Raj Manufacturing, which makes swimwear, has added international accounts, launched an in-house luxury line and built 10,000 additional square feet of warehouse space while competitors cut back, David Pierson reports. So far, the gamble is paying off. Its popular, one-piece Animal Instinct's suit ($124 at retail) has tripled sales expectations despite the economic slump. There is, of course, sizable risk, Pierson points out. Even companies that finance their own expansions, such as Raj, can quickly spiral into debt if they miss their sales projections. "The challenge is having contingent sources of cash," says Al Osborne, senior associate dean and …

I've written before that one should never pass up an opportunity to read a Joe Nocera piece; I've finally caught up with his cover story in the magazine dated Jan. 4. "Risk MisManagment" is about the complex mathematical models that Wall Street uses to assess risk. The most prominent is a framework called VaR -- for Value at Risk -- that was developed at JP Morgan over a period of about seven years. Many clients wanted to purchase the system but Morgan decided to give it away instead. It formed a small group, RiskMetrics, to "teach the …

The boomer generation grew up with Alfred E. Newman's "What, Me Worry?" echoing in the back of its collective noggin. The mantra translated into, among other consumer behavior, "What, We Save?" But that's all changing after the "psychologically wrenching" plunge of the Dow, writes Noreen O'Leary. Boomers are not only pinching pennies at the checkout lines, they are radically reversing their wastrel ways. Americans, who in recent years have had negative savings rates, could save as much as 6% to 10% of their income this year, according to Goldman Sachs. Ben Kline, chief …

Procter & Gamble's Olay Professional Pro-X has its eyes on women who are trading down from high-end wrinkle creams, Elaine Wong reports. Advertising for the line, which launched in December and starts at $42, touts the fact that it was developed with a "top-tier" team of dermatologists. It hopes to lure consumers away from Dr. products such as Nicholas Perricone's anti-aging creams. With more dermatology-backed skincare products entering the market, consumers are looking for more "scientific and technological proof" in anti-aging products, according to Olay professional brand manager Tim Bunch. Julia Beardwood of Beardwood & Co. says if …

Tam Thompson is an Austin publisher and writer who has ghostwritten nearly 100 books, writes Omar L. Gallaga, but a fitness guide for women titled Busy Sexy Body is her first under her own name. Thomson will be promoting the 60-page book at a local library on Saturday, but when it comes to signing, she'll be scribbling on a printout of the title page. There are no pre-printed copies of the book, which retails for $29.95; it's only available as a PDF file. Thompson says a lot of authors are mired in the past, waiting for that big, fat …

And here's a cautionary tale from Thomas Heath, who writes about Kelly Harman, a Manassas, Va.-based owner of a successful marketing firm called Zephyr Strategy. Harman made the rookie mistake of thinking she could build a brand before she had a consistently great product. Bearing the catchy name of "Spoonful of Sin," her idea was to deliver a specially made dessert to a subscriber's office for $24.95 a month. Harman enlisted various pastry chefs in the D.C. area to produce a "Sin of the Month" with the corporate gift market in mind. Suffice to say that there …