UBS full-year pre-tax profit CHF 5.5 billion | UBS pre-tax profit for the financial year 2011 is CHF 5.5 billion! The results will be presented today, Tuesday, February 7, 2012, by live webcast, starting at 09:00 CET. UBS AG has reported a net profit of CHF 393 million or an equivalence of USD425 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 in the wake of a USD2 billion rogue trading scandal. Former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli is set to stand trial in September after pleading not guilty to trades the Swiss bank says were unauthorized.

Yes, it's no secret that Twitter can be a tremendous time-suck. But imagine getting paid for wasting those precious minutes of your day. Thanks to companies that are desperate to reach consumers in the social-media crowd, it's now possible to make a buck or two — or much more — on Twitter. A company called IZEA, which made its name connecting bloggers with companies willing to compensate them for plugs on their sites, has set up a similar service for the Twittersphere. At the appropriately named site Sponsored Tweets, Twitter users can sign in, set the price they want companies to pay them for the privilege of tweeting an ad on their behalf, and wait for the offers to come in. "I'm a stay-at-home mom who uses Twitter while the kids are napping," says Jocelyn French, mother of a 2-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter. Through Sponsored Tweets, she has tweeted on behalf of Kmart, a parenting website and a college-information site, among others, each for $1 a pop. "I figure, hey, why not get paid at the same time?" French says.

The Swiss Business Club at Ecademy has already 8,700 members and you can be part of it. My own network on Ecademy exceeds 35,000 members and I can advice how to organize your social relationship management, how to find new contacts, leads and sales online.

Global Employment Trends 2012: World faces a 600 million jobs challenge, warns ILO | The world faces the "urgent challenge" of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion, according to the annual report on global employment by the International Labour Organization.

From the creation of the highest mountains to the opening of a flower's petals, time controls the world around us. To understand this super-powerful force on Earth, we must wrench control of time ourselves - compressing, expanding, stopping and dissecting it, to reveal how the passing of time shapes our world and lives.

See the Kred Influence and Outreach scores for @SwissBusiness. Kred measures influence in communities connected by interests and affiliations. Dual Measures for Influence and Outreach | Strong real-life relationships are based on Trust and Generosity - and that’s how Kred works, too. Influence, scored from 1-1000, shows how your content inspires others to act. Outreach demonstrates generosity in responding to others.

Twylah drives deeper engagement with your Twitter followers. As publishers and huge fans of Twitter, Twylah knows the power and potential of publishing and tweeting. Twylah builds on the potential of Twitter and other short messaging platforms.

See the Top 100 most popular Google+ users and add yourself to the list. Best way to get more followers...

The talent paradox: Before HR can help an organization address the talent gap, it needs to address its own! Robin Erickson, Jeff Schwartz and Josh Ensell from Deloitte recently published "The Talent Paradox: Critical Skills, Recession and the Illusion of Plenitude", a great and important study that has caught all my attention. With relatively high unemployment and low voluntary turnover, it is tempting to go back to "business as usual" and put employee recruitment and retention challenges on the back burner.

I use Pinterest to get inspiration for some projects in my life, like to plan my vacations, redecorate my home, and create menus for holiday dinners. Please feel free to follow me on Pinterest! You can share all of these pins on your Facebook Timeline and look back at all of your projects and inspirations across the year! To add pins to your Facebook Timeline, click the button on the top of your screen! Have fun and take care! Best, Lucas

With Duolingo you learn a language for free, and simultaneously translate the Web. Duolingo's private beta has started! Due to high demand, Duolingo is gradually inviting new users.

What I've learned from my experience on Empire Avenue? When I was invited to join Empire Avenue, I had no idea how much time it will take me to invest in the social capital of my friends and what will be the impact on my own social capital and I had no idea if it would translate into a waste of time or into a learning experience.

Which are the best career books for 2012? Here is a list of ten career books to watch out for in 2012 - finance and accounting jobs news and advice:

Can Facebook Replace Traditional Business Websites? Vangie Beal from CIO Magazine asks a really interesting quesion: "Can Facebook Replace Traditional Business Websites?": Integrating your website with social media sites is typically the best approach to online marketing and ecommerce, but are there times when it makes sense to use Facebook instead of a traditional business website?

I've reached Trust Anchor status on connect.me! Connect.Me was founded with a simple mission: make the social web a better place for real people. With over 1 billion of us online, finding people you can trust from babysitters to science bloggers has become a real problem. That's where Connect.Me comes in. We're developing powerful ways for you to discover trusted people in your extended networks and across the social web.

Future Power Generation - Future Power Generation promotes geothermal energy solutions in particular and alternative, renewable energy creation in general

Do you need more "likes" on your Facebook fanpage? The Emergence of Social Capitalism: Adaptation or Threat? Are you an entrepreneur? Haydn Shaughnessy, Forbes Contributor, asked: "What are The Key Behaviors of Top Social Media Influencers?" I think that the key behaviors of top social media influencers are: Guanxi: the art of networking, networking as an art Mianzi: your profile, your face, your reputation and Qi: your energy, commitment and engagement What Does The Chinese Dream Mean to You? Do you need more likes on your Facebook fanpage?

The Emergence of Social Capitalism: Adaptation or Threat? In The Emergence of Social Capitalism: Adaptation or Threat? Haydn Shaughnessy, Forbes Contributor, who recently published a timeline of social business, shows in an infographic different ways that technology and marketing are now strongly associated with the idea of "social". Social business and the growth of shared value

Davos 2012: Has capitalism got a future? The founder and driving force of the World Economic Forum, Prof Klaus Schwab, said at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 to Tim Weber, Business editor, BBC News in Davos, that capitalism in its current form no longer fits the world around us.

Nidwalden has world's 2nd lowest corporate tax rate! Zug has world's 3rd lowest income tax rate Dear Members of the Swiss Business Club, Swiss cantons are as attractive as some countries when it comes to low taxes, according to the BAK Basel research institute. A review of tax rates for 17 cantons showed Zug has the world's third lowest tax rate for wealthy residents at 23.7 percent. Only Singapore and Hong Kong have lower tax rates.