The Mind Trick To Nailing Your Next Big Presentation


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When we've got a big event, or test coming up, it's natural to put pressure on ourselves.

But it's counterproductive to constantly remind ourselves that what we're doing is really important.

In fact, putting too much significance on any single event poses a psychological threat, according to a study published in Science led by Stanford University professor Geoffrey Cohen.

The study, "Reducing the Racial Achievement Gap: A Social-Psychological Intervention," was originally about race. But Cohen and the other authors found some interesting universal findings. The researchers conducted a "social-psychological intervention" by asking a group of students to complete an in-class assignment where they wrote about something they valued. According to Time,

"This brief writing assignment significantly improved the grades of African-American students, and reduced the racial achievement gap by 40 percent. Why? The exercise affirmed students’ “self-integrity,” Cohen explains, buttressing their self-worth and alleviating the stress they felt about being evaluated. Cohen and another group of co-authors investigated whether a similar approach would help female college students taking an introductory physics course who might be feeling vulnerable to negative messages about women in science. Once again, students chose their most cherished values from a list and then wrote about why these values were important to them."

The key takeaway, the authors found, is that you've got to put less pressure on yourself, and keep perspective. The trick with conquering a big presentation is viewing it as insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But that's easier said than done.

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The Worst Company in America: It's Not a Bank or a Retailer

EAThe Consumerist.com voters have spoken.

Electronic Arts (EA) is the worst company in the country.

The country's second-largest video game company beat out Bank of America (BAC) for the honor, and it wasn't even close. EA commanded 64% of the votes when the website's poll closed on Tuesday.

EA was one of 32 contenders this year, and it had to beat some pretty iffy companies to come out on top.

  • EA beat out Sony (SNE) in the first round. Sony's the company that took plenty of heat when its PlayStation Network was temporarily closed down after repeatedly successful hacking attacks.
  • In the second round, EA edged out Best Buy (BBY). The consumer electronics retailer has seen store-level sales slide in recent quarters, as consumers tire of its high prices and pushy employees trying to add warranty protection and other services to orders.
  • Next up was Comcast (CMCSA), the country's largest cable service provider. This is the same company that came under fire in Michigan for sticking tornado victims with bills for destroyed cable equipment and "on vacation" fees for cable programming that they were unable to receive.

Bank of America -- slammed last year for its debit card fees that were ultimately rescinded -- also didn't put up much of a fight.

Is EA really that vile, or did bashers orchestrate a run at Consumerist.com's polls?

It's In the Game

The knocks against EA aren't necessarily unique to the company. Has it acquired smaller developers? Sure. It's part of the business. Do we blame the buyer for buying or the seller for selling in matters of consolidation?

EA's strategy of embracing micro-transactions was also a source of antipathy from voters. Instead of simply rolling out games, EA allows players to pay extra for enhanced features. Is it a drag? Sure. However, why not come down on Zynga (ZNGA), the leader in social gaming with a model that relies largely on in-app purchases?

EA was also knocked for its support of the now all-but-dead SOPA legislation. Plenty of content creators backed SOPA at some point before backing down in light of a resentful mob of customers.

Past Consumerist.com winners seemed more worthy: Comcast and Bank of America have taken the crown over the years, and deservedly so.

No one is suggesting that EA is an admired company. The licensed monopoly it has on some sporting franchises is reason alone to get irate. However, it's certainly not a company that would come up on most objective lists.

There's nothing that EA can do. The voters have spoken. However, Consumerist.com may need to rethink its judging process if it wants to retain the annual award's integrity.

EA's a gaming company, but it appears as if it's the one that got gamed this time.

View our gallery on Fortune's 100 Best Companies To Work For here.
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Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any stocks in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America and Best Buy.

Electronic Arts wins worst company in America

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/04/05/worst-company-in-america-electronic-arts-consumerist/

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Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/04/05/paypal-helps-ebay-hit-42-with-small-business-offerings/

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BARTON BIGGS: The Threat Of A Double-Dip Recession Remains


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Barton Biggs is a bit spooked these days.

The former Morgan Stanley chief global strategist told Bloomberg's Betty Liu earlier today that the combination of another crisis brewing in Europe and the Fed's apparent retreat from further easing have convinced him that the market is heading for a short-term pullback in the range of 5% to 7%.

"I'd like to have a little less 'risk-on' than before," he said.

He later added, "I'm going to sell the S&P short to hedge the positions I already have. I don't want to net disturb them but I may want too take a little risk off."

Now with Traxis Partners, Biggs had previously stated he was approximately 90% long the S&P, according to Liu.

He slammed the Fed governors who he said had evidently convinced Ben Bernanke to take his foot off the easing pedal. Such a move actually goes against most investors' wishes, he said.

The threat of a double-dip remains, Biggs suggested.

"The markets want to see more liquidity," he said. "The markets are still worried. The markets read Reinhart and Rogoff, [who] suggest that after every financial crisis there's a long period of much slower growth and in almost every case you get a double dip.

"Without QE3, the market will struggle."

But Biggs remains long-term bullish, saying he'd gradually begin shorting U.S. treasuries.

Here's the whole interview from Bloomberg.

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MISS: Costco's March Same-Store Sales Climb 6% (COST)


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ISSAQUAH, Wash. (AP) — Costco Wholesale Corp.'s revenue at stores open at least a year climbed 6 percent in March, but missed Wall Street's expectations.

Analysts predicted a 6.7 percent increase in the figure, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue at stores open at least a year is a key indicator of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Costco reported a 7percent rise in the metric overseas and a 6 percent gain in the U.S.

Stripping out higher gas prices and the negative impact of foreign currencies, revenue at stores in the U.S. increased 5 percent and climbed 9 percent internationally. For the total company, the figure rose 6 percent.

The wholesale club operator said Thursday that total revenue for the five weeks ended April 1 rose 10 percent to $9.13 billion.

For the year-to-date, revenue at stores open at least a year climbed 8 percent. The figure was up by that same amount in the U.S. and rose 9 percent abroad.

Removing higher gas prices and foreign currencies negative effect, the metric increased 7 percent for the period. In the U.S, the gain was 6 percent, while overseas it was 10 percent.

Total revenue for the period rose 11 percent to $56.34 billion.

In February Costco reported that its fiscal second-quarter profit rose and beat analysts' expectations as its low prices continued to attract shoppers and drive sales.

Costco currently runs 601 warehouses, including 434 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the U.K., 13 in Japan, eight in Taiwan, seven in Korea and three in Australia. The Issaquah, Wash. company said that it plans to open up to an additional eight new warehouses before the end of fiscal 2012.

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