Returns on investment or ROI is a commonly heard term in conversations nowadays. Any effort in terms of time and money must yield returns. If taken literally, ROI is the benefit or return that accrues on an investment divided by the cost incurred on that investment. However, most time ROI crops up when one expects some returns for the effort put in.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s the Irish economy was referred to as the Celtic Tiger. Phenomenal growth in GDP occurred year after year, fuelled by high tech, service and construction industries. Anyone who visited Dublin in the past decade will have abiding memories of the city looking like one massive building site. Ireland had a highly educated population to provide the workers in these industries, 90,000 jobs were created every year and the country imported large numbers of workers from all over Europe to keep up with demand for skilled labor. Now, in 2011, the economy has all but collapsed and at the end of 2010 the Irish government had no other option but to ask for a multi billion pound bail out from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. So where did it all go wrong?

One of the keys to building wealth is to have multiple streams of income. Your income is, after all, the main thing that you can leverage when it comes to wealth building. Some people, though, just aren’t sure how to get multiple streams of income coming in to their lives. If you have talents in the right areas, it may not be all that difficult. With time and work, you can start generating different types of income for your family. When you manage that money well, you’ll be able to build wealth, pass on money to the next generation, and eventually enjoy the spoils of your hard work.

Spread betting has thrived since the dotcom crash of 2002 and seemed to escape relatively unscathed as a strategy in the aftermath of the credit crunch. Although now regarded as a “legitimate” investment strategy, at its core spread-betting is still gambling, not investing. You are taking a punt on the future movement (either up or down) of a share price, index or a commodity just as you would on a race track.  

If you have a good credit score, you might be able to get a bank loan for almost all of your long term and short term goals. Yet, the biggest financial goal of any individual must be achieving complete personal financial independence. However, it is an unfortunate fact that more than 23% of Americans are under debt which they consider unmanageable. Also, half of the population has less than one month of saving for emergencies while 20% of them don’t have any saving at all.

Looking over the Morning Star ETF Performance Table I find four ETFs with nice performance over the past month in addition to having decent volume. I have been active in the call option contracts for both Ultra Oil & Gas (DIG) and Daily Energy Bull 3X (ERX). Both have performed well over the past month with good company earnings and strong commodity (oil) prices in addition to unrest in the Middle East.

Selling a business is not as straightforward as putting a house on the market, and there are many things that must be taken into consideration. As with any major sale, getting a deal can take time so being prepared will help the process run as smoothly, and quickly, as possible.

A number of huge acquisitions coupled with a strong earning report from Loews Corporation has allowed share prices to soar.

Pride International Incorporation has managed to gain 16% after Ensco PLC an oil rig operator based in London announced that it would acquire offshore driller for a whooping $7.3 billion.

Beckman Coulter also jumped 16% after Danaher Corporation announced that it was planning to acquire the company for $ 5.8 billion. Beckman Coulter Manufacturers medical diagnostic test equipment.

It doesn’t always take a lot to get your employees motivated to help your business succeed. Sometimes it’s just the simple little things that have them taking a more active interest in their role or the business as a whole and to make them feel like it’s more than just a job.

If you are looking for some ways to help your business succeed by way of employee motivation, here are a few tips and techniques that can help light the fire under your staff and have them taking the initiative to promote and support your business.

Small businesses always operate on small budgets which require a tight rein on costs. Tough economic conditions, recessions and slumps always have the worst impact on small businesses, survival is possible only by adopting cost control methods.

Small business owners today have the advantage of having access to a host of internet based services that come free or at minimal expenses and help them save on administration costs especially those related to IT. Cloud based services are a typical example of what small businesses have at their disposal.