Business Generation

Here are the stats for some of the high profile GPs that count the CPP Investment Board as a direct limited partner . Amazingly, some private equity funds in the mega buyout category reported a Q4 NAV increase of ten and even fifteen percent higher than the return witnessed in the public markets. Many recorded a 15%+ increase during the last six months of 2010, likely tracking the 22% rise in the SP 500.

Some of the more notable large moves between Q2 2008, Q1 2009 and Q4 2010 are below :

- Apollo Inv.

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Yesterday, we posted a roundup on news about small business social media. It’s among the hottest topics in entrepreneurial circles these days and here at Small Business Trends too. But what might be more important are ideas about how you can improve your social media efforts to make your small business marketing stand out from the crowd. Here’s how to get started.

Tips

Give your Facebook fanpage a boost. By now, everyone knows the power of the Facebook fanpage to generate inceased traffic and interest for your brand and your small business Website. Here Steve Chou shares some data on the value of Facebook fanpages in your marketing efforts then provides information and a tutorial video on how to increase engagement with your Facebook presence especially applicable to e-commerce sites.

Make your blog the destination it should be. Before u

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Those who want to make sure they get possible airfares can now increase their chances of getting the cheapest ticket prices on particular flights by using a new tracking tool, called PriceAssure. To use it, cardholders first sign up to be enrolled in the online program.

Once they are registered all they have to do is log into their PriceAssure account and either type in their existing flight information or itinerary and PriceAssure starts monitoring those flights and prices. If the price of a flight you bought falls, you get an email message alerting you and then you can call the airline and ask for a refund or pay a fee of about $20 and MasterCard will contact the airline to negotiate your refund on your behalf.

The service is available to anyone who signs up for it as long as they are a MasterCard cardholder, and lots of major airlines are included in the PriceAssure system – including United, US Air, American, Delta, and Jet Blue. P

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PROVIDENCE – Meg Wirth, founder of Providence-based Maternova, is one of 25 business leaders in the running to be one of “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs,” in a national contest by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Maternova, which describes itself as a Web-based global marketplace for life-saving innovations for mothers and newborns, made the short list from a pool of more than 200 private, for-profit social enterprises.

“We selected companies by examining their impact, innovation and business success. Some are multimillion-dollar enterprises; others are startups with big ideas, from affordable housing for senior citizens to apps to aid health care workers in the developing world,” Bloomberg said.

Readers can vote until July 12 and the Top Five will be announced on July 19.

Bloomberg notes that Maternova has received funding from the John D. and Catheri

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It doesnt matter if we like credit scores.  It doesnt matter if we agree with credit scores.  Theyre here to stay so we might as well know our score and we shouldnt have to pay for it.

This article will show you how to get and monitor your credit score for free without a credit card.

I work to find the best free credit report services so you dont have to.  I research them, try them, and compare the offers to see who has something worth using.  Who do I trust?  Mmm, several but I like Credit Sesame the best.

Credit Sesame offers a 100% free personal finance credit and debt management tool with no credit card required or trial period. Their mission is to make managing credit, owing less in interest, and saving money on mortgages and other loans easy through their online interface.

Heres how Credit Sesames tools help you, for free:

Credit Sesame makes money when you save money.  If

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Over the past decade Britain has become addicted to borrowing, and up until the onset of the global credit crisis most people – including those with damaged credit – were able to get finance pretty easily with banks and financial institutions eager to loan money to anyone that wanted it. This has, of course, resulted in a huge personal debt mountain that has left many people struggling with their finances and unable to keep up with their debt repayments.

The Bank of England is set to release figures later this week relating to mortgage lending and consumer credit. It is widely thought that the figures will show that lending and consumer credit levels are very low. It is thought that whilst some people will find that the figures make for very bleak reading indeed there are many others that will see the subdued lending data as a positive sign.

Many city officials are likely to see the low lending levels as something that could dampen the economic recovery and reduce consumer confidence levels. How

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