electronics sales. Part of Kmart's layaway softness likely stemmed from competitive pressure. Wal-Mart had said that its holiday layaway business had been popular. Toys R Us expanded its layaway services to include more items. Kmart's grocery sales climbed during the period.
Sears cited lackluster consumer electronics and home appliance sales for its 6 percent dropoff. Sears' clothing sales were flat. Sales of Lands' End products at Sears stores rose in the mid-single digits.
Sears Holdings said it also plans to lower its fixed costs by $100 million to $200 million and trim its 2012 peak domestic inventory by $300 million from 2011's $10.2 billion at the third quarter's end.
D'Ambrosio acknowledged in his internal memo that criticism over Sears Holdings' performance was likely to come, but that the company was prepared for the days ahead.
"We will bounce back and become stronger than ever," he said.