There is no question that the shooting death of former NFL star Steve McNair was tragic. The question I have is why is the entire media referring to Sahel Kazemi as his ‘girlfriend’? After all he was married with 4 boys, no record of him filing for divorce. That qualifies as having an affair and she was his mistress.

McNair was cheating on his wife, and for some reason the media is giving the former NFL quarterback a pass.  As an example of the coverage, the NY Post says: ” His girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, had a single gunshot wound to her head. ”

This is typical of the coverage to date.

McNair was and still is a role model, and by referring to Kazemi as his ‘girlfriend’, infidelity is being glorified. Is that the kind of message that we want to send to our children? Is this what society thinks of the union of marriage?

How about some truth in reporting. After all, McNair was having an affair.

If you are looking for some good content relating to pregnancy and/or parenthood, Bizzywomen.com has 3 blogs that are worth bookmarking:

babyfruit deals with issues ranging from miscarriages to parenthood. In a recent post the issue with discipline and ‘time outs’ was discussed in a really humorous way that all parents can relate to. ” But now when she does something wrong, she tilts her head and smiles as we open our mouth to scold her and says, “What? Am I going to get a Time Out?” Big Cheshire Cat grin and a glint in her eye. “Yes, you’re going to get a Time Out,” we say in the sternest voice we can muster with what I’m sure looks like Fake Stern looks on our faces. And then she says, “I want a time out. Can I have a time out now, please?” Tonight, she was talking back to G., and he made the Time Out threat. She actually said “May I be excused so I can have a time out?” (We’re teaching her to say “May I be excused” before getting up from the table. Guess she learned that one.)”

At More4kids.com lot’s of questions an expectant mother may have are dealt with. In a  recent post the issue of taking a birth class was written about. “Their goal is really to provide the mom to be with confidence that she can infact do this. These classes are usually put on by hospitals, you can find them at the hospital you plan on delivering at, but not all expectant moms take the classes. Which begs the question, do you really need the class before you have the baby?”

The baby blog has great information for parents on raising newborns. In a recent post the issue of infants watching tv was debated. “The public health implications of early television and video viewing are potentially large. There are both theoretical and empirical reasons to believe that the effects of media exposure on children’s development are more likely to be adverse before the age of about 30 months than afterward,” the authors note. Recent studies suggest that what children younger than two years watch and whether they watch it alone or with a parent may be important for their vocabulary development.”

With personal branding all the rage, Bizzywomen.com is helping readers sort through all the content out there to focus on 3 blogs that are worth the time to read.

Personal PR - Tiffany Monhollon has a great blog that deals with these issues. In a recent post she talks about the pros and cons of how to do personal branding for married women. Should they keep their maiden name or new name. “When I started blogging and stumbled into the world of personal branding, I never dreamed all of this would make much difference to me whatsoever, much less impact my real life decision of whether or not to keep my maiden name when I got married nearly a year later. Then, I was struggling with whether or not just to blog under my full name.”

Judy Martin’s WorkLife Nation is another blog with quality content. In a recent postshe writes on the importance of personal branding for women, in today’s job market. “The theme of personal branding has been a consistent thread of discussion here at WorkLife Nation. In a time when many are struggling to keep their jobs, are looking for one, or are starting their own businesses, some career experts are touting the benefit of boosting one’s personal brand to stay competitive. Personal branding is not a new concept, but the Internet has changed the landscape. For women in particular, perhaps the web and social media in general have leveled the playing field. “

Chandlee Bryan’s The Emerging Professional is another blog where you can find on how to stay ahead in today’s job market. Bryan, is a former recruiter, and she gives great tips on how to land that sought after job. In a recent guest post we learn how to use Twitter to get a job. ” Once that decision (not to attend law school) was made, I kept tweeting about articles that interested me, and that were relevant to my job search. Sherry and I also kept in touch, tweeting and e-mailing occasionally, and one of those tweets was the introduction that landed me this job.”

Happy reading!

Let’s see. A women is called a ’slut’ on national TV, and her 14 year old daughter is mentioned to ‘get knocked up’ by Alex Rodriguez in the middle of Yankee stadium, and leading feminists are silent. Double standard? Is their silence due to the fact that Gov. Sarah Palin is a conservative? Would someone dare make a similar joke about Michelle Obama, or one of her girls? Can you imagine the outrage if that would happen.

Whether you agree or disagree with Gov. Palin’s politics, doesn’t she deserve the same respect as any other women? The fact that she is one of the most influential women in the world, is of apparent little value, because she believes in oil drilling, and tax cuts, and as such she loses the support of the National Organization of Women, and other similar groups. Seems preposterous to any rational thinker.

Shame on you all for not protesting loudly on behalf of common decency and not coming to the aid of a fellow women.

Here are 3 good blogs that deal with various issues of divorce:

Judith’s Divorce Blog comprises issues dealing with divorce written by a divorce lawyer. What makes this blog unique is that often times the posts are coming from a fictional angle. Worth the read.

Total Divorce Blog has relevant content pertaining to legal, single parent and other common issues that face divorced people. The site also gives you the ability to connect with a divorce lawyer in your local area.

Thrive After Divorce gives practical strategies for both separated and divorced individuals. Written by noted author Carolyn B. Ellis, the content aims to inspire and empower people into achieving their maximum.

We would love to hear about your favorite blogs on this issue.

With Twitter and other forms of social media taking the world by storm, the question is how PR people can use these new media outlets to help their clients?

Here are 3 top blogs that deal with the issue.

Lara Kretler’s blog deals with these very issues. She has a really fresh take on many social media issues. For example, in a recent post: ” Who Owns Social Media? (aka PR vs. Marketing vs. Advertising vs. Interactive). This is one argument that you really can’t win because there are good points on all sides. Ultimately, it comes down to who’s doing social media well, who’s measuring it, and who’s showing great results. I don’t think it’s hard to figure out where I fall in this debate – social public relations FTW – and I’m proud to see so many amazing, smart PR people leading the way in social media. Even Charlene Li, whose fantastic Altimeter Group Wiki is shaping up to be a top resource for social media pros of all stripes, includes a special section for social media PR firms. The jury’s still out on this debate but I think as time goes by, we’ll see PR continuing to take the lead on social. After all, it’s all about relationships.”

Over at Your PR Guy you can find information on bridging the PR/social media divide. ” Yes, Twitter is a union of advertising, PR and branding — doesn’t matter if it’s personal or product specific. Tweeting and building your followers and those who you choose to follow is important. Still confused?”  Hi quality posts.

The India Pr Blog has great content and is recognized as a top PR blog. In a recent post Bhawna Sharma says, “One of the ways I have used social tools successfully in my PR job is in the media relations bit – forming new contacts, pitching to journalists, getting fast information about the media, etc. ”

There is some great content out there on this topic. Let Bizzywomen know some of your favorite PR/Social media sites.

With all the bad economic news, layoffs, Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme, and a general depressing feeling taking hold all around America, it’s interesting to note that philanthropists are still busy doing God’s work and donating large sums of money to worthy charities.

Johns Hopkins University has announced the end of an eight-year fundraising effort that raised more than $3.7 billion. Nice. According to the Philanthropy News Digest, ” The original goal of the campaign — to raise $2 billion by the end of 2007 — was surpassed two years ahead of schedule, thanks in part to some of the largest gifts ever received by the university. They include four commitments totaling $157 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for reproductive health initiatives and research on childhood pneumonia and tuberculosis in AIDS patients in developing countries. Of the total raised by the campaign, $2.2 billion — or 58 percent — was designated for Johns Hopkins Medicine, while about $1 billion was awarded for program support. Nearly $3.1 billion — or 82 percent — of the funds raised came from sources outside Maryland. ”

Leor Energy founder Guma Aguiar, has announced an $8 million gift to an organization dedicated to bring North American Jews to live in Israel. Nefesh B’Nefesh, whose goal is to revitalize Western Aliyah and expand it for generations to come, by removing the financial, professional and bureaucratic obstacles that are preventing many potential Olim from fulfilling their dreams. In the process, we hope to send an unmistakable signal of Jewish solidarity linking Israel and the Diaspora. The generous gift by Aguiar, comes at a time when Jewish philanthropy in particular has taken a big hit due to the Bernie Madoff affair.

Trying to help the world of pediatric cancer research, the The St. Baldrick’s Foundation in Pasadena, California, has announced grants totaling more than $2.4 million.

Obviously these are just a few examples, but it seems that worthy causes still have generous donors looking to help fund their projects.

If you do any investing there is a good chance that you’ve heard the words, “Exchange Traded Funds (ETF).” ETFs have become the fastest growing financial tool used by investors to build their portfolios. I have found many people who call me ask about ETFs but don’t really understand what they are.  ETFs are defined as “securities that track an index, a commodity or a basket of assets like an index fund, but trade like a stock on an exchange, thus experiencing price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold.” In other words, an ETF is a security that tracks some kind of stock or bond index and allows the investor to closely track that specific index through buying this one particular product. For example, if an investor wants exposure to the S&P 500 stock index, he can either buy all 500 stocks, which would be very costly and time consuming, or he can purchase an ETF. The ETF will track the S&P index nearly point for point. Due to their low costs and simplicity, many investors are very keen to buy ETFs.

Overkill?

The first ETF was launched on the Toronto stock exchange back in 1990. Three years after that, the first one was launched in the United States, and they have been gaining in popularity ever since. Over the last three years, there has been an explosion of new ETFs, with hundreds of new products hitting the market, leaving investors trying to work out which product is best for them. As is usually the case, when Wall Street senses that something is popular, it will produce it in mass quantity in order to profit. Because of this, all kinds of esoteric ETFs were launched on all kinds of bizarre indices. There is even an ETF that specializes in metabolic endocrines, whatever that is? 

Interestingly, with the recent market meltdown, many of these more innovative ETFs have actually closed down due to lack of interest. Still, there are hundreds and hundreds of ETFs in the market. With this burgeoning industry coming up with all kinds of new and innovative products, ETFs seem to have moved away from their initial role of allowing investors linkage to a broad market index. Instead, they are leading investors into a false sense of security that they are indeed diversified, when in actual fact they are far from holding a well-diversified portfolio.

Advantages

There are many advantages to purchasing ETFs. First and foremost is diversification. By definition, ETFs give the investor potential exposure to hundreds, if not thousands, of different stocks, providing a well-diversified global portfolio, while investing passively without having to watch and follow a myriad of securities. Another benefit of ETF investing is liquidity. Because they trade like individual stocks, ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the trading day, thus allowing active traders to try and time the market and cash in on intra-day market moves.

Managed Portfolio

How can an investor capture the advantages of these products while trying to wade through all the minutiae out there? More and more financial advisers have begun offering what are called “Core ETF” portfolios. The idea is that these portfolios are globally diversified using basic ETFs. However, they follow mathematical models that help the investor obtain a well-diversified portfolio, while limiting some of the volatility that comes with investing. This creates the benefit of being linked to many stock indices, with the knowledge that the most appropriate ETFs are being used. In this case, the client does not need to worry about which ETF to use. Rather, he relies upon the analysis and expertise of advisers who specialize in this particular field.

Many investors find ETFs useful in building their portfolio. Be aware, when you look at their results, that past performance is no guarantee of future returns. It may be worthwhile asking your investment adviser if ETFs can be used to diversify your portfolio in a low-cost, efficient manner.

Aaron Katsman is President of Global Investments at Profile Investment Services.  He is a licensed financial professional both in the U.S. and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the U.S. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. a registered broker dealer, Member NASD, SIPC, MSRB, SIFMA. For more information, go to www.profile-financial.com or call (02) 624-2788 or (03) 524-0942, or email aaron@profile-financial.com 

Over the past 14 months, drastic market falls have caused many investors to lose significant portions of their savings. The U.S. market has fallen by more than 40%, while international markets are down by 60% or more in many cases. 

In this scenario, one of the questions that I am most frequently asked is, “How do I make my money back?” My answer to this question is simple – don’t try to make your money back. If you try, chances are that you are going to take unnecessary risks and end up losing even more money. For this reason, the best advice may not be something that many investors want to hear. It is probably better to forget about the past and concentrate on the future. While the markets are getting hammered, stocks are selling at a discount. Although no one can predict when the market will hit bottom, buying at a 40% off discount is something that rarely happens.

Asset Allocation

Creating your asset allocation, or the mix of stocks, bonds and cash in your portfolio, is the single most important task that an investor has to face. Many studies have shown that the proportion of stocks, bonds and cash held in a portfolio has a greater effect on its returns and volatility than the individual investments that are chosen.

That is why after assessing one’s investment goals, it’s of the utmost importance to create an allocation that can help you achieve the aforementioned goals. Once you have fixed your asset allocation, you can start considering what to buy. “Be greedy when others are fearful,” is one of investor extraordinaire Warren Buffet’s favorite sayings. Many economists believe that the United States is in the midst of a recession. While this does not sound good, there may be a silver lining for investors. Though you need to always remember that past performance is no guarantee of future returns, consider this: According to a report in Smart Money, “Stocks tend to rebound before the economy does. Over the past nine recessions, the S&P 500 has gained an average 13% during the second half of the downturns and another 13% the year after they ended. Even during the Great Depression, the S&P rose 33% from the market’s trough to the end of the recession. And while it’s folly to try to predict a bottom, with the market down 40% from its 2007 high, it may not be far away.”

Buy Low/Sell High

During more stable times, clients ask me which stocks I think may have big upside potential. Usually, they are looking for small companies that have the potential to move up rapidly. I like to refer to this as “being a hero.” These clients expect me to wade through loads of information to pick out a company that no one has ever heard of. (Whether that is realistic or not is for another column!) In today’s climate, however, there is no need to be a hero. It is not necessary to speculate on risky companies. It is enough to look at large companies that continue to pay or even raise their dividends as a place to start. These are usually companies that make products that we all use in our day-to-day lives. For example, come what may, consumers are still going to use shampoo, toothpaste, soap, and other necessities.  Obviously there is no guarantee that your money will be doubled within the next week. But if you have a long-term investment horizon and you can withstand continued volatility, then investing in stocks now will have the potential to reward you in the future and help you rebuild some of the wealth that you have lost.

With the current market volatility, it is worthwhile speaking with your financial adviser to make sure that your portfolio is well designed with your financial goals in mind. Then, if your financial plan allows for it, have a talk about trying to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.