To mark the Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Saving Week, the Consumer Council for Water has encouraged Britons to take a look at where they may be able to save water and energy.

By doing so, the Council observed that Britons stand to make significant savings around the home .

Around three quarters of a household’s energy use relates to heating and hot water, according to the Council.

However, simple changes could see a reduction in the cost of energy bills.

Dame Yve Buckland, chair of the Consumer Council for Water, commented: “If you’re looking for ways to save money; penny pinching does not have to be painful.

“Taking five minutes to consider these very simple water and energy saving tips could pay off in the long run, and have the added benefit of helping to reduce your carbon footprint.”

The Council represents consumers of water and sewerage services in England and Wales.

SSE (also known as Scottish and Southern Energy, which encompasses Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro, SWALEC and Atlantic) has increased gas prices by an average of £67 for customers on its standard tariffs, which will affect around 3.6 million customers.

uSwitch energy expert Tom Lyon commented: “Ofgem’s recent Quarterly Market Report predicted a squeeze on suppliers’ net margins in spring of 2011 while a similar report from the energy consultancy NERA, published around the same time, suggested that suppliers were already running at a loss and had been since June 2010.

“SSE’s move comes earlier than expected by most observers, with many predicting that suppliers would hold off till spring, but nevertheless, it’s a worrying sign and it seems unlikely that this will be the only rise we see over the next couple of months.

“It is also the first general price rise since 2008, when all supplier increased their prices and household energy bills rocket by 42% or £381.

“Prices have come down since then, but only by 8% for the average dual fuel customer.

Full Article…

Despite a report showing that economic growth continued in the third quarter, exchange traded funds (ETFs) are mixed as investors remained just about as nervous as ever.

Stock ETFs are being supported in early trading by the government report indicating that the U.S. economy grew more rapidly this summer. The report showed the economy expanded at 2% annual rate in the third quarter, which was an improvement over the relatively weak 1.7% growth rate during the previous three months. The economy may be improving, but probably not fast enough to significantly reduce the high unemployment rate in the near term. The data on U.S. expansion precedes next week’s mid-term elections and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. Investors are moving overseas this morning; the top-moving ETF on the is iShares MSCI New Zealand (NYSEArca: ), which is up nearly 2%.

On the earnings front, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.

Full Article…

(Note: this is the sixth of a 10-part series listing my revised top 10 business planning mistakes. The list goes from 10, the least important, to 1, the most important.)

Let me start this with one of my favorite quotes, from Bill Cosby wrote:

“I don’t know the secret to success; but the secret to failure is trying to please everybody.” Amen to that. In fact, you can package that up and call it small business strategy 101.

And I’ve written about the displacement principle in small business:

In a business, everything you do rules out something else that you can’t do.

And this fits very well with what I call strategy:

Strategy is focus.

Full Article…