President Yudhoyono calls on businessmen to remain steadfast

Batam (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on business companies operating in the free trade zones in Batam, Bintan and Karimun to remain steadfast in the current global economic crisis.

He made the appeal during a dialogue with Indonesian and Singaporean businessmen at Turi Beach Resort here on Monday evening.

"While the storm is not yet over, it is certain that exports will drop whereas Batam, Bintan and Karimun are relying on exports. So I ask for your understanding that the world market is indeed weakening and shrinking. Well this year we have to struggle to survive, so that in time later we could rise again," he said.

To ease the burden of businessmen, the President said, the government has since September 2008 cooperated with the central bank and some businessmen to issue special policies such as government regulations in lieu of laws, incentives, stimulus and others.

"They are all aimed at calming the market and reducing the burden of businessmen to maintain the real sector," he said.

To maintain the people`s buying power, the business community needs to give their contribution by reducing prices if possible, he said.

"If there is an opportunity to maintain prices or even lowering them, demands will be maintain, and there will also be buyers," he said.

The head of state said the essence of economic recession is declining demands and therefore the only way to solve the problem would be safeguarding demands.

President Yudhoyono also called on the people not to cut their spendings. "Those who can afford to buy things need to keep buying so that products from the real sector are maintained. Let us act like business is as usual in a positive sense," he said.

The President said the general elections Indonesia would hold in the near future would be one of the forms of economic movement.

"Indonesia will conduct general elections. A lot of colourful flags have been raised and in the not too distant future campaigning will be done and in April voting for legislative candidates will take place which will be followed later by presidential elections. They are business. I appeal to parties to raise as many flags as possible, make as many campaign T-shirt as possible and hold as many music performances as possible so that singers get a fortune and economy is moving," he said.

He said the government was ready to lose or to see the foreign exchange reserve to drop so long as people did not lose.

Regarding the country`s economic condition President Yudhoyono said quoting "The Economist" that it was so far so good.

"I think it was issued last week. There was a small article about Indonesia there titled "So far so good". Articles written by the Economist or the Times must have no political motives," he said.

It was said Indonesia`s economy grew 6.3 percent in 2007 and 6.1 percent in 2008. He said it showed that the real economy in 2008 still moved and so if Indonesia could withstand in 2008 it would certainly be able to do it too in 2009.

"Last year we could withstand so I hope the economic growth target that we have already revised could be achieved and I ask for your cooperation for it," he said.

The government has corrected the country`s economic growth to 4.5 and 5.5 percent.

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President Yudhoyono calls on businessmen to remain steadfast

Batam (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on business companies operating in the free trade zones in Batam, Bintan and Karimun to remain steadfast in the current global economic crisis.

He made the appeal during a dialogue with Indonesian and Singaporean businessmen at Turi Beach Resort here on Monday evening.

"While the storm is not yet over, it is certain that exports will drop whereas Batam, Bintan and Karimun are relying on exports. So I ask for your understanding that the world market is indeed weakening and shrinking. Well this year we have to struggle to survive, so that in time later we could rise again," he said.

To ease the burden of businessmen, the President said, the government has since September 2008 cooperated with the central bank and some businessmen to issue special policies such as government regulations in lieu of laws, incentives, stimulus and others.

"They are all aimed at calming the market and reducing the burden of businessmen to maintain the real sector," he said.

To maintain the people`s buying power, the business community needs to give their contribution by reducing prices if possible, he said.

"If there is an opportunity to maintain prices or even lowering them, demands will be maintain, and there will also be buyers," he said.

The head of state said the essence of economic recession is declining demands and therefore the only way to solve the problem would be safeguarding demands.

President Yudhoyono also called on the people not to cut their spendings. "Those who can afford to buy things need to keep buying so that products from the real sector are maintained. Let us act like business is as usual in a positive sense," he said.

The President said the general elections Indonesia would hold in the near future would be one of the forms of economic movement.

"Indonesia will conduct general elections. A lot of colourful flags have been raised and in the not too distant future campaigning will be done and in April voting for legislative candidates will take place which will be followed later by presidential elections. They are business. I appeal to parties to raise as many flags as possible, make as many campaign T-shirt as possible and hold as many music performances as possible so that singers get a fortune and economy is moving," he said.

He said the government was ready to lose or to see the foreign exchange reserve to drop so long as people did not lose.

Regarding the country`s economic condition President Yudhoyono said quoting "The Economist" that it was so far so good.

"I think it was issued last week. There was a small article about Indonesia there titled "So far so good". Articles written by the Economist or the Times must have no political motives," he said.

It was said Indonesia`s economy grew 6.3 percent in 2007 and 6.1 percent in 2008. He said it showed that the real economy in 2008 still moved and so if Indonesia could withstand in 2008 it would certainly be able to do it too in 2009.

"Last year we could withstand so I hope the economic growth target that we have already revised could be achieved and I ask for your cooperation for it," he said.

The government has corrected the country`s economic growth to 4.5 and 5.5 percent.

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Israel rebuffs call for Gaza truce

By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel on Wednesday rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and stepped up preparations for a possible ground offensive after Hamas's long-range rockets hit another major population center. Israeli aircraft carried out more than 10 air strikes in sharply reduced operations in rainy weather that allowed many Gaza residents to venture out to shop for food for the first time since the start of Israel's five-day-old offensive. The poor weather -- "a truce imposed by God" as one Palestinian put it -- could delay any push by Israeli tanks into the territory. Forecasters predicted several days of clear skies starting late on Thursday. U.S. President George W. Bush spoke by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert but did not discuss a timetable for halting Israeli strikes, the White House said. Bush put the onus on Hamas to stop firing rockets as a first step to a truce. Foreign pressure has grown on both sides to end hostilities, but Israel brushed aside as "unrealistic" a French proposal for a 48-hour truce that would allow in more humanitarian aid for Gaza's 1.5 million residents. "If conditions will ripen and we think there will be a diplomatic solution that will ensure a better security reality in the south, we will consider it. But at the moment, it's not there," an aide quoted Olmert as saying. "We didn't start this operation just to end it with rocket fire continuing as it did before it began," Olmert said, according to the aide. "Imagine if we declare a unilateral ceasefire and a few days later rockets fall on (the town of) Ashkelon. What will that do to Israel's deterrence?" Olmert made the remarks -- which did not rule out a ceasefire in the future -- to his security cabinet. Hamas, for its part, said it was prepared to study proposals for a ceasefire so long as it "will bring an immediate cessation to the aggression and lift the siege entirely," senior official Ayman Taha said, referring to Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled coastal territory. With Palestinians increasingly enraged over the offensive, President Mahmoud Abbas called for the fighting to be stopped "immediately and without any conditions" and said Israel was "fully responsible" for the carnage. Abbas will ask the U.N. Security Council to act, aides said. Diplomats said the deadliest conflict in the Gaza Strip in four decades appeared close to a tipping point after four days of air strikes that have killed 393 Palestinians, at least a quarter of whom, U.N. figures showed, were civilians. Along the heavily-fortified border fence, Israeli tank crews prepared for battle while Islamist militants, hiding as little as a few hundred yards (meters) away, laid land mines and other booby traps should a ground war break out. Inside Gaza, many residents ventured outside their homes to stock up on supplies, taking advantage of a lull in Israeli air strikes that have turned Hamas government buildings into piles of rubble. Some children played happily in the rain, as one parent remarked they were finally able to run free after what he called days of "house arrest." Despite calls by European and Arab powers for an end to the violence, public anger in Israel over the widening of the rocket attacks to include Beersheba, 40 km (24 miles) from Gaza, could prompt the government to hit Hamas even harder. Israeli officials said they were open to amendments to the French proposal and alternatives being put forward by international parties. Cabinet ministers, however, approved the mobilization of 2,500 army reservists, expanding on an earlier call-up of 6,500 soldiers for the garrison on the Gaza border, and officials said a ground offensive was an option. HUMANITARIAN AID Israel said it was doing its part to let humanitarian supplies into Gaza despite the rocket fire. Ninety-three truckloads of food, medicine and blood for hospitals entered on Wednesday, defense official Peter Lerner said. Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo to seek a common position in response to the Israeli attacks, but the Arab world is deeply divided in its attitude toward Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip last year after fighting a brief civil war with the secular Fatah faction loyal to Western-backed Abbas. The diplomatic moves coincided with an escalation in Hamas rocket fire deeper inside Israel. At least four of the longer-range Grad rockets hit Beersheba, the city Israel calls the capital of the Negev, its southern region. One struck a school that was empty. Municipal authorities had canceled classes after rockets landed in Beersheba on Tuesday evening for the first time. Other long-range rockets hit the southern coastal city of Ashkelon. Dozens of short-range rockets pelted border towns. Israel's air strikes on Wednesday targeted smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt frontier and Hamas government offices in Gaza City. Palestinian medics said four people -- two militants, a doctor and a paramedic -- were killed. Food supplies in Gaza were running low and power cuts were affecting much of the territory. Hospitals were struggling to cope with the high number of casualties from the offensive. Medical officials revised the number of wounded to 1,650 after figures arrived from medical centers that had not reported their casualty statistics earlier. Three Israeli civilians and a soldier have been killed by rockets. Olmert's centrist government launched the operation six weeks before a February 10 election that opinion polls predict the opposition right-wing Likud party will win, with the goal of halting rocket attacks by militants in Gaza. The current violence erupted after a six-month ceasefire brokered by Egypt expired on December 19 and Hamas intensified rocket attacks from the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip. France said it would host Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Thursday and an Israeli official said French President Nicolas Sarkozy planned to visit Jerusalem next Monday. (Additional reporting by Adam Entous, Ari Rabinovitch and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Wafa Amr and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, James Mackenzie in Paris and Alaa Shahine in Cairo; Writing by Adam Entous and Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Charles Dick)

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Business and Accounting

Some time ago I read a testimonial: "Only within 3 months, my business revenue increased 63% and profit rose 200%. " I can guess that he was sure the company is using accounting system.
With accounting, a company can quickly find out business conditions. Until this day, I still wonder so many business in Indonesia, even the omsetnya billions of rupiah, still not the accounting. Analoginya such as those who never do medical check-up and suddenly exposed to stroke. Without knowing the condition of the company, it is difficult to avoid in stroke your company. As our bodies, also have some business important indicators. Some of the important indicators of your business, such Other: Cash flow, stock / inventory, costs and profit.
Cash flow closely related with the debt and receivables. Ideally, we collect receivables earlier an have more debt to pay, so there cumulation money in our company. But the fact is, we usually have to pay vendor receivables and early-pay is not paid by the customer. This condition often referred to as the Cash-Gap. Many companies that I encountered bankrupt not because there is no business, but because of its cashflow jammed. Problems such as stock simalakama fruit. Buy too many will disrupt cashflow. Buy too little to make us lose business. Ideally You know the exact movements of each stock you. If there is a stock die, you can sell it with a discount or do cross-sell.
For this case, the better we get but a little loss cashflow.
The cost is most often forgotten by the business not using the accounting system. Do you still count the profits only from the basic sales price only. Example: Buy Rp.1.000, jual Rp.1.500, already hit Rp.500 means. My questions are: Are you already calculating the costs, such as: postage, freight loading load, the cost of electricity, and salaries of your own? If all costs account, you'll know whether your business is already really hit or not. Accounting system that computerise It must be admitted, one of the causes of the reluctance to use accounting at the company is accounting for the complex and making. Fortunately at this time have been widely available computer programs (software) that can facilitate the accounting treatment, even for those who does not understand accounting. Benefits of using accounting software is efficient and out human error. Transaction data that is already filled in a flash can seen the results. So, for the problems in your business up (cashflow, stock and cost), you can be watched at any time. It's lik you have machine gauge tension blood in the house. No need to see a doctor, you can know the condition of your blood pressure at any time.
With the information in your hands, of course you can take the decision is more appropriate for your business. Tips for selecting accounting software There are many accounting software in the market with a price range of several hundred thousand rupiah, up to tens and even hundreds of millions of rupiah. For businessman who had never purchased the software, this is certainly very
frightening. How do you know where to purchase? Here are some tips to be considered before choosing an accounting software:
1. Buy software package (so is), not a new one will be made. Creating software takes a very long, expensive and risky high.
2. Check who create software. Make a survey to office if necessary? Do not until you use the software not developed more.
3. Find a software solution that can give up your business problems. Generally, software packages can not be 100% fit with your business. Role implementor (the person who helps the software) will be very important in here. Software without a good supported by the implementor is jago useless. Remember, you buy the solution, not to buy software.
4. Make sure they provide after-sales service is guaranteed. Try first telephone hot line to support them. Feel whether they serve your question correctly? Do not forget to also ask whether they will software when you visit them have errors.
5. Do not be deceived with the price. The principle is: There is no price quality. Find out what you'll get. Think about the long term because search software similar to the search for partners. So tips from me, hopefully I can add any posts little insight Indonesia for the businessman.

Writer : Mas Agung Sachli (http://www.imamatek.com)

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10 questions you should ask to yourself

Be all you can be, but it’s not always in the Army. I often see myself as somewhat contented with my life the way things are, but of course it’s hard to think of anything else when where are real issues to be discussed.
Still I aspire for something deeper and more meaningful.
So we’re all pelted with problems. Honestly it shouldn’t even bother or even hinder us to becoming all we ought to be. Aspirations as kids should continue to live within us, even though it would be short-lived or as long as we could hold on to the dream. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks… or can they?
1. What do I really want?
The question of the ages. So many things you want to do with your life and so little time to even go about during the day.
Find something that you are good at can help realize that small step towards improvement. Diligence is the key to know that it is worth it.
2. Should I really change?
Today’s generation has taken another level of redefining ’self’, or at least that’s what the kids are saying. Having an army of teenage nieces and nephews has taught me that there are far worse things that they could have had than acne or maybe even promiscuity. So how does that fit into your lifestyle?
If history has taught us one thing, it’s the life that we have gone through. Try to see if partying Seventies style wouldn’t appeal to the younger generation, but dancing is part of partying. Watch them applaud after showing them how to really dance than break their bones in break-dancing.
3. What’s the bright side in all of this?
With so much is happening around us there seem to be no room for even considering that light at the end of the tunnel. We can still see it as something positive without undergoing so much scrutiny. And if it’s a train at the end of the tunnel, take it for a ride and see what makes the world go round!
4. Am I comfortable with what I’m doing?
There’s always the easy way and the right way when it comes to deciding what goes with which shoes, or purse, shirt and whatnot. It doesn’t take a genius to see yourself as someone unique, or else we’ll all be equally the same in everything we do. Variety brings in very interesting and exciting questions to be experimented.
5. Have I done enough for myself?
Have you, or is there something more you want to do? Discontentment in every aspect can be dangerous in large doses, but in small amounts you’ll be able to see and do stuff you could never imagine doing.
6. Am I happy at where I am today?
It’s an unfair question so let it be an answer! You love being a good and loving mom or dad to your kids, then take it up a notch! Your kids will love you forever. The same goes with everyday life!
7. Am I appealing to the opposite sex?
So maybe I don’t have an answer to that, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try it, though. Whether you shape-up, change the way you wear your clothes or hair, or even your attitude towards people, you should always remember it will always be for your own benefit.
8. How much could I have?
I suppose in this case there is no such things on having things too much or too little, but it’s more on how badly you really need it. I’d like to have lots of money, no denying that, but the question is that how much are you willing to work for it?
9. What motivates me?
What motivates you? It’s an answer you have to find out for yourself. There are so many things that can make everyone happy, but to choose one of the may be the hardest part. It’s not like you can’t have one serving of your favorite food in a buffet and that’s it. Just try it piece by piece.
10. What Really Makes You Tick?
So? What really makes you tick? You can be just about anything you always wanted to be, but to realize that attaining something that may seem very difficult is already giving up before you even start that journey. Always remember, that self-improvement is not just about the physical or philosophical change you have to undergo, but it’s something that you really want.
Chris

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Find Money on the Internet: Affiliate Program

What is Affiliate Program? Affiliate program is also often called as a program associate or reseller program. This program provides payments to members because it gives clients to the company owner affiliate program.

When you join the affiliate program one of a website then you will get the ID and link / URL special for you. You put a link on your website, then every time your website visitors to click the link the visitor will be taken to the affiliate website owners. You will get paid / commissions if visitors buy the products offered on the website.

What if you do not have a website? If you have time to spare, you can start learning to create websites. With advances in technology now, you can create a website without the HTML code that complex. Can study online, so you can study whenever and wherever you like you are. Learn more about the affiliate program online, click here.

What if you are too busy to learn? Messages only, is wrong? Now the price of making the website is relatively inexpensive. Formerly a website can be worth more than 5 million, but now we can have a website with a price of less than 500 thousand only.

Business trends that are very appropriate one for your employees who are still, as it does not disrupt the routine office work. Or a beginner who wants to try doing business because the capital and the business risk is very small. So, what are you waiting for?

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