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SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
Dividends
Edited by Toddi Gutner

The Stat

$25 million: The average value of 60 securities-litigation settlements for the first seven months of 2003, up from $19.9 million per case in 2002.

Data: PricewaterhouseCoopers


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How to Speechify

Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani make more than $100,000 a speech, but most businesspeople would happily accept a few sales leads as payment. If you're among them, Amy Kopelan, founder of conference-management company Bedlam Entertainment in New York, has some advice.

Don't snub smaller venues such as colleges, chambers of commerce, places of worship, or local professional organizations. Good buzz leads to bigger gigs. Avoid tired topics such as leadership when you pitch to organizers. Instead, identify a new trend, or choose a topical subject such as managing during a company layoff. Tailor your message to your audience, and avoid sleep-inducing PowerPoint presentations.

Kevin Lee, founder of Internet search engine consultancy Did-It.com, offers this: "Be useful." He started out by substituting for last-minute no-shows and assembling speakers' panels for free -- as long as he could moderate. Now he credits much of Did-It.com's 20% monthly revenue growth over the past three months to his speaking at retail and technology conferences.

By Kate Hazelwood


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The Rich Worry, Too

Millionaires aren't immune to financial insecurity. A recent Phoenix Wealth Management/Harris Interactive survey of 1,500 individuals with a net worth (excluding debt and primary residence) of $1 million or more reveals:

-- 53% lost 25% or more of their portfolio value over the past three years; 24% peg their losses at 40% or greater, while 4% posted gains.

-- 31% feel they need to save more for retirement to make up for what they lost.

-- 40% donated less than $2,500 to charity in 2002, with 10% giving away $500 or less. Only 5% gave $25,000 or more.


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Power Up

You'll never want to use alkaline batteries again. These AA- and AAA-size batteries from Rayovac (ROV ) -- $15 for four -- recharge in a quick 15 minutes and last up to four times as long in electronic gadgets. The $35 charger includes a coupon for a free car adapter.



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