Economic Espionage Act

A two-year effort on the part of the FBI and U.S. industry professionals in the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. Prior to enactment of this act, there was virtually no federal statute that outlawed the theft of trade secrets. Canadian Xiaodong Sheldon Meng was the first person convicted under the act in 2007 for providing U.S. military application trade secrets to the Peoples Republic of China.
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Recession

Two consecutive quarters of falling Gross National Product define a recession. Predicting economic recession is a difficult task even for economists. Forces that typically exhaust an economic expansion include heated consumer spending, shifts in fiscal or monetary policy, or jolts from strikes, wars or natural disasters. Recessions are usually officially declared after they have commenced.
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Sole proprietors

A sole proprietor is someone who owns an unincorporated business by himself or herself. This form of business is the simplest as there are no legal formalities to forming a business and the business is not separate from the individual. Unlike other business classes, a sole proprietor is fully liable if the business gets sued. Sole proprietors may also find it harder raising business capital.
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Product warranties

Product warranty contracts, once a revenue cash cow for retailers and manufacturers, are wearing off. Retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City once enjoyed huge windfalls from warranty sales. The culprit is products that are getting cheaper to replace as well as products that are lasting longer. The result is more consumers rationalizing on warranties.
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National Inventors Hall of Fame

The National Inventors Hall of Fame, established in 1973 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, honors the people responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible. Visit online at invent.org, browse inventors and inventions, and locate inventions within various invention channels. The Hall of Fame is located in Akron, Ohio.
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Goals and objectives

A goal is a statement of vision specifying something to be achieved or obtained. Objectives are statements of specific activities required to achieve the goal. For example, a goal to bring on twenty-five new accounts may be achieved by the objectives of doubling the number of sales calls, creating a new ad campaign, and raising incentive for sales reps.
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Best U.S. states for business

Virginia was rated as the best U.S. state for business, according to CNBC's latest state business survey. CNBC ranked each state by ten weighted categories of business, including such things as business friendliness, cost of living, quality of life, education and workforce. Following Virginia were the states of Texas, Utah, Georgia and North Carolina.
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