Free Republic

Stryker, the Kalamazoo-based maker of artificial hips and knees, will cut 5% of its global workforce by the end of next year to reduce costs in the face of new fees on device makers required by the U.S. health care law.

Internet-streaming company Netflix experienced its biggest exodus in its history after a price hike earlier this year - the loss of 800,000 customers. But the web-streaming giant isn't washed up yet. TV shows and films streamed via Netflix account for a third of total downstream bandwidth use in the U.S - an astonishing amount for any one company to control. Neftlix use accounts for 32.7 per cent of total bandwidth use in the U.S., UP from 29.7per cent a year ago, says Canadian company Sandvine.

He doesn’t think it’s too much to ask of a job seeker. A resume, a statement of salary expectations and a single written paragraph that answers a question like, “What do you believe a good customer service representative’s attitude should be?” (snip) Stories are legion of inept or half-hearted applicants who submit resumes marred by misspellings, show up at interviews dressed for a beach party, make inappropriate jokes, fail to learn basic details about the job and company in question, and otherwise leave hiring managers aghast. (snip) “Who the hell is going to hire these people?” asks Heinemeier Hansson. “Who...

We've seen before that organizations don't seem to react well to outside security folks pointing out vulnerabilities in their systems. They very often take a "blame the messenger" approach -- as if pointing out a flaw suddenly makes that flaw come into existence. But one company seems to be taking it to another level. That Anonymous Coward points us to a story in which a security professional found a big and ridiculously obvious bug in the website of an Australian investment fund, First State Superannuation. Apparently you could see other people's accounts by merely changing the account numbers in the...

WASHINGTON (KGO) -- Two top executives at bankrupt Solyndra have invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer questions at a House hearing Friday. The Solyndra executives have sent letters to the House Energy and Commerce committee, saying they will invoke their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

President Barack Obama will present his “jobs plan” on Wednesday at a company that’s shipping jobs overseas. Obama is scheduled to present his “jobs plan” in Apex, N.C., on Wednesday at the headquarters of WestStar Precision. WestStar Precision is a high-end, specialty manufacturer that just opened a new facility in San Jose, Costa Rica, creating many new jobs there, but not in the United States. “Our main office and manufacturing facility near Research Triangle Park in the Raleigh/Durham area has approximately 11,000 sq. ft. of office space, production area and warehouse,” the company says on its website. “This facility has...

A solar energy company that intends to file bankruptcy received $535 million in backing from the federal government and has a cozy history with Democrats and the Obama administration, campaign finance records show. Shareholders and executives of Solyndra, a green energy company producing solar panels, fundraised for and donated to the Obama administration to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a key Obama backer who raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the president’s election campaign, is one of Solyndra’s primary investors. Kaiser himself donated $53,500 to Obama’s 2008 election campaign, split between the DSCC...

The U.S. dollar may weaken and Treasury yields rise when Asian markets reopen on Monday, though any selling in response to ratings agency S&P's downgrade of the United States is likely to be tempered by the escalating crisis in the euro zone. The S&P cut in the U.S. long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus is an unprecedented blow and results from concerns about the nation's budget deficits and climbing debt burden. It called the outlook "negative," signaling another downgrade is possible in the next 12 to 18 months. "The initial reaction will be a high degree of uncertainty...

The World’s Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes companies that truly go beyond making statements about doing business “ethically” and translate those words into action. WME honorees demonstrate real and sustained ethical leadership within their industries, putting into real business practice the Institute’s credo of “Good. Smart. Business. Profit.” There is no set number of companies that make the list each year. Rather, the World’s Most Ethical Company designation is awarded to those companies that have leading ethics and compliance programs, particularly as compared to their industry peers. This year, there are 110 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Of these companies, 36...

Herobuilders.com is offering two versions of the doll modelled after the New York Democrat who shot to fame around the world last week after admitting to having sent a lewd photo of his crotch to a Seattle college student on Twitter. The Weiner doll comes as a standard doll for $US39.95 ($37.85) and an adults-only "anatomically correct" version for $US49.95 ($47.35). Both figures are dressed in a T-shirt and gym shorts — with the words "tweet this" printed on the shorts. For an extra $US18.00 ($17) customers can add a toy BlackBerry for the doll to hold. The action figure...

Online retail sales keep climbing, big box retailers keep wondering what to do with all their space, and small stores struggle to survive at all. As a result of that nasty brew, Malls Face Surge in Vacancies. Mall vacancies hit their highest level in at least 11 years in the first quarter, new figures from real-estate research company Reis Inc. showed. In the top 80 U.S. markets, the average vacancy rate was 9.1%, up from 8.7%. The outlook is especially bad for strip malls and other neighborhood shopping centers. Their vacancy rate is expected to top 11.1% later this year,...

What an odd turn of events: A drug company decides to stop producing an anesthetic — and the death penalty system in the U.S. is potentially thrown into turmoil. We say “potentially,” because it hasn’t happened yet. But on Friday, the WSJ’s Nathan Koppel broke the news that Hospira Inc., based in Lake Forest, Ill., has decided to permanently halt production of thiopental sodium, a key drug widely used by states in lethal injections. Hospira’s decision puts a wrench in the nation’s capital-punishment system. States can attempt to use another anesthetic in place of thiopental, but such a switch likely...

There’s something curiously missing from this story on Chicago’s Mantu Dance Company. It may be the only time the company has made big news without a mention of Barack and Michelle Obama in years. One can only imagine the headlines were it so closely linked to a Republican President. Illinois officials are taking a closer look at a nonprofit dance company that was awarded a $4.5 million state grant in 2003 for a planned performing arts center on the South Side that has yet to begin construction.

The state of Arizona executed a convicted murderer on Tuesday night despite objections from attorneys that the state would use a non-approved drug from overseas for the lethal injection. Just hours before Jeffrey Landrigan's death, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to lift a stay issued by a federal judge to halt the execution. "There is no evidence in the record to suggest that the drug obtained from a foreign source is unsafe," the Supreme Court said Due to a U.S. shortage, the state turned to a non-FDA approved drug. It was later revealed that the source was the U.K., although...

There is a very tight Senate race going on for the Senate seat once held by Barack Obama before his Ascension. The Republican, Mark Kirk (a military reservist)is in a tight race with the Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois state treasurer who has close ties to Barack Obama and the Cook County machine. There has been a fair amount of mudslinging between the two sides but there seems to be some mischief coming from on high. Illinois has been tardy in getting ballots out to our men and women serving in the military and thus their votes may not count in...

"Woman Fired For Carrying Gun On The Job," the WSBTV.com headline tells us. "Jamie Lunsford said the company violated her rights by firing her after they discovered she had a gun in her car while on business." So she wasn't actually "carrying," was she? Still, how did her employer discover that she had a gun in her car? Apparently she disclosed it to security guards while visiting a federal Reserve Bank on company business, and they "had no problem with it." Should have kept the lips zipped, lady, but done is done. She jumped through all the hoops, obtained a...

After getting frustrated out of the lemons his problems gave him, David Miller made his own corporate lemonade. Due to the frustration of always having to call technical support to solve his own frequent hardware problems, he started taking the initiative to educate himself.

As in all major government takeovers of private companies in Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez declared that seizing beer-and-food giant Polar's facilities here would mark another victory for the poor in the country's march toward socialism. "Why is it that Polar has so much money?" Chávez asked in a February speech ... Except this time, the president's plans went badly awry, ... Polar [fought] back by taking its case to the Supreme Court, [and] its employees have risen up, too, rallying in opposition to Chávez's edict and holding all-night vigils to prevent a takeover. ... employees said they oppose the government...

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco could soon start requiring retailers to post notices showing how much radiation is emitted by the cell phones they sell. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 10-1 to give preliminary approval to the ordinance, which would require stores to provide each phone's "specific absorption rate" — a measure of radiation registered with the Federal Communications Commission. Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the legislation into law after a 10-day comment period. Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, chief sponsor of the legislation, says it's about "helping people make informed choices." But cell phone industry representatives say...

Nearly nine years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the bi-state agency that operates the World Trade Center is looking for a private partner to help manage the 1,776-foot office tower that is being built at Ground Zero -- and one of two companies under consideration may have ties to the Middle East. The bidding process for private partners for the "Freedom Tower" has been whittled down to two companies: Durst Organization and Related Companies, Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. reports. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will soon decide which partner will manage and...

Given Russia's reputation for excessive bureaucracy, it's only right that a company would exist to help businesspeople to set up, find the right translators, and also provide the right legal guidance to navigate the Byzantine direction of Russia's business bureaucracy. Center of Economic Planning consists of a professional team of skilled translators, auditors and IT specialists who will also not just help foreign businesses, but also help native Russians build their businesses.

In one of the many new age music albums, there is a song called "Fly Away" and the constant refrain is "Fly Away, Fly Away, Fly Away," and the refrain really describes what you can do with this new invention. The catch is of course with this, you can only fly away in your imagination. TFT INSTRUMENTS Company has designed a new flight simulator that can be used for entertainment (with both movie studio sets/movie productions), airports, and shopping centers.

ANY OF THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU AS DEC. APPROACHES Company Memo --------------------------------------------------------- FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director TO: All Employees DATE: December 12, 2009 RE: Gala Christmas Party I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at Noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols. Feel free to sing along, and don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit...

OSLO (AFP) – Norwegian energy group Statoil said Wednesday it was selling some of its US offshore oil assets to China's state-owned CNOOC, marking the first step by a Chinese energy major into the US market. The sale, announced along with Statoil's quarterly results, involves a limited stake for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in four exploitation licences for deepwater blocks bought in 2007 and 2008. "On 29 October Statoil signed a farm down agreement with the Chinese company CNOOC involving a number of Statoil's leases in the Gulf of Mexico," Statoil said in its third-quarter earnings statement....

From its headquarters in a modest office park outside Sunnyvale, Calif., Bridgelux is hoping to spark a revolution in light fixtures for homes and offices across the U.S. It's ready to ramp up production of tiny light-emitting chips that blaze as bright as some incandescent bulbs but consume a fraction of the energy. To meet surging orders for its chips, it's prepared to spend $250 million over three years on gleaming cleanrooms. The question is, where should it put its plants?

This came from a Marine unit over in Iraq. SLEEP LAST NIGHT? Bed a little lumpy... Toss and turn any... Wish the heat was higher... Maybe the a/c wasn't on... Had to go to the john... Need a drink of water... Scroll down Yes... It is like that! Count your blessings, pray for them, Talk to your Creator And The next time when... The other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes, Or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be, Or you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant, Or...

The Company He Keeps Can you know a person by the company they keep? If you can, is it fair to do so? Is it then fair to judge them? I often have the opportunity to get to know someone through personal and business relationships. However, when I don’t have a personal or business relationship knowing them by the company they keep has served me well. The advice remains in good stead but I was curious of its origin. I have not found a direct connection to the advice but I did find several indirect references. As early as 1541,...

Note: The following text SNIPPET is a quote: Alleged Mexican Cartel Leaders, Associates Targeted in Newest Effort to Combat Drug Trafficking Organizations Today the Departments of Justice, State and Treasury announced coordinated actions against the Gulf Cartel/Los Zetas drug trafficking organization, now known as the "Company," in the latest in a series of efforts by the U.S. government to neutralize and dismantle this violent cartel. Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen, Jorge Eduardo Costilla-Sanchez, Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano and Miguel Trevino-Morales, high-level Mexican leaders of the Company and 15 of their top lieutenants, have been charged in U.S. federal courts with drug trafficking-related crimes. Also...

NORTH MANKATO, Minn. (AP) -- A wholesale printing company in southern Minnesota says it's eliminating 114 positions. Carlson Craft of North Mankato made the layoffs Thursday in its effort to adapt to the current economic downturn. Besides the economy, General Manager Barb Kaus says in a statement that consumers' needs have changed, and that the restructuring is needed to focus on new technology. The company, which is part of Taylor Corp., makes printed stationery products and personalized accessories. It was founded as Carlson Letter Service in 1948.

NEW YORK – The Fox network is making a reality show out of the troubled economy. An upcoming series titled, "Someone's Gotta Go," lets employees of a small business decide which one of their colleagues will be laid off.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The administration of President Barack Obama is considering new bailout initiatives that will allow troubled companies to benefit from rescue programs while avoid restrictions imposed by Congress, The Washington Post reported Saturday. ... Experts at the Obama administration have concluded that this approach is vital for persuading firms to participate in programs funded by the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue package, the report said. The administration believes it can sidestep the rules because, .. it has decided not to provide federal aid directly to financial companies,.. Instead, the government has set up special entities that act as middlemen, channeling...

Can Private Security Guards Act As Cops? That's Exactly What They May Soon Be Doing On The Far These private security cars patrol Michigan Avenue between 100th and 116th streets, and a proposed city ordinance would give them many police powers. They're private security guards, already on patrol, but they may soon have the powers of Chicago Police officers. As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, the private security officers now on patrol on the city's Far South Side are expected to have their powers expanded as part of a citywide ordinance now being prepared. But officials are questioning...

As Milosevic's intelligence chief, Jovica Stanisic is accused of setting up genocidal death squads. But as a valuable source for the CIA, an agency veteran says, he also 'did a whole lot of good.' By Greg Miller March 1, 2009 Reporting from Belgrade, Serbia -- At night, when the lawns are empty and the lamps along the walking paths are the only source of light, Topcider Park on the outskirts of Belgrade is a perfect meeting place for spies. It was here in 1992, as the former Yugoslavia was erupting in ethnic violence, that a wary CIA agent made his...

An Israeli company has made an offer to buy the kosher meat producer Agriprocessors. The company, Soglowek Nahariya, made the offer in a filing Sunday with an Iowa bankruptcy court, the Des Moines Register reported. Agriprocessors, once the country's largest producer of kosher meat, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. The company had been on a steady downward spiral since May, when federal agents descended on the company's Postville slaughterhouse and arrested more than one-third of its workforce in what was at the time the largest single-site immigration raid in American history. Joseph Sarachek, a bankruptcy trustee who...

From what the experts are saying, the economic crisis of 2008 would be the buggest since the Great Depression that started in 1929. So in this new crisis, the stock market is going down, unemployment is going up, banks are filing for bankruptcy, some Americans automakers barely survive, etc. With this current situations, big enterprises are even thinking about changing their corporate logos.

Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom.

Just months after his Microsoft farewell, Bill Gates is quietly creating a new company -- complete with high-tech office space, a cryptic name and even its own trademark. Public documents describe the new Gates entity -- bgC3 LLC -- as a “think tank.” It’s housed within a Kirkland office that the Microsoft co-founder established on his own after leaving his day-to-day executive role at the company this summer. Is this Bill Gates’ next big business? A Gates insider gives an emphatic no -- saying it’s not a commercial venture but rather a vehicle to coordinate the software mogul’s work on...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2008 – Dominion Resources has a simple philosophy when it comes to supporting its employees who serve part-time in the military: “Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes.” That philosophy has led to a companywide culture of support for the military and also earned Dominion the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Dominion, with headquarters in Richmond, Va., is one of 15 companies receiving the award, which recognizes employers who provide exceptional support to employees serving in the National Guard or Reserve. Dominion has many programs to support its employees who are...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2008 – Because it always has been a family-owned and -operated business, it’s no surprise that Coastal Windows, a small Hawaii company, knows how to take care of its employees. Coastal Windows applies its family philosophy in taking care of all employees, including those who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. For its support of employees who serve part-time in the military, Coastal Windows is being awarded the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Coastal Windows has 62 employees, and at present, only one of them serves in the National Guard, said Bob Barrett,...

If there's a recession going on, someone forgot to tell Silicon Valley. Yes, the region's economy has slowed noticeably in recent months. Yes, unemployment is up from a year ago. Yes, credit is tight. And yes, there is a severe dip in the housing market. Despite those problems, the dynamics of Silicon Valley's technology sector have buffered the South Bay from the worst effects of the national downturn. Observers point to a host of reasons for this strength. The valley's largest companies have tons of cash, limiting their need to borrow. Much of their business is overseas, where spending remains...

Lasting Impression: Does The Face Of A CEO Determine A Successful Company? ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2008) — It certainly takes more than a pretty face to run a leading national corporation. But according to a recent Tufts University study, the performance levels of America’s top companies could be related to the first impressions made by their chief executive officers (CEOs). Using photographs of the highest and lowest ranked Fortune 1000 companies’ CEOs, psychologists Nicholas Rule and Nalini Ambady quizzed ordinary college students to determine which of the pictured faces were characteristic of a leader. Without knowledge of the pictured individuals’...

BAGHDAD — Patrolling the streets of the Iraqi capital is common to just about any cavalry squadron, infantry battalion, troop or company. Now add in regular rotations through a Coalition outpost, where you live next door to the local populous, and you have what many leaders call a "projection of force" to deter would-be terrorists from inhabiting quiet neighborhoods. Company I, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck, Germany, is only about a month into their tour, but have already been tasked with running Combat Outpost "Remagen" and patrolling the streets of the Karkh District in central Baghdad. The...

The summer that shook the American workplace The new threat and hidden agenda of Labors new Government By Will Fine, Executive Director National Alliance for Worker and Employer Rights This summer has been the summer that shook the foundations of the Employee -Employer relationship as no time has in nearly thirty years. While our national security is being defended overseas, our domestic security has become imperiled by governmental transformation at the hands of Labor Union Central Command that has deployed a government it can control. The credibility of Congress is at stake to defend a free workplace.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2007 – The contributions of a West Virginia excavating company helped lighten the load -- literally -- for a deploying Army National Guard aviation unit. When Army National Guardsman Chief Warrant Officer 3 Timothy Smith found out he was deploying, he was concerned about the distance from the command post to the flight line at Forward Operating Base Speicher, Iraq. It was nearly a mile, and with each of the four-person crew carrying 150 pounds in gear, plus weapons and ammunition, all in 135-degree-plus heat, Smith saw a problem. “We’d be worn out before we ever...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2007 – When one of its employees was deployed to Iraq for National Guard duty, the Ultra Machining Company reached out to take care of him and his family while he was gone. Those efforts have earned the Monticello, Minn., company a top Defense Department award. The employee, Sgt. Lou Jacobson of the Minnesota National Guard, was so impressed with the support he received during his deployment that he nominated the company for a Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Ultra Machining Company, or UMC for short, is among 15 businesses and organizations selected this...

Company 'settles over anti-English legal claim' Last Updated: 2:08am BST 02/05/2007 A nationalist political party which sued a hospitality company for anti-English discrimination has been paid £5,200 in an out of court settlement, it was claimed yesterday. The English Democrats Party took legal action against Royal Armouries International, which provides corporate hospitality at the Royal Armouries museum, after a booking for a conference room in Leeds was cancelled. The party, which campaigns for an English Parliament, said RAI initially claimed the room was double-booked but later said it was concerned about potential damage to its reputation. The English Democrats said...

TUCSON, Ariz. - Federal authorities on Friday raided a construction company accused of hiring illegal immigrants, detaining eight undocumented workers and arresting several other employees. Scores of agents fanned out in Douglas, along the Mexico border, and in Sierra Vista, about 50 miles northwest, in the raid on Sun Dry Wall & Stucco Inc.'s offices, a foreman's home, the home of a suspected counterfeiter and eight work sites. Company president Ivan Hardt, 44; the firm's human resources manager, Carol Hill, 42; and four other employees were taken into custody on federal counts of conspiring to knowingly hire illegal workers and...

PHOENIX, Nov. 6, 2006 -- For every drain ABC Plumbing and Rooter Company Inc., clears, a local troop-support group clears a $5 donation. Rudolf Kellner (right), director of ABC Plumbing and Rooter Company Inc., a Chandler, Ariz.-based company, and William Chiusano, the company’s president, presented the non-profit troop-support group Packages From Home with a $5,000 donation. Photo by Samantha Quigley  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “We decided that $5 out of every call -- every home, every business those trucks pull up to -- would go to ‘Packages From Home,’” Rudolf Kellner, the Chandler, Ariz.-based company’s director said....

Small Houston oil company at the center of global dramaERHC's story becomes oddly intertwined with FBI bribery probe By DAVID IVANOVICH Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau Sept. 18, 2006, 1:28PM WASHINGTON - Initially, theirs was a tale to rival that of any legendary Texas wildcatter. A little-known Houston oil company lands a potential blockbuster deal in the crude-rich waters off West Africa and appears poised for a big payoff. Negotiating the rocky shoals of West African politics and threats of arrest for sedition, ERHC Energy, a tiny company with no experience in offshore drilling, secures the rights from the...

SAN FRANCISCO - Stanford University will bar physicians working at its two hospitals from accepting even the tiniest gifts from drug industry sales representatives to try to eliminate corporate influence from medical decisions, the school announced Tuesday. The policy takes effect Oct. 1 and also bans accepting gifts from other companies such as medical device makers that do business with the hospitals. The policy also prohibits the doctors from accepting free drug samples and publishing articles in science journals that were ghost written by corporate authors. The industry's sales force also would be prohibited from areas where patients are seen...