Archive for the 'Economy' Category
How the Internet Became a Closed Shop
December 22nd, 2012Via: Sydney Morning Herald: A LITTLE over a decade ago, just before the masses discovered the digital universe, the internet was a borderless new frontier: a terra nullius to be populated by individuals, groups and programmers as they saw fit. There were few rules and no boundaries. Freedom and open standards, sharing information for the […]
Delta Air Gets 22,000 Applications for 300 Attendant Jobs
December 22nd, 2012Via: Bloomberg: Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), the world’s second-largest carrier, received 22,000 applications for about 300 flight attendant jobs in the first week after posting the positions outside the company. The applications arrived at a rate of two per minute, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson told workers in a weekly recorded message. Applicants will […]
‘American Dream Fades for Generation Y Professionals’
December 22nd, 2012Via: Bloomberg: Generation Y professionals entering the workforce are finding careers that once were gateways to high pay and upwardly mobile lives turning into detours and dead ends. Average incomes for individuals ages 25 to 34 have fallen 8 percent, double the adult population’s total drop, since the recession began in December 2007. Their unemployment […]
The Economic Return of Iceland Has Proved That the Joke Was on Ireland
December 20th, 2012Via: Irish Independent: WAY back in the autumn of 2008, the joke in financial circles was that the only difference between Ireland and Iceland was a letter and six months. Now, with the Icelandic banks preparing to issue foreign currency bonds once again, it turns out that the joke was on us. Remember when the […]
U.S. Taxpayers Likely to Lose Billions of Dollars on GM Bailout
December 20th, 2012Via: Detroit News: The Obama administration said Wednesday it will sell 200 million shares — or 40 percent of its remaining stake in General Motors Co. — back to the automaker and announced plans to completely exit the Detroit automaker by March 2014. The Detroit automaker said it will purchase 200 million shares of GM […]
Recovery: More Homeless Young Adults
December 19th, 2012Via: New York Times: Across the country, tens of thousands of underemployed and jobless young people, many with college credits or work histories, are struggling to house themselves in the wake of the recession, which has left workers between the ages of 18 and 24 with the highest unemployment rate of all adults. Those who […]
How Wal-Mart Used Payoffs to Get Its Way in Mexico
December 18th, 2012Via: New York Times: Wal-Mart longed to build in Elda Pineda’s alfalfa field. It was an ideal location, just off this town’s bustling main entrance and barely a mile from its ancient pyramids, which draw tourists from around the world. With its usual precision, Wal-Mart calculated it would attract 250 customers an hour if only […]
UBS Faces $1 Billion+ Fine Over LIBOR Rate Rigging
December 17th, 2012$1.5 Billion Fine Via: BBC: Swiss banking giant UBS has agreed to pay $1.5bn (£940m) to US, UK and Swiss regulators for attempting to manipulate the Libor inter-bank lending rate. It becomes the second major bank to be fined over Libor after Barclays was ordered to pay $450m to UK and US authorities in the […]
Boehner Offers to Take Debt Limit Off the Table
December 17th, 2012Imagine my shock. Via: Washington Post: House Speaker John A. Boehner has offered to push any fight over the federal debt limit off for a year, a major concession that would deprive Republicans of leverage in the budget battle but is breathing new life into stalled talks over the year-end “fiscal cliff.” The offer came […]
Hostess CEO Took Employees’ Pensions and Put It Toward Executive Pay
December 15th, 2012Via: Alternet: Twinkie-maker Hostess continues to screw over its workers. The company is in the process of complete liquidation and 18,000 unionized workers are set to lose their jobs. More troubling – they could lose their pensions. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal , Hostess’ CEO, Gregory Rayburn, essentially admitted that his […]
