The Major Index Results are in for 2007

Where are the financial markets headed in 2008?

The economy sustained the impact of a declining dollar, a sub-prime mess and a severely tightened credit market. However, major US Indexes managed to concluded the year almost completely in positive territory.

Dow Jones Industrial Avg ... +6.4%
DJ Wilshire 5000 ... +3.9%
DJ World (Excluding US) ... +11.8%
Amex Composite ... +17.2%
NASDAQ Composite ... +9.8%
NYSE Composite ... +6.6%
S&P 500 ... +3.5%
Russell 2000 ... -2.7%
Value Line ... -3.8%

What should an executive or investor expect in 2008?

Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext will be speaking on Tuesday, January 22, at the Tyson’s Corner Ritz Carlton (click for details) in a rare appearance. Mr. Niederauer replaced former NYSE CEO and Goldman president John Thain who is now running the world’s largest brokerage firm Merrill Lynch. Thain was brought in to replace well known predecessor Dick Grasso.

Duncan L. Niederauer

John Thain

Dick Grasso

Local Executives Predict 2008

Just like opinions, everyone is always happy to share predictions. At our request, many of our top local executives have given it some thought and provided us with some rather telling business predictions. Be sure and watch in the coming weeks as we try our own luck with a little educated forecasting and share our predictions for the executives you’ll want to watch in the coming year.

For an offbeat and wildly entertaining review of the headlines for 2007 – take a look at the latest Jib Jab!

Blogging Anyone?

We want to continue connecting on a personal level with our readers. Thus, we have launched the ExecutiveBiz blog. We will include regular posts of content including pictures of our past events that won’t always appear in our e-magazine. We encourage our readers to use FeedBurner and subscribe to our blog here. Join other readers in commenting on the area's most relevant business news, events, and executives.

Looking to hire?

Be sure to visit the continually improving Web 2.0 job board offered by ExecutiveBiz.

Best of the ExecutiveBiz Blog

• Rising Stars Among Top Metro IT Employers
  January 2, 2008 by Brian Lustig
  Read a few pages into the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, the government technology pubs (or the ExecutiveBiz Spotlights) and you are bound to run across the area’s most prominent IT employers announcing billion dollar contract wins, executives outlining their strategic vision or announcing new acquisitions. But beyond the expected - Computer Sciences Corporation, SRA International, Perot Systems Government Services, Stanley, American Systems, Alion Science and Technology and roughly ten others - there are some less familiar names that are employing a significant number of Washington-area information technology professionals.
• The Beltway Executive Last-Minute Gift Guide
  December 21, 2007 by Brian Lustig
  Last-minute Christmas panic gifts are not difficult to spot: an “In the Kitchen with Karl Rove” cookbook; wasabi-scented bath soap; an iTunes gift card that can only be redeemed for Kevin Federline “songs.” Christmas is four days away, and yet 35 million Americans seem to be rolling the dice when estimating their ability to find something great at the last minute.

Read and comment these posts and more at blog.executivebiz.com

Advertising here is smarter. Find out why & reach nearly 50,000 execs each week.

We asked the following leaders in the government contracting space their prediction for 2008.

Deb Alderson	"Flawless execution and systems integration and engineering will define the hallmarks for 2008 in our marketplace. The need for effective partnership with our government customer will be of paramount importance. An increased emphasis on stability in requirements and funding will be complemented by the need for value-driven solutions!" -- Deb Alderson, President of System and Network Solutions Group, SAIC.
Brad Antle	"The close of 2007 saw an improvement in award activity that gives the industry confidence for a robust 2008. We continue to believe shifting government priorities caused by an increased focused on the intelligence community combined with BRAC and the return of some forces from Iraq will create higher funding opportunities for federal civilian agencies, department of defense, and the intelligence community." -- Brad Antle, President & CEO of SI International
Dennis Stolkey	"Agencies will place more emphasis on exploiting HSPD-12 identity management card benefits for applications like secure physical and logical access, collaboration, productivity and worker mobility. Also, outdated ERP installations will drive demand for applications modernization initiatives as requirements for business agility, information sharing, and productivity become more pressing across government." -- Dennis Stolkey, Vice president and general manager of the U.S. government unit, EDS
Peter Ostrow	"In 2008, I expect government spending in IT hardware, software and services to remain relatively flat compared with 2007. I predict that contracting vehicles such as the GSA schedules will remain the primary way to procure commodity-like technology products and services." -- Peter Ostrow, President and CEO of Technical Communities
Stacy Mendler	"The trend toward the use of government-wide acquisition and ID/IQ contracts will continue. Since there is a shortage of the number of contracting officers within federal agencies, these contracts help streamline the competitive process and can help agencies get work initiated more quickly." -- Stacy Mendler, Chief Operating Officer of Alion Science
Haywood Talcove	"In 2008, government will be gripped by mandate-mania, as agencies race to meet looming deadlines to become COOP-ready and IPv6-enabled. Of course, meeting the mandates is important, but we should also be mindful they will help prepare the country to compete globally and ensure government continuity in case of a disruptive event." -- Haywood Talcove, vice president, Public Sector Americas, Juniper Networks
Raymond Roberts	"Dollars will become stretched as agencies hold off on the results of the election, and as our military presence in Iraq continues. Tier 1 and 2 providers will execute on strategies to secure small business dollars through means other than M&A. M&A deal flow will remain soft due to the SBA recertification rule that took effect last summer." -- Raymond Roberts, CEO of Citizant
Jim O’Neill	"With National elections coming up and the end of an administration, we believe agencies will stay the course with programs currently underway. New contracts will likely be limited to those with bipartisan support, with the remainder sliding to the right. We also expect qualified talent to remain a scarce resource both for government agencies and the contractors who support them." -- Jim O’Neill is the president of Northrop Grumman’s Information Technology sector
Bill Hoover	"2008 will be another year of gridlock for contractors... Presidential election year politics in full display Legislative “one-upmanship” the order of the day Costs of the war will continue its ripple effect across the entire budget Reality of re-certification regulation will increase the chasm between small and large companies." -- Bill Hoover, CEO of American Systems
Mark Gerencser	"Homeland security, infrastructure, health, and ageing issues constitute the top priorities for our nation in the years ahead. We will need to find new and innovative ways to link the public, private, and civil society sectors, as a Megacommunity, to address the challenges that we collectively face together." -- Mark Gerencser, Managing Director of Global Government Business, Booz Allen Hamilton

FY 2008 Acquisition Reform: “Faster, Better, Cheaper,” v. “Fraud, Waste, and Abuse”?

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (NDAA) agreed to by House and Senate conferees includes broad acquisition reform mandates, some dealing with defense contracting issues, and others governmentwide in scope. If enacted, as expected, the FY ’08 NDAA will include the “Acquisition Improvement and Accountability Act of 2007,” which is said to be “the most far-reaching acquisition reform measure approved by Congress in more than a decade.”

At the same time, there are also critical new ethics compliance measures for all government contractors under a recently-finalized FAR rule, “Contractor Code of Ethics and Business Conduct,” requiring contractors to implement codes of ethics, as well as the pending proposed FAR rule, “Contractor Compliance Program and Integrity Reporting,” which includes “self-reporting” requirements.

Come join Greenberg Traurig's Government Contracts and Governmental Affairs Practice Groups on Wednesday, January 9, 2008, for the first in a series of breakfast seminars on Government Contracting issues.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008 - :00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP - 2101 L Street, N.W. , Suite 1000 ¦ Washington, D.C. 20037 www.gtlaw.com
RSVP to Nikole Kolen, 202-533-2345, kolenn@gtlaw.com
Click here for the full agenda and for details

Business Alliance China FastTrack Forum

Are you or your clients doing business with China? What are the opportunities? How do you manage your risk? Where do you get started? What types of ventures work best? Connect and learn directly from business leaders experienced with Chinese business ventures. Plenty of information and networking:

Thursday, January 24, 2008 • McLean Hilton, Tysons Corner, VA
For more information, please visit www.businessalliance.org/chinafasttrack.html

ExecutiveBiz works in partnership with The Potomac Officers Club. The Potomac Officers Club is a non-profit board of trade dedicated to improving business conditions in the Greater Washington area. For more infomation, please visit www.potomacofficersclub.com.

Thanks, Potomac Officers Club Sponsors

J.D. Kathuria

Message from the Editor

This digital magazine is designed to serve the needs of the local business community. Please contact us with your content ideas or advertising requests. We currently reach nearly 50,000 area executives.

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J.D. Kathuria
ExecutiveBiz Editor
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