News and Trends

• Supply chain leaders gather to discuss issues, challenges
  About 400 transportation leaders from the U.S., Canada and Mexico met in Forth Worth, Texas, to attend a three-day event organized by the nonprofit North America's SuperCorridor Coalition. The meeting focused on methods for improving north-south trade routes as well as cross-border partnerships, infrastructure development and international supply chain logistics. "If we want North America to become and remain a competitive trade block, we've got a heck of a lot of work to do," said Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO David Bradley. GlobeSt.com (5/31)

• Chances of a rate cut dim with positive outlook
  A more confident economic forecast by Federal Reserve officials at this month's monetary-policy meeting diminishes the chance for a cut in interest rates in the next several months. "Policy is on hold for as far as the eye can reasonably see," Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at consulting firm MFR, said in a note to clients. ClipSyndicate (5/31) , MarketWatch (5/30) , CNNMoney.com (5/30) , The Wall Street Journal (5/31)

• Study: 401(k) assets to grow in spite of boomer liquidation
  A study projects major growth in 401(k) assets and refutes widespread fears that the retirement of the baby boomer generation will result in a prolonged bear market. The National Bureau of Economic Research study points out that because of the relative youth of 401(k) plans, today's young workers will have had many more years of contributions compared to current retirees. The New York Times (5/27)

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Best Practices

• Take a break, you'll be a better employee for it
  Taking time off is important to maintain morale and a positive frame of mind, yet 27% of workers this year will use just five days or fewer of their allotted vacation time, a survey from CareerBuilder.com revealed. And 20% of those on vacation will check e-mail or otherwise check in with the office. Many employees feel pressured to stay available, but CareerBuilder's vice president of human resources says, "If you prepare in advance and anticipate issues, it can positively reflect on your management and organization skills." Manage Smarter (5/28)

• Get control of flooded inbox
  E-mail pack-rats are finding it difficult to let go, with Web-based e-mail providers such as Gmail and Yahoo! Mail offering plenty of, and in some cases unlimited, storage space. But it may be time to do some cleaning if your account has reached the 99%-full mark. Many programs come with extensive search functions that allow users to quickly separate the keepers from the trash-bound. MSNBC/Washington Post (5/31)

Sales

• Free: No. 1 way to attract customers
  The No. 1 most powerful word in marketing is "free." Use it on your Web site or other marketing tools to grab attention, drive traffic and increase conversion rates. Great free offers include e-zines, special reports or sneak previews. SmartBIZ (5/21)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by NAW SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Grainger COO addresses industry trends, outlook (Modern Distribution Management)

• Blake: Some investors say to hold on to HD Supply (AccessNorthGa.com (Gainesville, Ga.))

• SEC unanimously passes changes to Sarbanes-Oxley (ClipSyndicate)

• Regulators nervous about power of "Big Three" drug wholesalers (MarketWatch)

• Three basic questions to answer to achieve marketing success (Entrepreneur)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Small Business Manager

• Monthly finance statements a waste for most SMBs
  Small and medium sized businesses can save money by saying no to accountants and other financial professionals offering specially prepared financial statements. Most SMBs can get the same information on their own by sticking to a few simple practices, such as having an assistant prepare a daily flash report, which will save time and money. American City Business Journals (5/21)

Executive Life

• GPS keeps parents in the know
  Several new services enable parents to track their children's movements with GPS-enabled cell phones. Disney Mobile phones come equipped with GPS tracking, which is also available from Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless. All of the services allow parents to use the Web to find their children; Verizon also offers an additional service that can send text messages to parents' phones if children leave a preapproved area. CNNMoney.com (5/31)

• Artwork is integral to tapestry of Florence
  Florence, Italy, attracts visitors who are interested in seeing Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's Venus and many other works of art. The Tuscan city delivers on those promises, and visitors often realize that the entire city can be seen as one large art museum. Delta Sky Magazine (6/2007)

NAW Insider

• Download key economic data on your line of trade
  Download immediately individual economic analysis reports that are most relevant to your business from the 19 major wholesale distribution sectors in the 2007 Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports. These reports supply a wealth of channel benchmarking data, including revenue and employment growth trends, the number and size distribution of companies, gross margins, wages and many other operating statistics. Quantity discounts apply.

• Learn the Essentials of Profitable Wholesale Distribution
  Essentials of Profitable Wholesale Distribution will benefit your entire team. End-of-chapter self-tests, a glossary and a concluding "final exam" speed learning and retention.

Weekly Poll

• How many nonbusiness trips do you take a year?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	More than four.
	Somewhere between two and four.
	Usually just one.
	People go on trips outside of business?

Inside Sales Representative Laird Plastics, Inc. Bensenville (Chicago), IL Account Executive Industrial Electric Wire & Cable Home office in Chicago, Illinois Inside Sales Representative Laird Plastics, Inc. Los Angeles (Santa Fe Springs)

Editor's Note

• New feature: SmartBrief at work, home and on the road
  We listened to you and have created a way to read SmartBrief on your mobile device. Now you can simply open SmartBrief from the e-mail inbox of your BlackBerry, Treo or Windows Mobile device by clicking on the "Wireless Version" link at the top of the message. Your SmartBrief will then automatically format to fit your handheld device. Pretty cool, right? Reply to this e-mail and let us know what you think!

SmartQuote

It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you've wanted to do so badly." --Charles Lindbergh, pioneering aviator