Business News Online

In 2011 it was Sony, Epsilon, and U.S. government sites among those who had fallen victim to computer hackers.

With the New Year under way, word comes from Israeli officials that the country’s stock exchange and its national airline had their Web sites paralyzed on Jan. 16 by a Middle East hacker network. While officials said the sites did not contain sensitive information impacting both trading and the safety of passengers, there were concerns nonetheless. And given that Israel is a security-focused country, it comes as no surprise that these recent cyber-attacks have left officials looking for improved ways to protect such information. El Al Israel Airlines reportedly took down its Web site after a hacker warned that the site was being targeted by a number of individuals who are pro-Palestinian. Meantime, a spokesperson for the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reported that the site was inundated by electronic requests that brought it to a crawl, however it was still operating. T

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Producers and others from the pig supply chain have been urged to take part in the annual confidence survey carried out by BPEX.

Questionnaires have just gone out to farmers, vets, retailers, civil servants and the allied industry and the survey should provide a vital snapshot of the industry and how confidence has changed from previous years.

It also asks whether people think BPEX is meeting the needs of the industry and gives respondents the opportunity to suggest what the organisation should do, head of communications Andrew Knowles said.

Anybody who would like to take part but has not received a questionnaire can do so via the BPEX website.

Primary offering is a step usually taken by companies to raise the funds needed to carry out any expansion strategy. A lot of companies prefer this method of raising capital because it helps enhance the growth of business startups and young companies. At present, some established companies use this option but only if they are still a private business entity.

A primary offering is simply the initial sale of the stock of the company. Also known as an initial public offering or IPO, it is the first step of a private company becoming public and issuing shares of stock which may be purchased by investors. The transaction is usually done through underwriters called investment bankers. The company gives up ownership equity in their business and underwriters are responsible for selling them to the public.

For small businesses or startups, raising needed funds for business expansion or development of new products is always an issue. While it is true that they can always seek funding through commercial loans, such option may not always be viable because of some considerations.

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One of the biggest barriers to better business planning is the horribly mistaken and disappointedly common myth that develop a business plan takes months. That’s just wrong. And harmful, too, because it pushes away people who could use planning, but don’t because it takes too much effort. They think.

In the real world, where good managers include planning process in management, and use it to steer their companies, good business planning takes hours, not months. Here’s why:

1. Planning is about results, not documents.
2. The plan is what’s going to happen, and when, by whom, and how much; not a document. Form follows function.
3. A good annual SWOT meeting takes an hour or so.
4. Thinking about strategy is always and often. Writing it down in bullet points takes a few minutes a month.
5. Maintaining milestones, responsibilities, assignments, deadlines, metrics, and who does what is part of every manager’s job, is management, not plan development. It’s not

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Buoyant grain markets have helped grain trader Wessex Grain make record annual profits in the year to 31 July 2011.

The company made an operating profit of £427,127 on turnover of nearly £56m, significantly up on the £41m the previous year.

“Not only were the markets buoyant, with feed wheat prices increasing by £80/t from the market lows, but for significant periods, the market followed clear trends which the company took advantage of,” managing director Simon Wilcox said.

The business opened its expanded Henstridge store in July, providing space for an extra 20,000t of grain and boosting overall capacity to around 70,000t.

Many business owners are asking the question How to refinance a business loan. Refinancing a business loan can be a time consuming process, finding the right lender, a good interest rate and the amount desired. There are many benefits to refinancing a business loan, this opens up working cash for your business to make purchase and meet payment obligations that without refinancing would not be possible.

Refinancing a business loan is a type of loan offered by lenders to businesses to obtain more money and start new terms and conditions to a business loan. It offers business owners the opportunity of consolidate their business debts and obtain the money they need to make purchase and payments needed to run their business efficiently.

• Lower interest rate
• lower monthly payments
• More working cash for the business

• Equipment purchases
• Increase inventory
• Meet payroll obligations
• Meet vendor payment obligations
• Remodels
• Renovations
• Expansions

• Find a lender that offers business loan refinancing.
• Make sure your business meets the terms and conditions of the refinancing loan.
• Negotiate the terms and conditions if possible.
• Apply for the financing.
• Sign the contract and set up a repayment scheduled.

It is important not to settle for the first lender offer for refinancing your business loan, your goal is to obtain a lower interest rate and lower repayment as well as more cash flow for your business.

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