Today's Number: 4.65 — The percentage of U.S. homeowners behind at least 30 days on their mortgage payments in the first quarter, down from a revised 4.67 in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America said.

Today's Mover

        • Marilyn M. Banker has been appointed assistant vice president — banking office manager at Towne Bank, Mason branch.

        Ms. Banker has 12 years of banking experience with Provident Bank. Her most recent position was financial center manager.
       — Shirley Dees

Today's Career Talk

        To keep employees headed in the right direction, managers and leaders need to be moving in the right direction as well, says author Alex Hiam in his book Making Horses Drink: How to Lead and Succeed in Business. Minor meetings can leave a major imprint. “Even brief time spent near strangers has a big impact on mood,” Mr. Hiam says. “What happens is that one person tends to spread their mood to all the others. In riding, it's the rider whose mood affects the horse. In business, the person in authority is typically the one whose mood spreads to others.”
       — John Eckberg

Today's Money Tip

        We see them all the time — advertisements to help improve or repair your credit. But do these services really work, and what steps does credit repair entail? One Web site offers helpful ideas on credit repair: it's at www.ecreditrepair.com/faq.asp

Today's Company

        MILLENNIUM BUSINESS SYSTEMS — LOOKING SHARP: Located at the eastern end of the Norwood Lateral, Millennium sells and services Sharp copiers, Sharp and Okidata fax machines and Hewlett Packard laser jet printers. The company started in December 2000, its managers building on their experience in office products sales, notably with Scot Business Systems.

        EXPANDING MARKETS: Sales this year have nearly doubled those for the same period last year. From a staff of three, Millennium has grown to 11 employees. Most customers come from within the I-275 loop.

        TRACKING TRENDS: As technology grows more sophisticated, Millennium staff members say, traditional copiers are giving way to network digital printers, which can copy documents and print information from computers.
       — Jenny Callison

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