kumaritashvili. stay with cnn throughout the day for the latest breaking news. meantime, "your money" starts right now. welcome to "your money." we begin today by examining when debt becomes dangerous. for your personal debt, we'll show you exactly what the new credit card rules will mean to you, but first we want to look at what it means for the united states to be spending trillions of dollars that it doesn't have. when does the bill come due, and what are the consequences? we're joined by cnn political analyst david gergen. let's put the national debt into perspective houchlt close are we to the edge? for years we've been talking how the u.s. is too far in dead. why -- why's this conversation heating up so much now? >> well, because the deficits that are out there are just gigantic, stretching out indefinitely into the future. the recent projections show that the united states will never balance its budget on the course we're on, and we receive this past week ow the instability in the euro-zone with greece unable to pay its debts an now the fear of that spreading. but i think most economists would say it's a two-step process, that for the moment and in the knee term our mounting deficits are not as serious a problem as they might appear. look at how many investors are coming to the united states to buy our bonds in the midst of the instability of the euro-z e euro-zone. so we're a safe haven right now, but beyond this economic recession when we really start coming out in a serious way, there is growing fear that these mounting deficits could reverse things and people would stop buying treasuries. interest rates would spike and it would throw us back into a serious recession again. it's a long-term process. >> diane, let mel tell you what paul krugman just wrote. he said -- evaluate that for me. >> well, i think that's right. and certainly people are not expecting until next year that we're going to start to try and pay down this debt because the big issue right now is jobs. the question is it's the tipping point. investors' sentiment can turn very quickly. and as david said, we're going out for the next decade, basically, looking at the fact that the national debt is going to be greater than the gdp. that's the kind of situation that makes investors very nervous, and the reality is that most of our debt is held by foreigners. you're right. you want to be spending right now. you want to get americans back to work. but we're coming against the point where it's going be a real issue. and we also have the example of japan. so we have a veresent example oa country who did not do enough for its economy and that was dragged out to the point where there's a lost generation of young people who may never get the kind of earnings traction you want to see. so we do have cautionary tales that are more recent than the depression that say you have to pour money into an economy. >> you bring up japan. let's talk about the dankers of too much debt and japan and how it's affecting america. moody's recently warned that the aaa credit rating of the united states maybe shouldn't be taken for granted. now, we asked our frensd at the peter g. peterson foundation how you could be affected. now, with a lower credit rating, investors would be more hesitant to invest in our nation's debt. the u.s. might have to raise interest rates. if interest rates go up, the interest that our government pays on all of this debt that we're carrying goes up, mean weg have to raise more revenue to finance this debt and this could affect you through higher taxes that you pay or cuts in federal programs like education or transportation, who novembers what, and higher interest rates could also make it more expensive for you to borrow from a bank for a mortgage or a car loan, whatever the case is. david gergen, think back to the clinton administration, which is the last time our government brought in more none than we spent, the last time we didn't have a deficit. how much of that is about government policy and how much of that is the shape the environment is in? >> well, the bill clinton and the democrats then working with a republican congress, i'm going to say, pursued policies that were not very popular in the first part of his administration but turned out to be right. that is bill clinton supported tax increases mostly on the more affluent and they were modest but also supported cuts. i happened to be there during that '93-'94 period. getting votes on chilapitol hil was really tough. bob ruben should get a lot of credit for this. it's eventually brought down the deficits, and bill clinton along with the republican congress left to his successor george w. bush, you know, significant surpl surplus. he's the first president in modern time whose's done that. it was tough politics but it was the right thing to do. >> so you make the point it was what the government did as much as the economy. diane, do you agree with that? do you agree that it's not just the fact that when times are god we can balance the budget and when times are bad, we can't? do you think the government could take steps to get us started in the right direction, certainly not in this year but in years to come? >> very much so. you want to look at raising taxes, cutting spending. one thing investors is wired about is you can inflate your way out, that is the u.s. dollar goes down and all of a sudden the investments go down and that's what people are concerned about right now. >> hold that thought for a second because this is where the discussion's becoming interesting. we're going to come back and talk about that with diane brady from "business week" and with david gergen. it can sometimes resemble a horr horror movie. so how does it feel to be the man who will forever be considered the architect of those bailouts? christine romans formed that question to former secretary treasurer henry paulson. upbeatk ♪ so i could hear myself myseas a ringtone ♪hone ♪ ♪ who knew the store would go and check my credit score ♪ ♪ now all they let me have is this dinosaur ♪ ♪ hello hello hello can anybody hear me? 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they worked because we needed working with imperfect tools and authorities, we were able to cobble together enough to prevent the system from collapsing and avoid disaster. >> you know, you mentioned the president in the state of the union. he said we hate them like you hate a root canal. i said this to tim guide never. i said that means henry paulson, tim geithner, and ben bernanke are the dentists. >> let me tell you. i felt like i was having a root canal. >> without anesthesia. >> i was a dentist having a root canal without anesthesia at the same time. but there's a saying in the book on -- my book "on the brink," and this was a day or two before we were going to need to step in and rescue citigroup. and what really hit me was that i was forever going to be associated with these bailouts, and it would be the secretary treasure that did all these interventions. i said that will be the good news. the bad news will be if we can't cobble something that works for citigroup and if it goes down i'll be the secretary treasurer that pre sides over night great recession. >> back with david gergen and diane brady. the reason we have you guys on is because you're honest about this. think henry paulson had it right on there. there's a whole lot of revisionist history going on at capitol hill. diane and david, we were all together during that time, and it seemed like the right thing to do to a lot of people who are now saying it was the wrong thing to do. diane? >> it was the only thing to do. don't forget what precipitated this was the bankruptcy of lehman brothers. people could not get any money. this was as much a confidence crisis as a financial crisis. the government had to step in and provide that cushion. there's no question we were looking at a depression and this avoided a depression. had the government not stepped in this with bailout, it would have been much, much worse. >> david? >> i think that's right. there's an enormous amount of second-guessing and legitimately so about some aspects of it. how did they handle lehman brothers? should the partners have taken a haircut? i think those are legitimate questions. but if you look at the overall response of the federal government, you have to say the united states' response was well done. it did save us from going into a depression. and frankly, i think the bush administration in general as well as the federal reserve, ben bernanke in particular, will deserve more credit overtime than they're getting right now. i think the obama administration to its credit continued some of those policies. that's why we didn't go over a cliff. >> diane, let's talk about -- we touched on this a little earlier, the fact that this did give us -- this and the bailout. it gets us more debt in the united states. that ends us costing us in the future. but it's costing us now as we see fluctuations in the u.s. dollar. in other words, some loss of faith in the u.s. government's ability to perhaps pay its bills over the long term. are these fears founded? i think they are. and one of the reasons as i said earlier is one way to get out of debt is to inflate your way out of the debt. what's saving us right now is the fact that the rest of the world is in trouble too. >> david, you know, we're looking at greece and the fact that their debt problems influence our stock markets here in the united states. a lot of the u.s. did what the u.s. did. they put their own money into stimulating their economy. what's your long-term view of where we stand? increasingly people are getting skeptic kal about the u.s.'s ability to carry their debt. >> i'm worried. paul volcker is on the airways saying he's never seen gridlock like this, and he's right about that. it's interesting how the psychology of the world, balanced power, is changing already. you know, china, we're learning just this weekend is emerging -- passing japan to become the second largest economy in the world, and within another 20, 30 years if on the current course it will surpass america and it comes back to this very trenchant question that larry summers posed before he went into the obama administration. he asked how long can the world's greatest borrower remain the world's greatest power? and that's the question that hangs over the united states right now. >> and is our debt crisis and the fact that china is still the biggest buyer of new debt in the united states, is that key to answering that question? >> it's partly, and we're already seeing some evidence of can chinese diversifying and they're doing more with straight out equity investments in the united states as well as elsewhere. ly say this. i think one of the most critical factors in our future is whether congress and the president can act and show leadership, which they're not doing now, and bringing not this year but taking the actions this year that ensure that in the years to come we're actually going to see some serious attack on these deficits until we get these debts under control and we don't find a situation where, you know, there is -- we had a dollar crisis and everything goes to -- everything goes up in the air at that point. >> we're going to look into that. clearly our own research from our audience kates that this is a major major concern for our americans and in 2010 we're going to be studying the debt, deficit, and a whole lot more. diane brady, always a pleasure to see you. diane brady from "businessweek." toyota is on the case. more than 8 million cars being recalled right now for a bunch of dint problems? were those technical problems or mechanical problems or is there a bigger problem at toyota that you need to know about? oh, wowww ! that's fun ! you didn't say i could have a real one. well, you didn't ask. even kids know when it's wrong to hold out on somebody. why don't banks ? we're ally, a new bank that alerts you when your money could be working harder and earning more. it's just the right thing to do. unless you've been living under a rock you heard there was another toyota recall this week. that makes it three. the japanese automaker is recalling more cars due to brake problems. toyota's struggle sort of turns a lens on the global nature of the car industry. parts for cars manufactured all over the world. is globalization at the root of toyota's current trouble? our good friend richard quest have now made peace on this issue though we were quite heated last year, although richard made one point that stands out. you said toyota is a carmaker that makes cars all over the world using lots and lots of different suppliers. honda, ford, gm, they all do it. we can't all get hot under the collar about a recall and blame the head office in japan about it. tell us about this? >> first of all i think i'm in an uncomfortable position. may even have to do a bow of apology a little like the toyota executives. i foolishly and irresponsibly rode to the defense of toyota last week claiming that big companies find it difficult obviously to share size and scare of the corporation, of course, toyota planned to prove this week that toyota's problems are toyota's problems, and the way they ham fistedly dealt with these recalls and apology has put me back in your -- i can't believe i'm, a, agreeing with you, and, b, i'm now in ali velshi's camp. there is something when companies start bringing in product from all around the world and merely assembling it in one place. quality does seem to go down the tubes, ali. >> more importantly, if you're toyota and reliability and quality were your touchstones but you're getting a thousand parts in a car made by different suppliers, you can give them the specifications, you can tell them you want it to work, you're negotiating on cost, and ultimately they may not work on the same basic principles of quality and responsibility you do. >> and the biggest example i've got for you of that is boeing. boeing building the 787 dreamliner. the company made a lot of the parts, assembled a lot of the parts, did the whole thing at renton or mt. everett. all of a sudden the 787 are being built in asia, australia, even europe. what happened to pieces arrived in pieces. they didn't match up. the quality wasn't there. it takes time for an old dog to learn new tricks. now, i think what we're seeing particularly if you look at the accelerators and different manufacturers of toyota, they basically took their eye off the ball, and they're going to pay dearly for years to come. >> the one point we should make because i got a lot of e-mails and posts on facebook and twitter. this is toyota. they outsourced to people all over the world. it's not just toyota. it's boeing and big car companies. this is a common problem for a lot of companies. >> but not only that it's got to be like that. it's got to be. now, this is where you and i may disagree. it has to be. if you are selling to the rest of the world, the rest of the world turns around you and says, well, yeah, okay, we'll buy your products, but we want some of the work. boeing, ford, they make the cars where people buy them and they have their suppliers and they have their industry. >> right. >> i remember -- go on. >> i'm sorry to disappoint our viewers, richard, but we're not going to be able to pick a fight on this one. i'm with you on this. can we come back in a few minutes and pick on something we can fight. >> i'm buttering you up. >> ready for the next one. you stay right there. richard quest. he's the host of "quest means business." next, those credit cards in your wallet. they're getting a makeover. all the rules you thought you knew about credit cards are about to change. what you need to know about sweeping credit card reform. for being the most fuel efficient car company in america, well, then how do you explain all this? chevy malibu, cobalt, silverado, and the all-new equinox. compare them to anyone. may the best car win. over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. at legalzoom we'll help you incorporate your business, file a patent, make a will and more. you can complete our online questions in minutes. théd we'll prepare your legal documents and deliver them directly to you. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. ji at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. and while it can never be fully answered, it helps to have a financial partner like northern trust. by gaining a keen understanding of your financial needs, we're able to tailor a plan using a full suite... of sophisticated investment strategies and solutions. so whatever's around the corner can be faced with confidence. ♪ northern trust. look ahead with us at northerntrust.com. how about a new custom media cabinet from ethan allen ? with savings like these... it's never been easier. well made, well priced, well worth it. ethan allen... extraordinary savings. limited time. preferred package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose your service, choose your savings. like an oil change for just $19.95. meineke. major changes. you all have been calling for this. major changes are coming to your credit cards on february 22nd. it's all part of the credit card accountability, responsibility, and disclosure act that was signed last year. how are these rule goijs tos go affect you, your bill, are there going to be new fees? she's here to break it down for us. thanks for being here with us. all i've heard, the most complaints i've heard from viewers and calls and questions in the last year and a half are two have been credit cards, how they don't understand what's going on. here's this act. what does it do? how does it change my life as a credit card user? >> the good news is the feeding frenzy is almost over. the best part of the credit card act is that they can't retro actively raise your rate. they can't decide instead of charging you 10%. they're going to charge you 22%. that will be over. the other thing is it will be easier to get your bills in on time because due dates are going to be the same every month, no more of the 1 p.m. cut-off times or the holidays where they don't accept the payment. all of those practices are also outlawed. >> they're going to stop rate hikes on existing balances. what does that mean? if you've got a rate that you've agreed upon on an existing balance, if you follow the rules -- if you don't, none of this count bus if you do they can't arbitrarily raise your rent. >> that's correct. the interest rate that you're paying now unless it's a variable rate or a teerz rate designed to expire after a period of time won't be able to raise it. unfortunately, though, there are a lot of consumers who had their rates raised last year or the year before and there's no relief for them. >> so much notice was given about how they were going to change it, between when the law was passed and when it would be imemploymented that the credit card companies went nuts and did all the bad stuff before this date. >> yeah. you're exactly right we've been observing people. 27% had their interest rate raised. 13% lowered their credit limit, 11% closed their account. there's all kinds of things. this is a real transition period, but north natalie we at least see an end in sight now. >> it's one good thing that they're getting rules out there. that, of course, does not excuse personal behavior. you we've got be about your credit it. by the way, these protections, am i right, they do not count if you don't follow your rules. northward, if you don't pay your bills on time, there are still i things that can happen to you. >> that's rye. if you're 60 days late they can raise your rate retro actively. here's what you're going to see on your statement soon. you're going to see the amount and time and money it would cost to pay just the minimum and how much over a three-year minimum. you'll see a number for a credit counseling agency and you can talk to them as well. >> i'm glad you brought up those points. call a credit counseling agency. you will be shocked at how long it's going to take to pay off a bill if you just pay off the member mum payments. this is just such an important story. big changes in store for 401(k)s and i.r.a.s coming up in 2010. what are they? our experts are here. free advise for your money. get a pen. we're coming right back. ♪ singed ♪ i was feeling at home 'cause of all of the stress ♪ ♪ had a poor credit score ♪ and the number would haunt me wherever i'd go ♪ ♪ thought i'd move to a place where my credit could stink ♪ ♪ and nobody would care ♪ i just wish that somebody had told me ♪ ♪ that place was a renaissance fair! ♪ ♪ free credit report dot com! tell your friends, ♪ ♪ tell your dad,tell your mom! ♪ never mind, they've been singing our songs ♪ ♪ since we first showed up with our pirate hats on! ♪ ♪ if you're not into fake sword fights ♪ ♪ pointy slippers and green wool tights ♪ ♪ take a tip from a knight who knows ♪ ♪ free credit report dot com, let's go! ♪ legal vo: offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage for those of you who have investments or want investments, listen up. donna, senior writer at money magazine and mitch. there is some good news out there for anyone with a 401(k). the match is back sort of kind of for some companies or will be soon. this is according to a new sur ray from hewitt associates. 80% of employer whose had suspended or reduced their company match in the 2009401(k) plan are going to restore it in 2010, some of them like american express and other companies have already done so. what should you be doing to make sure you're making most of your money and what if you haven't actually invested yet? let's ask our specialist. ryan mack, let's start with you. the 401(k) is free money. they tell you there's no free lunch out there. there's very little free lunch and the 401(k) falls into that. >> the bottom line is i haven't heard someone say i haven't put too much money in my 401(k). we always here i never put enough. we have people breaking doors down to get free things over christmastime for play stations. we need to start breaking down doors. this is time to make sure by the time we're 65 we can kick back and make sure we're living our golden years in the right way. >> donna, rosato, this is a way. if you invest in a 401(k) orr an i.r.a. you get a little bit of your own money back in the government that you paid in taxes but if your company is matching it it's kind of like a double free money. >> it is. i'm going to argue even if you don't get the match the 4 # 01 k is a really great deal. you're putting away money in your 401(k) that is pretaxed. that's going to reduce your taxable income and that money is going to grow without the drag of taxes plus you're able to put almost $16,000 a year into a 401(k), one of the few advantage vehicles that you can put that much away. don't discount. it's easy. it comes out of your paycheck. you don't miss it if it's that easy. >> it's not just the tax benefit but it's disciplined saving. we're not a saving culture. we're becoming more of one but the reality is if you don't see it, you may not miss it as much. >> the thing ta people need to understand also is that money grows on something called a law of compound returns and if you keep putting a little bit every year into a 401(k), what happens is it's like a snowfallball. it attracts more money. if you're younger, 25, and you start doing this, by the time you're 65, you have a lot more money. as a matter of fact, if you wait ten years and you start saving at 35, you only have half as much money. it's really important to put this money away tax-free as donna and ryan are suggesting and do it as young as you can, and if you're going to get a match, again, it's free money and it allows this compounding effect to grow and grow and grow over time. >> and generally speaking it's easy to understand a 401(k) or 4034 4 40 3 b that you can call. there are a couple kinds of them. what's your thought on i.r.a.s? >> basically in terms of the traditional versus the roth i.r.a. the basic difference is whether you're going to pay uncle sam the taxes now or later. with the roth i.r.a. you're pretty much paying your taxes now so when you retire at 59.5, you know exactly what you're getting. but in terms of the traditional i.r.a. where you pay your taxes later, we don't know what your tax basis is going to be. it might be lesser or higher. >> the idea being that you're older, you're getting ready to retire and you don't have a lot of income at that point so you're not paying as much tax. >> exactly. the most important thing is sometimes individuals are saying should i put money in my 401(k) and my i.r.a.? >> at the end of the day, ross perot pays a less proportion of his income taxes. we night the not be billionaires but we do have access to these things like the i.r.a. and we can minimize our taxable base like the i.r.a. and 401(k) programs. >> donna, what do you think? >> i agreement the strategy is you want to start investing in your 401(k) at least until you get a company match which for most is 6% of your salary and then it make as lot of sense to invest if you can. if you can't invest in an i.r.a. it's great. one thing to keep in mind with the roth i.r.a. there are income limits on it so you want to make sure that you can meet that, but if you're a young person today you're probably not making as much. it's going to make a lot of sense, particularly for a young person to be in an i.r.a. today. >> i have a lot of people who come to me. they were concerned a year ago. in many cases there's a pie chart that shows how your investments are divided up. it's sort of a second step how you allocate your investments. the first step is deciding you're putting some money away and you're saving. as opposed to adding to your credit and your debt. >> and you wrote a great book about it. i'm not trying to overtly plug it but your book is what people need to read and understand. how you allocate your money in your 401(k) will have everying to do with how much money you'll have as you get older. the thing about a 401(k) is you need to take control of your 401(k). you need to go to your hr department. you need to go to your finance department. and you need to find out what the tools are that are available to you as an employee in terms of taking control of this. and then also what i would do is i would say show me where the fees are. i would want my hr department to say here are the fees you're paying in these funds. you know, people think they need an mba or finance degree to do this stuff. it's not true. you can manage your 401(k) at your employer as easy as you can go shopping for a car over the weekend. if you do that, you'll make a lot more money with a 401(k) shopping wisely through the funds and using your company resources to do that but it's all about asset allocation. >> and it's not that hard to figure out. get the help you can to do it. right now people are a little worried. for long-term investors, this is actually one of the best times to get invested because you actually can get in after the market has been charging ahead. you can get in and get some discounts. what a great conversation with all of you. thanks very much for being with us. brian mack, donna rosato and mitch tuckener. you'd think that these blizzards would be great for the economy. why it might not be. client's come in, they're anxious. scared. they don't know where to begin. so we start to talk about what have they done and what are their goals. and then we plan. it's a very good feeling as an advisor to work with people and help get them to their goals. once people perceive that they can control their destiny then they accomplish unbelievable things. [ male announcer ] we're america's largest financial planning company. meet us today at ameriprise.com. and while it can never be fully answered, it helps to have a financial partner like northern trust. by gaining a keen understanding of your financial needs, we're able to tailor a plan using a full suite... of sophisticated investment strategies and solutions. so whatever's around the corner can be faced with confidence. ♪ northern trust. look ahead with us at northerntrust.com. all right. as we speak, some of you are still digging out from the massive snowstorms and blizzards that crossed the country this week. now, look. you know this. i'm from canada. my co-host christine romans is from iowa. this is not a place for weather wimps on this show. christine's away. i've gathered some of the tougherest people i know. rachael joins me now. and a fellow canadian. no wimpiness there. and, of course, richard quest. everyone who knows him knows he hasn't shied away from anything, including a little bit of snow. we've got economic forecasts saying 200,000 jobs may have been lost because of these storms. another economist says maybe 90,000 jobs may have been lost. businesses, they say, bore the job loss. transportation, people weren't able to hire -- i mean, on and on. people bought shovels and they bought salt and snowplows. i don't understand where this comes from. rachel, let's start with you? where do these economic forecasts come from? why would 200,000 jobs be lost because of the snow? >> i think some of the actwares -- that was my reaction. the numbers are all con jek turn. they're extrapolating whe iningt have happened. >> are they all fired because they couldn't get to work? i mean honestly? >> these are the reason has are cited in these reportsic like a guy from deutsche bank. i agree with you. you have to build weather into the process. there are going to be weather disruptions. >> it's winter. >> of course. winter like washington hasn't seen, but, still, these are thing use build into the process. >> i'll cut them some slack. atlanta got snow and they don't have the salt and the plows. i get that. there was a time when snow was oklahoma. chill out, take your time to get to work. i don't understand the business. >> first of all, the only thing you need to do with those economic reports is burn them to keep yourself warm during the cold snow. i've never heard such a load of clap nonsense in my life. the truth is that statistic of 200,000 jobs, it's all to do with the fact that some people don't have a way to get the work, they sign on for unemployment benefit, it artificially massages the numbers, and we discovered this in london last year when we had the worst blizzards which shut down the city for nearly several days. what we heard, yes, the old prognostications came out, $3 billion it was going to cost. don't forget the pent-up demand. >> that's right. >> what you lose on the swings -- >> you get the next week. >> you make on the roundabout. i guarantee you the only thing that snow report should be done with is get buried. >> when i was a kid, you may remember this in toronto, they didn't take too many snow days. >> i don't remember snow days. i remember snow. >> but if you had one you'd go tobogganing or chill out. maybe your parents would too. the snow day doesn't help you. it doesn't give you time off work because you've got the blackberry or the iphone or your computer and home and you're expected to actually log in from home, do business as usual. what do we think about that? >> well, it depends what business you're in. factory workers can't do that from home. i think a lot of us information industries, i could have skyped into this interview. we forget that there are people who don't spend their entire day wired to the a blackberry or another device. that said it's often easier to do work from home and another economic balance we might see is in small businesses the people who couldability get to work use the opportunity to work on their other projects. >> that's a good point. richard? >> ali, you are far more dangerous than the snow with that sort of talk. you're basically saying you want people to take off and play in the snow. you're bemoaning the fact that you might have to get the blackberry out or sky or get your work out. the truth is there's no reason you can't do both. was supposed to skype in. i told my executive producer i couldn't skype in. i told her i had some problem with my internet because otherwise she would have seen me in my pajamas. rachael sclar, nice to see you. richard quest -- i just spoiled everybody's lunch with the fantasies of what it is i sleep in. is it going to work and what happens by the way when a branding expert has to mary snowe reports on a small business owner to hook her own advice. >> reporter: katherine calls herself a personal brand strategist, but her company that helped individuals create their own brand was struggling. >> so many people were out of jobs. they were afraid to invest in themselves and work with a coach. >> reporter: she decided it was time for her own rebrand. she started pitching herself to large companies and found a new niche. >> i've been mainly targeting large companies because a lot, especially in this tough economic climate, a lot of large companies are still doing innovative programs for their employees. >> reporter: one of those companies, pepsico. like many in the recession, pepsico wanted to invest in training employees, but didn't want the high cost offsite workshops in the past. >> in 2009 it was a tough year for all of us. what we were looking to do was do it in a way that would be cost effective, but reaching the most women we could. >> you always have to build your brand out of authenticity. >> reporter: caputa presented a workshop at pepsico headquarters broadcast at the company sites throughout the country. her revenue increased 100% in the last year. >> it's been a tough economy, but amazingly, 2009 was my best year. >> women tend to down play their achievements. >> reporter: and she says any company can reevaluate and refocus like she did. >> really look at your brand. what does your company stand for? are you filling a need, a niche in the marketplace? filling a gap no one else can do? >> mary snowe, cnn, new york. this is not more benefits at greater cost to your company insurance. this is not how does it fit in my company's budget insurance. this is help protect and care for your employees at no cost to your company insurance. with aflac, your employees pay only for the coverage they want or need. and, the cost to you - nothing at all. if all you know about us is... aflac! ...then you don't know quack. to find out why more businesses provide aflac, visit getquack.com garlique's clinically tested ingredient maintains healthy cholesterol naturally. eat right. exercise. garlique. time for one more headline with rachel sklar. and richard quest, host of "quest means business." great show if you check out cnni. just in time for facebook's sixth birthday, google introduced its own social networking featuring called google buzz. gmail users will be able to see status updates and share media, pictures, links, websites with friends right from their mail box. did we really need another social networking site? i'm a big fan. you know i like it. you use it more than i do. was there a need for this or is this part of google's efforts to take over the world? >> i think it's a little bit of both. it's early to know whether this is just another thing we don't need or the thing we didn't know we needed. at first i found it annoying and wondered what the use what, but i started finding it useful. there's a lot of sharing features. people sharing links, stuff coming in from google reader. you can integrate your twitter stream, which is a point google made in their press conference. you can gotext stuff. what will be interesting when they open up the api, which they are planning to do by may, according to ecosystem, which is where i get my geek info. other developers can come in and use the service to create their own private application. >> which has been a big success for facebook. by the way for all of you out there, rachel and richard are both very, very active on twitter. you learn a lot because they post a lot of information. richard, what do you make of this? >> what has happened here is that each, if you like facebook, twitter, gmail, each had a unique selling point, then the others decided they had to steal their clones. facebook decided it had to have what twitter had and "what are you doing now" and gmail which is an excellent gmail client needed the social networking of facebook. twitter wants to now have twit pink and other things you can do. the reality is i don't think any one social media site is going to serve all purposes all the time, no matter how hard they try. what i question and question rachel is, there was one phrase people talk about never use with social media, what is the social usefulness. >> are you serious? it's incredibly useful for exchanging information and sort of seeing trends. just for, frankly, for being social. it's an incredibly useful system of communication. it's changing everything. that's the short answer. >> i can see that. i twitter and i love to twitter. i can understand it with a st. paul group of friends, but do you always want to know who you went to school with and what they're toing now? do you really care? >> it's all information. like i like to say, it's just a platform and it's what you do with that platform. it's not just for what i had for lunch. this is an interesting article. you were talking about this yesterday, here is an update. these are photos you might find interesting. this event happened. it-outsourcing. it's all-way communication. >> i bet we have more people watching us today because i tweeted both of you would be on the show. that probably helps us to get more information out to people. evolution how we use social media may be more important than how many places to use it. great to have you both on here. richard quest and rachel sklar, a fellow canadian not scared of the weather. follow them both on twitter. thanks for joining us for "your money." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com