Business News Archives

Holiday shopping held steady through the Thanksgiving weekend after retailers saw a huge crowd of bargain shoppers on Black Friday buying discounted flat-panel TVs and fleece jackets.

Gone are the days when people would point at Microsoft as the big bully. Now they also point to Intel and Apple, and this story concerns Apple. It's well-known that Apple orders tons of flash RAM whenever they are planning a new device launch, and that influence on the market means that Apple can manipulate it.

Sands China , the Macau unit of Las Vegas Sands , tumbled in its first day of trading in Hong Kong.

Nov 30 - Casino company Las Vegas Sands dopped nearly 14 percent in its Hong Kong debut signalling a cooling of the red-hot gambling sector.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images The Obama administration, battling a foreclosure crisis that shows no signs of relenting, will step up pressure on mortgage companies to do more to help people remain in their homes, officials said Saturday.

NEW YORK a ' The Federal Reserve chairman is concerned that congressional efforts at financial reform could weaken the central bank's ability to handle crises and may politicize monetary policy.

China should allow its currency to strengthen against the euro and other major currencies, for its own sake as well as that of the global economy, top finance officials of the single-currency euro zone said Sunday.

Market research firm Experian Hitwise has announced the big online winners for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, and the world's biggest retailer won the day on Thranksgiving, but on Black Friday, it was the world's biggest online retailer.

The United Arab Emirates' central bank said Sunday it would offer additional liquidity to banks, signalling a push by the federal government to reassure investors worried about the country's banking sector and its exposure to Dubai's crushing debt.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday to separate violent demonstrators from a protest of a meeting of top world trade officials, but the hooded "black bloc" activists were able to cause damage before 14 were arrested, spokesmen said.

Asian stock markets tumbled Friday as the dollar continued its slide against the Japanese yen and worries over losses from Dubai's debt problems unnerved investors worldwide.

Nov. 27 -- Brian Dunn, chief executive officer at Best Buy Co. Inc., talks with Bloomberg's Betty Liu about the outlook for the holiday shopping season.

Bailed-out Bank of America amended the salaries of two senior executives after a review by the White House pay czar, according to a regulatory filing.

Shoppers returned to malls Saturday as observers began reviewing early reports showing just how much consumers spent during their Black Friday shopping sprees.

In this Oct. 1, 2009 file photo, a hamster from Zhu Zhu Pets, by Cepia, is shown at the Time to Play Holiday 2009 Most Wanted List event in New York.

The London Stock Exchange PLC halted trading for three-and-a-half hours on Thursday after a technical glitch prevented some customers from connecting to its systems.

British banks should be forced to disclose the number of employees who earn more than 1 million pounds a year, a government-commissioned review of corporate governance in banks said Thursday.

Stocks tumbled as concern swept world markets that financial trouble in the Middle Eastern city-state of Dubai will upend a global economic recovery.

The fallout from Dubai's debt crisis rippled across the globe Friday, raising concerns of another wave of financial turmoil and showing how vulnerable the world economy remains despite signs of recovery.

French electricity giant EDF will join Russia's Gazprom in supporting the South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday.

If you are looking for a job, you should count on employers looking for your LinkedIN profile. It’s becoming a business standard to check people out online before hiring them, whether doing a Google search or looking them up on LinkedIN or Facebook.

You can make your LinkedIN profile work FOR you, by writing a profile designed to help employers find you in searches. What are the steps needed to write a killer LinkedIN profile?

To learn how, read: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2008/05/build-linkedin-profile-that-you-can-be.html

Ever drive down I-84 through Boise towards Oregon?

Cindy Sullivan manages one of the conveniently located Shilo Inns off that highway -- with an address appropriately named: 1401 Shilo Drive, Nampa, Idaho.

Sullivan has put together a team that takes advantage of the best of what Shilo's corporate model has to offer.

For example, Shilo Inns announced this fall that in addition to the myriad of free services they have always offered, guests now receive free unlimited long distance on domestic calls.

If you haven't hit a retailer yet for their doorbuster sales, you should calm down, get a cup of coffee and eat some turkey, and probably forget about it. Most doorbuster deals are already gone. However, if you check your inbox, you will find plenty of Black Friday online deals and Black Friday Internet sales.

The estimated $3.5 billion remaining assets of the Reserve Primary Fund should be distributed on a prorated basis to shareholders, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday in response to lawsuits filed after the fund's value dropped below $1 a share in September 2008.

The Senate ethics committee on Friday admonished Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., for making "inconsistent, misleading or incomplete" statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the seat once held by Barack Obama.

Nov. 26 -- John Purcell, managing director of executive search firm Purcell & Company, talks with Bloomberg's Mark Barton about changes to U.K. bank bonus rules proposed by David Walker in a government-commissioned report.

DUBAI , United Arab Emirates - Just a year after the global downturn derailed Dubai's explosive growth, the city is now so swamped in debt that it's asking for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills - causing a drop on world markets Thursday and raising questions about Dubai's reputation as a magnet for international investment.

The App Store approval, or sometimes, rejection process has been a contentious subject of late. Sometimes Apple rejects an application for what seems to be draconian, or even nonsensical reasons. Sometimes they approve an app, also nonsensically. Well, if your app falls into the former, rejected category, there's a site for that.

The dollar tumbled to 14-year low against the Japanese yen Thursday after indications U.S. interest rates will remain low and that the Federal Reserve isn't overly concerned about the dollar's slide.

The Toyota Motor Corporation said Wednesday that it would fix or replace the accelerator pedals of 4 million vehicles to resolve a widespread problem with unintended acceleration that has stripped some of the luster off the carmaker's reputation for safety and reliability.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday tightened the conflict of interest restrictions governing the boards of directors of its 12 regional banks.

Nov. 25 -- David Davis, managing partner of Arpeggio Partners, talks with Bloomberg's Julie Hyman about the outlook for holiday box office sales.

The United States Mint has suspended sales of their popular one ounce American Gold Eagle and one ounce American Silver Eagle bullion coins.

Consumers got back in the buying mood in October as their incomes grew modestly, an encouraging sign for the budding economic recovery.

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Data Transfer Solutions, LLC, the Downtown Avalon Park-based firm that provides GIS, transportation planning and engineering, asset management, web design, database applications and multimedia production services to local governments and regional and state agencies throughout the U.S., has been named a Gold Certified Solutions Partner by Kentico Software, named the fastest growing young technology company in the Deloitte FAST 50 Rising Stars last year.

In your job search, Information Is Power. Yet most job seekers don’t invest the time to gain an advantage by gaining better information. What if there was a more effective way? Would you incorporate more effective tactics, even if they weren’t as simple?

To learn how to become a Job Search Guerrilla read: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/guerrilla-job-search-tactics.html

The modest recovery in home prices is beginning to falter, according to data released Tuesday.

GM's plan to sell its Saab division appears dead after a Swedish specialty automaker backed out of a deal to buy the unit.

For years now, people have been buzzing about social media and the opportunity it provides to marketers to drive tons of traffic, brand awareness, conversions, and -- most importantly -- links.

A revised reading on third-quarter Gross Domestic Product shows that the economy is growing, but not as fast as previously thought.

Tues Nov 24, 2009 6:21am EST - Adam Lambert performs 'For Your Entertainment' at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California November 22, 2009.

ORLANDO, Fla. --- The next step in stimulating the national economy’s recovery from the worst recession since World War II should focus on small business, business incubators and economic gardening, said Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder and executive director of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Kinetic Analysis Corporation (KAC), with offices in east Orlando, was recently awarded a major contract by Willis RE to provide real-time analysis of hurricane threats and damage on property assets in the U.S. and Caribbean.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission plans to address students at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service on efforts to increase broadband Internet access across the country.

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 11/23/09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-hiring-week-of-11-23-09.html

More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S history, following reports of four infant suffocations.

In this Nov. 19, 2009 file photo, shoppers prepare to load their car with purchases from a Kmart store in Somerville, Mass.

Nov. 23 -- Claudia Lenz, analyst at Bank Vontobel AG, talks with Bloomberg's Judith Bogner about a potential Nestle SA bid for British confectioner Cadbury Plc.

Apple has decided it's time to defend its BFF, AT&T, which has been under assault by Verizon over its 3G network. A pair of new Apple ads pick at the parts of Verizon's network that are vulnerable to back up its iPhone partner.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Sabalcore Computing, Inc., formerly known as Tsunamic Technologies, was recently awarded a one-year contract to provide high performance cluster computer services, system management and technical support to the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) Geophysics Branch at China Lake, located in the northeast of California's Mojave Desert.

Rupert Murdoch has made no secret of his plans to monetize his News Corp. web sites by making them "pay-only," and he's also made no secret of his boast to block Google from spidering his websites' content. According to the Financial Times, Google's arch-rival, Microsoft, might see those de-spidering plans as an opportunity.

For the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter.

Who's Firing is a weekly survey of organizations announcing layoffs for the week ended 11/20/09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-firing-layoffs-week-ended-11-20-09.html

Microsoft has held talks with News Corp. in which News Corp. would be paid to "de-index " its Web sites from Google , a report says.

LyondellBasell Industries said Saturday Reliance Industries offered to acquire a controlling interest in the beleaguered chemical company, which is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A deal to house Guantanamo Bay detainees at a northwestern Illinois prison could bring nearly 3,000 jobs to the area, a White House analysis says.

A small amount of radiation has been detected in a reactor building at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in central Pennsylvania.

Turning off lights, turning down the heat and buying with an eye toward energy efficiency is saving New York more than $3.1 million so far this fiscal year.

President Barack Obama is talking up his eight-day trip to Asia, saying his discussions with leaders could help create thousands of jobs in the future.

In this May 12, 2009 file photo, a gas nozzle is seen filling Joseph Bergh's 22-foot fishing boat at a Valero gas station in Sacramento, Calif.

The earliest that anyone who orders the $259 device on Friday - or later - will receive it is Jan.

Pat Farnelli says there's something in the water at her house. The last time she drank it, she says she vomited four times.

Hershey, after months of internal debate, is now considering a bid for the British candy maker Cadbury , a move that would challenge Kraft 's existing $16.7 billion hostile offer for the company, according to people briefed on the matter.

Barnes & Noble's nook e-book reader is already sold out for this holiday season, according to a report on the company's website. Apparently, buyers weren't too concerned about Spring Design's lawsuit against B&N.

From Astronauts and Astronomers... to Private Cooks and the President... Here is a look at the 11 rarest careers in America to land.

Thanksgiving is next week. Job seekers and career changers – Where’s your next job? If you can’t answer that question, what can you do to help your job search during the holidays?

Find out some little used, yet highly effective strategies for the holidays at: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-almost-thanksgiving-do-you-know.html

Many job seekers can find Linkedin company pages to be a useful tool in their search. This often overlooked Linkedin feature allows the savvy candidate to gain an edge with companies they target. What can Linkedin Company Pages do for me?

To find out how Linkedin Company Pages can help you find unadvertised positions, read: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/can-linkedin-company-pages-help-you.html

New Google Inc software will start up a computer as fast as a television can be turned on, the search company said on Thursday as it showed off its Chrome operating system designed for PCs that do their work on the Web.

Precious metals surged this week with gold, platinum and silver posting sizable percentage gains. Inflation concerns, economic worries and speculation of a declining US dollar were common reasons proffered for the yellow metal’s fortunes.

Crude oil fell Friday and for a second straight day, but managed a small weekly increase. In stocks, major US indexes ended mixed Friday and for the week while European indexes checked the losing column for both.

If you're thinking of getting rid of your split ends or lopping off your fringe -- why not make some money while you're at it.

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. said Thursday it will temporarily idle production at its two smelters in Italy , affecting about 2,000 workers, after a decision by the European Union left the company's ability to secure electricity for the plants at low rates uncertain.

A deal for Comcast to buy a controlling stake in NBC Universal and create one of the most powerful media companies in the world is taking longer than expected as the current owners tussle over price.

Queen of multimedia empire plans to end Chicago-based talk show in 2011 after quarter-century on national TV Phil Rosenthal Media November 20, 2009 It's what made her rich, famous and, if not a kingmaker, then perhaps the maker of a U.S. president.

D.R. Horton narrowed its fourth-quarter loss to $231.9 million, or 73 cents a share, as it recorded fewer writedowns.

Sony's new online service connecting the whole range of its gadgets to downloadable content like movies and games should help build brand loyalty, a top executive said Friday.

U.S.Customs officials say they got a surprise when they found 316,000 glass bongs disguised as Christmas decorations at the Los Angeles harbor.

Stock futures are pointing toward a lower opening Thursday following the lead of overseas markets and ahead of a weekly report on unemployment.

NEW YORK - AOL LLC, an Internet company struggling to adapt to an advertising-driven economy, is looking to shed more than a third of its work force as it prepares to spin off from Time Warner Inc.

Have you ever heard of the Holiday Effect in hiring? Perhaps you’ve heard that companies usually don’t hire during the holidays, from Thanksgiving until after the New Year.

So what does this mean for a candidate?

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/have-you-been-affected-by-holiday.html

Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced criminal charges against more than two dozen people accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars from a telephone service for the deaf.

The economic rebound in developed economies is still timid and not enough to make a dent in unemployment, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said Thursday.

WASHINGTON - The budding economic recovery is getting little help from the home building industry, which normally creates jobs and boosts growth as a recession ends.

Nov. 18 - Consumer advocate group W.A.T.C.H. releases its list of the 10 potentially most unsafe toys.

New York: US chocolate maker Hershey and Ferrero of Italy said yesterday they were mulling a potential counter-bid for British confectioner Cadbury, the object of a hostile offer from Kraft Foods.

AT&T has lost round one in its fight against Verizon's anti-ATT-network ads. The company has sued Verizon, saying the maps and statements made in the latest Verizon ads confuse consumers.

Irony of ironies. Microsoft has been banned from selling Windows in China, the ultimate land of piracy. One would think it might be the other way around (if it were possible, that is).

New York gold futures reached higher Wednesday to set a new record at $1,153.40 an ounce. Demand brightened for the yellow metal as the US dollar slid against world currencies. The other metals followed, hitting more than 12-month highs. Some settling occurred later, with platinum ending lower on the day.

In other markets, crude oil finished up for a third trading session while US stocks retreated from 13-month highs..

U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in October as higher fuel and new and used car prices drove up the cost of living for Americans, according to government data released Wednesday.

Hopefully you didn't pay $100 for the Palm Pixi when it launched a few days ago. If you did, you probably feel seriously ticked off, as you can now get the Palm Pixi at Amazon.com for a mere $25, and without having to mail any rebates in.

When Google first started working on the Android platform, it was believed to be a smartphone, nicknamed the Google Phone or gPhone. Since then, Android the platform has emerged, and thoughts of a Google Phone have vanished. But should they have?

You can bet that on Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving, there will be plenty of people buying Apple products, including iPhones. They might even be using this new app to help them.

ATLANTA - Home Depot Inc.'s third-quarter earnings fell 8.9 percent as the housing and renovation markets remained weak, the nation's largest home improvement retailer said Tuesday.

How much good will can an apology - and half a billion dollars - buy? A lot, Goldman Sachs is hoping.

The Ford Fusion is Motor Trend magazine's car of the year.

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 11/16/09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-hiring-top-employers-week-of-11-16.html

Paul Allen , a private investor and co-founder of Microsoft , has been told he has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to an e-mail message sent to employees of his investment firm, Vulcan.

Addressing AT&T's recent complaints and lawsuits over its latest series of ads picking at AT&T's network coverage, Verizon has only three words for AT&T: "The Truth Hurts."

Applied Materials said Tuesday it offered to buy Montana-based Semitool for $364 million in cash, a move the Santa Clara company says will broaden its portfolio of chip manufacturing equipment.

Have you been gifted with hearing that annoying default notification sound on the Motorola Droid yet? To be exact, that robotic Droid sound that makes people want to substitute the word "dork" for "Droid." At any rate, while Verizon has been quiet about the number of Droids sold in the first week, there are estimates, and the latest comes up with about 250,000 of the nascent app phone.

Lowe's Cos. , the No. 2 home-improvement retailer, said Monday its third-quarter profit fell 30 percent as customers continued to delay large purchases amid a weak economy.

General Motors Co. says it lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept.

President Barack Obama is telling Chinese students that unrestricted Internet access in the United States is a source of strength and an open exchange of information makes all countries stronger.

The network equipment maker Cisco on Monday raised its bid for Norwegian videoconferencing equipment maker Tandberg.

Commodities were on fire Monday as another drop in the US dollar weighed into the mix. New York gold futures surged 2.0 percent to a fresh all-time high while silver soared 5.9 percent. Crude oil rebounded from a one-month low. US stocks joined in with their own rally, as the major indexes reached new ‘09 highs ...

In this Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 photo, Nicole Molavi, left, of Sewell N.J. loads her cart with the help of cashier Christina Picone at a Wal-Mart, in Deptford N.J. The Commerce Department said Monday, Nov.

Who's Firing is a weekly survey of organizations announcing layoffs for the week ended 11/13/09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-firing-layoffs-week-ended-11-13-09.html

A UN summit on the plight of the planet's one billion hungry opens in Rome on Monday.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is splitting off its holdings in infant formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.

A pedestrian walks past a line of banners outside the Suntec Convention Centre in Singapore on Monday Nov.

In this Jan. 12, 2009 file photo, Citigroup headquarters is seen in New York. Citigroup Inc.

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 11/9/09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-hiring-top-employers-week-of-11-9.html

Linkedin has released some interesting upgrades in the past week that can help job seekers. Linkedin’s two big new features are Linkedin Follow and Linkedin Twitter Integration. How can these new features help job seekers?

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-can-linkedins-new-features-help-job.html

Creative social media use gives job seekers a way to beat the odds. When government figures list unemployment as 6 times greater than job openings, you've got to try something different to be noticed. Here’s a list of 5 Ways Social Media Gives Job seekers an Advantage.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/5-ways-social-media-gives-job-seekers.html

AT&T continues to blast (and sue) Verizon over its recent ads, which make a point of hammering home the 3G coverage holes in AT&T's network. AT&T has said that the ads are misleading, and on Friday, AT&T said it wanted to set the record straight regarding its lawsuit.

Dutch drivers will pay less to buy a car but will be charged tax on every mile on the road, a system the government says will reduce traffic jams, fatal accidents and carbon emissions.

Items once belonging to Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff and his wife have fetched as much as 20 times their estimated value at a New York City auction.

Preppy clothing seller Abercrombie & Fitch's third-quarter profit fell 39 percent, as weak domestic sales offset cost cuts and stronger international performance.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City says lower income contributed to a weaker farm economy during the third quarter in some Midwest and Western states.

Encouraging earnings news from major retailers and The Walt Disney Co. drew investors back into the stock market to cap a second big week of gains.

Foreign investment is trickling into Mozambique's agricultural sector. But instead of growing crops for food, companies are planting jatropha for biof ...

Precious metals were up and down through much of the week as the US dollar mostly set gold’s direction. While metal futures finished with higher weekly gains in New York, silver was the standout in London logging a 1.2% loss.

Oil slipped to a one-month low Friday following weaker than expected US consumer confidence numbers. In stocks, European indexes ended mixed on Friday but higher on the week while US indexes were positive both ways, enjoying a second consecutive up week.

J.C. Penney reported a 78 percent drop in its third-quarter earnings because of a big expense for its pension plan.

Japan Airlines said Friday it racked up a $1.5 billion loss and was seeking government help to fend off creditors as the beleaguered carrier struggles to recover from the travel industry's deepest slump in years.

Chinese President Hu Jintao called on Friday for an end to "unreasonable" trade restrictions on developing countries, just days ahead of a U.S. presidential visit to his country that has been clouded by economic tensions.

Poor the Google . Just when it thought it was safe to wheel out those trikes from the GoogleBunker, having won a privacy invasion case against Mr.

NEW YORK - Two former employees for Bernard Madoff programmed an old IBM computer to generate false records that concealed the money manager's massive Ponzi scheme and were given hush money when they threatened to stop lying, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Nov. 12 -- Joanne Feeney, an analyst at FTN Midwest Securities, talks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar, Jon Erlichman and Adam Jonson about Intel Corp.'s agreement to pay Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Data Transfer Solutions, LLC (DTS), recently launched a unique environmental web site created for The City of Park City, Utah, that now ranks as one of three finalists for a prestigious international award.

The Walt Disney Co. posted a surprise 18 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings Thursday in a sign the company is beginning to emerge from an advertising market hit hard by the recession.

Iberia and British Airways have approved an agreement establishing the basis for a merger, the Spanish carrier said late Thursday.

Nov. 12 -- Joseph Quinlan, chief market strategist at U.S. Trust Bank of America Wealth Management, talks with Bloomberg's Matt Miller and Carol Massar about his investment strategy.

Warren Buffett, perhaps the world's most admired investor, said on Thursday the financial panic that gripped the globe last year is a thing of the past, even as the U.S. economy's struggles persist.

New York gold futures on Thursday broke away from an eight day winning streak, falling for the first time in November. The yellow metal retreated from a new all-time high that was reached earlier in the morning after the US dollar rebounded from a 15-month low. Platinum and silver also declined, as did crude oil. US stocks closed sharply lower.

WINTER PARK – Larry Vershel Communications, Inc. was appointed to handle public relations services for key projects under development by Pizzuti Solutions, a division of Pizzuti Development Companies in Orlando and Columbus, Ohio. Pizzuti Solutions specializes in public-private joint ventures.

Wal-Mart , the nation's largest retailer and a bellwether for the entire industry, posted better-than-expected earnings on Thursday, though sales at stores open at least a year fell slightly.

It's a good day for AMD, and probably a good day for Intel as well. As we reported earlier, Intel and AMD have settled their disputes, which centered around antitrust and licensing issues. The companies detailed the settlement in a 7AM PST press conference.

Applied Materials Inc. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net income fell by 40 per cent and announced it would cut 1,300 to 1,500 jobs to save money as it grapples with a business downturn.

Motorola Inc. is seeking to sell its largest division, which makes equipment for cable and wireless companies, according to a report.

Macy's Inc.'s third-quarter loss shrunk as tight inventory controls and a move to localize merchandise at its department stores by region paid off.

Nov. 11 -- Confidence in the world economy dipped in November as central banks' actions to withdraw some stimulus measures sparked concern about the strength of the recovery, a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents showed.

After just three months as head of battered insurer American International Group , Robert Benmosche has threatened to leave his post as he struggles to deal with heavy government oversight and restrictions on what the bailed-out company wants to pay employees, according to a published report.

After a slow start, the Obama administration's mortgage relief program has reached one in five eligible homeowners, a government report says.

Britain's top two banks, HSBC and Barclays, signaled bad debts may be past their peak, with HSBC declaring on Tuesday the first drop in U.S. consumer finance impairments for three years.

Two former Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers have been acquitted of lying to investors about the implosion of the subprime mortgage market.

Unemployment likely will remain high for the next several years because the economic recovery won't be strong enough to spur robust hiring, Federal Reserve officials warned Tuesday.

According to the credo of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, everyone should be entitled to free electricity.

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Sabalcore Computing, Inc., formerly known as Tsunamic Technologies Inc., has opened a new data center in Melbourne.

Panda's new cloud-based antivirus software, Panda Cloud Antivirus, has reached version 1.0 and has exited beta, the company announced on Tuesday. That said, there are already new bugs filed against 1.0 on the Panda Cloud Antivirus support forum.

Following up on an announcement by Microsoft on Monday, in which the company noted it's teamed with JiWire to give free wi-fi minutes to those who perform a Bing search at certain "premium" hotspots, Google made a similar announcement on Tuesday. You have to be flying, however: Google's freebie only applies to airports across the U.S.

European antitrust regulators have formally objected to Oracle Corp.'s $7.4 billion US takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc., citing concerns that the takeover could hurt competition in the database market.

Wall Street increased sharplyon Monday after the world's finance ministers affirmed their support for continued government stimulus efforts until the global economy shows firmer signs of recovery.

A baby stroller company voluntarily recalled about one million strollers Monday after reports that children had had their fingertips severed in a hinge, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Dish Network Corp., the nation's second largest satellite TV operator, said Monday that net income fell 12 percent in the third quarter on the back of higher costs, including a reserve related to a lawsuit by TiVo Inc.

The parties to the Google book settlement, which would legalize the creation of a vast library of digital books, have asked the judge overseeing a revision of the agreement for an extension to this Friday, Nov.

Nov. 9 -- Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu reports on the weekend's breaking media news in today's edition of Media Monday.

On Monday, Nokia said it would recall and replace 14 million chargers made by China's BYD Co Ltd.

A deadline loomed Monday for Kraft Foods Inc. to make a formal offer for British candy maker Cadbury PLC or walk away for six months.

World governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, departing from London's longstanding resistance to a global tax.

A- Northrop Grumman said Sunday it agreed to sell its advisory services business TASC Inc.

Verizon isn't scared of AT&T and its lawsuit, apparently. AT&T has sued over Verizon's ads showing comparative maps of Verizon vs. AT&T 3G coverage, stating the maps were confusing, but that hasn't stopped Verizon from airing a whole new series of ads.

EBay says a group of investors who are buying the majority of its telecommunications service, Skype, agreed to settle a legal skirmish with Skype's founders.

Learn how to find and use lists of top job posters, top recruiters, top hiring managers, and get listed as a top job seeker on Twitter.

Twitter just released powerful new capabilities, called Lists - this is a new feature that can really help job seekers. Twitter Lists help the job seeker determine who to follow, and provides an aggregated feed of job ads…by list.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-can-twitter-lists-help-job-seekers.html

Hospitals, Federal Government, Nursing Homes, Home Health, Clinics, and Outsourced Health Services top Health Care hiring during November 2009, based on job advertisements open for 30 days from the top job boards.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-hiring-in-health-care-november.html

Job seekers are notoriously afraid to embrace change…even though their entire goal is based on change (sure - sometimes the change is thrust upon us). Some candidates are afraid to approach new career paths, others afraid to change industry or function, almost all are afraid to change their approach.

So how can candidates break free from the vicious cycle of fear of change?

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/step-out-of-your-comfort-zone.html

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 11/2/09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-hiring-top-employers-week-of-11-2.html

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says the worst of the job losses are behind and gives advice to job seekers.

House Democratic leaders say President Barack Obama, who made a quick trip to Capitol Hill, inspired their party to pass health care legislation.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for serious consideration of a levy on financial activity to help insure the banking system from another crisis.

Two U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that would allow money from a huge fund that subsidizes telephone and mobile service to parts of the U.S. to also go for broadband deployment.

China is offering to abolish import duties on some commodities from Africa and make sure Chinese exports to the continent are safe as part of a package to boost already thriving economic ties, China's commerce minister said in an article published Saturday.

Don't laugh, at least not yet. There was a time when 7-11 coffee was looked down upon, but now, not so much. Let's not forget that McDonald's as well is making inroads into Starbucks' market share. So what's wrong with 7-11 wine?

Precious metals rallied this week following a weaker US dollar that was pushed lower by a series of economic reports, including the Labor Department’s higher than expected unemployment figures of 10.2 percent — a more than 26-year high. Gold reached an all-time high and silver soared. Crude oil tumbled on Friday by nearly 3 percent but still managed to post a small weekly gain. In stocks for the week, European indexes were higher and the three major US indexes advanced more than 3 percent.

It's the latest Verizon iPhone rumor, and we all know they will not stop until Apple's hit device arrives on the Verizon network (and we all know it will; the question is when). Most have assumed it would be when Verizon moves to next-generation LTE technology, but the latest rumor is, instead, that Apple will be producing a dual-mode world phone version of the iPhone.

Nov. 6 -- Robert Diener, founder and former president of Hotels.com, talks with Bloomberg's Pimm Fox about getaroom.com's hotel booking system and the Las Vegas and Orlando markets.

Regulators on Friday shut small banks in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri, bringing the number of bank failures this year to 119 amid the struggling economy and a cascade of defaults on loans.

Warren Buffett's company says its third-quarter profit tripled as the improving economy and stock market boosted the value of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s derivative contracts.

The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 - and is likely to go higher.

Stocks were little changed near midday on Friday despite a government report showing more jobs were lost in October than expected and pushing the unemployment rate above 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google has stepped up its privacy efforts, launching a new Web feature Thursday that it claims will give users more control over their personal data.

ORLANDO, Fla., --- Plainvue Software, Inc., an independent video game studio based in Orlando, has released Fraction’s Kitchen™ , the third in a series of video games designed to sharpen the math skills of late elementary and middle school students.

Daniel Roy, chief executive officer of Plainvue Software, Inc., said the new game is part of Plainvue’s Order of the Abacus™ series of games available for download at the Apple iTunes Store for iPhone and iPod Touch.

ORLANDO, Fla., --- Tsunamic Technologies, Inc. is rebranding itself and relaunching as Sabalcore Computing, Inc.

Located in East Orange County, the company, which provides Linux-based cluster computing power to large-scale users such as the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, secured the Sabalcore.com web domain and recently relaunched itself as Sabalcore, Inc.

Nov 6 - Asian shares join a global rally, as U.S. economic concerns ease after a rollercoaster week.

A further 14 individuals have been charged in connection with the alleged $20m insider trading scheme at US hedge fund Galleon Group.

Companies across the U.S. economy are finding ways to do more with fewer workers, dimming hopes that hiring will take off any time soon.

The U.S. Senate vote unanimously on Wednesday to extend aid for jobless workers and broaden tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses in a bid to breathe life into the struggling U.S. economy.

US computer chip giant Intel used illegal tactics which stopped consumers getting better products and lower prices, it has been alleged.

Geohot has done it again. He recently released an iPhone OS 3.1.2 jailbreak, and now he's released a software unlock for the device as well. This enables users to slip a different carrier's SIM into the device so it can be used on another network.

Cisco Systems Inc. doesn't want Wall Street to interpret its forecast for its first quarterly revenue growth in a year as evidence that the U.S. and other economies are roaring back.

Chrysler plans to overhaul its cars with technology from its new Italian partner, Fiat SpA, and it says it has the cash to pay for the changes.

Investors rushed into stocks after stronger reports on service industries and employment eased two of the biggest worries about the economy.

Verizon has pulled no punches against AT&T and the iPhone of late. In addition to the "Droid Does" ad which has garnered rave reviews, they've also done the "There's a Map for That" ad which points at the lack of 3G support nationwide on AT&T. However, AT&T feels that ad is misleading, and has sued.

There's a simple way to get Americans to drive fuel-efficient cars, according to auto executives, but they are not going to like it -- sharply hike the gas tax.

New York gold futures reached a fresh all-time high on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates and its monetary policy unchanged, which helped push the US dollar lower and made the yellow metal more attractive. Silver and platinum followed along, as did crude oil. For a second straight day, US stocks closed mixed.

The Federal Reserve ended its two-day meeting Wednesday, and as expected the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) did not raise interest rates. Further, in an exact parallel to its last statement, it noted that US inflation remained under control, stating ...

Johnson & Johnson , the pharmaceutical company, said Tuesday it would trim layers of management, cut jobs and make other restructuring moves to save up to $900 million next year.

Opel's employee council says workers have agreed to make cost-cutting contributions worth $390 million US a year to ease the automaker's sale to a consortium led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna.

Nov. 3 -- Matt Rose, chief executive officer of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., talks with Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker and Francine Lacqua about Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s decision to buy the 77.4 percent of the railroad it doesn't already own for $100 a share or about $44 billion, including $10 billion in outstanding debt.

GM reported its first monthly gain in U.S. sales in almost two years while Toyota and Ford also improved, a sign the auto industry it starting to crawl back from a yearlong slump.

Oil prices hovered near $78 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors welcomed new U.S. manufacturing and construction figures as positive signs of an economic recovery.

It was last year, when Blu-ray won the high-definition optical disc format wars over HD-DVD, that I speculated that its victory could be short, and that streaming video would overtake it sooner than people expected. Some laughter ensued, but as time goes on, it seems my prediction was more correct than many believed.

Disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff's longtime auditor pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other charges Tuesday in a cooperation deal that could leave him behind bars for years.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), which already has owns an over 23 percent stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI), said on Tuesday it would acquire the remaining 77.4 percent of the company in a cash-and-stock offer worth $100 per share. The deal will also include the assumption of $10 billion in Burlington Northern debt.

Pay attention now. We're not talking Apple TV. We're talking about something that Apple has been pitching to TV networks, according to Media Memo. The question for you: would you pay $30 a month to watch TV via iTunes?

Stanley Works is buying rival Black & Decker Corp. for $4.5 billion, the two companies said Monday, bringing together mammoth brands in the toolmaking business.

Stocks ended higher but well off their best levels of the day as volatility continued to tug at the market.

Several of the largest U.S. airlines have increased a surcharge for travel on the busiest travel days to $20 each way, up from $10. The surcharges apply to a large number of flights within the U.S. on more than a dozen peak days around holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. Delta, American, United, US Airways and Northwest all ...

File-- In an Oct. 26, 2009 file photo The U.S. flag and thos of other countries fly outside Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.

Remember the slotMusic format? That is a different way of deliveriing music, using microSD cards instead of CDs. With flash memory prices continuing to drop, it was only a matter of time until movies and DVDs would start being delivered the same way.

In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting.

Who's Firing is a weekly survey of organizations announcing layoffs for the week ended 10-30-09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.

Trackback: http://reCareered.blogspot.com/2009/10/whos-firing-layoffs-week-ended-10-30-09.html

FILE - IN this May 20, 2009, file photo, KBR, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer William Utt... FILE - IN this May 20, 2009, file photo, KBR, Inc.

New figures indicate spending slides, Chevron pumps more oil but less profit and a new twist in the Madoff case.

After struggling for months to avert bankruptcy, lender CIT Group has filed for Chapter 11 protection in an attempt to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of mid-sized and small businesses.

Want to prosecute people who are downloading files illegally? Well, if you fine them, you might be taking money out of the hands of your best customers, a new survey shows.

Ford Motor Co. has been riding a wave of positive public sentiment since it steered clear of bankruptcy protection and avoided taking federal bailout money - unlike its crosstown rivals, General Motors Co.

Panic set in in Iceland this weekend. It was a run, but not a run on a bank. It was a run on McDonald's. McDonald's is leaving Iceland, as they announced earlier .

WHEN you call Grandma on her farm in Iowa, your long-distance phone company pays her local phone company an access fee.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledges the federal budget deficit is too high, but that the priorities now are economic growth and job creation.

The Washington Post Co. increased its net income 69 percent in the third quarter, as the company cut costs to narrow losses at its newspapers and kept reaping profit from its cable TV and education divisions.