The Canadian dollar initially weakened to a one-week low against the greenback at C$0.9923 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0078, shortly after Bernanke’s comments.

The Canadian dollar turned higher against the U.S. currency Friday afternoon as investors digested a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that had few details on the central bank’s options to provide further stimulus for the struggling U.S. economy.

Equity markets also turned higher, after initially dropping steeply, after Bernanke said the U.S. central bank has a range of tools it could use to boost the U.S. economy. He said it was critical for the U.S. economy’s health to reduce long-term joblessness and he also expressed long-term optimism.

The Canadian dollar initially weakened to a one-week low against the greenback at C$0.9923 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0078, shortly after Bernanke’s comments.

But by 2:38 p.m.

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Corporate Cash Passports, the prepaid travel cards distributed by Access Prepaid, are gaining popularity with businesses in Australia and across the world thanks to their ability to save time, money and security hassles.

The card is prepaid, pin protected, does not charge a currency conversion fee and is free to use for point of sale transactions.  There is a flat fee for ATM transactions and customers can choose to lock in the foreign exchange rate at the time they purchase or reload the card.

Australia is increasingly doing business internationally and sending more employees overseas for business trips. The strong Australian dollar makes it is less expensive for companies to pay for accommodation and travel allowances.

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CBD

Slotting in … big bonus for former Tabcorp man Elmer Funke Kupper.

The Australian Securities Exchange chairman, David Gonski, showcased the bourse’s hardline position, vis-a-vis enforcing its own board charter, when he welcomed the former Tabcorp boss Elmer Funke Kupper as his new managing director on Friday.

When asked whether Funke Kupper’s plans to become a Tabcorp non-executive director breached the section in the ASX board charter about its managing director not being allowed to sit on the boards of other listed companies, Gonski was uncompromising.

”It’s a charter we have devised ourselves. It’s a charter that we have every right to amend and bring into focus each time there are developments,” Gonski, showing the ASX would not be swayed, said.

”We think, in this particular case, we found the right person for the job.

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Losing a business is like a death of loved one. So much work personality business owner and entered into a costly undertaking, that when tragedy strikes, no matter the reason and the company was forced into bankruptcy or close, the emotions felt by the owner the company will do nothing serious and all encompassing.

Since the loss of a business is considered a stress factor ‘major life’, with divorce, and thus the death of a loved one, a business owner who loses a business can be just as emotionally devastated . In this spirit, it is acceptable to the owner of the company should be an examination of the 5 stages of grief that occur in a very important life event or ‘stressor’. Full story…

According to the latest BLS national wage estimate through May 2010, the mean annual salary for lawyers was around  $129,440, which partly accounts for the fact that the U.S. has one of the highest number of lawyers per capita in the world.

Based on data from the American Bar Association, there are over 1.2 million lawyers in the United States.  Thats one attorney for every 254 Americans, which also makes some of the stunning statistics illustrated in the infographic below somewhat logical:

• 15 million lawsuits will be filed in 2011 across the U.S.
• A new lawsuit every 2 seconds
• One lawsuit for every 12 adults
• 21 U.S. states are facing a medical liability crisis
• $248.1 billion = the cost to the U.S. tort

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