In an economy where company officials are making hard financial decisions, spending thousands of dollars on training might seem like an unnecessary expense.

As a chief executive of a real estate and brokerage firm, Jason Moulton faced some hard financial decisions in 2009.

Among the cost-saving measures Moulton implemented was to move all operations to the clouds, or virtual, rather than physical hardware and software.

As a chief executive of a real estate and brokerage firm, Jason Moulton faced some hard financial decisions in 2009.

Among the cost-saving measures Moulton implemented was to move all operations to the clouds, or virtual, rather than physical hardware and software.

Tasked with finding matches for the highest-ranking positions in business, executive recruiters rely on their networks to find candidates. With websites such as Facebook and Twitter linking personal and professional worlds, it seems like a natural move to forgo the phone tree in favor of web connections.

The housing industry is still making its way into national headlines this year — this time, it’s the Federal Housing Administration’s lending program.