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Why bother with professional economists for forecasts? "Your predictions can be as good as any economist's - and more fun to make," Fortune Small Business says. Newport News, Va., investment adviser Paul Montgomery suggests a few prediction methods, some of them tried and true. Counting boxes and boxcar loadings is a good indicator, he says, because it reflects product shipments. And there's the snuff index, based on rising sales of smokeless tobacco. Higher snuff sales suggest that employment of unskilled labor is getting better, he says.
As manufacturers' car-buying incentives continue to rise, so have the car-buying public's dependency on them. Half of adults in the market for a car within the next 12 months say they are not likely to buy a new car without incentives, rebates or special financing, according to AutoVIBES' monthly automotive study.
Gambling is a booming business in the United States, and the gaming industry is trying to expand its U.S. success to a thriving global business, the Economist reports. Gambling in the United States has more than doubled since 1993, from an $11.2-billion industry to a $27-billion industry in 2003.
When reviewing your legal and financial documents, it pays to remember you live in Florida. Some quirks in Florida law could affect your will, for example, Florida Trend says. If the executor you have named for your will is not a blood relative, he or she must live in Florida. Otherwise, that person would not be able to serve, the magazine says.
Recent corporate scandals may have made teens cynical about the value of ethics in the workplace. A recent poll showed about a third of teens think that bending the rules will help them get ahead on the job. That's up from 20 percent last year. Partly in response to the findings, Junior Achievement and Deloitte & Touche USA LLP are expanding their classroom offerings on business ethics.
Most job seekers start their resumes by stating their career objectives. Experts say that misses the point: Employers typically want to know what you're qualified to do, not what you'd like to do. ResumeDoctor.com recommends beginning with a concise statement conveying your title, industry background and area of expertise. And focus on quantifying your expertise and accomplishments, it says.
- Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.