Distributor News

As lawmakers struggle to balance the budget, a Star-Telegram review shows that more than $3 million was set aside in fiscal 2010 to spend on items and events promoting Texas state programs, agencies and universities—expenses that have drawn both criticism and praise.

Wall Street stocks were little changed on Monday as investors assessed the potential impact on global security of Osama bin Laden's death.

After an initial surge on the Bin Laden reports, Doug Roberts, the chief investment strategist for Channel Capital Research Institute, said the markets began to return to normal as the session wore on.

"The Osama bin Laden situation really had a nice impact at the open," Mr. Roberts said. "It looks like a lot of that might have been short-covering." 

Japan's minister of foreign affairs Takeaki Matsumoto discusses Japan's plans for industry, manufacturing and travel after the earthquake and tsumani that crippled the country in March.

Severe weather devastated much of the American South and Southeast this week, with some reports estimating 274 tornadoes touching down between Tuesday and Thursday. More than half of those storms, at least 160, are reported to have occurred on Wednesday.

A strong showing by Caterpillar and other U.S. industrials' shares led the market higher on Friday, putting the Dow on track for its best month since December.

The blue-chip average was up 4 percent for the month while the S&P has risen 2.7 percent and the Nasdaq 3.2 percent, also heading for its best month of the year.

April's gains, however, were limited by losses at Microsoft Corp., the Nasdaq index's most heavily traded stock, and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion.

Finding an American-made product these days is a rarity: From the clothes we wear to the television sets we watch, everything seems to be manufactured overseas. Inspired by the dearth of domestic goods, one man has started a new website dedicated to American products.

Promotional products and printing company Deluxe Corp. announced its quarterly results on Thursday. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.02. During the same quarter in 2010, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.40 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Industry research shows that 96 percent of all U.S. businesses buy promotional items each year.

Promotional items are also extensively used by nonprofits and government agencies. In almost every case, the buying organization has its logo added to an item for use at a special event, typically a week or two before the event. The most popular items are those that are both long-lasting and very useful to the recipient, such as aluminum water bottles, promotional bags, and pens.

Demand for these brand-building items has made promotional items one of the largest U.S. industries.

"Keeping the economy going and making sure jobs are available," President Obama told the audience at a UPS facility in Landover, Md., earlier this month, "is the first thing I think about when I wake up the morning; it's the last thing I think about when I go to bed each night."

If so, the nation's chief executive would be well advised to skip the counting of sheep and concentrate instead on gazelles.

Every business website should have a "Contact Us" page. It's a must-do. It legitimizes your business by offering a real person to contact, and helps you gather leads. But are you making the most of your contact page?

First, study your website analytics to find out how people use your contact page. If you don't already have a web analytics solution—which helps you analyze your site traffic, including specific details of your visitors and how they navigate your site—sign up for the popular and free Google Analytics.