Which Career Is Cooler? Remember when you used to dream about what you were going to be when you grew up? Most of us have changed our career convictions a time or two, but our fun faceoff game pits cool careers against one another! Which career is cooler: Musician or Restaurateur?
Everyone knows the phrase 'keeping up with the Joneses,' and this type of competition often causes people to live beyond their means. It's not always apparent that this mentality is the cause for wanting certain things, but retrospect can show that you may not have done or purchased something so elaborate if it weren't for the people around you. Have you ever felt the need to keep up?
We are nearing the end of the year and many companies are gearing up for annual employee performance reviews. There isn't universal support for this type of review process that often involves written feedback from managers regarding their employees, usually presented in person in a one-on-one or two-on-one format. Samuel L. Colbert for The Wall Street Journal writes, "It destroys morale, kills teamwork and hurts the bottom line. And that's just for starters." Colbert backs up his opinion with an argument featuring seven points. Do you agree with his idea to get rid of performance reviews?
Two people, two mind-sets."The boss wants to discuss where performance needs to be improved, while the subordinate is focused on such small issues as compensation, job progression and career advancement. At best, the discussion accomplishes nothing."
Performance doesn't determine pay. "The performance review is simply the place where the boss comes up with a story to justify the predetermined pay."
Objectivity is subjective. "The closest one can get to "objective" feedback is making an evaluator's personal preferences, emotional biases, personal agendas and situational motives for giving feedback sufficiently explicit."
In an attempt to encourage Americans to save for retirement, Congress is inviting all of us to celebrate National Save For Retirement Week. More than 20 percent of workers admit they don't have any kind of retirement savings and Congress wants to use this week to reinforce the importance of saving early.
Saving for retirement has always been a core issue of personal finance and right now it's more visible than ever, but not because of a special week created by Congress. Panicked Americans have been withdrawing their retirement savings and taking the tax penalties because they fear losing everything, and while the market is a central concern for older workers, younger savers should remember to stay the course in putting money aside for their retirement.
A busy social calendar is hardly a bad thing, but it can mean an expensive month ahead. Socializing doesn't always involve spending money but often it does. Have you ever said no to an invitation because you either didn't want to spend the money or didn't have it to spend?
As Wall Street tumbles, Hollywood stumbles to rewrite scripts that feature Wall Street as it used to be. That's not to say that every film or made-for-TV-movie will be a depressing commentary on current events, but investment bankers may need career changes and relocation from Wall Street. While Gossip Girl won't change a thing about its Upper East Siders, other shows are tweaking some details.
Some story lines are appealing to the public with Average Joe type characters and producers are coming up with series geared toward a budget-minded audience. Others are choosing to create stories that offer viewers a sense of escape and we can expect to see new attempts at fantasy world settings on the big screen.
In the past, troubled financial times have given way to feel good entertainment like smiley Shirley Temple, lavish film musicals ("The Wizard of Oz") and comedies where we see the upper class as "lovable fools."
Nicole Clemens of International Creative Management explains, “In bad times especially, people do not want to see on the screen what they’re living through."
Introduced in 1993, the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) measures market volatility and gauges investor fear, which explains its better known name — the fear index. Right now VIX is trading very high and indicates that investors are uncertain about how the market will perform over the next 30 days.
Current levels suggest that investors think the S&P 500 will fluctuate about 20 percent during the next month, something The New York Times calls "an almost unheard-of swing." While the index reports a good track record in gauging the market, like the upswing after 9/11, some traders see the attention on VIX as adding to the problems and sustaining fear of the market.
Pringle
Alexander McQueen
Energie