Regardless of the headlines, consumer confidence ticked up in July after four monthly declines the Conference Board reported. The Consumer Confidence Index edged up slightly in July over June reflecting that consumers were more optimistic about their short-term economic prospects even in the midst of signs that the recovery may be stalling. In related news, seven years after the housing bubble burst, most indexes of house prices are moving up the Wall Street Journal reported in “Housing Passes a Milestone.” Furthermore, a recent WSJ survey of forecasters “found 44 believe the housing market has reached its bottom; only three don’t.” Of note for baby boomers, Kerry Hannon reports for Forbes “push off retiring until age 70 and your financial world is going to be much brighter.” Perhaps the most surprising economic headline in July was the news that the recession had no impact on Americans’ credit scores according to Smart Money. The average score in 2007 was 689 and in 2012 was 690.

Who’s Watching Your Business?

With 72% of all data breaches that were analyzed last year occurring at businesses with 100 or fewer employees– the question is who is watching your companies greatest asset – your data? Sarah Needleman reported for the WSJ that according to Larry Ponemon, chairman of the Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank, “small businesses feel like they’re immune from cybercrime, and they’re wrong. They are absolutely on the list of potential targets of cybercriminals.” Ponemon said the average U.S. data breach cost companies $194 per compromised record last year. Have safeguards in place for your data? Do you need to take stock of your leadership skills around the office? Then you should check out Fast Company’s article “A Submarine Captain on the Power of Leadership Language.” Ever wonder what the secrets are for using Wikipedia for marketing and PR? Now you have just that in this 19 page guide.

Personal Development

If you are not on Twitter what you probably don’t know is that it has an intelligent user base that contributes a wealth of information on a multitude of topics. Mashable recently took a look and “found 25 Twitter accounts that will increase your general knowledge of a wide range of topics: science, technology, human rights, the environment and more. These individuals and general fact-toting accounts will help you engage in intelligent discussions — so you can impress your friends and family.” How many people do you eat lunch with and why does it matter? According to researcher Ben Waber it does matter. As reported by CNN, “workers who regularly sit with large groups of colleagues at tables for 10 or 12 in their lunchrooms have substantially higher performance than those who sit at tables for 4.” Why? By sitting with a larger group you are likely to be more in tune with a greater number of colleagues and a larger group to look to for advice.

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