Middle-market and corporate CFOs are optimistic for macroeconomic and business growth at a level unseen since the height of the Great Recession, according to a survey by TD Bank. Forty-six percent of finance managers polled said they are more optimistic about U.S. economic growth over the next year compared to 2012. Further, 57 percent of respondents are more optimistic for their own companies' performance over the next year.

On February 1, 2013, the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), announced new guidelines governing the importation of meat and meat products. According to the bulletin, "the guide articulates which products and FSIS sampling and testing programs are subject to this policy." The program known as "test and hold" has a major impact upon product being exported to the United States and upon the importers of record for these transactions.

The Association for Advancing Automation, the umbrella trade group for the Robotic Industries Association, AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, and the Motion Control Association, has launched a new web site, www.A3automate.org.

In marketing, emphasis is often placed on the initial efforts to get a customer interested in a product or service. This is a natural part of the sales cycle, of course, but it tends to overshadow the very important aspect of repeat business and the contribution it makes to overall success.