Rank	Company	Job growth	U.S. employees
1	SAS	2%	5,487
2	Edward Jones	8%	37,079
3	Wegmans Food Markets	0%	36,770
4	Google	N.A.%	N.A.
5	Nugget Market	-16%	1,342
6	DreamWorks Animation SKG	13%	1,825
7	NetApp	0%	5,033
8	Boston Consulting Group	3%	1,737
9	Qualcomm	3%	12,255
10	Camden Property Trust	-6%	1,743
11	Robert W. Baird & Co.	6%	2,286
12	Bingham McCutchen	-7%	1,859
13	W. L. Gore & Associates	5%	5,764
14	Recreational Equipment	-6%	8,640
15	Zappos.com	-21%	1,300
16	Cisco	0%	37,276
17	Methodist Hospital System	6%	11,145
18	Whole Foods Market	-9%	47,478
19	Genentech	2%	11,146
20	Devon Energy	4%	3,912
21	NuStar Energy	4%	1,375
22	Johnson Financial Group	1%	1,316
23	Umpqua Bank	8%	1,836
24	Goldman Sachs Group	-13%	12,243
25	Novo Nordisk	10%	3,360
26	CHG Healthcare Services	-12%	1,142
27	Scottrade	22%	2,409
28	JM Family Enterprises	-18%	3,772
29	Quicken Loans	0%	2,893
30	Alston & Bird	7%	1,842
31	PCL Construction Enterprises	-10%	3,970
32	Baptist Health South Florida	11%	11,729
33	Shared Technologies	-21%	1,243
34	Chesapeake Energy	20%	7,720
35	American Fidelity Assurance Co.	-1%	1,502
36	Container Store	-9%	3,233
37	Aflac	-3%	4,353
38	Scooter Store	51%	2,173
39	TDIndustries	7%	1,588
40	Scripps Health	15%	11,444
41	QuikTrip	5%	10,311
42	Adobe Systems	-4%	4,065
43	Salesforce.com	21%	2,361
44	Ernst & Young	-4%	24,815
45	USAA	-1%	21,999
46	OhioHealth	3%	12,128
47	J. M. Smucker	44%	4,521
48	FactSet Research Systems	9%	1,322
49	Mercedes-Benz USA	0%	1,612
50	King's Daughters Medical Center	7%	3,263
51	Microsoft	2%	54,923
52	Booz Allen Hamilton	13%	21,303
53	Nordstrom	-8%	45,853
54	Paychex	2%	12,456
55	Mayo Clinic	0%	41,839
56	CarMax	-16%	13,030
57	DPR Construction	-2%	1,142
58	Four Seasons Hotels	-9%	12,345
59	Monsanto	5%	10,772
60	Indiana Regional Medical Center	3%	1,200
61	Brocade Communications Systems	39%	2,873
62	Kimley-Horn	-19%	1,808
63	Southern Ohio Medical Center	8%	2,286
64	Stew Leonard's	-6%	2,037
65	Arnold & Porter	1%	1,295
66	Plante & Moran	1%	1,547
67	EOG Resources	-4%	1,725
68	Men's Wearhouse	-9%	14,764
69	MITRE	2%	6,572
70	Deloitte	1%	39,065
71	PricewaterhouseCoopers	1%	29,387
72	McCormick and Company	2%	2,799
73	American Express	-10%	27,265
74	Children's Healthcare of Atlanta	13%	6,536
75	Perkins Coie	-3%	1,680
76	Balfour Beatty Construction	-12%	1,514
77	Baker Donelson	-1%	1,127
78	Mattel	-9%	5,293
79	Meridian Health	12%	7,099
80	Build-A-Bear Workshop	-14%	4,588
81	Atlantic Health	2%	7,114
82	Marriott International	-10%	110,091
83	S. C. Johnson & Son	0%	3,343
84	Accenture	-7%	30,000
85	Arkansas Children's Hospital	8%	3,733
86	Publix Super Markets	2%	139,578
87	National Instruments	2%	2,568
88	KPMG	-7%	20,972
89	Bright Horizons	0%	14,497
90	General Mills	-2%	16,681
91	FedEx	-4%	218,770
92	Gilbane	-11%	1,934
93	Starbucks Coffee	-27%	116,357
94	Intuit	-7%	6,710
95	Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe	-8%	1,481
96	LifeBridge Health	5%	6,350
97	Herman Miller	-8%	5,186
98	Intel	0%	43,905
99	Winchester Hospital	4%	2,027
100	Colgate-Palmolive	2%	5,366

Over the holidays, we reviewed all of the smart new business ideas we covered in 2009, and selected 10 that we believe will provide entrepreneurs with plenty of opportunities in 2010. Needless to say, it was a huge challenge to pick just 10 from such a wide range of innovative concepts. We hope you'll find our selection as inspiring as we did!

1. Small-scale food production using membership models

The past year or two saw a huge increase in innovative, upscale mobile food purveyors working from trucks and selling everything from premium ice-cream to Korean BBQ tacos. Requiring an even lower investment, the next wave could be small-scale culinary subscription services, which allow fledgling entrepreneurs to get a foothold in the food business, and create a steady income and a loyal client base for future business activities.
Milk Made » — Dulcinea »

2. Low impact advertising

Realising that green concerns are here to stay, British media agency Curb offers nothing but low-impact advertising. Its first service used rainwater to clean logos into grubby pavements, and was quickly followed by other techniques that use sand, sea water, grass, glow-in-the-dark funghi and more to broadcast their clients' messages in an earth-friendly manner.
Curb »

3. Health tracking devices

From wireless headbands that track sleep patterns to wearable gadgets that track every move, an increasing number of options is available for people who want to track their own health-related behaviour. Recording and relaying detailed information that was previously only available through medical monitoring, most of these devices aren't yet available worldwide, which creates a host of opportunities for distributors and localized versions.
Zeo » — Fitbit » — DirectLife » — TheCarrot.com » — Bedpost »

4. Sample stores, cafes & vending machines

Sophisticated sampling—dubbed tryvertising by trendwatching.com—isn't new. On the rise, however, are dedicated spaces that facilitate sampling by a variety of brands, attracting consumers through the irresistible offer of free goods. Following sampling stores in Spain, sampling cafes in Tokyo and sample vending machines in Belgium, we suspect this concept will spread even further in 2010.
Esloúltimo » — L CAFE » — Boobox »

5. Discreet rooftop solar panels and wind turbines

While most homeowners would in theory like to generate their own wind or solar power, many are put off not just by cost, but by the aesthetic impact of wind turbines and solar panels. Aiming to resolve that problem are smart engineers who are creating new options that blend in with their environment. Two promising examples: rooftop wind turbines that almost disappear along the apex of a sloping roof, and solar panels shaped like traditional clay roof tiles. Plenty of opportunities here over the next decade, both in distribution and in the development of similar products.
Solé Power Tile » — Ridgeblade »

6. Rotating retail at airports and in malls

Pop-up, temporary retail is still going strong, but a new alternative has entered the game: rotating retail. Two spottings: opening soon in Glasgow Airport is Planeshop, a permanent store that brands will take over for a limited time, including changing the shop's exterior graphics to match their identity. And in the Netherlands, BrandNew Stores aims to turn those fleeting pop-up shops into a chain concept, creating fixed spaces where brands can temporarily present themselves in a regular retail environment.
Planeshop » — BrandNew Stores »

7. Remote farming for consumers

According to Wikipedia, farm simulation game FarmVille has become the most popular game application on Facebook with 73.8 million active users in January 2010. Offering consumers a way to remotely control a patch of land that will actually provide them with an edible harvest is a new Italian start-up: Le Verdure Del Mio Orto, which lets anyone build an organic garden right from their web browser. As the produce grows, it's picked and delivered to the customer's door within 24 hours. Weekly deliveries are part of the package.
Le Verdure Del Mio Orto »

8. Connecting creative consumers with local fabricators

A partnership between New Zealand-based Ponoko and North Carolina-based ShopBot Tools, 100kGarages is a community of workshops distributed around the world that are equipped with the digital fabrication tools needed to precisely cut, machine, drill or sculpt the components of virtually any creative project. The network allows designers or consumers turn their ideas into physical products, and creates new business for small workshops.
100kGarages »

9. Paying consumers to promote products they use and love

As our sister-site trendwatching.com pointed out in its sellsumers briefing, selling is the new saving: a recession-induced need for cash plus an ever-growing infrastructure are fueling concepts that help ordinary consumers make money instead of spending it. One of the easiest ways to do so is by taking on the role of marketeer for products they already use and love: from promoting concerts by their favourite bands, to helping small companies launch new products.
Hollrr » — People's Music Store » — Posse » — Looklet »

10. Single-use toilet bag turns human waste into fertilizer

While this is a numbered list, we love all of these ideas equally. So, last but not least, a potential solution to a problem that 2.6 billion people have to deal with: no access to a toilet. Designed for use sitting, squatting or standing, the single-use, biodegradable plastic Peepoo bag is lined with a urea-coated gauze layer that disinfects all waste. Used bags are odour-free for at least 24 hours and are safe for burial underground. Within two to four weeks after use, their contents are converted to high-quality fertiliser—something that's also rare in many areas and could become a source of income and further enrichment for individuals or villages.
Peepoo bag »

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pin

Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman

Louder Than Words: Take Your Career from Average to Exceptional with the Hidden Power of Nonverbal Intelligence by Joe Navarro

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T Kiyosaki

The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE by Thomas J. Peters

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs (NO BS) by Dan Kennedy

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Dan and Chip Heath

http://topnews.co.uk/27686-elevation-partners-bought-120-million-facebook-stock

An additional five million shares have been acquired by private equity firm, Elevation Partners in Facebook Inc. for $120 million, according to a reliable source. The investment gave the firm a 1.5% stake in the world's largest Internet social network. It was Elevation's second round of investments in shares of Facebook.

Facebook, being one of the world's most popular Web sites, next to established Internet giants like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., is closely looked at by investors keen for a blockbuster initial public offering.

About $700 million and $800 million in revenue were generated by Facebook in 2009. The privately held, Facebook has managed to develop a vibrant market for shares in the past year.

Facebook had banned its employees from selling their shares in the company to outside investors, except during particular periods. Presently, its employees would not be permitted to sell shares, as Facebook is not in that period.

The technology blog, TechCrunch, reported the news of funding. Among Facebook's backers are Digital Sky Technologies, Microsoft Corp Corp, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, as well as venture capital firms, Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners.

Elevation Partners will invest up to $100 million in an online review site, Yelp in January. Earlier, the firm invested $460 million in smartphone maker, Palm for a number of years. Hewlett-Packard announced plans to obtain the struggling Palm for an amount of $1.2 billion.

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The manic dealmaking of the years before the financial crisis may be some way off, but acquisitions were certainly back on the agenda for the CEOs of many companies attending the World Economic Forum in Davos over the past week.

Deals  |  Davos: China  |  Davos

Savage cost cutting, capital raising and debt refinancing mean that a lot of the more profitable companies now have strong enough balance sheets to be opportunistic if a deal is presented. The debt markets are also open again to help finance deals, and market gains mean their shares can be used as currency in transactions.

Buying growth through purchases may also be more attractive than trying to expand current businesses organically, given concerns about how fast the economies of Europe and the United States will recover this year.

But the CEOs are generally looking for bolt-on acquisitions, not massive deals that transform their businesses.

Take Mike Fries, for example. As chief executive of pay-TV company Liberty Global (LBTYA.O) he is eager to expand beyond the 15 million subscribers Liberty has across 10 countries in Europe.

"We are opportunistic on the M&A front," Fries said. "If something came up that fits us perfectly we would have to look at it."

He said that the strength of high-yield debt markets was fueling such activity. It took less than two days for the company to raise enough money for the $3 billion acquisition of Germany's Unitymedia at the end of last year.

Also in the media sector, Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO)(TRI.N) CEO Thomas Glocer said the company was in a strong position to make acquisitions, thanks in part to its opportunistic refinancing of debt over last summer. Glocer said there was "a ton" of good businesses coming onto the market.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD.O), the second-biggest U.S. discount broker, has been a major consolidator of the industry with 10 deals in about as many years, and its chairman, Joe Moglia, made it clear that was going to continue.

"Literally every day we are trying to look at different opportunities in the market place," he said, and that included eyeing any of its rivals if they come up for sale. "There is probably still some room left in the industry for consolidation," Moglia added.

PLACING BETS

Kraft Foods Inc's (KFT.N) $18.7 billion deal for Cadbury (CBRY.L) was likely to make companies more confident as they consider big deals, said Mark Foster, group chief executive for management consulting at Accenture.

"Cost cutting and responding to the economic realities remains top of mind for companies, but there are some leading companies that are lifting their heads and starting to place bets," he said.

The heads of three of the biggest private equity companies in the world, Stephen Schwarzman, Henry Kravis and David Rubenstein, made it clear in interviews at Davos that they expect to do more acquisitions. They will also be seeking to sell more of their current holdings through initial public offerings or straight sales to companies.

And deals are not just about bankers' fees and executives' egos. They also create business activity, boosting airlines, hotels and restaurants -- as investment bankers, investors, consultants and auditors take to the road.

"The IPO activity and the canceled projects from last year that are being restarted, the negotiations for things coming up have created a pretty spontaneous increase in demand," said Frits van Paasschen, the CEO of luxury hotel chain Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT.N).

Brazilian and Chinese companies, bolstered by the relative strength of their economies, are also set to make a significant contribution to the dealmaking.

Brasil Foods (BRFS3.SA), Brazil's biggest pork and poultry producer, is looking for ways to expand around the world, said its co-chairman, Luiz Fernando Furlan. The company was only formed last year after Perdigao took over Sadia -- a transaction still awaiting regulatory approval in Brazil.

"We have plans to invest outside, maybe the U.S. and the Middle East and some other places," he said while declining to be specific on particular targets.

PROTECTING STAFF

Former Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said the political climate in the United States was positive toward inbound investment by the Chinese and others.

"We haven't seen the barriers to investment -- investment protectionism -- as much as we have seen trade barriers rise," said Kimmitt, who is now chairman of Deloitte's Center for Cross Border Investment.

Still, there are some companies that will not be making M&A fees for the bankers.

Jim Goodnight, the founder and controlling shareholder of business software company SAS, said he would not sell because he fears that a buyer would just gut the company's workforce and culture -- a culture that made it No. 1 in the latest Fortune magazine list of top 100 American companies to work for.

"I am not interested in selling the company because I really like to try and protect the people that work here and one of the first things an acquiring company does is lay off people, terminate people," he said.

Thomson Reuters Corporation

TRI.N

$33.92

+0.54+1.62%Data as of 3:06pm EST

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Yahoo! Inc.

YHOO.OQ

15.05

0.040.266489

4:00pm EST

 

Fidessa Group Plc

FDSA.L

1243.0

-2.0-0.160643

11:35am EST

 

Interactive Data Corp

IDC.N

28.84

0.210.733496

4:00pm EST

Liberty Global Inc

LBTYA.O

$26.01

+0.63+2.48%

3:00pm EST

 

Thomson Reuters Corporation

TRI.TO

$36.04

+0.33+0.92%

12:00am EST

 

Thomson Reuters Corporation

TRI.N

$33.92

+0.54+1.62%

3:06pm EST

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Smaller U.S. defense firms are back on the acquisition radar, helped by a renewed interest in surveillance and intelligence -- two key areas that have been attracting federal interest lately.

Deals

The sector is expected to see more deals in the near term than it has in the past three years, as large players, grappling with cutbacks in major defense programs, look to sustain growth by buying smaller rivals in niche areas.

"The industry has consolidated considerably in the last 10 to 15 years and it will continue to do so. Most acquisition targets probably will be in the area of smaller firms," said Tian Qiu, an analyst at Templeton Global Equities Group.

The renewed chatter follows a move by Argon ST (STST.O) to put itself on the block recently -- almost a year after Axys Technologies put itself up for sale, triggering the first round of deal talk. Argon makes sensors for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.

"There is a shift in strategy as the government moves away from fighting a large war. Now the requirement is for mission critical technologies and these smaller firms are filling that gap," Broadpoint Amtech analyst Peter Arment said.

Possible targets include X-ray detection system maker American Science and Engineering Inc (ASEI.O), communications firms Comtech Telecommunications (CMTL.O) and Applied Signal Technology (APSG.O), and biometric identification systems firm Cogent Systems (COGT.O), according to analysts.

The rising importance of unmanned war systems puts drone maker AeroVironment Inc (AVAV.O) in focus, while defense training firm Cubic Corp (CUB.N) is a potential target given the infusion of more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The possible acquirers include Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), Boeing Co (BA.N), Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), General Dynamics (GD.N), Goodrich Corp (GR.N), BAE Systems Plc (BAES.L), EADS (EAD.PA) and Science Applications International (SAI.N).

According to a recent Reuters Insider report, Boeing could be the frontrunner for Argon ST, given the logic of synergies with the planemaker's 2008 purchase of Digital Receiver Technology, which develops wireless surveillance products for government customers.

Science Applications International is best poised to make a sizable acquisition with $1 billion on balance sheet, and the possible targets could be American Science & Engineering and Cogent Systems, the report said.

AVERTING ANOTHER 9/11

Companies with a focus on homeland security and cyber security have a clear edge in the M&A market, with the U.S. government prioritizing these segments in the wake of the recent security threats.

Homeland security was pushed to the top of Obama's 2010 agenda after a passenger tried to blow up a Detroit-bound flight with a bomb concealed in his underwear on Christmas Day.

"Homeland security is very similar to defense -- you have government as customer," said Philip Finnegan, director, corporate analysis at research firm Teal Group.

"It has the potential to grow even if defense comes under pressure."

L-3 Communications Holdings (LLL.N) has said it plans to buy assets in the intelligence surveillance business this year. Goodrich is interested in areas such as precision-guided weapons, intelligence surveillance and helicopter components.

REASONABLE VALUATIONS

Valuations are becoming cheaper as sellers tend to be more reasonable on their expectations now, analysts said.

"We have seen that most of the defense group in general was out of favor last year, the multiples have compressed," Broadpoint Amtech's Arment said.

Deal valuations in the sector now range from 7 to 11 times forward EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), depending on the company.

Companies that have proprietary technologies, are in high-growth areas or have access to customers in the intelligence arena stand on the upper range of the multiples.

For example, Argon ST and American Science & Engineering trade at 11 times forward EBITDA.

Shares of most of these small defense companies, which crashed during slowdown, are beginning to stabilize now. On an average, they have gained 13 percent of their value in the last three months.

Executives at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington in December said lower valuations will drive mergers in the aerospace and defense sector this year with larger companies spending up to $1 billion each.

"The small to mid-cap defense companies, specifically those with an emphasis on technology, will offer investors the highest probability of upside under the DoD's new philosophy," analyst Michael Ciarmoli of Boenning & Scattergood wrote in a January note.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

CMTL.O

$35.54

+0.18+0.51%Data as of 3:00pm EST

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ViaSat Inc

VSAT.OQ

27.59

0.260.951335

4:00pm EST

 

Mitec Telecom Inc.

MTM.TO

0.05

0.005011.1111

12:06pm EST

 

Qualcomm Incorporated

QCOM.OQ

39.77

0.581.47997

4:00pm EST

ARGON ST, Inc.

STST.O

$25.91

+0.55+2.17%

3:00pm EST

 

American Science & Engineering Inc

ASEI.O

$79.00

+1.36+1.75%

12:00am EST

 

Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

CMTL.O

$35.54

+0.18+0.51%

3:00pm EST

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61053Z20100201 (Reporting by Bijoy Koyitty & Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D'Silva)

By RAF CASERT, Associated Press Writer Raf Casert, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 21, 9:14 am ET

BRUSSELS – The European Union on Thursday cleared Oracle Corp.'s proposed $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc., saying it would not significantly affect competition in the EU.

EU antitrust chief Neelie Kroes said one of the year's biggest technology deals of the last year could now go ahead as planned because "competition and innovation will be preserved on all the markets concerned."

Its approval had been uncertain since the commission launched a formal antitrust investigation in September over concerns the combination could harm the database software market.

The U.S. Department of Justice has already approved the transaction and Oracle said in a statement it "expects unconditional approval from China and Russia and intends to close the transaction shortly."

"Oracle's acquisition of Sun has the potential to revitalize important assets and create new and innovative products" in Europe, Kroes said.

Initially, the commission was worried that Oracle, the world's No. 1 maker of proprietary database software, would not fully support Sun's MySQL division, which makes a competing database product, reducing customer choices and increasing cost.

The EU Commission said in a statement that its investigation "showed that although MySQL and Oracle compete in certain parts of the database market, they are not close competitors in others, such as the high-end segment."

It also found that competition could be maintained through other channels.

"The Commission's investigation showed that another open source database, PostgreSQL, is considered by many database users to be a credible alternative to MySQL and could be expected to replace to some extent the competitive force currently exerted by MySQL on the database market," the statement said.

Sun paid $1 billion for MySQL in 2008.

The MySQL database is widely used by Web sites, including Google and Wikipedia, and is the top "open-source" database, which means its programming code is given away for free. Companies make money off open-source software by selling technical support services connected to it.

Sun badly needs the deal to go through. It lost $677 million over the last four quarters and is rapidly shedding market share to rivals like IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100121/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_eu_oracle_sun

Every day more and more people are looking for alternative ways to make money, or to earn a living, both in the online and offline worlds people are starting realize that having a “job” and working 40 hours a week for 40 years is not the ideal way to live.

So we have put this site together to outline some alternative ways, that people can go about generating an income, including affiliate marketing, selling ebooks, and even stock market investing. Feel free to explore the ideas on this site, join the discussions under each article or suggest an idea we haven’t thought of yet…

Money Making Idea 10

How to Make Money Marketing CPA Offers