In his speech to the American Bankers Association's annual convention in Phoenix on Monday, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said that few regulatory changes are needed for the majority of banks in the U.S. However, regulators are looking into increasing the level of supervision of the country's largest banks because of the negative impact they could bring upon the U.S.

Freelancers and small business owners, this one is for you! If you're looking for an electronic support site, check out Guru.com. The site, which went live in June, is slated to offer a host of services for the nation's 25 million self-employed professionals when it is fully operational later this fall.Site creators Jon and James Slavet refer to independent professionals as gurus, and plan to provide everything from vendors for health insurance and bill collection, to expert advice. But the site's biggest draw may be the new job-matching service.

Did you hear the one about great salespeople being great talkers? They have the gift of gab and they dazzle their customers into buying anything. Some salespeople even believe it. It’s the biggest myth in sales. Here’s how it got started and why it is a myth.News travels fast. The poor salesman seems to leave a more lasting impression on the customer than the great salesperson, who makes selling look easy. Poor salespeople get remembered for their excessive talking and the word gets around.

Remember the story about the cobbler whose children had no shoes? In the accounting arena, don't be surprised at tax time-especially if you provide tax advice yourself-by a tax burden based on any gains you experienced from online trading.Since online trading is such a hot "commodity," many taxpayers will no doubt have problems come tax time. Remember the differences between stocks held for less than a year versus more than 12 months.

The U.S. Labor Department just released its September unemployment statistics, marking a 30-year low with the rate of 4.2 percent. Overall, the nation's jobless rate has stayed below 4.4 percent since March 1999.Also released were figures regarding the number of payroll jobs, which fell in September by 8,000 positions. The number of positions typically is affected by a major change either in the economy or another sort of large populations-affected change like a natural disaster.

For the first time in recent history, the Chairman of the SEC blasted the way that auditors do their jobs, and suggested the need for a full time self-regulatory body to ensure the credibility of audits.Addressing a blue ribbon panel investigating the effectiveness of audits, Levitt sharply criticized auditors as playing a major role in the disturbing trend of company's "managing" their earnings.Mr.

An exposure draft for a proposed standard just issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Auditing Standards Board focuses on improving communication between independent auditors and corporate audit committees. The draft is called Amendments to Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, “Communication With Audit Committees, “ and Statement on Auditing Standards No.

Recruiting and keeping good employees always has been more difficult for small business owners who must compete with large companies that offer a variety of perks and benefits. And now, with the jobless rate sitting below 5 percent for the past two years, the struggle to find reliable, long-term personnel has never been more difficult.The days when flex-time and telecommuting were considered attractive employment incentives are over.

Interested in taking a trip to London? Now is your chance if you attend the upcoming international accounting conference sponsored by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. This high-level conference will focus on the latest developments in U.S., SEC, European and international accounting issues. The event will be held Nov.