http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/business/ en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:03:41 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418432/posts The Obama Administration and its European allies are currently looking at a menu of "focused sanctions" on Iran and its leadership. A month ago they were obsessing over China and Russia's cooperation on indubitably innocuous U.N. Security Council sanctions. In both cases, they have the wrong target in mind. Security Council resolutions and focused sanctions serve as public relations window-dressing. Europe is the key to any meaningful behavior-modifying sanctions on Iran. The continued focus on Russia and China's intransigence is allowing Europe to stay under the radar. Iran has been under three Security Council sanctions in the past decade, while... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418432/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:03:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417860/posts The rich world’s quiet revolution: women are gradually taking over the workplace AT A time when the world is short of causes for celebration, here is a candidate: within the next few months women will cross the 50% threshold and become the majority of the American workforce. Women already make up the majority of university graduates in the OECD countries and the majority of professional workers in several rich countries, including the United States. Women run many of the world’s great companies, from PepsiCo in America to Areva in France. Women’s economic empowerment is arguably the biggest social change of... The Economist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417860/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:14:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417279/posts Ever since President Obama took office with his merry band of Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, the media began reporting high unemployment in the most positive light they could find. NewsBusters exposed one such trick by Newsweek on December 10 that found a silver lining for unemployed dads to reconnect with their children. ABC News posted a column on their website Thursday that advanced the cause even further: now people who still have jobs are hoping to get laid off. Such was the case made by one Michelle Goodman in a piece cutely titled "All I Want For Christmas... newsbusters.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417279/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:04:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416703/posts Computerworld - A New Jersey judge has ordered the shutdown of three H-1B opposition Web sites and seeks information about the identity of anonymous posters. On Dec. 23, Middlesex County Superior Court Judge James Hurley ordered firms that register domains and provide hosting services -- GoDaddy Inc., Network Solutions, Comcast Cable Communications Inc. and DiscountASP.Net, to disable the three sites, ITgrunt.com, Endh1b.com, and Guestworkerfraud.com. Facebook Inc. was also ordered to disable ITgrunt's Facebook page. www.computerworld.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416703/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:57:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416431/posts Sunday, December 27, 2009 Rough sea for yachtsmen under Maine use-tax law 30 days in port triggers levy on boats ‘from away’ Tom Toye poses at a marina in Portland, Maine. Toye has sued the state over a $60,000 “use tax” bill for a 72-foot yacht he bought in Florida and brought to Maine. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) By Clarke Canfield THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 3 comments | Add a comment PORTLAND, Maine —  A retired Maine businessman thought he was helping the local economy in 2005 when he spent more than $100,000 in Portland on repairs to his 72-foot luxury yacht, newly... Telegram.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416431/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:10:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416382/posts I'm looking for help with what I thought was a very simple question, and after a fruitless search online I'm hoping an astute Freeper with some knowledge of tax law could help me. My question is a simple one: If a condominium association or homeowners association (HOA) is organized under applicable state law as a Non-Profit Corporation, what type of organization would it typically be considered under Federal tax law? The IRS website uses a "real estate board" as one example of a 501(c)(6) organization (along with chambers of commerce, trade organizations, etc.), but I'd like to verify that this... Self http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416382/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:57:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416129/posts Note: The following news brief is a quote: Last Update: 12/25 9:52 pm Memphis Man Arrested: Accused of Making Bomb Threats & Threatening to Start "Holy War" MEMPHIS, TN – Tonight, Mohamed Ibrahim is out after posting $100 bond. Earlier in the day, he was arrested after police say he walked into several Memphis businesses and threatened to blow them up. Court records show Ibrahim was also telling people he was Muslim, and wanted to start a jihad, or holy war, in Memphis. Police say when they arrested him, he had a butcher knife hidden in one of his jacket... MyEyeWitnessNews.com - Local News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416129/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:01:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414217/posts Looks like the steadily growing list of constitutional, ethical and political outrages that constitute the Harry Reid version of Obamacare is sparking a rebellion in the states, as AP reports South Carolina's attorney general plans to investigate the vote-buying that surrounded the proposal in the Senate majority leader's office. According to AP, South Carolina's Henry McMaster is being joined by the attorneys general of Michigan and Washington state in a suit to determine the constitutionality of the Obamacare proposal. Their initiative was prompted by a request from South Carolina's two senators, Lindsay Graham and Jim DeMint, both Republicans. Attorneys-general in... The Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414217/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:47:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413498/posts The Obama administration's new plan to give a boost to small businesses reflects continued trouble in that sector, which is facing new failures even as much of the nation's economy is stabilizing. As credit lines have shrunk and consumers have cut back on spending, thousands of small businesses have closed their doors over the last year. The plight of struggling firms has been aggravated by the reluctance of banks to lend money, said Brian Headd, an economist at the Small Business Administration's office of advocacy. "While bankruptcies are up, overall, small-business closures are up even more," Headd said. California has... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413498/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:09:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412772/posts Small Business Bankruptcies Rise 81% In State With credit tight and consumers still pinching their pennies, many business owners find they can't go on. By Nathan Olivarez-Giles December 21, 2009 The Obama administration's new plan to give a boost to small businesses reflects continued trouble in that sector, which is facing new failures even as much of the nation's economy is stabilizing. As credit lines have shrunk and consumers have cut back on spending, thousands of small businesses have closed their doors over the last year. The plight of struggling firms has been aggravated by the reluctance of banks to... LATimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412772/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:54:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411889/posts A German company that worked with Iraq in the development of its weapons of mass destruction under Saddam Hussein now may be concentrating its technology and efforts in assisting Iran in its ballistic missile program, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Engineering giant Siemens is under investigation for allegedly violating export control laws on two separate shipments of components to Iran. Siemens apparently sought to export from the German port of Hamburg turbo compressors used to accelerate a missile to high speeds from the ground. The compressors originated from a Siemens subsidiary World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411889/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:04:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411862/posts For many stock investors, this decade can't end soon enough. Even with the rebound this year, the U.S. stock market is on the verge of posting its worst performance for any calendar decade in nearly 200 years of American stock-market history. Investors would have been better off investing in pretty much anything else, from bonds to gold or even just stuffing money under a mattress. Since the end of 1999, stocks traded on the NY Exchange have lost an average of 0.5% a year thanks to the twin bear markets this decade. In the process, the market has provided a... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411862/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:16:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411845/posts Small Business Tax & ToilSmall business owners, like myself, pay twice as much in Social Security and Medicare Taxes as regular employees. Yet when we ask for a payroll tax cut on our own pay, what we get from the government is a crackdown on regional banks to give us more loans. Aside from the fact that 140 of these banks have failed since January 16, 2009 (here), what Obama's Cluelessian economists fail to understand is that wealth is not created through amassing debt.If Obama wants to run the Federal Government based on the myth that wealth is created through... Natural Born Conservative Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411845/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:35:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2411244/posts Rock-music lore is rife with stories of bands sealing themselves up in an expensive commercial recording studio for days, weeks, or months, refusing to reenter civilian life until armed with a masterpiece destined to be heard for generations. Today, that scenario sounds more like an ancient fable. Major recording centers such as London; Los Angeles; New York; and Nashville, Tenn., are losing the studios that made them famous due to shrinking budgets at the big labels and the growing sophistication of home-
recording technology. Now musicians can plug directly into their laptops and record digitally with greater ease than ever. Software... Christian Science Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2411244/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:37:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410385/posts From 1992 to 2004, Barack Obama lectured at the University of Chicago's Law School. By all accounts, our future president was popular with students. He was known to be polite and accommodating to those who disagreed with him. His reputation at Chicago was that of a teacher who broadened your horizons. It's a pity our president didn't take full advantage of his time at Chicago and broaden his own horizons. For on the same campus was Gary Becker, the economist and original thinker who married economics and sociology into a hybrid that became known as behavioral economics. Becker won the... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410385/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:57:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409638/posts Loudmouth CEOs, islands in the desert and bringing dead celebrities back to life. Our annual list of the business world's bonehead plays marches on.[]Trading GM's Worthless StockGM couldn't sell enough cars to keep out of bankruptcy, but plenty of its worthless stock sure got sold afterwards.The old version of the company, now known as Motors Liquidation, was left with GM's debt, unwanted plants and dealerships, and its old shares, which trade under the symbol MTLQQ for about 60 cents apiece.Oddly enough, investor demand has been brisk even though GM and the Securities and Exchange Commission have warned that the shares... CNNMoney via Yahoo! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409638/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:34:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408878/posts A San Francisco-based wireless company is unabashedly mixing its liberal political activism with business, a strategy that has won the praise of President Obama but not the confidence of marketing analysts. A San Francisco-based wireless company is working liberal political activism into its business plan in a unabashedly partisan marketing strategy that experts say could catch on in today's polarized culture -- but also could alienate many potential customers. The company, CREDO, even boasts that it has the support of President Obama as it markets itself as an agent of social change. It pitches its mobile phone services with a... Foxnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408878/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:21:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407944/posts The "masterminds" behind the false-gold scandal at the Ethiopian central bank might not have gotten caught if they'd used Theo Gray's formula. Popsi http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407944/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:31:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407073/posts Bank of America Corp. pushed closer over the weekend to hiring its next CEO, but compensation remains an obstacle despite the bank's escape from government restrictions on executive pay, according to people familiar with the situation. Robert Kelly, the 55-year-old chief executive of Bank of New York Mellon Corp., has emerged as the front-runner to succeed Kenneth Lewis, who is set to retire at year-end, these people said. As of Sunday night, the negotiations were fluid, and a person close to Mr. Kelly cautioned that it might not be possible to reach an agreement with directors of the Charlotte, N.C.,... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407073/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:02:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404859/posts There has been a lot of media focus dedicated to the alleged Tiger Woods scandal - even so much that when examined quantitatively, it overshadows more serious issues. So what will the net result of this media scrutiny be for Tiger? CNBC's sports reporter, Darren Rovell, took at crack at answering that on the Dec. 10 broadcast of "Squawk Box." "It's 12 straight days in the [New York] Post right now," Rovell said. "Everyday since Nov. 29, there's been a Tiger Woods story. When does it end? We don't know. I'm not going to get into the details of this,... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404859/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:14:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2404649/posts ... we all know it is important to be kind, loving, forgiving, and tolerant of others ... to "turn the other cheek" ... but to what extent do we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of? And if someone does take advantage of us, will that embolden them to then take advantage of others? ... The answers to these questions may not be simple; nevertheless the story of "The Dinner Roll" may help us come to the right solutions. After reading it, you may realize that the time is now to find some answers. The Dinner RollThere was a time... Examiner.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2404649/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:41:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404324/posts In a London preview of Wall Street's bonus nightmare, more than 1,000 investment bankers have quit Royal Bank of Scotland to work at rivals due to curbs on their paychecks, according to people familiar with the situation. Wall Street banks fear top talent would flee en masse for greener pastures if Uncle Sam's pay czar, Ken Feinberg, and Congress try to put more ceilings on bonuses and pay at financial firms. In the UK, the rules are modeled after US actions to curb pay at firms bailed out by the government.RBS will soon be about 84-percent owned by the British... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404324/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:44:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403764/posts Ex-Fed chief Paul Volcker's 'telling' words on derivatives industry Paul Volcker, the chairman of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, stunned a business conference in Sussex yesterday, saying there is "little evidence innovation in financial markets has had a visible effect on the productivities of the economy".   By Louise Armitstead Published: 9:41PM GMT 08 Dec 2009 The former US Federal Reserve chairman told an audience that included some of the world's most senior financiers that their industry's "single most important" contribution in the last 25 years has been automatic telling machines, which he said had at least proved "useful".... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403764/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 16:17:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403610/posts The underground or "black" economy is rapidly rising, and the fault is mainly due to government policies. Here is the evidence. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) released a report last week concluding that 7.7 percent of U.S. households, containing at least 17 million adults, are unbanked (i.e. those who do not have bank accounts), and an "estimated 17.9 percent of U.S. households, roughly 21 million, are underbanked" (i.e., those who rely heavily on nonbank institutions, such as check cashing and money transmitting services). As an economy becomes richer and incomes rise, the normal expectation is that the proportion of... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403610/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 12:56:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403363/posts In recalling President Obama's cabinet appointments, you'll notice that very few have had any private sector or business experience. To find out if this was a "change" from prior administrations, Michael Cembalest, Chief Investment Officer of JP Morgan Private Bank, did a study that examined the private sector experience of prior cabinet officials since 1900. THE FREEDOM POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403363/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 01:48:41 GMT