NATION

Financial crisis good for books

NEW YORK » The crisis on Wall Street has been good for books about financial disasters.

“;When the world seems to be ending, people still turn to books for help,”; says Nancy Sheppard, vice president of marketing at Viking, publisher of Kevin Phillips' “;Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism,”; one of several such works getting a boost in sales.

According to Viking, “;Bad Money”; sold 5,000 copies in the two days following Phillips' appearance earlier this month on Bill Moyers' PBS program.

Last week, Penguin Press announced that financial writer Roger Lowenstein is working on “;Six Days That Shook the World,”; a “;probing look”; at recent events from the author of “;Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist”; and “;When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management.”;

Oatmeal is hot at Starbucks

Starbucks Corp., the world's largest coffee-shop chain, said that the new oatmeal breakfast is its most successful food introduction.

Hot oatmeal, served with mixed nuts, dried fruit or brown sugar, is part of the company's new “;healthy breakfast”; introduced earlier this month. Among food items, it's one of the most profitable items and the company's biggest seller, Michelle Gass, the company's senior vice president of marketing, said last week.

“;We believe we hit a home run, and we're at the beginning,”; Gass said at the firms's Seattle headquarters.

Small-business owners glum

Small business owners were bracing for tough times even before this month's economic upheaval, according to a new survey.

The Wells Fargo/Gallup survey, which polled 610 small business owners three months ago, said its “;optimism index”; was at 45, its lowest point since the quarterly survey's launch in 2003. The index's peak was 114, from December 2006.

Nearly one-quarter believe the economy is in “;severe recession,”; 45 percent think it's a “;mild”; recession, and 28 percent think the economy is in a “;slowdown.”; The majority - 58 percent - think the economy won't recover until the second half of 2009 or later.

Energy and health-care costs were the most-cited factors hurting businesses. And 24 percent said they thought credit would be difficult to obtain over the next year, while only 14 percent had thought it would be hard to get in the past 12 months.

You deserve a break today

The superworker stays glued in his chair for 12 hours at a stretch. Meals are protein bars stowed away in his desk. Bathroom breaks? Mr. Company First runs to the bathroom and back. Walks outdoors are out of the question. Office coffee, not Starbucks runs, are the norm.

All wrong, says Dave Willmer, executive director of staffing company OfficeTeam.

“;Most people and most executives would say you tend to be more efficient if you break your day down, as opposed to working an entire day straight,”; Willmer said. “;You're able to remain a little bit more focused.”;

Taking a five-minute break or a short walk, optimally outside, once every three hours, can be enough. This helps refocus concentration, re-energizes the body, and helps bring down stress and can boost productivity.

Willmer also pointed out that eating lunch alone at your desk could make you miss out on a chance to network and improve your relationships with colleagues.