Is 2009 the year of the layoff? According to the recent employment figures, in December 2008 alone more than 500,000 U.S. workers lost their jobs. That number is almost 2 million for the last four months of the year. If the trend continues, you may find yourself on one or another end of a layoff. […]
The Financial Times’ Lex posts on why Kleenex would be a better investment than Sony right now: Sony forecast operating profits of $2.2bn for this fiscal year; but on Tuesday local media…reported it would lose $1.1bn. That would be Sony’s first since 1995, and implies an operating loss approaching $2bn in the second half. Indeed, […]
The AFP reports on Australia’s attempt to pull in tourists by offering “the best job in the world”: An Australian state has launched a global search for candidates for “the best job in the world” — earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months. The job pays 150,000 Australian […]
The Street reports that Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) plans to acquire Advanced Medical Optics (NYSE: EYE) for $2.8 billion: (It is a) $22-a-share transaction price, which includes the assumption of debt at the time of closing. Abbott will begin a tender offer for all outstanding shares on Jan. 26. “With AMO, Abbott is enhancing and […]
From Ananova: Stressed Japanese workers are paying for the chance to smash plates against a wall to ease credit crunch blues. Stressed workers are flocking to The Venting Place in Tokyo where they pay to hurl crockery against a concrete wall, reports the Daily Telegraph. Katsuya Hara, who leads a team of chiropractors operating the […]
President-elect Barack Obama’s speech today covered his outlook for the economy and new economic stimulus plan. From Brian Knowlton, New York Times: President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday urged Congress to act quickly to pass sweeping economic stimulus measures, including a tax cut and an infusion of as much as $800 billion, or face the likelihood […]
From Ananova: Police in Germany banned a woman driver’s car from the road – for being too untidy. The Vauxhall Astra was so full of junk, magazines, old clothes and even bits of furniture that they could barely see the driver at it roared down a motorway near Dusseldorf. The driver – who has not […]
Outside my window a guy is hacking away at a stump with all manner of hand and electric powered tools. He’s been at it for over two hours. At times he seems… well, stumped. But he continues to do the job. He’ll do it until it’s done because he’s a professional stump remover. It’s what […]
The New York Times recently published a provocative article on the swindle…err, business of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and college bowls: Statistically, the system is such an abomination that at least one expert…advocated that no self-respecting statistician should have anything to do with it…he wrote that the B.C.S. computer rankings serve as little more […]
The Washington Post shares news on Nancy Killefer, the nation’s new CPO: President-elect Barack Obama has selected a top management consultant to serve as the country’s chief performance officer, a post he said would help oversee reform of the federal government and its budget. Sources said Obama has chosen Nancy Killefer, a director at McKinsey […]
German industrial tycoon Adolf Merckle threw himself in front of a train last night after investment losses broke him of his will to live. In a statement, family members said that Merckle’s companies’ financial losses, coupled with losing speculative bets on VW stock, were what caused the 74-year-old to take the dramatic action he did. […]
Vehicles have been in the news quite a bit these days, from bailout plans to million-dollar hybrids. Clearly, car companies are desperate. Now, Hyundai introduces its own bailout plan–for consumers (Financial Times): Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, is offering an unprecedented incentive in the US market by offering to buy back vehicles from US […]
