Today we’re honored to host the Carnival of the Capitalists. A carnival is a traveling collection of annonated links to articles within a given specialty — and Carnival of the Capitalists is one of the best, all about capitalism in its many incarnations. If you’re interested in knowing more about how these mini-festivals work and why they matter, we actually put together a little FAQ on carnivals for one of our recent projects. You should also visit the host site for Carnival of the Capitalists.

This week Names@Work was chosen to host the Carnival, which means that we read through all the submitted articles, summarize and comment on them, and chose our favorites. There were some great articles, and hard choices. So here they are!

Top Five Posts

The “Gifted” VCR Repair Lady: Is It Unethical to Sell to an Idiot?
Rob at BusinessPundit gives us an amusing anecdote about the business ethics of dealing with stupid people.

Darned if you do, or don’t…
A great post by InsureBlog about the reality of our aging population and the increasing costs of long term health care.

What IF There’s No Final Whistle?
David Maister, of David Maister’s Passion, People and Principles writes a post on re-thinking business “goals” as indicators of sustained and indefinite company growth, rather than as end points to a given strategy. Extended comment discussion is worth reading.

Why 9/11 - The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict
My 1st Million At 33 takes a break from finance to delve into a better understanding of the Middle East conflict. Not directly COTC material, but I appreciated “frugal’s” attention to several important and current points about Israeli aggression.

Four Things To Look At Before Investing in an ETF
Ricemutt from Experiments in Finance looks at the pros and cons of ETFs and how to read them for their real value.

Investing & Finance

Improving Your Credit Score: Using Verizon Cell Phone Service
Free the Drones sends in an interesting tip about improving your credit score by using services from companies that report on-time payments from month to month, eg: Verizon. This is one part of a longer series on credit.

Cendant: Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Dan Appleman, one of the Investor Geeks, reviews the recent Cendant breakup, and the impact for former Cendant investors.

A Penny Saved…
Rob Sama from Sama Blog shares his breakdown of the how to profit from breaking down pennies and nickels into raw metals.

Collection Before It Is Even a Debt
Michael Herrin, author of Debt Collection Lawyer gives sound advice on how to file a debt collection lawsuit without getting stuck with the attorney’s fees.

Progress on Double Taxation of Dividends in Ohio?
The Boring Made Dull comments on recent reports from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

What They Want From Us in Mexico
Steve Faber at Debt Free argues against increasing US and Canadian development in Mexico because of “endemic corruption” and illegal immigration.

A Simple Suggestion that Saves You Money, Makes You Money and Keeps You in Shape
Free Money Finance talks about the financial and health benefits of gardening.

The Home Equity Debate: Take it Out or Leave it In
A Samuel at Property Blog writes about reasons to cash in on your home equity.

Company & Self Management

The Selection Decision
Michael Wade at Execupundit looks at a board that considered two candidates for CEO, and chose the wrong one.

The Risks of Viewing Your Career as a Noun
Jeff Cornwall, author of The Entrepreneurial Mind, writes succinctly about why your ‘career’ is just one of many important life activities.

Isn’t Life Fun?
Adrian Savage, author of The Coyote Within writes about the sexual shenanigans of the British. I mean, about having fun at “work”.

Slow Down For Your Customers’ Sakes Too
Carmine Coyote sends in a post from Slow Leadership about how the speed of response can affect customer satisfaction.

Strong Opinions Weakly Held
E. Sexton from AccMan Pro talks about the messy business of working with, around and beyond the Company Asshole. He includes a number of nice links and a personal story that I’m sure many can relate to.

The Shocking Ease of Breaching Corporate Security
Wenchypoo, of Frugal Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Warehouse, offers two amusing anecdotes about how any half-decent actor can hack into to a company’s “secured” information. Alternately titled, How to Get a Job as a Security Consultant.

GUI Development - Useful Advices
Pawel Brodzinski, author of Software Project Management blog, sends in a few helpful ideas to exploit when working on user interface.

Sometimes It Takes More than One Sign to Get Your Attention
David St Lawrence, author of Ripples, shares an anecdote about slowing down to appreciate a complete life rather than a busy one.

The Magic of a Great Business Leader
Jeannie Bauer from Bouncing Back writes about how to lead effectively by keeping a positive attitude..

Embrace Failure: Learn From It and You Will Succeed
Benjamin Yoskovitz writes in I Got News For You a bit of constructive advice for people who have recently experienced failure.

Happy People are Key
Marcus Markou from Business Opportunities Blog writes that business is driven by people who approach each task with passion and happiness.

Time Management is such an Illusion
Peter Kua from RadicalHop.com says it’s not time-management, it’s self-management that makes a difference in the workplace.

Business Ethics

SEO Ethics and Practices: a Guide
Wayne Hurlbert from Blog Business World writes a guide to “white hat” vs. “black hat” SEO with a lengthy discussion of all the “grey” issues that fall in between the lines.

Passing Thoughts
The Big Picture Guy from Big Picture, Small Office writes about the difficult questions raised by the passing of an employee’s wife, grappling for the line between personal and professional obligation in a small office.

How Building a Giant Mansion for Yourself is Better than Charity
John Rozewicki, of Supreme Narcissism examines the economic benefits of the Biltmore Estate. He argues that grossly rich people can pat themselves on the back for creating tourism, low-wage employment and a little piece of art history by building an enormous house.

A Rose Among Humanity
Abu Sahajj, writer of A Muslim-American Journal, shares a post on social justice, presenting evidence of the ubiquity of ethical disagreement, and a call to lawmakers to right the inequalities created by our capitalist society.

The Widespread Practice of Option Timing
Leon Gettler, author of Sox First posts some alarming statistics about the number of companies who might have manipulated the timing of stock-option grants.

Economics

Bernanke’s Latest Testimony
James Hamilton, author of Econbrowser, comments on markets’ reactions to testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke before the U.S. Senate this week.

Forcing Us To Finance Their Pipe Dreams
Neal Phenes of Et Tu Bloge presents two conservative rationalizations against hybrid cars and embryonic stem cell research.

Marketing

Experience the Glow
Yvonne DiVita, the voice behind Lipsticking, talks about smart marketing to niche audiences in her case study on The Knot, a site that caters to brides-to-be.

Before Your Idea Can Take Off
Tim King from J. Timothy King’s Blog posted a review and discussion of Jill Konrath’s recent book, Selling to Big Companies.

Let’s Talk About Branding for Your Business
Laurie Bluedom, the PRMama, references Target’s TV ad as a good example of how to use color for branding, with links to her own branding efforts.

Miscellaneous

Gas Gap
Nina from Queercents writes about how rising gas prices are widening the income gap in America.

Maryland’s Wal Mart Law Struck Down
Doug Mataconis from Below the Beltway reports on Maryland’s proposal to require Wal Mart to provide health coverage for all employees.

Deadlines in Real Estate Transactions
Dan Melson, author of Searchlight Crusade, writes a post about how to save money as a real estate agent by properly negotiating buyer and seller deadlines.

Why Your Business Must Forget 99% of the Population
Andrew Trinh at Trizoko Biz Journal reminds us of what really counts for small businesses - a small, targeted audience, a proven track record, and steady growth.

Italy On My Mind
Evelyn Rodriguez, author of Crossroads Dispatches, writes about how to take business inspiration from Italian culture.

No Fries with that Sheikh
Starling David Hunter from The Business of America is Business comments on the effectiveness of boycotts in relation to conflict in the Middle East.

Don’t Sell Duplicates
Nick Tritt from Power Selling on eBay advises ebay sellers to avoid listing duplicate items.

The Mobile Divide
Barry Welford, author of StayGoLinks, sends Stephanie Rieger a shout-out in his discussion of the divide between mobile and desktop communications.

On Annoying Customers
Tam Hanna from TamsPalm - the Palm OS Blog shares an anecdote about how frustrating it is to receive poor service.

Smart!
PhotonCourier submitted a post about Cracker Barrel’s audio book lending library.

Tags: carnival of the capitalists, carnival, marketing, economics, business ethics, management, Top Five

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