Celebrating Female Entrepreneurs Awards

NatWest and Everywoman are sponsoring awards for inspirational women in business.

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Information Management Solutions 2007

Discover how to find, create, manage and share information for business advantage at Information Management Solutions 2007.

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Networking: No Longer a Dirty Word

When someone talks about networking, people tend to cringe. For example, you ask a co-worker how the industry reception was last night. She says, “Oh, great. Just worked the room, networked, you know.” Everyone looks down at their shoes and mumbles; somebody coughs. Why? Perhaps because of the inferences hidden in the word, which generally boils down to asking someone for something, such as a job, a promotion, or an introduction to someone you don’t know. Somehow, the concept manages to make people uncomfortable, in theory and in practice.

In reality, we all network every day, simply by talking to those around us, whether it’s saying hello to the people you see every day in your office or joining co-workers to get coffee at the deli or asking a colleague how you can help out on the new project. Networking is talking to other folks, and finding common ground and ways to help each other. Sounds simple, right?

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Women In Law Empowerment Forum

The Women In Law Empowerment Forum is holding part two of their networking series- “Asking for the Business”. Speakers will include: Sharon Bowen, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP; Shelley C. Chapman, Partner, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; Patricia Skigen, American International Group, Inc.; Heidi J. Sorvino, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP; Elizabeth Anne “Betiayn” Tursi, Tursi Law Marketing Management

Register here: https://rrdevents.novamedia.co.uk

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Learning from African Micro-Entrepreneurs

342114129505_0_alb.jpegThis week, I returned to the U.S. from a trip to Kenya. I spent the last ten days traveling through the Masai Mara, seeing animals like lions, leopards, elephants and rhino, and visiting the beautiful and ancient beach island of Lamu. I also spent some time meeting with women entrepreneurs involved in microfinance and offering them advice on how to improve the efficiency of their lending and borrowing practices. What I didn’t count on was that I learned as much if not more from them as they learned from me.

As some of our dedicated readers may recall, I wrote a piece a month ago about the way in which microfinance lending has revolutionized the economic prospects of poor women living in developing countries. Women take out small loans from community banks that lend to them without collateral, using networks of social responsibility to ensure repayment on the loans.

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Craft to Heal:Taking Time Out to Pursue a Hobby Can Have Benefits for Your Body and Soul

Contributed by Nancy Monson

Time heals all wounds. But until time kicks in, what do you do while you’re waiting? How do you relieve stress and decompress from everyday pressures? How do you ease the pain, distract your mind, soothe your soul? If you’re like me (and a whole lot of celebrities, it seems), you craft.

I’ve been a crafter for as long as I can remember. I quilt. I sew. I collage. I paint. I make wreaths. I design note cards. I love to create something out of nothing and put my personal stamp on it. I love the process, and I love the product. The creative arts, my crafts, keep my hands, heart and mind busy, and sometimes I think they’re the only things that keep me sane. And I’m not alone. In fact, the creative arts have historically been used as unique forms of expression, communication and release. Now, in the twenty-first century, these arts have been elevated from mere crafts to important components of healing therapies for people with illnesses, both physical and psychological. Patients with cancer, for instance, are encouraged to paint, to visualize their bodies fighting off malignant cells and to pour their thoughts and emotions into journals.
But the best news is that you don’t have to be ill to benefit.

“We’re now finding that crafts are beneficial for healthy people, too,” says Gail McMeekin, M.S.W., author of the inspiring books The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women and The Power of Positive Choices. “Thanks to their ability to tune you into yourself and your feelings, crafts clearly have physical, psychological and spiritual powers.” Adds Diane Ericson, a California fabric artist, teacher and pattern designer, “Crafts are a way of valuing yourself and giving to yourself. They allow you to express what’s inside.”

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Futures Industry Association Expo 2007

For the futures and derivatives industry, the Futures Industry Association Expo is one of the biggest events of the year. It’s a chance for everyone who works in the derivatives market to get together and discuss new developments in the field and the direction of the industry going forward. More than 4000 people from 20 different countries attended the Expo. The crowd included staff at brokerage firms and exchanges, floor traders, pension fund managers, corporate treasurers, CTAs and CPOs, and individual investors.

This year’s Expo focused on the topic of equity futures and options. Commodity Futures Trading Commission acting director Walt Lukken addressed the group on November 27, 2007 and discussed the keys to smart regulation in the futures industry, particularly in light of the credit crunch arising out of the subprime crisis. On November 28, sessions on Exhange Leaders in Equity Options and Algorithmic Trading were popular. On the last day of the conference, November 29, presentations on Building a Mangaged Funds Business and Trends in Managed Funds were well attended.

Of course, there was the gossip of who’s making money and who’s losing it, who is now working where and why certain people weren’t there. It’s the biggest gathering of futures traders, technology vendors and innovative leaders. The best part is that it takes place in Chicago, my hometown.

The biggest gossip was about why the Chicago Mercantile Exchange did not exhibit at the conference. Their space was filled with an FIA booth on the floor and their absence was definitely felt by people who had expected a big appearance by the CME. I personally missed the huge chocolate bars they gave out last year.

I asked a few people on the floor why the CME wasn’t exhibiting and their reasons varied. One person said the CME had too much going on everywhere else and couldn’t fit the FIA into their schedule. Another said that they hadn’t merged the two marketing departments yet to present one booth.

My question is this; what is the CME saying to their many customers that attend the FIA event each year? Please leave a comment below if you have one.

I do have to say this; whatever their reasoning may be, it was a great marketing scheme. The talk on the street was all about why they weren’t there. They probably got more buzz than some firms that actually exhibited at the show.

Further:
23rd Annual Futures & Options Expo
Futures Industry
Chicago Mercantile Exchange

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Greening The Region: “Where Green Meets Green”

A two day event addressing climate change will include speakers ranging from Governor Jon Corzine to Bill Mckibben. Day one will be an all day conference offering a number of different panels, as well as the start of an expo including vendors for renewable energy, and other green industries. Day two will feature the expo only.

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Fierce Female Analyst Takes on Citi

All-star stock analyst Meredith Whitney of CIBC World Markets made major waves earlier this month when she presciently predicted the decline of Citi’s stock. According to a recent Business Week article, Ms. Whitney downgraded Citi’s stock to “market underperform” status, equivalent to a recommendation to sell, in an October 31, 2007 report. She bucked the conventional wisdom that Citi was a super-stock that could do no wrong when she concluded that the bank was undercapitalized, despite its huge size, and predicted that it would be forced to cut dividends in order to make up for huge losses related to the subprime mortgage fiasco.

At the time she issued these recommendations, she came under intense fire from the media and other stock analysts. According to articles in the London Times and the Washington Post, she even received death threats from investors in the bank, after her recommendations caused the value of the stock to plunge by $369 billion. Ms. Whitney told the Times, “clients are not pleased with my call and I have had several death threats. But it was the most straightforward call of my career and I’m surprised my peer analysts have been so resistant. It’s so straightforward, it’s indisputable.”

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With Women In Mind Drop In Drinks

With Women In Mind is a networking group established by the Rooks Rider Solicitors for professional and entrepreneurial women to socialize.

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