Today's Number: $1.6 billion - How much consumers cut their borrowing in June, a 1.2 percent drop, making credit use fall for the first time in almost four years, the Federal Reserve reported.

        Today's Career Advice: The belief that collective intelligence of a group is larger than the intelligence of an individual goes back to hunter-gatherer times, according to Michael Michalkoi, author of Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius.

        “What's difficult is for a group to come together in a collegial atmosphere that will allow thinking to grow through open and honest collaboration,” the authorsuggests.

        “Establish dialogue, clarify your thinking and be honest.”

        Today's Money Tip: Home equity loans are sometimes an option to repay credit card debt. The interest rates are usually lower, and often interest payments are tax-deductible. But be careful, because if you don't keep credit card spending under control, you may find you've maxed out those cards again. And then you'll have to repay both the home equity loan and the credit cards.

        Today's Company: Hamilton Fixture Corp.

        HELPING CLIENTS SET UP SHOP: Retail merchandising is the specialty of this Hamilton-based company. Since 1959, it has supplied store fixtures to companies large and small. Hamilton Fixture custom designs, manufactures, stores and ships its products to customers nationwide.

        UBIQUITOUS FIXTURES: When you shop at Wal-Mart, Kmart, Hollywood Video or Barnes & Noble, or sip a latte at Starbucks, you're coming into contact with Hamilton Fixture products.

        BICOASTAL PRESENCE: Besides its headquarters and its manufacturing plant in Hamilton, the company also has a western division in Ontario, Calif. The combined space of all three plants is about 750,000 square feet.

        Today's Mover: Jennifer Geraci Drapp has been named an assistant vice president at Huntington Bank. Ms. Drapp is also a chartered retirement planning counselor and investment officer. She has been with the Huntington for eight years. She received a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Dayton.

        Send tips and questions to Bill Ferguson at bferguson@enquirer.com

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