http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/business/ en-us Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:45:53 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134700/posts The anxiety we feel about rising prices, plummeting home values and a weak dollar is real. But perhaps we should take comfort in the fact that, historically, recessions are relatively short and they're usually followed by long periods of prosperity. That's the core message of this interactive chart tracking the past 60 years of U.S. business cycles, as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research's Business Cycle Dating Committee. Imagine seven economists discussing what small percentage changes in real income and wholesale production mean, and you've got a sense of the Business Cycle Dating Committee. These seven people are... Harvard Business Publishing http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134700/posts#comment Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:45:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134353/posts Barack Obama said on Tuesday the United States would "engage vigorously" in climate change talks when he is president, and he pledged to work to reduce emissions sharply by 2020, despite the financial crisis. "We will establish strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them by an additional 80 percent by 2050," he said in a video address to a global warming summit in California attended by U.S. governors and representatives from other nations. Though Obama's remarks were a reiteration of his campaign promises, the timing signaled... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134353/posts#comment Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:28:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134024/posts ‘Developing Asia to record healthy growth rates’ Our Bureau New Delhi, Nov. 16 Asian Development Bank (ADB) does not expect a full-blown financial crisis in India even as it forecasts a lower economic growth of between 6-7 per cent for 2009, lower than the 7.8 per cent expected this year. “We don’t expect a financial crisis (in India) because of the fundamentals. The economic side has not worsened. Developing Asia will slow down but continue to record healthy growth rates,” Mr Rajat M. Nag, Managing Director-General, ADB, said at the India Economic Summit 2008 here on Sunday. He highlighted that... The Hindu Business Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134024/posts#comment Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:37:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133844/posts Thousands of people in Northeast Ohio could lose their jobs and dozens of small companies could close if the auto industry doesn't get help from the government soon, economists and business leaders warned Monday. Lawmakers urged the Bush administration to use part of a $700 billion bailout plan to save autoworkers' jobs and bolster local economies that depend on them. "If we stand aside and do nothing, the pain is much greater than if we do this bailout," U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said at a news conference Monday in Cleveland. The effect of struggling automotive plants stretches down through the... Cleveland Plain Dealer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133844/posts#comment Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:04:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133601/posts ****UPDATE**** SEC Charges Mark Cuban With Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks, for allegedly dumping shares in Mamma.com upon learning it was raising money in a private offering.... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122693827604333637.html WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133601/posts#comment Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:07:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133081/posts TIJUANA – Manuel GarcNa has worked up to 14 hours a day for the past month outside the coroner's office, which now doubles as a municipal morgue. The wave of violent crime in Tijuana has filled the refrigerated rooms of the building, and GarcNa is among at least half a dozen employees of funeral homes who mill around the hearse entrance, hoping to sell their services to the families of the deceased. When the families arrive, GarcNa tries to be the first to approach them. He speaks softly, hands them a business card and tells them the price. “It all... San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133081/posts#comment Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:23:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133037/posts A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson near Malibu Creek State Park, a sheriff's deputy said Sunday. Suren Sahakyan was booked on suspicion of arson at the sheriff's Lost Hills Station and held in lieu of $75,000 bail, said Deputy Byron Ward of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. An area resident saw the man on shoulder of Stokes Canyon Road near Mulholland Highway, starting a fire using paper and leaves about 5:20 p.m. Saturday, Ward said. The resident stomped out the fire, and Sahakyan fled but was caught by sheriff's deputies a short distance away. NBC Los Angeles http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133037/posts#comment Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:30:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132400/posts Extremists are threatening an environmental disaster by sparking a series of catastrophic wild fires. We first posted on this last year. Western intelligence agencies fear that Al Qaeda terrorists are planning a “global fireball” in a new departure in its war on the West. Deliberately lighting forest blazes in Europe, the US and Australia would not only stretch emergency services but leave insurance companies facing multi-billion pound damage bills as the credit crunch bites. The fires would also create a pollution disaster, with billions tons of climate change gases escaping into the atmosphere. The so-called “forest jihad” is being championed... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132400/posts#comment Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:47:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131905/posts If Obama plans to go ahead with his tax hikes on the top income-earners, corporations and capital gains, it will prolong and deepen economic downturn. Economists from all persuasions, from Keynesians to Monetarists, agree that raising taxes inhibits economic growth. Raising the tax on capital gains is the last thing the financial market needs right now. It will vastly hurt investments and growth. As for his planned corporate income tax hike, raising taxes on corporations is always a sham. Corporations are not taxed; people are taxed. When corporations are taxed more, they compensate for lost revenue by raising the prices... Grayhound (Loyola College Student Newspaper) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131905/posts#comment Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:17:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131779/posts Shariah-compliant banking, sometimes called Islamic banking, is growing in popularity in the Western and Islamic worlds. But critics say American interest in the system at a time of economic crisis is opening the door to increased Islamic influence in the American banking system. Worse yet, some fear the banks may be helping to finance international terrorism. In Shariah-compliant banking, lenders may not charge interest and investors cannot make money from forbidden industries like gambling, alcohol, pork and pornography. Selling debt, devising derivatives and short selling are also prohibited, and investments must be closely tied to actual assets. In the U.S.,... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131779/posts#comment Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:06:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131606/posts With lighter wallets and heavier burdens, Americans are rethinking their conspicuous consumption. That's bad news for retailers. There's something growing in the New Jersey Meadowlands, the marsh just nine miles west of Manhattan—and it isn't the gentle ferns that the bucolic name suggests. Instead, what's emerging is a man-made behemoth, the largest and most expensive mall ever built in the United States. Newsweek / MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131606/posts#comment Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:25:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131312/posts The bankruptcy of Iceland, now receiving a $2.1 billion two-year loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “to support an economic recovery program,” has been depicted as something that could never happen to America. Is the U.S. too big to fail? Or is the U.S. going through the same process, albeit on a slower basis? The bankruptcy of Iceland, now receiving a $2.1 billion two-year loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “to support an economic recovery program,” has been depicted as something that could never happen to America. Is the U.S. too big to fail? Or is the U.S.... CanadaFreePress http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131312/posts#comment Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:41:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130823/posts BREAKING — About two years ago, Mexico native Carlos Perez left his job at a factory in Dayton, Tenn., to start Perez Produce, a distributing company for local Hispanic restaurants and stores. Now, Mr. Perez said he regrets leaving a stable job at the La-Z-Boy factory because the produce business is not going well and he is on the verge of closing. “When I first started with the business two years ago it was going well, but starting about three months ago it started going down, down,” he said in Spanish. “If the situation continues to get worse, I think... Chattanooga Times Free Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130823/posts#comment Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:30:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130502/posts Michael Lewis, the brilliant author of "Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball" pens a lengthy story for Portfolio where he looks at: [T]he willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grownups remains a mystery to me. I was 24 years old, with no experience of, or particular interest in, guessing which stocks and bonds would rise and which would fall. The essential function of Wall Street is to allocate capital—to decide who should get it and who should not. Believe me when I tell you that I hadn’t the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130502/posts#comment Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:49:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130013/posts (this email has been going around. As a small business owner myself, I really share a lot of the feelings) Dear Fellow Business Owners, As a Business owner who employs 30 people, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama, will be our next President, and that my Taxes and Fees, will go up in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, I figure, that the Customer, will have to see an increase in my prices to them of about 10%. I will also have to lay off 6 of my employees. This really bothered me as... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130013/posts#comment Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:01:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129906/posts OCALA, Fla. -- The owners of an Ocala business are accused of taking a racist swipe at president-elect Barack Obama. The NAACP of Florida calls the message on the company's marquee "horrific" and "insensitive." Last year, the same fence company and auto shop was accused of using its sign to ridicule people with disabilities. What they've posted now, some call free speech and others call an outrage. "That's like racist right there," one resident told Eyewitness News. "Why do they feel like they have the right to just put it out there. There's kids that come by here. There's... WFTV-Orlando http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129906/posts#comment Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:27:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129773/posts SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - "We lost 2 billion dollars and like any other business we have to stay afloat." And to keep from sinking, the United States Postal Service is considering cutting thousands of jobs nationwide. Lavelle Pepper with the post office in Shreveport says they too are feeling the affects of the same disease hitting the country... a struggling economy. "We employ about 685,000 people. If we do layoffs it would include clerks, carriers, mail handlers across all crafts." Pepper says the postal service is looking to eliminate 40,000 jobs nationwide. (continued at http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=9247633) KSLA News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129773/posts#comment Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:36:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129610/posts I hear that XM is going to move the Fox Business channel from 128 to 136 on Wednesday and then drop it in January. What's their problem? Biased much? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129610/posts#comment Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:25:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129118/posts WASHINGTON-Businesses should expect more scrutiny of their books, moves to expand health insurance, an end to no-bid Pentagon contracting and a host of other changes when President-elect Barack Obama takes office. Obama, who will be sworn in on January 20, has supported the $700 billion rescue plan to inject liquidity in the U.S. financial industry, but has insisted that banks taking the money must accept rules. In his first news conference after the election, Obama said he wanted Congress to pass another stimulus package, but gave little in the way of specific business initiatives. He did indicate that help may... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129118/posts#comment Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:28:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129057/posts G-20 says state spending can ease crisis, backs emerging economies' bid for role in talks Economic officials from 20 leading nations called Sunday for increased government spending to boost the troubled global economy and said developing countries deserve a prominent role in talks to overhaul the world financial system. Finance ministers and central bank presidents from the Group of 20, which includes wealthy and developing nations, agreed the world must work together to address the current crisis. But they approved no specific plans ahead of a meeting of G-20 heads of state set for Washington next week. Ministers urged governments... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129057/posts#comment Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:37:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129001/posts The enormous victory won by Sen. Barack Obama in the presidential race came from the backing of voters desperately unhappy with the state of the economy and eager for new direction from the top. Many in business, though, still view the president-elect with a wary eye. (Perhaps the markets do as well: The Dow dropped more than 400 points the day after Obama's election.) Indeed, if a recent survey by Chief Executive magazine is any indication, Obama has his work cut out for him in wooing America's executives. In a survey of 751 CEOs published in October, the magazine found... MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129001/posts#comment Sun, 9 Nov 2008 22:46:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128341/posts Business think tank, Direct Marketing Directions, has released their findings on the worldwide effect of ‘Do not call’ lists throughout the English-speaking world based on six months worth of research and interviews. Direct Marketing News-CSS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128341/posts#comment Sat, 8 Nov 2008 01:54:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128077/posts OH YEAH -- CHANGE IS COMING! The election of Barack Obama has some employers quaking in their boots. Look into the crystal ball and prepare for dramatic changes in employment law and labor activity from unions to sick leave to ergonomics. Employers can expect to see more new workplace regulations than at any time in the last two decades. The Democrats are teeing up several bills and some issues demand attention immediately. Unions -- One issue looms far above all the others for Alabama Employers -- the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Obama supports the Employee Free Choice Act. This... Vanity Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128077/posts#comment Fri, 7 Nov 2008 19:42:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128004/posts The nation's unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, far worse than economists expected and stark proof the economy is deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace. The new snapshot, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market quickly eroding. The jobless rate zoomed to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, matching the rate in March 1994. Unemployment has now surpassed the high seen after the last recession in 2001. The jobless rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003. October's decline marked the... Yahoo! Business News/The Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128004/posts#comment Fri, 7 Nov 2008 18:13:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2127035/posts The Supreme Court’s Business Cases Reviewed by: Irene Warren, November 06, 2008 The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) for Public Policy Research Legal Center hosted its annual review of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007-2008 October term recently, and to mull over its regulatory framework of prime business cases, which make up the bulk of its civil lawsuits. “Recent regulatory and financial crises bring increased urgency to the examination of the justices’ future course,” as AEI pointed out. “Will Congress and the Executive finally create a stable regulatory framework, or will there be uncontrolled litigation and regulation over past misconduct, real and... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2127035/posts#comment Thu, 6 Nov 2008 16:08:34 GMT