African Americans have been missing out on jobs in the area of science, technology, engineering and math (summed up in the acronym STEM) for quite some time. Now is the time to put a stop to this startling trend. These jobs pay more than double in comparison to jobs in the service sector, which is traditionally where the highest concentration of African American employees are found. STEM jobs are important to the economy and our nation's future. Part of the reason they pay so well is because they create additional jobs through prompting innovation in various sectors, leading to overall economic growth.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) engineering jobs pay an annual salary of $74,670. The average salary for math- and science-related occupations is $69,830, and the average tech salary is $67,010.

Latimer Education, Inc. is a for-profit education company based in Washington, DC that is developing an online university that targets African Americans. This venture is being backed by Maveron LLC, along with various other high net worth individuals. In fact, the company's founders announced the closing of a $1.25 million round of financing on April 1, 2010. Jason Stoffer, a Principal at Maveron stated, "Latimer's founding management team, Scott Royster and Brian Jones, have successful track records building African American focused brands and leading education sector enterprises," as one of the reasons for why the firm chose to back Latimer.

Stoffer further commented, "We believe they have identified a significant market need and opportunity that fits perfectly with our broad Internet investment strategy and our specific focus in the online education market, as demonstrated by our investments in companies like Capella Education Company (NASDAQ:CPLA), Livemocha and Altius Education." The Chairman and CEO of Latimer, Scott R. Royster, had this to say: "Maveron shares our vision and their unique combination of online education sector expertise and success in guiding the creation of enduring consumer brands, makes them the perfect choice as a financial partner."

Bob Johnson, the former Charlotte Bobcats owner, recently told the Urban Leadership Institute that the Carolinas' largest city has a pompous business community that does not do enough for black-owned businesses after receiving an award from the organization.

Mr. Johnson specifically stated, "Charlotte is a very, how would I call it, close-knit, arrogant, sometimes incestuous town. It's close-knit, and if you come to this town, and you look like you're one of those people that might break some glass ... it's going to be tough for them to relate to you. The thing that concerns me is that I'm just surprised that the city doesn't do more for African American small businesses. And I don't really understand that."

Social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter serve as highly useful communication tools for individuals these days. However, they have also become targets for hackers, as they are full of potential victims. Unfortunately, these threats are fairly new, so many have not begun to think about how to protect themselves. Last year there was an assault against Twitter. Plus, swindlers have been stealing Facebook accounts and using them to fast-talk strangers out of money.

Criminals can't get direct access to personal information stored on your computer because social networks run on different, distant computers called servers. Therefore, almost all attacks involve "social engineering" designed to trick you into relinquishing your password, installing a piece of dangerous software yourself, providing your credit card information, or other ways of putting yourself at risk through your own actions.

Credit: Charles Krupa, AP

Due to the shock of the financial crisis and the housing bubble, conventional lenders are extremely shy about lending right now. Although they are writing some loans, the fact still remains that they are VERY hesitant to take any risks. As a result, conventional loans are harder to obtain than they were a few years ago. However, there are some alternatives, primarily through government-backed loan programs, available to prospective home buyers that require a reduced down payment, lower credit scores and more paperwork.

Scott Tripp, a home mortgage lender at BB&T headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., has estimated that in the near future, 50 percent of loans for new purchases will be acquired through non-traditional funding sources such as state housing authorities, the Federal Housing Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

For those of you who are not familiar with Facebook, it is a social media company that enables users to connect with friends within its network and create personal web pages. In fact, Facebook has just beat Google as the most visited website on Earth.

Facebook has announced that it finally achieved positive cash flow in September of 2009, which means that it made enough money to cover the expenses of servicing its 400 million users. On the heels of this good news, people in the industry are sure the company is heading towards an IPO, or initial public offering of stock to the general public -- but no one knows exactly when. If you want to get in on the biggest site out there now, the good news is that many Facebook employees have pre-IPO stock the company, which Facebook began to allow employees to sell in 2009. This has facilitated the creation of a secondary market for Facebook pre-IPO stock. Individuals who are interested in buying Facebook stock before its IPO can gain access to the secondary market by visiting sites such as SecondMarket and SharesPost.

It is official! Africa has been named the "new Asia" due to competitive GDPs and its outperforming many emerging markets during the global recession. Many may find this surprising due to the conventional view of Africa as a poor and corrupt continent plagued by political uncertainty. However, the best investment opportunities exist where perception does not match reality. Because the state of Africa is not as bad as has been portrayed, firms that do attain success are some of the savviest and ripe for being invested in. Why? Because, indigenous African companies trade at half the levels of their Western counterparts due to the perception the world has of Africa.

Over the course of the past 10 years, there are parts of Africa that have taken gradual steps towards greater democracy, security and prosperity. Even Nigeria is considered a macroeconomic success by conventional standards, despite its reputation as today's most corrupt nation on earth. Its annual GDP growth rate more than doubled to an average of 7.3% between 2003 and 2006. In addition, inflation lowered to single digits last year. Most importantly, foreign exchange reserves are nearing $50 billion due to the boom in oil exports.