Relief for Struggling Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a new loan program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARC). ARC loans are available to small businesses that need short term assistance to make principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt.

The loans are interest free and carry no fees. The maximum amount of the loan is $35,000. Business owners can defer loan payments for up to one year after the loan is received. And the loan can be repaid over 5 years.

Get more information at www.sba.gov and type ARC in the search field.

Truly Diversifying Your Portfolio

This is part 5 of 8 blogs on what today's smart investors need to know in order to create sustainable wealth for you and your family.

Most investors know that it's smart to diversify. However, most investors are not nearly as diversified as they should be. Investing in the S&P 500 (the 500 largest stocks in the US) is not a diversified portfolio. Did you know that the US represents less than 50% of the developed global markets in the world??? By avoiding international stocks, an investor is missing out on a lot of opportunities.

From 1993 through 2008, if you examine the countries with the best equity returns each year, the US was only a top-five performer three times in the last 16 years.

Bottom Line: Don't make the mistake of focusing solely on US securities!