Facebook charges the "king of spam"

I am sure all of you have, at least once, faced unpleasant consequences of spam accumulating in your inbox. According Today, a California court awarded Facebook $711 million in civil damages against Sanford Wallace, the notorious sell proclaimed “spam king” who is also known by the derisive nickname “Spamford.” The court found Wallace guilty of violating the CAN-SPAM act, and he could face time in prison if convicted.
To find out more, read the following articles:
Momento 24 , Just Search , TechnoCom
An article about a Canadian woman who lost her employee benefits because of a facebook photo on Time CNN
Did you know that Facebook is considered to be the next best thing after Google? Do you know how old its founder is? Watch the video and share your thoughts with us:

'CEO of the Decade' by Fortune Magazine

On Monday, November the 9th, Fortune Magazine selected the CEO of the Decade: read the following article to find out who created one the most valuable companies of our times - a real groundbreaking technology leader. Why did that person receive this title? Who are the other business people he/she is compared to? Which company is more valuable than Google? What is its current value? Other related articles published by:
ARS Technica
TalkiPhone
Do you want to see what Bill Gates had to say about that? Watch the video and share your impressions with us:

Professional Networks - LinkedIn

Most of you have an Odnoklasniki or a Facebook account. It allows you to keep in touch with your friends, upload your favourite pictures and learn about the most important events in your community, country, university, etc. There is another spcial network which aims to connect people inside professional communities. Potential employers use it to contact potential employees - check on LinkedIn, a website which helps people empower their resumes and connect to the job market around the world. According to BBC, network has 23 million members worldwide and is constantly growing. CNN Money claims that if you don't connect to LinkedIn, you are left out! This is what professionals think of LinkedIn, this is WHY you should learn about LinkedIn and this one is LinkedIn in plain English: The interview with its founder Hoffman can be watched HERE:

Our Power Point Presentations

This is a collection of all our presentations from last semester - feel free to use it as a resourse or simply have fun watching what your colleagues have done. Great job, everybody! See you next semester.

Get your SlideShare Playlist

World's Happiest Countries

Which are world's happiest countries according to Forbes? How is |happiness evaluated?|How does the unemployment rate and the country's GDP affect the degree of "happiness"? Which are the happiest European countries? How about outside Europe? Why did the northern European countries come out looking so good? Read FORBES article and share your thoughts with us - enjoy!

Best Countries for Business in 2009 - where is Moldova?

Forbes has published its annual rating of best countries for business - this time for the 2009 year.The Best Countries for Business ranking looks at business conditions in 127 economies. This is not a tally of economies with the highest gross domestic product growth or lowest unemployment. Rather, the goal is to quantify for entrepreneurs and investors the oft-qualified dynamics of international economies and make it usable for planning and investing purposes. New to the top 10 this year: New Zealand, Australia and Norway. Falling out of the top 10: Finland, Ireland and Switzerland.

As you know, last year Moldova landed on the 90th place. Read Forbes new list and tell us if this year our country went up and down and why. What is your prognisis for 2010?

Top 2009 Brands

Brandz has already published the Top 100 Brands list for 2009. Compare this year's list with the one we read in class (Brandz 100 Top Brandz 2008). Which brands went up and which ones went down? Why?

Video Resumes - A Fast Growing Trend

While looking for a summer job for an international company dealing with online educational projects, I couldn't help noticing how difficult it was to make my resume stand out in the wide variety of CVs and highly professional educators like me also looking for work. Then I discovered this great tool which can empower your creativity and imagination while convincing your future employers that you are the best they can hire: video resumes!

These are several samples of the video resumes my students created as their final project for our summer intensive Business English course. Enjoy the videos and get inspired!
Sanda C. Video Resume - Looking for a job in the Marketing Sector
The Resume of the Modest yet Awsome David Merhe
A very professional resume for a marketing expert

Some Moldovan companies require the Euro Pass format which you can find here: EuroPass
If you heve never seen a cover letter, then you should check the following website: Free Professional Cover-Letters for Job Seeking Professionals

There are two easy tools you can use to create your Video Resume:
1. Photo Story for Windows
(go to the official website and watch the tutorial on how to make a movie using this tool here)
2. Windows Movie Maker (how to use the tool YouTube tutorial).
Good luck with your video resumes and see you in class!

Moldovan Wine Industry

Moldova Wine Industry

View more presentations from daniMD.

Learning from Donald Trump

"The Apprentice" is an American reality television show hosted by Donald Trump, a famous business magnate. Billed as "The Ultimate Job Interview," the show stars sixteen to eighteen businesspeople competing in an elimination-style competition for a one-year, $250,000 starting contract of running one of business magnate Trump's companies. Even Arnold Schwarzenneger was involed in the show!!!What did he say about his success story in US - what is the KEY to success according to Schwarzenneger?
Take your time to watch the video and list the 4 business tips for young entrepreneurs Donald Trump is describing. Can you name them?

Financial Forecast for Eastern Europe

According to Russia Today and the report they published on March, the 9th, 2009,"The European Union has rejected a 190 billion euro bailout for Central and Eastern European members in deep economic crises. Now the prospects for Eastern Europe are gloomy at best." Watch the following video and tell us more about:
- Which country scored the worst result among the 27 EU countries (a drop of more than %10)
- Which country's economy is "laying in ruins" (its GDP dropped by %20) and why?

What do you think of the Business English Course you took this semester?

Dear FB students,
I would appreciate if you could take a few minutes to take the following survey I put together to get some feedback from you. The results of the survey will be used to improve the overall quality of the course and will help me select the appropriate teaching methods and materials for the rest of the semester. Please be honest - your name will not show up in the survey results :)
Thank you and see you in class next week.
Click Here to take survey

Let's share our Voicethread Projects

Dear ASEM FB students and Forsyth American Partners: this week we are going to share our wonderful Voicethread Project. Your task is to choose 3 PROJECTS you liked and

LEAVE text or voice COMMENTS to at least 3 other projects done by your colleagues!

Let's see which project will get the biggest number of comments; by the end of the project I will assign 3 diplomas to:
- the most original and creative Voicethread Project
- the most entertaining Voicethread project
- the best English narration Project.

Good luck - we are looking forward to hearing your comments on our projects!
Project 1 The World under the Heel (by Alina )
Project2 E-Banking ( by Anatoli)
Project3 The Most Powerful People of Moldova (by Anastasia )
Project 4 Corruption ( by Olga )
Project 5 How does the crisis affect SPORTS (by Stas)
Project 6 Remittences (by Liza)
Project 7 Sweatshops - How big brands violate the world (by Alex)
Project 8 Corruption in Moldova (by Natalia)
Project 9 Sweatshops (by Marina)
Project 10 The End of the World (by Diana)

Project 11 The Tale of Two Brothers: Adidas / Puma (by Iana)

Project 12 Recycling in Moldova (by Aliona)

Project 13 Women in Business (by Valeriu)

Welcome to our Business Exchange Voicethread Project

Dear Forsyth Technical Community College students - welcome to our Moldova-US Business Voicethread Exchange project. Please take your time to find out more about our universities:
ASEM (Moldova) and Forsyth Technical Community College (USA)
Task 1: Let's get to know each other better before we start our exchange - please leave an introductory message as comment on this post:
- Tell us your name,
- where you are from
- what aspect of the Business Microeconomics your are especially interested in
- do you have any special hobbies, interests you would like to share with us
and - what you expect to learn from this collaborative project with Moldova.
Good luck and see you online!

Just for fun - Money trivia

Just for fun - read the following Money-Trivia website and share with us 5 fun facts you learned about money. Choose from the followinf categories:
1. Money Doesn't Grow on Trees? - Fun Money History
2. Seed Money - The Making of Currency
3. Don't Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - Dirty Money

Other Trivia here:
- Paper Money Trivia
- US Money Trivia

Should Moldovan winemakers seek other markets?...

It is well known that Russia and the former republics are Moldova's main target when it comes to wine exports. According to the latest data provided by Moldova-Vin, wine exports over January-November 2008 have increased by 51% compared with the corresponding period last year. Exports to the CIS states totaled US$152 million, up 56%. Russia imported Moldovan wine products worth US$56 million, Ukraine and Belarus – US$41 million and, respectively, US$40.6 million.
Let's not forget though that Moldova's dependency on this market has its own disadvantes; in 2007 our economy suffered enourmously due to Russia's banning of both Moldovan and Georgian wines. My questions to you is: should Moldova keep exporting its wines to Russia and CSI or start looking for other markets as well? Do we have an alternative? According to Moldova-Vin we .... Read the following report Moldovan Wine Exports and answer the questions below:
- Where did Moldova export alcoholic products worth US$2.947,4 millionin the first half of 2008?
- What does Agroindustrial Agency “Moldova-Vin” say about the first-half wine exports to Romania compared with the corresponding period last year?
- Which country is Moldova’s second largest European import partner?
- Which country is the second?
- How much did Moldova export to Poland over January-June 2008?
- Did the wine exports to the Czech Republic increase or decrease and by how much?
- How much did Moldova export to the EU?

World's Richest People according to Forbes

For those students who are working on their presentations related to World or Moldova's richest people, have a look at the following videos and the links posted below. Let us know if there is anything surprising related to the Forbes' list of billionaires as listed per country (in %):
- Russia
- US
- India
- Mexico
How old are the top 50 people in the list? How many women are there in the list? Who is the youngest self-made billionaire in the world?

Other related videos:
Top 15 Richest people
How richest people in the world spend their money

Business Etiquette - Dos and Don'ts

In class we discussed some of the most common business etiquette do's and don'ts. A special attention has to be paid to exchanging business cards - isome parts of the world, a business card is considered an extension of a person. Etiquette coach Syndi Seid goes over the do's and don'ts of presenting and receiving a card. Watch the video carefully and tell us if there was anything surprising you learned about exchanging cards with Asian busienss people and not only.

Other relevant videos: The Etiquette of Business Dining

Other tips here: Business Etiquette PPP

The Crisis of Credit Videos

Catea has just sent me the links to thsese great videos on The Crisis of Credit (Part 1 and Part 2) - take the time to watch both videos and answer the following questions:
- How is the "World Financial Crisis" defined in the video?
- How is Wall Street connected to the 'houses on Main street'?
- Who did did the investors answer "No thanks!", when and why?
- What can cause banks to go crazy with leverage?
- How does leverage work?
- What is a collateral debt obligation or "CDO"?
- What is a credit default swap?
Engloy the videos and be ready to discuss them in class.

Nash Equilibrum - what Moldovan politicians could learn from "A Beauriful Mind"

Here is a real challenge for you! We discussed in class how the Moldovan government is not exactly creating a friendly-entrepreneurial environment for young people. You all agreed that because every single member of the government cares only about his or her interests and is struggling hard to protect their assets / business ventures, it makes sense that our country is not making any significant progress (so far at least). You have probably all watched "A Beautiful Mind" and the unforgettable performance of Russel Crow and his explanation for the "equilibrium theory" - Read the following article carefully and answer the following questions:
- What did John Nash say about Adam Smith's theory?
- What did John Nash get a Nobel Prize for?
- What could our Moldovan business people and members of the parliament learn fron Nash's equilibrum theory?
- What long and short time impact could it have on the Moldovan economy in general and on the way young people do business in Moldova?
For your reference: Watch the Yale University Lecture on the equillibrum theory.

Forbes Best Countries for Business

Which countries top Forbes' 2008 list of best countries for business? Some of you probably think of Canada or USA or China. Think again, on the very top we have: Denmark, which rose three slots from last year, Ireland (up 19 places to No. 2), Finland (up four to third place), the U.S. (down three to fourth) and U.K. (up five to fifth). Big movers like Ireland, Estonia (No. 10, up 24 spots) and Saudi Arabia (No. 47, up 37) have limited bureaucracy standing in the way of entrepreneurs hoping to do business within their borders. To read more, check the Forbes website. Take each country in the top 5 and tell us how they got on top:
- Why did US go down from place #1 in 2008 to place #4 in 2008?
- How is Finland's governemnt contributing to its country's eceonomic growth?
- Who is Anders Fogh Rasmussen and what did he decide to do about taxes and why?
- Which country organised a referendum in order to centralize power within E.U. through strengthening of the presidential role and creation of a new foreign-policy post?
- What could Moldova learn from these countries?

The "Lightbulb" and how inflation affects Moldovan people

One of our very talented Moldovan young director ans screen writer, Igor Cobileanski has created a short-length movie entitled "When the lights go out" -
1) What is the leitmotif of the movie?
2) How does inflation affect everyone in this movie? Why do people agree to bet?
3) How is the topic of 'corruption' brought up in the movie?
3) How do you like the English-Romanian translation of the American's doctor speech in hospital?
4) Did you enjoy the movie? Why? Why not? Do you think this Moldovan director is a promising film creator?

What World Bank has to say about Eastern Europe and the World Crisis

Why did Latvia’s prime minister and cabinet resign on Friday?
Why did leaders of Europe met over the weekend in Berlin?
What did World Bank President Robert Zoellick have to say about Western nations and the economies of Eastern Europe?
Are Western banks more focused on their core markets at home or are more willing to extend the needed credit to the east?
Read the Article published in the CSMonitor on February the 23rd and find out the answers.

Which country succeded in avoiding the World Crisis?

According to Wasshington Post, while the United States reels from the global financial crisis, with credit markets still frozen and stock prices careening from highs to lows, Canada has remained relatively insulated.Canadian banks have not gone shaky like their American counterparts, economists and other experts said. There is no subprime mortgage or home foreclosure mess. And while the United States fears a prolonged recession, Canadians have remained relatively sanguine, convinced that they are in a good position to weather the economic tsunami from the south.
Read the following article and answer the following questions:
1. Why did Michael Gregory, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, an investment firm, say: "We will be pulled down, not as deep, not as long"?
2. How are Canadian banks different from American ones and how did that help them avoid the crisis?
3. How does the World Economic Forum rate Canada's banks compared to those of Sweden and Luxembourg.

Sweatshops in Europe - is Moldova included?

In class we discussed about Nike's sweatshops. Read the article published by Business Week and answer the following questions:

- Is Moldova mentioned in the article as one of the European countries practicing sweatshops based production?
- What does the European Textile Assn claim about the U.S. and Europe global apparel consumption?

- What is Fair Labor Assn?

- What does John Greene, the head of codes of conduct for C&A in Brussels, one of Europe's largest clothing retailers, have to say about the issue?

- What is the Clean Clothes Campaign?

Moldova - # 90 out of 120 Best Countries for Business according to Forbes

According to an article published by Forbes in June 2008, Moldova remains one of the poorest countries in Europe despite recent progress from its small economic base. It enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova's dependence on Russian energy was underscored at the end of 2005, when a Russian-owned electrical station in Moldova's separatist Transnistria region cut off power to Moldova and Russia's Gazprom cut off natural gas in disputes over pricing. Russia's decision to ban Moldovan wine and agricultural products, coupled with its decision to double the price Moldova paid for Russian natural gas, slowed GDP growth in 2006. However, in 2007 growth returned to the 6% level Moldova had achieved in 2000-05, boosted by Russia's partial removal of the bans, solid fixed capital investment, and strong domestic demand driven by remittances from abroad.

Read more on Forbes' official website and come up with your own prediction - how about 2009? Is Moldova ging to climb or go down Forbes' list?

Forbes: Corruption is the enemy of wealth, trust and justice

I have just read a very interesting article on corruption by Forbes. Have a look at the World Map Corruption Distribution:

- Identify Moldova's place and rating - any surprises there?

- What do you think of the world distribution of corruption?
- Which countries are placed on the top and which are on the bottom of the scale?

- Do you agree with Michael's Johnston's quote that "Corruption is the enemy of wealth, trust and justice"?

- How do you explin this: Australia was among the world's most corrupt countries 100 years ago; now it is among the least?

- How can we fight it in our country?

"Make it in Moldova"

" Make it in Moldova " - Moldovan investment promotion campaign on BBC

So this is the way Moldova is trying to call new investments and new foreign capital to increase it's economic situation. Here we see an optimistic example to show our situation of our country, of living here. It is the best way to show how moldavian people are.
If Moldova is not developed country it doesn't mean that this country don't wont to increase it's level of economy and the level of general situation. Moldavian people is actively participating in implementing new ideas, new technologies and all kind of new stuff in our economy and in our culture.

" Let's Make It In Moldova "

Watch this video - what do you think about this video?
Make a comparison with the video of World's Bank about Moldovas situation and "Moldovan investment promotion campaign" video.
How do you think what is the best video for Moldova to improve wellbeing?

Obama's Plan to fight the crisis

Read about Obama's plan to fight the world crisis.
Do you thin this plan will help the US economy to avoid recession?

If there is a silver lining to the current sorry state of our economy and financial markets, it is that the Obama administration and Congress are likely to bend over backwards to make life a bit easier for taxpayers. Their focus will be on restarting our economy, and increasing taxes won't help. Eventually, of course, taxpayers will be stuck with the bill. More here:

Watch the following video - what does the author have to say about Obama's plan?

Top 100 Moldova Business - which bank made it in the list

Visit the Top 100 Moldova Business website and find out which bank got into the top 100 businesses in the country. Answer the following questions:

1) Which bank is recognized as the leader in the banking sector of Republic of Moldova?

2) Which are the two big categories of customers the organization structure of MAIB is set up on?

3) What did the bak create in order to ensure a more efficient and qualitative catering of the commercial customers?

4) What is the bank's network? (branches and representative offices)

5) Do you agree with the authors of this website? Why? Why not? Is there another Moldovan bank which should have gotten in the list? What are the criteria for selecting a top bank?

The Net Profit of the Banking System in Moldova - 2008 review - 2009 prediction

According to the Moldavian Business Portal in 2008, net profit of the banking system of Moldova amounted to 1 billion 270,3 million leis ($ 120,6 million), having increased by 16,9% as compared with 2007. Review the numbers posted on the official website and answer the following questions:

1. Did the share of foreign investments in the capital of the banks amounted or decreased in 2008?

2. How about the total assets of the banking system of Moldova ( refer to the net loan portfolio)

3. Which sectors accounted for the greatest share of the total loan portfolio:

- loans to agriculture and food industry

- loans for industry and trade

- mortgage loans for construction and development

4. Did the deposits increase or decrease in 2008?

World Bank in Moldova - New Projects

I have just come across an article from the the World Bank official webpage, where Moldova is presented as the "poorest country in Europe". Check the following link and let me know what you think - is the World Bank's plan to invest in Moldova going to help? More here

IMPROVING MOLDOVAN INFRASTRUCTURE—Moldova faces many obstacles in its path to modernization—among them a crumbling infrastructure. One government program supported by the World Bank gives communities grants for repairs they choose, as long as they pitch in, too.

HELPING MOLDOVAN WINE EXPORTS—Wine making has a long tradition in Moldova. In Soviet times and afterwards, Russia bought almost all of Moldova’s wine. Today, Moldova is looking to expand its traditional export market by seeking new buyers in Europe and Asia. The Moldovan government, with help from a World Bank program, is assisting wine companies to find new markets.

BUSINESS START UPS IN MOLDOVA—The former Soviet nation of Moldova is still adjusting to its transition to a market economy: Economic output plummeted between 1991 and 1999. Despite strong growth in the last few years, nearly a third of its citizens are impoverished, and unemployment is high. But a government program supported by the World Bank is helping to create income earning opportunities in rural areas like Glodeni—a county where half the work force is out of a job.

The World Bank (WB) & The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

This is a clip from the documentary "The New Rulers of The World" by film maker John Pilger. Take your time to watch it and share your comments:
1. What did you think of the image of the World Bank presented in the video?
2. What are the arguments that supprt the author's point of view on the WB and the its IMF control most of the world's cash flow?
3. Do you agree or disagree with John Pilger's point of view?

The History of the Banking System

We started watching in class the first part of a great video on how the banking sistem started. Feel free to share your comments on this blog. Answer the following questions:
1. What do you think of the movie - is the way the banking system presented here close to what you know about banking?
2. Was there anything you found surprising, shocking or unexpected in the movie?
3. What is the general image of the banking system presented here?
4. Do you agree or disagree with the basic concept of the movie?

Business Vocabulary - Great Online Resources

I have found a great online resource I want you all to use in order to learn new vocabulary related to Banking and Business in general: Business English Pod
YouTube is also a great resource - it features a series of videos presentations and slideshows on the basic business vocabulary for EFL/ESL (English as a Second/Foreign Language) students. Check out the following video and let me know what you think.