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Experts offer guidance for business owners on banks, credit unions, business loans, labor, pricing, insurance, and equity investments

by Karen E. Klein

When Smart Answers asked several experts to weigh in on the short- and long-term impact of this week’s financial free fall on small business owners, we got an earful. Here, organized by areas of concern, are some thoughts and predictions:

Banks. There were no bank failures in 2005 or 2006 and three bank failures in 2007, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). But so far in 2008, 11 banks have failed, and a number of additional banks are said to be teetering. What happens if your business bank fails outright or is taken over by another?

If you have $100,000 or less in deposits (per taxpayer ID or Social Security number) the money is insured through the FDIC. Check out the agency’s Web site

Gem Diamonds, a London-listed mining firm, said on Sunday it had recovered a 478 carat diamond from its mine in Lesotho: the 20th-largest rough diamond ever found.

The discovery of the gem, which the company said had the potential to become one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world, was made on September 8 at the Letseng mine in Lesotho.

“Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best colour and clarity,” the company’s Chief Executive Clifford Elphick said in a statement.

The diamond, which has not yet been named, has the potential to yield a 150 carat polished stone, a company spokesman said.

That would be far bigger than the 105 carat round-cut Koh-i-Noor diamond seized by Britain from India in the 19th century and now part of the Crown Jewels.

It would still only be a

MANILA, Philippines – The local unit of multinational outsourcing firm Convergys Corp. will hire 600 more agents as its starts operating its 14th site in the country — its first in the city of Manila — in the first quarter of next year.

The new office in the Sampaloc district will increase Convergys Philippines’ seats by a tenth to 6,000, Jomari Mercado, business development director of Convergys Philippines, said in an interview.

“Most of our [employees] live in dorms near the university belt. Manila is a good location,” he said.

Mr. Mercado said Convergys had done a study on the viability of the area, and they are confident of successfully running the business from the capital.

“The good thing is the city government is doing something about [the lack of infrastructure], and Ayala is assuring us that we will have a good location,” he added.

While the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is

ROME – A UN food agency says soaring food prices have pushed the number of the world’s hungry sharply higher, to 925 million at the end of 2007.

The head of the Food and Agriculture Organization told Italian lawmakers in Rome on Wednesday that high prices caused 75 million more people to be undernourished last year alone.

Jacques Diouf said that before prices started escalating in 2007, there were 850 million people with not enough to eat.

Price hikes have been blamed on fuel costs, climate change, population growth and increasing demand for meat in countries like China. Speculation and the use of cropland for biofuels also are cited.

The agency said prices will stay high for years. source