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During the best of times, raising capital is no walk in the park. Today, however, the task can be daunting. After the Bear Stearns debacle and the problems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it is more difficult to raise capital than at any other time in recent history. Given today's environment, a comp...

Americans are focused more than ever on the price of oil. After all, gasoline is at an all-time high; airline prices have gone up because of the extra costs of fuel; and even the cost of home delivery of a pizza has gone up -- all because of rising oil prices. However, although Americans are present...

Since the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley on July 30, 2002, many executives and board members have developed an almost palpable degree of anxiety when it comes to corporate governance and board service. In fact, some friends of mine who have been asked to serve on boards of publicly held companies have ...

Many of us have never heard of life insurance settlements. Actually, they have been around for several decades and have become quite popular among investors like Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Berkshire Hathaway and hedge funds. In fact, the annual cash volume of life insurance settlements in the U.S...

The current economy in the U.S. has put tremendous strain on many companies, particularly startups. Usually, our firm gets very few inquiries from companies that are facing bankruptcy and are looking for strategies, options and alternatives to bankruptcy. Lately, however, that seems to have changed....

The recent fall and near collapse of Bear Stearns has been breathtaking. What has caused this once great company to flirt with becoming a penny stock? Will there be stockholders' suits for this remarkable collapse of value? Management of Bear Stearns decided to ride the mortgage-backed securities bo...

The average compensation for an S&P 500 company's CEO was US$14.2 million in 2007, according to the AFL-CIO's 2007 Trends in CEO Pay survey. Some CEOs are even compensated multiple times that amount. This raises the question: When is executive compensation too high? One might also ask, are direc...

Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower are increasingly becoming more popular. In fact, wind power is the fastest-growing energy source in the world. Presently, there are about 30,000 wind turbines operating worldwide, and that number is increasing. While this is very encouragin...

As technologically advanced as we are in the U.S., we are still in the horse-and-buggy age when it comes to our medical records. A person's records are usually dispersed among a number of healthcare providers. This system is inefficiently fragmented and also dangerous for the patient. Just think: If...

In an article I wrote for the E-Commerce Times titled "WorldCom's Failure: Why Did it Happen?" I talked about one of the largest accounting frauds in U.S. history. The upshot of this fraud was that former CEO, Bernie Ebbers, 63, was convicted of orchestrating this $11 billion accounting fraud and w...

Most of us are painfully aware that the real estate market has been on the decline for some time. In fact, some experts feel that it might take at least two years for prices to hit bottom. However, an interesting twist is bringing good news: Virtual real estate prices are on the rise! In fact, we no...

Commonly, a publicly held corporation will go to the public markets in order to raise capital. Unfortunately, directors' risk of liability can be substantially increased when a company is raising capital. This is particularly the case if any of the lenders or investors in a particular capital raise ...

When a company is not publicly held, there is generally no legal reason why it should have a board of directors. Yet, there are plenty of private companies that have boards. In fact, I happen to sit on the board of a private company. So, the question must be asked: When should a private company have...

Recently, I wrote an article for the E-Commerce Times entitled "The Dollar's Decline and Its Implications." Since then, I was fortunate enough to interview the president of the Single Global Currency Association, Morrison Bonpasse, to get his take on the current state of the dollar. Opinions abound ...

Have you been unsuccessful in raising capital for your company? Certainly, depending on the profitability of and prospects for a company, raising capital can be a difficult challenge. However, some industries find it easier to raise capital than others. Much of it depends on which industries are in ...

There is no doubt that the dollar seems to be heading in one direction: down. Though I have faith in the long-term prospects for the dollar, it's very important to be aware of the dynamics of a falling currency. Because the United States is an international economic powerhouse, the implications of a...

You probably realize that startups experience an inordinate amount of failures. Of course, starting any new business is fraught with risks. However, these risks can be minimized with the proper planning. Based upon my experience in owning and advising businesses, I have come up with seven tips for t...

Many entrepreneurs think that it is not possible to bring a smaller company public. They feel that a company needs to have a long track record, as well as show a profit. Actually, neither is a prerequisite to bringing a company public. Smaller companies that have achieved some level of profitability...

In many cases, the entrepreneur who had the courage to start a new business was on the right track by choosing a startup that could be both viable and profitable. Yet, the company failed. Why is that? Because of lack of working capital: the main cause of startup failures. This kind of failure can be...

This past July, a joint FBI/Chinese effort seized about $500 million worth of counterfeit Microsoft and Symantec software. The seizure and arrests came at a time when our government was pressuring China to do something about its traditional tolerance of software piracy. This was no small seizure and...