My Business Blog

CELEBRITY chef Paul Heathcote today closed his flagship Liverpool restaurant.

Staff were told this lunchtime that Simply Heathcotes, which was regarded one of the best in the city, was to shut.

Simply Heathcotes struggled after a bridge link that took thousands of workers past the restaurant was demolished, leaving the venue in a cul-de-sac.

The walkway across the Strand that linked the Pier Head with Beetham Plaza, where Heathcotes sits, was one of the last remnants of the city’s network of overhead walkways. I

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But this summer’s price declines, including a double-digit July drop reported Tuesday, have market watchers wondering whether the worst is really over.

Jack McCabe, the Deerfield Beach real estate consultant who correctly called the top of the market in the summer of 2005, believes last year’s nadir may not hold.

“With the end of tax credits for first- and second-time home buyers, we will return to a weak sales market,” McCabe said. “Prices will remain flat and may drop a few percentage points.

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An interesting opportunity to get full-quality major software company retail money management, budgeting, and small business accounting software for free is now in affect. Microsoft has decided to get out of the financial software business, in effect ceding the market to Intuit and its Quicken and QuickBooks software products. However, thousands of copies of Microsoft Money software are installed by users all over the world, and they depend upon Microsoft Money to manage their finances on the computer. Just abandoning these users would be bad business strategy, so Microsoft has released a new free version of Microsoft Money for download.

Unlike earlier versions of Microsoft Money, the newest version of MS Money does not have any online functionality.

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How long should it take to obtain the company credit my business needs? < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

There’s no cookie cutter answer to this question because every business is different and has its own unique contributing factors. For example, a five year old business will have greater business credit opportunities than a company that just opened its doors a month ago.

In addition, the credit needs for every business will continue to change as the business expands and requires additional funding. The

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The phones are buzzing at the Sarasota Emergency Management Department with callers reporting oil in area waters.

But investigators are finding nothing out of the ordinary, said Ed McCrane, director of Sarasota County Emergency Management.

McCrane surveyed area waterways by boat on Friday to determine if any of the phone callers were accurately reporting oil or oil byproducts washing up on area beaches or waterways.

But some beach watchers may not realize that nature is messy, stinky, bubbly, and sometimes even oily, due to the plants, algae and animals that live, die and decay there.

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Logistics giant Stobart says it expects further growth in the second half of 2010 after contract wins earlier in the year.

In its pre-close trading statement, the Widnes-based group says its performance in the first six months of the year is in line with management expectations and is “significantly ahead” of the same period last year.

The statement added: “We expect continued growth in the second half as new contracts start to deliver, while we recognise the economic environment remains challenging.

“The volumes in Eddie Stobart remain strong, benefiting from new contracts announced in the last 12 months including a recent significant new contract win for transport and warehousing for AG Barr worth around £7m per annum.

“Increased volume volatility has created some challenges for the business which are being addressed through working closely with our customers.

“Overall trading is in line with expectations and significantly ahead of last.”

Stobart said the performance of its ports division was “marginally ahead” of expectations due to tight cost control with “steady volumes but limited growth”.