Business FighterDevelopt the stratagy and become a winner!

According to a BusinessWeek report, Crystal Parsons doesn’t try on clothes when she shops. She hasn’t worn a dress in 20 years. But one day this spring, she found herself in the unavoidable position of having to try on dresses because she needs a wedding gown. “I’ve had nightmares that I’m going to get stuck in a very expensive dress,” Parsons says in the fitting room at Kleinfeld bridal salon in New York. She’s filming an episode of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss, which documents plus-size women in the once-demoralizing hunt for the perfect wedding gown. “I tend to think negatively about myself,” she says. “My weight has always been my problem.”

While the average clothing size of women in the U.S. is 14, most high-end bridal designers have long refused to cater to clients beyond size 16. Yet with the economy pr Full Article…

WATERBURY, Conn. – Webster Financial Corp. on Friday said its second-quarter profit nearly doubled compared with the year-earlier period as the bank cut back on the money it set aside for anticipated bad loans.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company – New England’s largest independent bank and the parent of Webster Bank N.A. – posted $34.21 million in earnings, 94 percent higher than the $17.64 million profit in the same period in 2010.

The company’s earnings per diluted share totaled 36 cents, beating by one cent the profit forecast by a consensus of analysts who cover the bank, according to Yahoo!Finance .

The improved earnings came despite a decline in revenue. Webster r

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Construction equipment shipments from US factories remained steady in May at about the same level first reached at the beginning of the year. The equipment sales boom has paused. Fleet rebuilding is now largely complete but the delay in the construction recovery has also delayed expansion of rental fleets and direct purchases by contractors. Nonetheless, shipments in the first five months of 2011 are averaging 13% above the average month in 2010. Credit still expanding equipment exports to a rapidly growing world economy for the continuing upward trend.

The construction equipment price index increased 0.3% in May to 2.8% above a year ago. More volatile equipment rental rates are 1.4% higher than a year earlier. The inflation outlook for purchase prices and rental rates is for a gradual pickup to as high as 4% by late 2012.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn.

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Your small business needs a company logo. Whether it includes spiffy graphic depends on your taste, but the font of your company name is vitally important to reflect your business values, professionalism, and marketing effectiveness.

What are the font classes and usage guidelines for creating an effective logo?

Font Classes

• Serif Fonts – Serifs are the little “tails” or “feet” that help add flair to a font or typeface. These are traditional fonts and are typically used in financial or other conservative industries for logos.  Serif fonts include the popular Times or Times Roman, Garamond, or Courier.
• Sans Serif Fonts – These fonts are more modern and clean and add a friendlier element to a company name logo. Serif fonts

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LIVERPOOL stockbroker Panmure Gordon put a ‘buy’ recommendation on the shares of Newton-le-Willows group Speedy Hire today, declaring it has “turned the corner”.

The note, from analysts Paul Jones and Mike Allen, was in response to an “encouraging update” from the plant hire group in its presentation to shareholders at today’s annual general meeting.

They noted the improving picture from trading as the firm moves into the second quarter and away from the “dampening effects of quarter one bank holidays”.

And they said improving yields in the first quarter provide optimism for the second half of its current financial year, “with increasing visibility and significant debt reduction”, adding “we believe Speedy has very much turned the corner”.

Speedy chairman Ishbel Macpherson will tell shareholders later today: “The new financial year has begun satisfactorily and overall performance remains in line with management expectations.”

She will reveal that areas like water, waste, energy and transport provide promising opportunities, despite the uncertainty in the wider construction sector.

Group like-for-like revenues for the first quarter to June 30 were 0.4% up on a like-for-like basis, excluding fleet equipment sales, and since April this year, monthly comparatives have improved, with June 2011 up 6.2% on the previous year.

She will add: “Encouraging progress continues to be made in both of the newer operating activities, the international asset services and training and advisory services divisions.

“Combined turnover in the first quarter was up 70.3% on the prior year, totalling over £3.5m , and the divisions are progressing towards profitability as planned.”

Since the end of the last financial year the accommodation hire division was sold for £34.9m to the Elliott Group, removing the only loss-making and non market-leading operation from the group.

This also enabled Speedy to cut net debt from £113.9m at March 31 this year to £79.9m, with further reductions expected during the course of the current financial year.

Ms Macpherson will conclude: “With trading improving in line with expectations and having secured new banking arrangements and disposed of the loss-making accommodation hire operation, the board considers that, with its market leading position, strong balance sheet and clear market approach, the group is well positioned to take full advantage of wider economic recovery.”