Unless Congress acts, across-the-board spending cuts scheduled to take effect March 1 will be felt throughout the government. Some of the most visible effects will be noticed by air travelers. (NPR)

Visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/02/21/172524523/one-place-you-may-notice-the-sequester-at-the-airport to view the full article online.

 

No, cash-strapped motorist, it's not just you. Gas really is weirdly expensive right now. Despite the fact that we're in February, when the price at the pump is traditionally low, gasoline has marched up to past the $3.80-a-gallon mark on average nationwide, and is close to $4.00 on the west coast. AAA tells the Washington Post 'that this "is the most expensive we've seen gasoline in the dead of winter." (The Atlantic)

Visit http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/why-are-gas-prices-so-bizarrely-high-right-now/273357/ to view the full article online.

 

"We are being overloaded by a deluge of information coming from an increasing number of devices, which now include smartphones and tablet computers. New social applications are to blame, but the primary scourge is email, which is coming in faster than we can respond. And there is not a damned thing you can do about it, so you better get used to it." (Fast Company)

Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/3006044/email-scourge-or-merely-scapegoat-information-overload to view the full article online.

 

For those who send out plenty of networking emails and phone calls only to hear nothing but silence, the question isn't why they should network, but how. A few things to consider. (Fortune)

Visit http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/20/career-networking-troubles/ to view the full article online.

 

We can work remotely and multitask and have flex hours – but doing so means we have to coordinate, collaborate, and communicate in ways we didn't have to 20 years ago. Here's what that extra effort looks like in action. (Fast Company)

Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/3006017/end-9-5-made-life-more-complicated-heres-how-take-control-again to view the full article online.

 

Forget the empty platitudes; your star employee is not a "godsend." They are a person deserving of your not infrequent acknowledgment and worthy of appreciation and respect. When was the last time you thanked them – really thanked them? In my line of work, I frequently communicate with CEOs and their executive assistants, and nowhere is the need for gratitude more clear. (Harvard Business Review)

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/how_to_give_a_meaningful_thank.html to view the full article online.

 

When cars first became popular 100 years ago, there were no road rules or speed limits to begin with. Inspired by the freedom of their speedy new toys, drivers zoomed around as fast as they could. Crashes were a constant. Today's speedy new toys, the smartphone and tablet, help people work when, where, and how they want. (Fortune)

Visit http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/20/office-brain-health-smartphones/ to view the full article online.

 

What’s the key to achieving better engagement and promotion among Blacks, Latinos, Asians and women? Provide them the career support they need early on with cross-cultural mentoring. (Diversity Inc.)

Visit http://www.diversityinc.com/mentoring/cross-cultural-mentoring-how-ibm-ey-kraft-increase-diversity-in-management/ to view the full article online.

 

France is poised to drag the eurozone into a fourth quarter of recession as business activity slumps in the region's second-largest economy. (CNN/Money)

Visit http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/21/news/economy/eurozone-pmi-france/index.html?iid=HP_River to view the full article online.

 

Eight months after the GMAT exam underwent its biggest overhaul in 15 years, the test’s new Integrated Reasoning section is beginning to be used by admissions committees at top business schools to determine which applicants to accept. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-21/b-schools-look-for-way-to-use-new-gmat-in-admissions to view the full article online.

 

Working at Google has become such the stuff of legend that even aging box office frat bros Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn will be taking internships there in a film this summer. This year, Google ranked as the best-rated company for interns, according to job review site Glassdoor.com. There is something striking, in fact, about all the companies on its list: They all pay great – and Silicon Valley pays better than Wall Street. (AOL Jobs)

Visit http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/02/21/highest-paying-internships-silicon-valley/ to view the full article online.

 

Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. We've all heard it before. But, why is it so hard to have a great relationship? How can we develop viable relationships that help us in our personal and business lives?

Join Dr. Alduan Tartt, the 'passionate psychologist', media personality and relationship expert; Tara Y. Coyt, author and coach; Sheri Riley, coach and life strategist; Kenny Pugh, author and radio host; and Jack A. Daniels, psychotherapist and best-selling author, as they present an interactive, inspiring and helpful evening of tips, tools and scenarios to help you handle your business life by managing your personal life.

Visit http://myemail.constantcontact.com/NBMBAA-Atlanta-Chapter-February-Forum---The-Business-of-Relationships-----Expert-Relationship-Advice-You-Don-t-Want-to-Miss--.html?soid=1101087990401&aid=nvIDq7szqmA to view the full article online.

 

The Black Business Student Forum (BBSF) chose a distinct approach for the 25th anniversary of its annual gathering. Event organizers invited students from the greater Charlottesville community to the University of Virginia Darden School of Business to live "A Day in the Life of an MBA." (UVa)

Visit http://www.newswise.com/articles/u-va-darden-school-of-business-hosts-black-business-student-forum to view the full article online.

 

Cash has been taking a beating lately. Last week, Canada minted its last penny. Eurozone countries are working to restrict cash payments. Bitcoin is all the rage. Payments start-ups such as Square and iZettle are on a cash-killing mission, while non-profit organizations, governments, the World Bank, small businesses, multinational corporations, app developers, hippies, libertarians, liberals, right-wingers all have agendas that can be advanced by alternatives to cash, and they're all pushing to bring them about. (BBC News)

Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21427472 to view the full article online.

 

The advent of 3D printing will mean we are all manufacturers. That also means big changes for businesses of all kinds. (Fortune)

Visit http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/21/tech-is-destroying-the-line-between-manufacturing-and-services/ to view the full article online.

 

For some entrepreneurs, prioritizing yourself can be one of the biggest challenges. Here's how to learn to say no and set boundaries. (Inc.)

Visit http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/why-and-how-to-stop-being-too-nice.html to view the full article online.

 

Women-led private technology companies are more capital-efficient, achieve 35 percent higher return on investment, and, when venture-backed, bring in 12 percent higher revenue than male-owned tech companies. That’s according to new research presented at a recent conference in San Francisco organized by Women 2.0, a media company devoted to women founders in the tech industry. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-20/women-who-run-tech-startups-are-catching-up#r=hpt-ls to view the full article online.

 

Few have anything nice to say about the $85 billion in budget cuts set to take effect March 1, and for good reason. The cuts are bad policy. (CNN/Money)

Visit http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/21/news/economy/budget-cuts/index.html?iid=A_E_News to view the full article online.

 

Americans have experienced a strong case of Germany Envy throughout the recession and slow recovery. In 2010, when the president pledged to double export growth in five years, policymakers looked to Germany for tips. In his latest State of the Union, the president plugged Germany, not only as a manufacturing powerhouse, but also as a standard for vocational training for young people. (The Atlantic)

Visit http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/president-obama-wants-america-to-be-like-germany-what-does-that-really-mean/273318/ to view the full article online.

 

If Steve Boedefeld graduates from Appalachian State University without any student loan debt, it will be because of the money he earned fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and the money he now saves by eating what he grows or kills. (The New York Times)

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/business/college-costs-battled-a-paycheck-at-a-time.html to view the full article online.

 

If you’re a high-income type, you’re probably painfully aware that some tax breaks are phased out (either reduced or eliminated) as your adjusted gross income, or AGI, increases. That’s the price of success, right? Well, not necessarily. Believe it or not, some tax breaks are available to just about anybody – regardless of income. (MarketWatch)

Visit http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tax-breaks-for-everyone-even-top-earners-2013-02-19 to view the full article online.

 

Why is an old iPhone still worth hundreds of dollars? New research suggests a surprising explanation: hoarding. More than half of American consumers say they have two or more unused cell phones in their household, according to a new survey released Friday. (MarketWatch)

Visit http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumers-hoard-9-billion-in-old-iphones-2013-02-15?link=SM_hp_spend to view the full article online.

 

Hackers have hit thousands of American corporations in the last few years, but few companies ever publicly admit it. Most treat online attacks as a dirty secret best kept from customers, shareholders and competitors, lest the disclosure sink their stock price and tarnish them as hapless. (The New York Times)

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/technology/hacking-victims-edge-into-light.html?ref=business&_r=0 to view the full article online.

 

Nothing can be more annoying to hiring managers and great candidates alike than the blockage created by a hiring process that no longer fits today's fast-paced world of hiring. It's time to clean out your recruitment processes to allow talent to quickly enter your system. Here's how you can make this happen. (Fast Company)

Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/3006042/when-it-comes-hiring-top-talent-only-speedy-survive to view the full article online.

 

How do you find the best talent globally and integrate them into your culture? Melissa Harper, vice president of Global Talent Acquisition at Monsanto, discusses the answer and shares the multinational company’s innovative best practices for talent acquisition and the integration of new hires. (Video) (Diversity Inc.)

Visit http://www.diversityinc.com/diversity-events/how-to-find-hire-integrate-global-talent-into-your-workforce/ to view the full article online.

 

The "fog of war" describes the uncertainty faced by soldiers in the field of battle. In today's markets, business leaders face a similar challenge: how to pierce through the "the fog of business." The traditional tools of management – strategy and planning – are no longer sufficient. Strategy and planning are like high beams on a car; they just bounce off the fog. Strategy doesn't give employees enough guidance to know how to take action, and plans are too rigid to adapt to changing circumstances. In rapidly changing environments, you need fog lights to get closer to the ground.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/use_doctrine_to_pierce_the_f.html to view the full article online.

 

America’s coffee cup seems filled to the rim. Hot or iced, drip, French press, espresso, Chemex or Keurig, each of us downs about 23 gallons of joe a year on average. It’s in our blood. It’s also on our streets, where Starbucks SBUX -0.47% outposts outnumber hospitals and colleges. And even on our resumes: 161,000 people list "coffee" as a skill on LinkedIn. (MarketWatch)

Visit http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americas-coffee-cup-is-half-full-2013-02-20 to view the full article online.