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Video Gaming Expo Highlights Utah's Dense Market
Video Game Enthusiasts and Businesses Meet on Fertile Ground
by Matthew Reinbold Aggro. Pwnage. MMORPG. For some those words are meaningless gibberish. For others, like the thousands who attended Salt Lake's GEEX Gaming and Electronics Expo last month, those terms are the language of business.
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Cache Valley Entrepreneurs Get a Boost
E-Station Opens on Utah State University Campus
by Bryan Schott Entrepreneurs in the Cache Valley have a new resource. Grow Utah Ventures has opened an “E-Station” on the campus of Utah State University. The center provides office space, electronics and mentoring for businesses that are accepted to the program.
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Utah Business Executives More Pessimistic About Economy
New Zions Bank Economic Forecast at Lowest Level in Two Years
by Bryan Schott An atmosphere of pessimism about Utah’s economy is creeping into the attitudes of Utah’s business executives.
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Opportunity Knocks Twice; Chapter 8
by Don Hale, as told to Mark Hale Editor's Note: Utah Pulse is serializing the book, 'Opportunity Knocks Twice,' by Don Hale, as told to Mark Hale. We'll publish two chapters a week. You'll enjoy the wit and wisdom of one of Utah's great entrepreneurs, founder of Hires Big H. To buy the book, click here.
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Event Calendar
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Today at Utah Pulse
- The Beat: Utah Development Spotlights: Procter & Gamble
- The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) would like to showcase several powerhouse companies who made a great impact on Utah’s economy in 2007. These great companies are just a sample of the many businesses expanding or relocating to the “most dynamic state” in the country.
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- The Beat: An FTZ in SLC?
- Great effort has been expended by many organizations as Salt Lake City awaits approval for its Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), but some might ask what all the fuss is about. Here’s a primer on what an FTZ is and how it can benefit Utah businesses.
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- The Beat: Sonic Innovations Appoints New President and COO
- SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sonic Innovations, Inc., a U.S.-based publicly traded manufacturer of digital hearing aids, announced today that Paul R. Wennerholm has joined the company as president and chief operating officer.
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- The Beat: U of U Receives $12 Million from Sorenson Legacy Foundation
- SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of Utah announced today the Sorenson Legacy Foundation has pledged $12 million to the university for the construction of an interdisciplinary arts and education complex at its Salt Lake City campus. It is the largest donation in support of fine arts or arts and education in university history.
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- The Beat: Raser Technologies Adds 20,000 Acres to Its Thermo Resource Portfolio
- PROVO, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Raser Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has signed three new lease agreements covering more than 20,000 acres of geothermal, surface and other rights near its existing Thermo resource in Beaver County, Utah.
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- Business Tip: Five Tips on Budgeting
- 1. Think of a budget as a useful tool—a written financial plan that helps you set goals and measure progress.
2. Start by coming up with a sales revenue target. Make it your best estimate.
3. Based on past experience, estimate your cost of goods sold (e.g., 70 percent of sales) and subtract it from the sales revenue to come up with your estimated gross margin.
4. Forecast variable expenses (items such as travel and commissions that vary according to the level of sales) and fixed expenses (items like taxes and rent that stay the same, regardless of sales). Subtract these expenses from your gross margin to arrive at your estimated net income (before federal taxes).
5. Break your annual budget into quarters and monitor your progress every three months to detect problems and make corrections.
(Source: SCORE)
- Lighter Side: Respect for the Dead
- Little Tim was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the cheeky-faced youngster was up to, he politely asked, "What are you up to there, Tim?"
"My goldfish died," replied Tim tearfully, without looking up, "and I've just buried him."
The neighbor was concerned, "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn't it?"
Tim patted down the last heap of earth then replied, "That's because he's still inside your cat!"
(Source: My Humor )
- Today in Business History: Aug 12
- 1851: Isaac Singer was granted a patent on his sewing machine.
1960: The first balloon satellite, Echo 1, was launched by the United States from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
1998: Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to Holocaust survivors to settle claims for their assets.
(Source: NY Times )
- Wise Words
- "I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter".-- Walt Disney
(Source: Plan Ware )
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Utah Pulse Highlights
If you have kids, you probably have at least one video game console in the house. Video Gaming is big business, especially in Utah. Read this rundown of last month's Geex Expo, to get a feel for just how big it is in Utah.
In other business news on a Tuesday...
More troubled bank news this morning. California banks, Downey Financial Corp., and Vinyard National Bankcorp say they may not have enough capital to continue operations if there's a surge of customers withdrawing money from the banks. Both lenders have been hit hard by the mortgage meltdown. In fact, federal regulators are limiting some of Downey's operations.
Energy Solutions announced that their second quarter profits doubled.
Delta and Northwestern pilots have agreed on a joint collective bargaining agreement that takes effect when the two airlines merge. However, they still can't agree on how to handle seniority among the two carrier's pilots.
If you want to get a handle on how bad things are for the newspaper industry, this is just plain incredible. The McClatchy Co., owns 49.5% of the Seattle Times. Just two years ago, that share was valued at $102.2 million. Today, McClatchy values that same share at just $9.9 million.
It's not just newspapers feeling the hurt from a down economy. Most local media outlets are suffering from a reduction in auto advertising. The industry reduced advertising spending by more than $400 million last quarter. And, another source of easy money, political ads, are down by 15-20 percent.
We're always looking to spotlight new startup companies. If you have a suggestion, or want us to profile your startup, drop me a line.
--Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
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