(Reuters) – Three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the world’s financial system is sliding towards another major crisis.

At stake is the global recovery and future shape of Europe.

Calls are mounting for financial leaders of the world’s biggest economies meeting this week to take bold action, not on the scale of the $1 trillion (633 billion pounds) rescue package of March 2009 but something equally important in policy terms.

The challenge for the Group of 20 talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday is to prevent a sovereign debt crisis centred in Greece from turning into a… Continue reading →

In 2007, after several years as a Quiznos franchisee in the Bay Area, Joe Bono thought back to his middle school science class. He remembered learning about satellites and how they were completely powered by solar cells. It seemed inevitable that by the time he grew up, everything would be powered by the sun.

“It was 20 years later, and I realized solar had hardly penetrated the market,” Bono says. Yet cheaper solar panels, tax credits and a push for energy conservation had primed the market. All that was needed was a reliable service company to get… Continue reading →

Find The Business For You.

Branders.com co-founder and CEO Jerry McLaughlin was worried about first impressions. After analyzing the metrics for his promotional product company’s website, he discovered that many first-time visitors to Branders.com started their experience on subcategory pages instead of on the homepage. And the subcategory pages for the Mountain View, Calif., company’s site weren’t as carefully crafted. He also had concerns about the site’s conversion rate–customers were leaving way too many T-shirts, coffee mugs, pens and other logo-emblazoned tchotchkes behind in abandoned online shopping carts.

via How One Online Retailer Tweaked Its Way a Better Sales Future | Entrepreneur.com.

Have you ever wondered if you could do more with your business? You know — introduce new product lines, enter new markets, find more ways to cash in on the brand you’ve created, maybe even become a Richard Branson-style celebrity in your niche?

Well, wonder no more. Just tune in to History Channel’s smash-hit reality-TV show Pawn Stars, which averages 4 million viewers an episode. It’s so popular the network renewed their contract for 80 more episodes. New episodes air Monday nights at 10pm EST.

via A Lesson in Growing Your Brand from the ‘Pawn Stars’ | Blog… Continue reading →

No matter who you talk to, most people agree: The nation’s age-old patent system needed an overhaul. But now that it’s a done deal, new challenges are surfacing that may make it harder for entrepreneurs and small-scale inventors to get patents.

Bringing an end to a long history of bungled reform attempts, President Barack Obama today signed a sweeping reform bill into law that promises to change the system for determining priority for inventions at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Formally known as the America Invents Act, the law also aims to shore up more financing for… Continue reading →