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July
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Posted: December 03 2008 at 5:52am |
Two-Thirds of Companies Will Scale Back Hiring in Next Six Months, According to a Dice Holdings, Inc. Survey
Posted 03 December 2008 @ 08:00 am EST
NEW
YORK, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two-thirds of U.S. employersand
recruiters plan to scale back hiring plans over the next six
months,according to a new survey. One-third of companies believe that
layoffs arelikely.
Those are some of the results of a survey from Dice Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE:DHX) of hiring companies and recruiters. The more-than 1,000
respondents,drawn from a wide variety of industries, paint a picture of
a job market forprofessionals that has deteriorated since the summer,
when the economy wasalready in turmoil. Companies expecting layoffs
represented diverse industriesincluding gaming and hotels,
pharmaceuticals, technology, manufacturing andadvertising.
Dice Holdings surveyed an equivalent group in June, and their
responseswere not as severe, with 20% expecting layoffs and 52%
planning to scale backhiring. The shift in outlook underscores how
quickly companies are adjustingtheir plans to the current economy.
"Companies were uncertain about the economy back in June, and
wereadjusting hiring plans," said Scot Melland, Chairman, President
& CEO, DiceHoldings, Inc. "Now we're seeing more companies express
the need to cut backon hiring or discuss layoffs, preparing for what
they see as a difficult yearin 2009."
In fact, 29 percent of respondents indicated hiring reductions
would besubstantial -- double the number expecting that level of
cutbacks whensurveyed in June. Some 27 percent reported no change to
their hiring plansand six percent were unsure.
When will hiring return to normal? A plurality of respondents (44%)
saythey are not sure and are waiting to see how the economy evolves. Of
thosewilling to take a calendar guess, the largest percentage, 33
percent, areexpecting hiring to normalize in the second half of 2009.
"Companies need clarity on their own businesses and are reassessing
theirstaffing needs on a case by case basis," said Melland. "At the
same time,there are companies that are indeed hiring, and they may be
able to acquiretalented professionals at advantageous salary levels."
Companies with open positions are benefiting from an increase
incandidates applying for positions, as seven in ten are reporting an
increasein the number of candidates applying for jobs. In addition,
there appears tobe a flight to safety as larger companies, those with
more than 500 employees,are finding an even larger candidate pool to
choose from.
With more qualified professionals looking for an opportunity,
companiesare holding the line on salaries with the majority of
respondents -- 62percent -- indicating no increases in starting
salaries from the previousyear. Fifteen percent expect to be able to
offer less compensation -- up fromjust 3 percent in June. Nearly a
quarter (22%) of the respondents expectsalaries to be slightly higher.
About the survey
In November 2008, Dice Holdings surveyed U.S. companies and
recruitingfirms from every region of the country who hire or recruit a
variety ofprofessionals. More than 1,000 responded to the email survey,
with 79 percentidentified as companies that recruit for their own
needs. Of that group, 41percent had more than 500 employees.
Survey Results
Table 1: Has the current economic environment caused you or your clientsto scale back hiring plans for the next six months?
November 2008 June 2008 Yes, substantially 29% 15% Yes, slightly
38% 37% No 27% 43% I'm not sure 6% 5% Table 2: How likely do you think
layoffs are in the next six months atyour organization, or if you are a
recruiter at your clients' organizations?
November 2008 June 2008 Very likely 13% 7% Likely 21% 13% Not
likely 47% 64% I don't know 19% 16% Table 3: When do you envision that
your hiring or your clients' hiringwill return to normal levels? First
half of 2009 12% Second half of 2009 33% First half of 2010 9% Second
half of 2010 2% Not sure - we'll have to wait and see how the economy
evolves 44% Table 4: Are you seeing an increase in the number of
candidates applyingfor positions? November 2008 June 2008 Yes,
significantly 35% 17% Yes, but slightly 36% 34% No 29% 49% Table 5:
What trend do you see in salaries for new hires? November 2008 June
2008 They are significantly higher than last year 1% 4% They are
slightly higher than last year 22% 48% They are the same as last year
62% 45% They are slightly less than last year 13% 3% They are
significantly less than last year 2% 0% About Dice Holdings, Inc.
Dice Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DHX) is a leading provider of
specializedcareer websites for professional communities, including
technology andengineering, capital markets and financial services,
accounting and finance,and security clearance. Our mission is to help
our customers source and hirethe most qualified professionals in select
and highly skilled occupations, andto help those professionals find the
best job opportunities in theirrespective fields and further their
careers. For more than 18 years, we havebuilt our company by providing
our customers with quick and easy access tohigh-quality, unique
professional communities and offering those communitiesaccess to highly
relevant career opportunities and information. Today, weserve multiple
markets primarily in North America, Europe, the Middle East,Asia and
Australia.
Media Contact: Jennifer Bewley Dice Holdings, Inc. 212-448-8288 dicemedia@dice.comSOURCE Dice Holdings, Inc.
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endman
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Posted: December 03 2008 at 12:47pm |
I think Obama should institute a four day work week, this would help people who a currently out of work, and gave the working people one extra day to spend their money on shopping, plus just like with minim wage we need a minim number of vacation days, I would say 30
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Iowa102
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Posted: December 03 2008 at 9:32pm |
A four day work week? Wouldn't that be a 20% pay cut for those working 5 days a week?
Where does the money come from to pay for a 30 day vacation for everyone?
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MelodyAtHome
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Posted: December 03 2008 at 11:05pm |
SAN JOSE -- South Bay software giant Adobe Systems announced Wednesday it plans to lay-off 600 employees. The San Jose company says the economic crisis has hurt its revenue, forcing the company to tighten its belt. "We are experiencing what the whole world is experiencing," said Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.
An Adobe spokeswoman says the layoffs already are taking place and will involve 8% of the company's global workforce. More details about the job cuts are expected to come out in two weeks.
In after hours trading, Adobe's stock dropped more than 7%. It lowered its revenue forecast for the fourth fiscal quarter. But earnings for each share are expected to increase.
Adobe is known for its popular graphic design, video editing, and web building software programs.
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Melody Emergency Preparedness 911 http://emergencypreparedness911.blogspot.com/
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MelodyAtHome
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Posted: December 03 2008 at 11:10pm |
GARY » U.S. Steel Corp. will cut output at three facilities because of a slump in demand, leaving about 3,500 workers temporarily laid off. Capacity will be idled at an iron-ore plant in Minnesota and at steel facilities near Detroit and St. Louis, the Pittsburgh-based company said in a statement. The company will temporarily concentrate production at four other plants, including one in Gary, U.S. Steel said. (Bloomberg)
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Melody Emergency Preparedness 911 http://emergencypreparedness911.blogspot.com/
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Posted: December 04 2008 at 7:27am |
At&t will layoff 12,000!
I hope we are all looking at our homes.
De-clutter now while there are folks who will buy at a yard sale.
Pay off ALL your debts. Get some savings.
Plant those fruit trees. Learn how to garden in small areas.
I really believe in the next 12-18 months things are going to start getting REALLY tough. Yes, I know many of us have cut back and things seem tough.
I'm afraid I cannot imagine what we are headed into.
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Posted: December 04 2008 at 7:38am |
endman wrote:
I think Obama should institute a four day work week, this would help people who a currently out of work, and gave the working people one extra day to spend their money on shopping, plus just like with minimum wage we need a minimum number of vacation days, I would say 30 |
Four day work week is four days at ten hours a day.
That cuts down on overtime. It increases daycare.
Military gets a thirty day paid vacation (leave) each year.
Would your proposed thirty day civilian vacation be paid or unpaid such as what our teacher endure three months years?
Your proposal albeit perhaps in jest may have some merit.
What would happen if we did go to a 4/10 work week for only nine months a year and NO paid time off for the remaining three months. This would seem to open up lots of job opportunities. Kind of like splitting a job. Very interesting idea. I need to put some pencil to this thought.
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endman
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Posted: December 04 2008 at 8:53am |
I would take a 20% cut in pay and be employed instead off looking at the unemployment line. Plus if company would need extra people to work other 3 days of the week They would hire people. Plus more holidays and vacation days OK maybe non payable but it will help. I think France was looking into this kind of the work week solution
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Posted: December 04 2008 at 11:50pm |
Please read here-
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93a5d1e6-c230-11dd-a350-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Australia instructs workers to take a break
By Peter Smith in Sydney
Published: December 4 2008 18:33 | Last updated: December 4 2008 18:33
Australia's 11m workers can hardly believe their luck.
excerpt-
A day after official figures signaled that the country was moving perilously close to recession, the Australian government on Thursday instructed its workforce to take a break.
Launching an official campaign dubbed "No Leave, No Life", Martin Ferguson, the tourism minister, urged Australians to use up the average of 11 days of paid but untaken leave that each has accumulated. Total accrued leave amounts to 121m days, valued at A$31bn ($20bn).
............................................................................................................................................
And...
Finally someone says what we all think-
Why you Greedy Global Twits...Enough Already...
Kicking the American people when they are down.
This is why Corps need to kick in a goodly share of taxes, because there ia absolutely no
insentive for them to do what's right otherwise. They have proven that by the immense
greed and lack of ethics we have seen these last 15 yrs....
.........................................................................................
December 4th, 2008
Diller to profitable companies: Lay off the layoffs
Tags: Uncategorized, Chairman Barry Diller, Hollywood, IAC, Summit IAC Chief Executive Barry Diller took several groups to task at the Reuters Media Summit, but he reserved special disgust for CEOs at profitable companies who add to the country’s rising unemployment rate.
excerpt-
Also targeted by the former Hollywood executive were “incredibly, shockingly stupid” Big 3 auto executives, the Internet’s strange and growing dictionary, and Hollywood’s lack of creativity.
Diller said companies had a higher obligation, especially in tough times like these:
"The idea of a company that's earning money, not losing money, that's not, let's say 'industrially endangered,' to have just cutbacks so they can earn another $12 million or $20 million or $40 million in a year where no one's counting is really a horrible act when you think about it on every level.
First of all, it's certainly not necessary. It's doing it at the worst time. It's throwing people out to a larger, what is inevitably a larger unemployment heap for frankly no good reason."
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July
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Posted: December 05 2008 at 11:11am |
Labor
Department statistics show that U.S. employers have cut 1.2 million
jobs in the last three months. 'This was much worse than was expected,'
one analyst says.
By Maura Reynolds |LA Times- 11:20 AM EST, December 5, 2008
Alex Silverman of Great Neck, NY, who lost his job 14 months ago at WaMu Capital Corp., speaks with recruiter Julia Kaufmann-Yu.
(Craig Ruttle / Associated Press / November 18, 2008)
Reporting
from Washington - The bottom fell out of the job market last month,
with businesses laying off a staggering 533,000 workers -- many more
than even gloomy economists predicted. It was the worst one-month
decline in more than 30 years, the government reported today.
And the bad news didn't stop there. The Labor Department also revised
upward its previous estimates of jobs losses in the last two months to
403,000 in September and 320,000 in October.
Altogether, the economy has bled more than 1.2 million jobs in the last
three months alone, and nearly 2 million since the start of the year.
Normally, the economy has to create 100,000 jobs a month, or about 1.2
million a year, just to keep pace with population growth.
"This was much worse than was expected and represents wholesale capitulation," said Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland. "The threat of a widespread depression is now real and present."
The unemployment rate also rose in November, although not as
dramatically -- from 6.5% to 6.7%. Economists say that's because the
Labor Department doesn't count "discouraged" workers, only those who
are actively applying for new jobs.
Jared Bernstein, a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute,
said that when discouraged workers are added into the rate, along with
people involuntarily working part-time, the unemployment rate rises to
12.5%.
"At this point, almost 20 million people are unemployed or
underemployed," said Bernstein, who has been named economic advisor to
incoming Vice President Joe Biden. "That's almost 1 out of 8 people in the labor force."
The economy officially entered a recession a year ago, economists say,
but the downturn deepened sharply when financial markets crashed in
September. Bernstein noted that from January to August, job cuts
averaged 82,000 a month. Since September, the average has been 419,000
jobs a month.
For most of this year, the losses have been concentrated in the
hard-hit manufacturing and construction sectors, but last month no part
of the economy was spared. Even stores who normally add holiday workers
this time of year appeared to hire fewer than they did last year.
"History tells that once the labor market weakens as much as it has in
the past several months, job-shedding takes on a life of its own and
tends to persist for a long while," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S.
economist at MFR Inc., a New York-based
forecasting firm. "We expect labor market conditions to be dreadful for
many months to come and consequently for consumer spending to continue
to decline."
Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, an economic research firm in St. Louis,
Mo., said that recent data suggest that small and medium-sized business
-- historically more reluctant to lay off trained employees -- have
begun to bow to the economic pressure.
"The fact that you are now seeing job losses in small companies tells
you that this has now spread well beyond the manufacturing and housing
sectors," Prakken said.
Small businesses will often cut back workers' hours before laying them
off, in part because it is harder for them to find and train new
workers. That's one way that workers become "involuntary part-timers"
-- their employer would rather reduce their hours from full-time to
part-time than fire them outright.
"Small business owners are facing the grim reality that they're having
to part with people they consider their extended family," said John
Kabateck, executive director of the California
chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business. "Unlike
medium and large scale businesses, these are close-knit families.
Telling an employee they have to leave is like evicting a close loved
member of your family from your home. It's tough."
The only silver lining to the jobs report is that perhaps the steep job
cuts will accelerate not only the downturn but the recovery, said Joel
Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Associates in Holland, Pa.
Naroff said that the faster pace of technology and communications means
that businesses appear to react more quickly now to bad economic news
than they did in previous downturns. The first stage of adjustment is
slowing production and reducing workers' hours; the second one is
layoffs.
"We are heavily into the second stage of the adjustment process
already," Naroff said. "In the past, the unemployment rate would rise
well past a year or more of the end of a recession. Now we see
businesses move immediately to cut out workers to reduce their costs so
they can survive the recession."
"So, instead of a protracted period of moderate layoffs, it's possible
we'll have a shorter period of very, very large layoffs," Naroff said.
In California, many small businesses are trying desperately to hang
onto their close-knit group of employees, especially as the holidays
creep closer.
Maria Sobrino, founder and CEO of Lulu's Dessert Corp. in Anaheim,
said she's managed to avoid layoffs so far, but only by cutting many of
her 60 employees' shifts from 10 to eight hours, opening four days a
week instead of five, and eliminating an entire shift altogether.
Lulu's distributes baked goods to about 5,000 supermarkets in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas, including Ralphs, Food4Less and Wal-Mart.
Sobrino said she may have to lay off workers in January if the holidays
don't bring in enough business. "Sales are very soft right now," she
said. "It'll depend on how the holidays go. Buyers are postponing their
appointments until January. They don't want to see any new products
until next year. I'm looking for a miracle to happen."
Spectrum Benefits Group, a Woodland Hills-based
benefits consulting firm, works with about 200 small businesses, many
of which have been contacting the agency for ways to cut back on
benefits costs in order to avoid layoffs.
"The phone rings off the hook daily for this," said Vice President
Marth Lugo-Aguayo. "Clients will call us saying they're going through
layoffs. . . . we'll try to find them a different medical plan to save
the company money so they can retain a couple more employees."
Reynolds is a reporter in our Washington bureau. Times staff writer Catherine Ho contributed to this report.
maura.reynolds@latimes.com
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Posted: December 05 2008 at 12:29pm |
Please read here-
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93a5d1e6-c230-11dd-a350-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Australia instructs workers to take a break
By Peter Smith in Sydney
Published: December 4 2008 18:33 | Last updated: December 4 2008 18:33
Australia's 11m workers can hardly believe their luck.
excerpt-
A day after official figures signaled that the country was moving perilously close to recession, the Australian government on Thursday instructed its workforce to take a break.
Launching an official campaign dubbed "No Leave, No Life", Martin Ferguson, the tourism minister, urged Australians to use up the average of 11 days of paid but untaken leave that each has accumulated. Total accrued leave amounts to 121m days, valued at A$31bn ($20bn).
............................................................................................................................................
And...
Finally someone says what we all think-
Why you Greedy Global Twits...Enough Already...
Kicking the American people when they are down.
This is why Corps need to kick in a goodly share of taxes, because there ia absolutely no
insentive for them to do what's right otherwise. They have proven that by the immense
greed and lack of ethics we have seen these last 15 yrs....
.........................................................................................
December 4th, 2008
Diller to profitable companies: Lay off the layoffs
Tags: Uncategorized, Chairman Barry Diller, Hollywood, IAC, Summit IAC Chief Executive Barry Diller took several groups to task at the Reuters Media Summit, but he reserved special disgust for CEOs at profitable companies who add to the country’s rising unemployment rate.
excerpt-
Also targeted by the former Hollywood executive were “incredibly, shockingly stupid” Big 3 auto executives, the Internet’s strange and growing dictionary, and Hollywood’s lack of creativity.
Diller said companies had a higher obligation, especially in tough times like these:
"The idea of a company that's earning money, not losing money, that's not, let's say 'industrially endangered,' to have just cutbacks so they can earn another $12 million or $20 million or $40 million in a year where no one's counting is really a horrible act when you think about it on every level.
First of all, it's certainly not necessary. It's doing it at the worst time. It's throwing people out to a larger, what is inevitably a larger unemployment heap for frankly no good reason."
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July
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Posted: December 07 2008 at 12:39pm |
Layoffs expected to decimate Wall Street ranks
By STEVENSON JACOBS – 54 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. financial services industry is witnessing
the bursting of yet another bubble. This time, it's the industry itself. Bloated
by years of frenzied growth, Wall Street banks and other firms are
shedding tens of thousands of jobs and slashing entire divisions in
their most drastic downsizing since the Great Depression. The moves
promise to upend financial services and investment options for
Americans from Wall Street to Main Street. Those layoffs will
drain New York and other cities of vital tax dollars while swelling the
fast-growing ranks of the nation's unemployed. U.S. employers cut
533,000 jobs in November — the most in 34 years — including 32,000 in
the financial-services sector, the government said Friday. Saddled
with heavy losses and a shriveled stock price, Citigroup Inc. last
month said it would eliminate 53,000 jobs, the second-largest job cut
by a U.S. company on record. Other firms plan to drop the ax on tens of
thousands more, especially in areas that specialize in the risky
investment products that helped ignite the financial meltdown. "I
think it's pretty clear that the whole financial sector is going to be
smaller than it was," said Kevin Logan, chief U.S. economist at
investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort. "It's not going to just
consolidate; it's going to shrink." Whether the bloodletting
brings permanent changes to the economy is a matter of debate. But
consumers will be deeply affected regardless. A leaner financial sector
should lead to simpler, safer investment options as Wall Street reduces
risk. But a smaller, more conservative financial sector also means
smaller, more conservative lending. And that would lead to less
available credit. "We're going back to the basics," said Robert
Howell, a finance professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
"The financial system was behaving like a bunch of drunks, and now it's
back to sobriety. Things got totally carried away." Through
October, 130,000 financial jobs had been eliminated throughout the
industry this year, according to employment firm Challenger, Gray &
Christmas. The elimination of 53,000 jobs at Citigroup — part of
a 20 percent downsizing at the firm — will raise the number to around
180,000. That would be the industry's biggest yearly contraction ever. JPMorgan
Chase & Co. is shedding 10 percent of workers at its investment
bank, matching planned cuts at rivals Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and
Morgan Stanley. State Street Corp. said it will cut 1,600 to 1,800
jobs, or 6 percent of the investment services company's global work
force. The credit crisis is partly to blame. But so is the
sector's rampant overcapacity. The U.S. financial industry historically
has roughly doubled in size during each major technological innovation
— railroads in the late 1800s, autos in the 1920s and the tech boom of
the 1990s, for example. As the boom years faded and financing
needs fell, the size of the financial industry contracted accordingly.
But when the Internet bubble burst in 2000, the sector never stopped
growing. Instead, it ballooned over the past eight years to around 10
percent of the U.S. economy, puzzling economists. "There was no
reason for the industry to grow as fast as it did," said Thomas
Philippon, a finance professor at New York University who has studied
the financial industry's growth cycles. "The fundamentals just weren't
there." His models predict the financial sector will shrink to
around 7 percent of gross domestic product, shedding $100 billion in
annual wage costs. That would be Wall Street's first contraction in GDP
terms since 1933, according to Philippon. The pullback comes at a
heavy cost. New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has said that
over the next two years, the financial crisis could cost the state and
New York City 225,000 private-sector jobs and the state and city $6.5
billion in tax revenue from the securities industry. For financial workers caught in the whirlwind, anxiety runs high. "Everybody's
talking about it, of course," said Oliver Bouchard, a New York-based
technology specialist for Citigroup, whose stock dipped below $4 last
month, before federal regulators unveiled a plan to guarantee hundreds
of billions of dollars in possible losses by Citi and inject more money
into the struggling bank. "People are fearful for their jobs." Bouchard,
speaking for himself and not his employer, doesn't think he'll be among
those laid off but said "nobody at this moment knows what's going on." "Everybody hopes that it will just resolve itself," Bouchard said. So where will the next round of layoffs hit the hardest? The
sectors of the industry that deal with mortgage mortgage-related
asset-backed securities and other risky investments are expected to be
among the most battered. The subprime fiasco has left investors wary of
holding such investments. As a result, many financial firms have closed
mortgage-related divisions. Experts expect that trend to accelerate
next year. "Any sector related to mortgages will contract
significantly, probably by as much as half," said Sung Won Sohn, an
economics professor at California State University, Channel Islands.
"Many of those people simply aren't going to be needed." Another
group whose ranks are being thinned are financial engineers. Those are
the math whizzes, lured from top schools to build complex computer
trading models at hedge funds and big Wall Street firms. The so-called
"quants" have been blamed for underestimating the risks of
mortgage-related securities, derivatives and other exotic assets that
helped trigger the financial crisis. Many already have been let
go. And firms say few will be replaced any time soon. That somber
reality cast a pall over a financial engineering career fair at New
York University this month. The annual event used to attract all the
big names on Wall Street; this year, there were numerous cancellations. "They
said, 'Look, we're not hiring right now,'" said Steven Allen, board
member of the International Association of Financial Engineers, which
co-sponsored the event. "This was the first year you felt that people
think it's worse than it was. There are jobs, but it's going to be much
harder." One prospective quant faced with dwindling job prospects
is Zaw Myo Thant, who is pursuing a master's in financial engineering
at NYU's Polytechnic Institute. He described the mood among his
classmates as "pretty grim." "Most students are already having difficulties finding an intern position, let alone full-time positions," said Thant, 32. Amid
the gloom, there could be a silver lining, at least for consumers.
Fewer high-risk assets being traded should provide a more orderly
marketplace. Ideally, that would safeguard against further market
spasms like those that have wiped out billions in investors' retirement
savings and other holdings. "We can't have Wall Street producing
defective products again," said Edward Yardeni, an independent market
analyst. "They don't necessarily kill, but they do a lot of damage." He
said the industry will likely go back to the basics of the capital
markets — "stocks, bonds ... things normal people can understand." Yet
if banks remain stingy with their money, the credit pinch that has
squeezed consumers and small businesses in need of loans could worsen. "Banks won't be lending as much, and that's going to cause some pain," said Howell of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. Opinion
is mixed, though, on whether a slimmed-down financial industry will
really become more prudent or whether the pursuit of profits will
inevitably restore the kind of freewheeling days the led to the
meltdown. Much will depend on what new regulations stem from the crisis, NYU's Philippon said. Some
lawmakers have called for tighter limits on how much leverage financial
firms can assume, among other restrictions. Free-market advocates,
though, warn that burdensome rules could stifle innovation and undercut
the industry. "My best guess is that the U.S. economy remains
vibrant and efficient," Philippon said. But the shape and scope of any
new regulation "will be the biggest factor" for the financial sector's
future success. "That's going to determine whether it's a dynamic sector or a dead one," he said.
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Penham
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Posted: December 07 2008 at 2:34pm |
I know that we have been cutting back as much as possible on a personal level. My job is not secure at all, in fact one week I worked only 5 hours, we don't get our schedule until the Saturday night before the week we work, most of the time I work around 15 hours, sometimes a little more (which is around what I expect). We don't rely on my income. We are trying to save as much as possible and buy as little as possible. We did breakdown and buy a new stove, but our dryer broke a couple of weeks after that and I bought a used one off Craigslist for $25, then the next week our TV went, I also got a used one off Craigslist for $50. I had tried to find a stove off Craigslist but after a month of looking there was nothing that would work. I am hoping that hubby's job is secure, I figure as long as there are addicts and alcoholics that he will be needed, he might have to move around within the facility he works, maybe more/different than what he is doing now, but I am hoping. So far our state has not even gone to a hiring freeze as of yet and I know from beng a former state employee that is the first step at cutting back. So we are not there yet. Every time I watch the news I see another company laying people off, it is sad, especially at the holidays.
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Posted: December 07 2008 at 7:23pm |
Penham, my husband was in upper management for years and early to mid December is traditionally the time to lay people off. I never knew this until he told me. It is because of the bottom line for the end of the year and to have a better budget for the new year.
It is the worst time to lay people off!! Wish it was different.
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Penham
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Posted: December 07 2008 at 8:10pm |
FluMom wrote:
Penham, my husband was in upper management for years and early to mid December is traditionally the time to lay people off. I never knew this until he told me. It is because of the bottom line for the end of the year and to have a better budget for the new year.
It is the worst time to lay people off!! Wish it was different. |
I guess that makes alot of sense, I never really thought about it before.
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July
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 5:56am |
Sony layoffs could portend wave of Asia tech job cuts
Tue Dec 9, 2008 4:14am EST
By Doug Young
TAIPEI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Massive job cuts at Sony Corp
(6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and a bleak outlook from Samsung Electronics
(005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) mark what may be the beginning of a long winter for
one Asia's key sectors, with more bad news likely to follow in
coming weeks.
Sony became the region's highest profile technology company
to announce major layoffs on Tuesday, saying it will slash
8,000 jobs and cut production to shave $1.1 billion in costs.
[ID:nT7887]
Hours earlier, rival tech heavyweight Samsung said it was
cutting its targets for sales, capital spending and profit,
reflecting a tough worldwide economy. [ID:nSEO366917]
The Sony layoffs could be just the beginning of a regional
wave of job cuts if the global economy continues to slump,
hitting demand for TVs, computers and other electronic goods.
"It's only really getting underway right now," said Credit
Suisse economist Joseph Lau. "It's not likely to bottom out
anytime within the next two to three quarters, so we'll
probably look at at least that much time in terms of further
corporations restructuring their workforce and overall
financial health."
The Sony and Samsung woes mark some of the biggest ripples
to date in a steady stream profit warnings and other
cost-cutting moves by global technology companies including
Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Infineon (IFXGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), STMicroelectonrics
(STM.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Texas Instruments (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
Most have avoided massive layoffs so far, often by taking
other cost-cutting measures. But many may soon run out of
options and have to follow suit as demand for their products
dives in the critical U.S. and European markets.
"If there's no recovery in demand during Christmas and the
Chinese New Year holiday, technology companies will really have
to think how they can survive," said Karen Lin, a fund manager
at Taiwan's Paradigm Asset Management Co Ltd.
"Chances are high companies would start to lay off people
to further cut costs. It makes sense for chip companies,
especially those have production lines, to cut workforce if
their capacity utilisation rates keep falling."
Up until now, tech firms up and down the supply chain --
many of them losing money -- have avoided actual job cuts in
places like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, where such cuts are
sensitive and often go unpublicised even when they happen.
Taiwanese DRAM memory chip makers, struggling in their
industry's worse-ever downturn, have quietly been forcing their
employees to take unpaid leave for the last few months. They
are being joined in that practice by TSMC (2330.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and UMC
(2303.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's two biggest contract chipmakers.
South Korean memory chip giant Hynix (000660.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is also
taking steps to cut labour costs, including forced unpaid
leave, while Samsung and LG Electronics (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are idling
some of their capacity longer than usual at the year-end
season.
In Japan, some firms have laid off temporary workers but
also have yet to cut full-time staff.
"Samsung and LG are avoiding job cuts and for now just have
some employees on longer year-end holidays," said Kim Ik-sang,
an analyst at HI Investment & Securities in Seoul.
"It would cost them more if they cut jobs and try to hire
back later. Korean companies can wait and see for the time
being before they consider more measures," he said.
For a FACTBOX on global job cuts, click [ID:nLR45752]
(Additional reporting by Baker Li, Kelvin Soh, Gina Chang
and Lee Chyen Yee in TAIPEI and So-eui Rhee in SEOUL; Editing
by Lincoln Feast)
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 6:04am |
Job cuts mount across sectors in U.S.Reuters Monday, December 8, 2008; 8:13 PM
NEW
YORK (Reuters) - The United States suffered a grim roll call of job
losses on Monday, as a number of major manufacturing and service
companies are forced to slash costs to cope with the deepening economic
crisis. The cuts come only three days after government figures
showed that U.S. employers axed 533,000 jobs from payrolls in November,
the most in 34 years, and that the nation's unemployment rate hit 6.7
percent, the highest since 1993. Economists expect the unemployment rate to rise to as much as 8 percent of the workforce by late next year. Jobs data for December also looks to be bleak as Dow Chemical Co.
<DOW.N>, the largest U.S. chemical maker, said it will close 20
facilities, divest several businesses, and cut 5,000 jobs. It is also
planning to drop the number of outside contractors by 6,000 and
temporarily idle 180 plants. Meanwhile, hotels and timeshare
company Wyndham Worldwide Corp <WYN.N> announced 4,000 job losses
as it shrinks its timeshare business. Others taking the scythe to their workforces included diversified manufacturer 3M
Co <MMM.N>, which said it would cut a total of 2,300 jobs in the
fourth quarter, 1,800 of which have already been cut, mainly in the
United States, Western Europe and Japan, and the world's largest
brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev <INTB.BR>, cutting 1,400 job losses,
or six percent of its workforce in the U.S. following Inbev's takeover
of Anheuser-Busch earlier this year. In the telecoms sector, Level 3 Communications Inc <LVLT.O> said it would cut about 450 jobs in North America, and Sprint Nextel Corp <S.N> said it plans to cut costs and warned that it could include layoffs. Tribune Co,
the privately held publisher of newspapers including the Los Angeles
Times and the Chicago Tribune, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection as it struggles with its debt load and large losses,
including a $124 million third quarter loss posted in November. The
move is expected to lead to job cuts at the media company. President-elect
Barack Obama, who takes office on January 20, said last week the
downturn demanded action to create new jobs, which economists say means
a spending and tax plan of $500 billion to $700 billion. Job
losses in November were the steepest since December 1974, when 602,000
jobs were shed, and much worse than the consensus on Wall Street for a
340,000 reduction. (Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 1:36pm |
This has nothing to do with company layoffs, but I was in the grocery store today and I was behind a younger man, maybe in his 20's, he was buying a jar of spaghetti sauce and a package of noodles that was all. He was using his Access Oklahoma card, which is Foodstamps here, he didn't know how to use it, he had to have the clerk help him, he said he had never used one before. He also talked to the store manager who had passed by and asked if he had any jobs, he said he would do ANYTHING, he just needed a job. I am guessing he must have recently lost his job, since he had never used Foodstamps before and was searching for any type job. It was sad. I think people in this area are just now starting to be affected with job losses, as they say that our area has NOT been affected like the rest of the country with job losses as well as the housing mess, we still have houses selling and people buying. But for how long?
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quickdraw
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 5:52pm |
I would like to know when all these people that have been laid off are going to start steeling for a living to support their family.When people are laid off, fired, forced from their home and cannot feed their family and are living on the street they will turn to violence. This includes steeling, mugging, robbing, and comitting any crime neccesary to survive. I cant say that I would not do the same if I was in their shoes. Someday I think this will happen in this country and I am glad I have prepared for any disaster that could come about. Including loosing my job.
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Everyday is a good day and if you dont believe that try missing one.
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MelodyAtHome
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 8:23pm |
I think most people are basically good and before they start committing crimes they will try the foodstamps, foodbanks, etc...but when that runs out I can see steeling food first before doing something like "hurting" someone...of course there are those out there already that will hurt and kill people just because....they don't even need a reason like hunger...so I believe in being prepared for the "evil doers" no matter what the economy is doing.
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 7:03am |
I know that things are starting to get bad here, in the same grocvery store I was in yesterday (small town near my town) I was shopping and overheard the manager talking to several emplyees that they could have any food that was to be thrown away or normally donated to the farmers for animal feeding (which is the norm around here farmers get any damaged items or those items that cannot sell to feed to their pigs) but their manager was saying to the employees that he knew they needed it more than the farmers and they could take what they needed. That is good, of course the farmers will then be short.
As far as food stamps are concerned, my oldest daughter is a food stamp worker. If you have kids you're ok to get food stamps indefinately, but if you're single and able bodied you can only get food stamps food for 2 months (here in OK). So single people will be in worse shape first as far as food is concerned. If everyone goes on food stamps, how long will the federal and state funds last for food stamps? This whole scenario does not look good.
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MelodyAtHome
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 3:06pm |
You are right Penham...it doesn't look good. Just a matter of time I suuppose. My husband's factory is closing another one of their plants...600 people on Dec. 23...So far we have been lucky...of course no bonuses, no pay raise, hours cut, and in January we start paying for a portion of our health insurance and will have co-pays...we've been lucky until now we didn't have to pay for it at all or had upfront co-pays....things are changing quickly.
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Posted: December 11 2008 at 7:44am |
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Yahoo slashes 1,500 jobs |
By Scott Duke Harris and Jack Davis
Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
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Posted: |
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Yahoo,
struggling to chart a new course in a troubled economy, initiated
layoffs of 1,500 employees worldwide Wednesday while reports circulated
about potential successors to chief executive Jerry Yang and a major
investor expressed hope for reviving talks with Microsoft. Yahoo
also disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had amended a
controversial employee severance agreement it adopted last February
less than two weeks after Microsoft made its unsolicited offer to buy
the Internet giant. The amendments, which settled a lawsuit
filed by investors, curbed severance payments that were assured to all
Yahoo employees if they were fired or quit after being reassigned to a
new job within two years after a Microsoft takeover. In some quarters,
the changes were seen as a invitation to Microsoft to renew overtures. The
flurry of news got a rousing reception on Wall Street, as Yahoo shares
shot up 9.93 percent. Yahoo's performance helped lift the Nasdaq index
up 1.18 percent. But Yahoo's share price, closing at $13.40,
still paled against the unsolicited, premium offer of $31 a share that
Microsoft offered to acquire the company Feb. 1 — an offer Yang
rejected as insufficient. The Microsoft bid, long since rescinded, has
cast a cold shadow over Yahoo and Yang's tenure as its leader as the
economy has worsened. Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale and
employs about 5,000 people in Silicon Valley, had announced plans to
terminate 10 percent of 15,000-member global work force in October,
when the economic outlook was slightly less gloomy. On Nov. 17, Yang
announced his intention to step down as CEO as complaints grew about
his ability to lead the company he co-founded. "The reductions
we're making are very hard, but very necessary," Yang said in a memo to
Yahoo employees on Wednesday. Calling it "a tough time for all of us,"
he emphasized the need ''to better align costs with revenues —
something businesses in virtually every sector are also having to do." New
names have surfaced as Yang's potential successor. In recent days,
former Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen was cited by Bloomberg News, and former
Vodafone boss Arun Sarin was named by the Wall Street Journal. The
company declined to comment on outside candidates while confirming that
Yahoo President Sue Decker is under consideration. Chizen, highly
regarded for his leadership of Adobe, is also said to be considering a
role with a private equity firm. Yahoo declined to specify how
many valley workers were targeted by the layoffs. One unit shuttered
was Yahoo's San Francisco-based "Brickhouse,'' once ballyhooed as an
idea incubator. Some of its teams were being reassigned within Yahoo,
spokeswoman Kim Rubey said. One former Yahoo executive said
Silicon Valley-based engineering jobs were thought to be more
vulnerable in the new layoffs as the company pushes more work to its
offices in Bangalore, India. Rubey declined to comment directly on that
issue but noted that in a recent quarterly earnings call, Yahoo
executives said they were evaluating relocating some operations to
"lower-cost geographies." Yahoo has long been regarded as one
of the Web's leading brands and remains one of the world's most popular
sites, but its fortunes have flagged with the rise of Google.
Microsoft's rivalry with Google and its desire for a stronger presence
on the Web led to its unsolicited, ill-fated bid for Yahoo. Yahoo
was struggling when Yang was named CEO in June, 2007 to try to reclaim
some of its luster. His tenure was marked by his opposition to
Microsoft's entreaties, which led to criticism from activist
shareholders led by billionaire Carl Icahn. Icahn denounced as
"obscene" the employee-severance policy that would have made a
Microsoft takeover of the Internet company more costly. Associated Press contributed to this story. |
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Posted: December 11 2008 at 7:45am |
Office Depot to Close 112 Stores, Cut 2,200 Jobs (Update3)
By Heather Burke
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Office Depot Inc. said it will close
almost 10 percent of its North American stores and cut 2,200 jobs
as the U.S. recession saps demand for business furniture, sending
the shares up 9.1 percent.
The world’s second-largest office-supplies retailer said
today in a filing that it will shutter 112 underperforming
locations and six distribution centers in the next three months
as it eliminates 4.5 percent of its workforce. The closings will
reduce Office Depot’s North American sites to 1,163 from 1,275.
Fourteen more stores will close in 2009 when their leases expire.
Office Depot posted losses or profit declines for the past
six quarters as businesses stopped buying desk chairs and
computers. Its sales and profit margins trail larger rival
Staples Inc. Some investors have been concerned about the
company’s future, said Dan Poole, senior vice president of equity
research at National City Bank in Cleveland.
“Today’s announcement boosts cash flow in year one, which
improves the company’s prospects for survival,” said Poole. His
firm manages $34 billion, including Office Depot shares.
Planned new store openings for next year will be slashed in
half to 20, reducing capital spending to less than $200 million
in 2009, the company said. In October, Boca Raton, Florida-based
Office Depot projected that it would spend $225 million in 2009.
The moves will boost cash flow next year by $70 million.
Office Depot rose 22 cents to $2.65 at 4:06 p.m. in New York
Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have lost 81 percent
this year, while Staples has fallen 22 percent.
$300 Million
The actions will trigger costs of $270 million to $300
million in the fourth quarter and in 2009 for continuing lease
payments on closed stores, severance and liquidated inventory,
Office Depot said. Other restructuring may take place, it said.
Forty-five locations will be closed in the central U.S., 19
in the West, eight in the South and 40 in the northeastern U.S.
and Canada. Office Depot declined to release a list of specific
store closures.
Staples eliminated 1,000 jobs in the third quarter at the
unit that sells to companies as part of integrating Corporate
Express, a Dutch office-supplies distributor, Chief Operating
Officer Michael Miles said during a Dec. 2 conference call with
analysts and investors.
Staples, which runs more than 2,000 locations worldwide,
said it will open 60 stores in the U.S. and 15 in Canada next
year, down from 107 in North America this year. It plans $400
million in capital spending in 2009, down from the $400 million
to $500 million forecast in October.
-- Editors: Brad Skillman, Stefanie Batcho-Lino
To contact the reporter on this story:
Heather Burke in New York at
hburke2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 10, 2008 16:12 EST
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July
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Posted: December 22 2008 at 5:00am |
December 19, 2008
Companies That Won’t Make It Through 2009 (HMC)(SIRI)(AIG)(FRE)(FNM)(RAD)(NYT)(NT)(PIR)(CHTR)(HOV)
A lot of fairly well-known public companies either disappeared or went bankrupt this year. Circuit City is on the list. Based on the most recent news GM may get added soon.
24/7 Wall St. looked at some of the largest and most well-known companies, reviewed their SEC filings if they are public, analyst reports, and media observations about their businesses and picked ten that probably won’t be around at the end of next year. That does not mean that their brands will disappear, but these companies will have been dissolved as the world knows them now or working though the court system in the hopes of getting Chapter 11 protection and a chance at survival.
1) Chrysler already says it will be out of business by early next year. But, what does that mean. It is unlikely that its largest shareholder, hedge fund Cerberus, is going to throw good money after bad in an economy where US car sales are dropping 30% compared with 2007 figures. But, the Chrysler brand could be around. So could the brand of its Jeep division. Foreign car companies like VW and Honda (HMC) would love to get well-known operations without the baggage of debt, UAW contracts, and dealer networks. Chrysler still has some popular models including it 300 series cars and it created the minivan. Jeep is regarded as the grandfather of four-wheel drive. Watch Chrysler Motors LLC go away and some of its products move into other hands.
2) Sirius XM (SIRI) has traded under $.10 down from a 52-week high of $3.89. Reuters has reported that "Sirius XM faces some $1.1 billion in debt in 2009. Of that, about $300 million comes due in February." In the current credit environment, that probably won’t happen. There is a theory that falling car sales will undermine the sale of Sirius subscriptions. The company says that it does no better than break-even in the first year it gets a new customer though GM. But, a shrinking subscriber based is not good news for the satellite radio company’s future. Sirius will be out of business, perhaps before mid-year. Who picks up the pieces? The logical choices are a healthy car company like Toyota or a satellite firm like DirecTV.
3) AIG (AIG) may be the biggest mess of all the financial firms that the federal government has bailed out. Uncle Sam has given AIG $153 billion in loans. The theory is that the money gets paid back by the huge insurance company selling assets. Investors don’t seem very sanguine about that. AIG shares trade at $1.60, down from a 52-week high of $60.04. Congress seems less and less enamored of having a lot of money sitting in troubled companies. Watch for the new administration to get frustrated quickly and appoint its own people to auction off AIG divisions. Better to get something back than keep writing AIG checks.
4) Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) is two for one. They are both penny stocks, reflecting the fact that the Treasury has essentially taken them over, putting them into a conservatorship and pledging up to $200 billion to back their assets. With mortgage defaults rising, and home prices falling, that is not the end of the amount of money that the government will have to sink into the firms. Within a few months, the value of the common shares in the firms will be gone. The new administration may even decide that it does not need both companies. They can be replaced with some of their role going to the FDIC and the rest to one consolidated entity controlled by The Treasury Department which is already funding them.
5) Rite Aid (RAD) trades at $.35 down from at 52-week high of $4.16. The pharmacy company has over 5,000 stores and Wall St. does not expect it to be profitable in the foreseeable future. The chain is a roll-up of the original company and Brooks and Eckerd stores which it acquired. With a debt load of over $6 billion, the firm is likely to falter. Competitors CVS Caremark (CVS) and Walgreen (WAG) would be happy to pick up the pieces. Rite Aid recently announced poor quarterly numbers and cut forecasts.
6) The New York Times (NYT) has to repay $400 million in debt in the first half of 2009. It does not have the money. It plans to mortgage its headquarters, but it is uncertain what that will bring in an uncertain real estate market. The firm’s Boston Globe and regional newspaper operations lose money, so they will be hard to sell. NYT is controlled by the Sulzberger family which has super-majority voting shares. That won’t matter much when the company runs out of money. Another big media operation, perhaps News Corp (NWS) which owns The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, will come in and auction off what it can and keep the flagship New York Times newspaper and NYTimes.com website.
7) Nortel (NT), the huge telecom equipment company, has already been mentioned as a firm which could file for bankruptcy. That may be a game to get creditors to cut down their demands. It could be that a huge contraction in the industry which is also undermining the fortunes of competitor Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is pulling Nortel under. Nortel keeps losing money and has cut about as many people as it can and still stay in business. With the need for its products and services falling as the recession grows. Nortel has a pension obligation which may approach $3 billion. Selling divisions in a poor credit market will be hard. A bankruptcy filing would let a court run an auction.
8) Pier 1 (PIR) trades down at $.32 from a 52-week high of $8.25. This holiday season will determine its fate. UBS recently made the comment that "We are increasingly concerned that a weakening macro environment will continue to weigh significantly upon sales at Pier 1 Imports and further undermine turnaround efforts at the chain.” The retailer recently said that its same-store sales could fall as much as 18% during the current quarter. Long-term debt is $184 million. More losses mean debt service becomes a huge issue. No other retailer is likely to want the stores, so this is probably liquidation. The retailer's latest earnings showed a widening loss and the company said it could be delisted.
9) Charter Communications (CHTR) has over $20 billion in debt. The cable business usually drives reasonable cash flow, but Charter has to upgrade its system to better compete with telecom companies. It does not have that money. Debt service is overwhelming operating income. Billionaire Paul Allen controls that company. The stock is down to $.15. Eighteen month ago, it was close to $5. Allen will get out while he can and sell to one of the other large cable companies. Charter recently said it is "exploring financial alternatives."
10) Hovnanian (HOV) shares are down by 70% over the last year. Recently, the shares have been as low as $1.70, putting the company’s market cap at $171 million. The housing downturn may actually get worse as unemployment and foreclosures rise. The costs of credit default swaps on the homebuilder are way. JMP Securities recently commented that HOV is a ``bankruptcy risk” due to debt and exposure in the hardest hit real estate markets. A liquidation with Hovnanian would probably be an auction of land and unsold homes.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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endman
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Posted: December 23 2008 at 11:30am |
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvUD6uP4FfKCWRQmRKG8ubAoCWGwD957OAH80
Too many NY taxi drivers, not enough cabs for them
1 day ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Many of the thousands of New Yorkers laid off in the financial crisis have turned to driving taxis, but now there are too many drivers and not enough cabs.
Garage owners say they're turning away drivers. Harlem Yellow Cab manager Syed Zahoori says on every shift people get sent home without cabs.
City officials say the number of hack licenses is at an all-time high of nearly 46,000. The number of new licenses is up 19 percent over the last three months compared with the same period last year.
There are about 13,000 taxis.
Taxi and Limousine Commission Chairman Matthew Daus says there's always an influx of drivers when the economy is bad but this period "appears to be setting some records."
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MelodyAtHome
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Posted: December 29 2008 at 12:03am |
I really think in January after the new year...we are going to see LOTS of retail stores/restaraunts close...leading to lots more layoffs. I hear Lonestar Steakhouse is closing down in Akron Ohio...wonder if all of them are closing. We have 2 big stores in our mall close and it's already half empty as it is. If Sears or JC Penny's goes then that will be the end of it. I hope not.
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Penham
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Posted: January 04 2009 at 7:37am |
I talked to my sister last night, she lives in CA, works for the post office, she says people are scared with the layoffs coming. They are already laying off the seasonal workers and partime, next comes those employed less than a year. My nephew, got laid off this week, he is a parts-runner for an auto body shop in CA.
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July
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Posted: January 10 2009 at 10:59am |
b losses hit 2.6 million as layoff pain deepens
By JEANNINE AVERSA ,
AP
posted: 15 HOURS 31 MINUTES AGO
switchFont(1,"smallText");
WASHINGTON -A staggering 2.6 million jobs disappeared in 2008, the most since World War II, and the pain is only getting worse with 11 million Americans out of work and searching. Unemployment hit a 16-year high of 7.2 percent in December and could be headed for 10 percent or even higher by year's end.
Friday's government figures were "a stark reminder," said President-elect Barack Obama, that bold and immediate government action is needed to revive a national economy that's deep in recession and still sinking.
More than a half million jobs melted away as winter took hold in December — 524,000 in all, the government estimated — and the true carnage will almost certainly turn out to be even worse when the figures are nailed down more clearly a month from now.
"Behind the statistics that we see flashing on the screens are real lives, real suffering, real fears," said Obama, already moving full-speed with Congress to put together an emergency revival plan a week and a half before taking office.
It's real, indeed, for 38-year-old Rachel Davis of St. Louis.
"If you get laid off right now, God help your soul," she said. "You better hope you've got savings or someone backing you." In fact, she was laid off three months ago after working as a dental technician for 20 years. While Congress and the new president struggle to find answers, she says, "I have no faith in this system" and plans to move out of the country in hopes of finding better luck.
The severe recession, which just entered its second year, is already the longest in a quarter-century and is likely to stretch well into this year. The fact that the country is battling a housing collapse, a lockup in lending and the worst financial crisis since the 1930s makes the downturn especially dangerous.
All the problems have forced consumers and companies alike to retrench, feeding into a vicious cycle that Washington policymakers are finding difficult to break.
Investors, too. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 143 points Friday to end the week down nearly 5 percent, the worst week since November.
The Labor Department's unemployment report showed widespread damage across U.S. industries and workers — hitting blue-collar and white-collar workers, people without high school diplomas and those with college degrees.
"One word comes to mind — dreadful," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.
And, there's no relief in sight. The new year got off to a rough start with a flurry of big corporate layoffs, and there were more on Friday. Airplane maker Boeing Co. said it plans to cut about 4,500 jobs this year, and uniform maker G&K Services Inc. is eliminating 460 jobs.
Employers also are cutting workers' hours and forcing some to go part-time. The average work week in December fell to 33.3 hours, the lowest in records dating to 1964 — and a sign of more job reductions in the months ahead since businesses tend to cut hours before eliminating positions entirely.
"There is no indication that the job situation would stabilize anytime soon," said Sung Won Sohn, economist at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University. "This could turn out to be one of the worst economic setbacks since the Great Depression."
Economists predict a net total of 1.5 million to 2 million or more jobs will vanish in 2009, and the unemployment rate could hit 9 or 10 percent, underscoring the challenges Obama will face and the tough road ahead for job seekers.
All told, 11.1 million people were unemployed in December. An additional 8 million people were working part time — a category that includes those who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or those who were unable to find full-time work. That was up sharply from 7.3 million in November.
If those part-time employees, discouraged workers and others are factored in, the unemployment rate would have been much higher — 13.5 percent in December. That was the highest for that broader category in records going back to 1994.
Worried about the sinking economy and their own financial fortunes, companies are trimming payrolls as a way to cut costs. Government revisions showed losses in both October and November to be much deeper than previously reported.
"Clearly, the situation is dire, it is deteriorating, and it demands urgent action," Obama said Friday. "For the sake of our economy and our people, this is the moment to act, and to act without delay."
Obama, who takes over Jan. 20, is promoting a huge package of tax cuts and government spending that could total nearly $800 billion over two years. With add-ons by lawmakers, the package could swell to $850 billion or higher.
The unemployment rate zoomed from 6.8 percent in November, to 7.2 percent last month, the highest since January 1993.
The rate for blacks climbed to 11.9 percent, the highest since the spring of 1994. The rate for Hispanics rose to 9.2 percent, the highest since May 1996. The rate for teenagers rose to 20.8 percent, the highest since September 1992.
Last year was the first that payrolls had fallen for a full year since 2002, and the loss was the most since 1945, when nearly 2.8 million jobs disappeared. Though the number of payroll jobs in the U.S. has more than tripled since then, losses of this magnitude are still brutal.
The nation's jobless rate averaged 5.8 percent for the year — up sharply from 4.6 percent in 2007 and the highest since 2003.
During President George W. Bush 's nearly eight years in office, a net total of 3 million jobs were created. In President Clinton's two terms, roughly 21 million jobs were generated.
Employment last month shrank in virtually every part of the economy — construction companies, factories, mortgage brokers, banks, real-estate firms, accountants and bookkeepers, computer designers, architects and engineers, retailers, food services, temporary help firms, transportation, publishing and waste management. The few fields spared included education, health care and government.
The lost-job total for December probably understated the reality since some companies probably held off on layoffs around the holidays, economists said. Moreover, the government collects the payroll information around mid-month. So the full extent of the layoffs probably wasn't captured, making it even more likely there will be big reductions in January and that December's cuts will be revised upward.
Workers with jobs saw modest wage gains. Average hourly earnings rose to $18.36 in December, a 3.7 percent increase over the year. But high prices for energy and food through much of 2008 made people feel that their paychecks weren't stretching that far.
Corporate layoffs continue to pile up. Earlier this week, drugstore operator Walgreen Co., managed care provider Cigna Corp., aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., data-storage company EMC Corp., Intermec Inc., which makes electronic devices for tracking inventory, and computer products maker Logitech International announced major layoffs to cope with the recession.
—
AP Business Writer Christopher Leonard in St. Louis contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
2009-01-09 22:19:23
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Posted: January 10 2009 at 5:45pm |
I think they can back off the gloom just a bit...the companies as we know toss people off like crazy in December for the books...then we see a rather good size hiring again in April. Seems to happen every year.
..........................
It was actually said that...
Held in a room and terrified... the shivering congress agreed to everything.
AIG (AIG) may be the biggest mess
of all the financial firms that the federal government has bailed out. Uncle Sam has given AIG $153 billion in loans. The theory is that the money gets paid back by the huge insurance company selling assets. Investors don’t seem very sanguine about that. AIG shares trade at $1.60, down from a 52-week high of $60.04.
Congress seems less and less enamored of having a lot of money sitting in troubled companies.
Watch for the new administration to get frustrated quickly and appoint its own people to auction off AIG divisions. Better to get something back than keep writing AIG checks.
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Levygoddess
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Posted: January 10 2009 at 6:50pm |
I agree but I think most of us would agree they shouldnt have bailed them out in the first place.
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God put us here for a reason
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Dr.Who
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Posted: January 11 2009 at 2:22pm |
July wrote:
WASHINGTON -A staggering 2.6 million jobs disappeared in 2008, the most since World War II, and the pain is only getting worse with 11 million Americans out of work and searching. Unemployment hit a 16-year high of 7.2 percent in December and could be headed for 10 percent or even higher by year's end.
Friday's government figures were "a stark reminder," said President-elect Barack Obama, that bold and immediate government action is needed to revive a national economy that's deep in recession and still sinking.
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Unemployment rates naturally fluctuate from the low 2' to the 10's all the time and this is nothing new. Looking at this graph we can easily see that it does not even seem to be related to who is president or many other factors: http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp And PE Obama is completely in error when he says we are deep in recession. We are not in a recession as the economy has not had two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Even if we pretend that the data says we are in a recession it is certainly not deep. Lastly, the last thing we need is government action to try to fix this. another time they tried to fix a recession the fix caused the great depression. The first thing we need to do is to stop listening to people who are trying to convince of something that just is not that bad or just not true.
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Posted: January 11 2009 at 6:10pm |
Times are only bad if it affects you. Just found out my next door neighbor lost her job. If she does not find one by March her house is in jeapordy.
Have neighbors across the street, he has been working at the local hardware store instead of doing mortgage business for a year and now his wife's work has slowed and she is not sure she will have any work...they have three kids.
Times are really bad because all of these people were doing really well over a year ago now all are worried they will lose their homes.
Times are bad it is all local!
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Dr.Who
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 10:11am |
FluMom wrote:
Times are only bad if it affects you. Just found out my next door neighbor lost her job. If she does not find one by March her house is in jeapordy.
Have neighbors across the street, he has been working at the local hardware store instead of doing mortgage business for a year and now his wife's work has slowed and she is not sure she will have any work...they have three kids.
Times are really bad because all of these people were doing really well over a year ago now all are worried they will lose their homes.
Times are bad it is all local! |
I used to do mortgages a few years ago too. So yes that is not the field to be in now. But I am glad to hear that these people were doing well over a year ago. Did they listen to Suze Ormon (sp?) or countless others five or more years ago when she told them to save 20% of their incomes and to accumulate 8 months of money in the bank? They would have had a full years salary in the bank and it would probably have doubled with interest if they had. If they had saved 10% of their incomes and it doubled they would still have had a full years income in the bank. Even if they had saved 5% of their incomes they would still have a comfortable amount of money. Don't we talk about prepping constantly on this site? This can be a lesson to all of us on the importance of prepping money as well as food.
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Penham
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 2:37pm |
I think it is happening everywhere around us, so it is not just your area. Our area we are being told, has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, so far the "housing crisis" has not hit here yet, houses are still being built, bought and sold. Hard times are just starting here in this area, with the higher price of groceries our food banks are being utilized at higher rates. Our restuarants are half empty. We did not see any great sales at Christmas here in our area like I was seeing on the news on tv, here people were buying like crazy, the stores were packed, register lines were long. Things have slacked off since Christmas though.
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 2:55pm |
same here in nys. Jan is the month all the shop owners and small rest. take off. Then they are back to gear up for Valentines Day.
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 3:54pm |
Gee, Dr. Who I am not rude enough to ask people who are hurting those questions and how much people save is really none of my business. I have had very hard times in my life and I can tell you that sometimes it is not possible to save any income.
I know what you are trying to say that people did not plan for a rainy day and I am sure many people did not but life sucks sometimes. Having been through some very bad times myself, I really feel for people who are having very hard times.
Telling people they screwed up because they were lax,or stupid, or dumb, people and did not save is no help. I pray for them and ask God to help these people and help these people in any way I can. Sometimes it is just a kind word.
My point is that times are bad for those that are directly hit and the more people that get hit the worse it gets for the whole country.
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reality check
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 4:49pm |
Did they listen to Suze Ormon (sp?) or countless others five or more years ago when she told them to save 20% of their incomes and to accumulate 8 months of money in the bank? They would have had a full years salary in the bank and it would probably have doubled with interest if they had. If they had saved 10% of their incomes and it doubled they would still have had a full years income in the bank. Even if they had saved 5% of their incomes they would still have a comfortable amount of money. Don't we talk about prepping constantly on this site? This can be a lesson to all of us on the importance of prepping money as well as food. [/QUOTE]
DR Who.. don't we like to quote that old chestnut about being a foolish grasshopper in the summer around here. Well it's WINTER!!!!!These people did not plan to fail....they failed to plan.Tough olll world" keep your stick on the ice" Canadian expression for GET IN THE GAME....RC
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LaRo
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 7:32am |
Well maybe you should have saved for a rainy day and may be not. If we have high inflation, it will eat all your savings so maybe not to saving. And I do believe the quantitive easing will do just that.
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r we there yet?
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ParanoidMom
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 8:38am |
Good post Flumom.
Be careful Dr. Who...That's a mighty high pedestal to fall off of.
Six years ago our home was worth $120,000.00 more than it is now. Our mortgage came in well under the 30% suggested. We had a small savings, yet put as much as we could into preparing our homestead so that in bad times we'd be better off. That meant we added livestock, poultry, a large garden and so on.
A year ago animal feed skyrocketed along with everything else. Our meat supply is still much cheaper than what can be bought in the stores. However, there's alot of money invested out there on the hoof.
Now, say my husband gets laid off. And we can pay all of our bills for three months. Then what? If we needed to sell our home we're going to owe back on the mortgage. Renting in our area would cost us more than our monthly mortgage. And what about the gardens that we have prepped? Or the livestock? Can't have any of that either.
In times like these everyone can be hit and hit hard. Preppers and non preppers alike. And what's worse is the people who aren't terribly bad off can't receive any benefits, even though they are usually the ones that paid the most into the "system."
I'm with Flumom, pray for all people, including the ones that judge everyone else.
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But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1
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Dr.Who
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 10:03am |
FluMom wrote:
Gee, Dr. Who I am not rude enough to ask people who are
hurting those questions and how much people save is really none of my
business. I have had very hard times in my life and I can tell you that
sometimes it is not possible to save any income.
I know what you are trying to say that people did not plan for a
rainy day and I am sure many people did not but life sucks sometimes.
Having been through some very bad times myself, I really feel for
people who are having very hard times.
Telling people they screwed up because they were lax,or stupid, or
dumb, people and did not save is no help. I pray for them and ask God
to help these people and help these people in any way I can. Sometimes
it is just a kind word.
My point is that times are bad for those that are directly hit and
the more people that get hit the worse it gets for the whole country.
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I don't lack compassion for them. I simply know that they are not here
and I was speaking to those who are here about the lesson we can learn. I did not ask them any questions I asked questions for those of us who are here. I was not rude to them because I was speaking to those of us here.
And I never said they screwed up or were stupid. I would point out that the person who posted the info said they were
doing well a year ago - so they were not caught in a situation beyond their control.
I too pray and give generously.
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ParanoidMom
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 10:46am |
I think it's important that we're always aware of who may be reading our posts. Anyone of us could be in a really bad situation. Just assuming all of us here aren't those other people is never a good idea.
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But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1
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Dr.Who
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 5:52pm |
ParanoidMom wrote:
I think it's important that we're always aware of who may be reading our posts. Anyone of us could be in a really bad situation. Just assuming all of us here aren't those other people is never a good idea. |
Singling people out for unsolicited advise would be rude. Using a common situation, that any of us could experience, as a basis for a learning experience, when the persons being discussed are not present, is not rude. Discussing pitfalls that any of us could fall into and that someone may read and decide that the shoe fits is not rude. I assume most of us are here to learn primarily about bird flue and prepping. talking about the importance of prepping is a valuable part of the forum I suspect the misunderstanding here is one of perspective. I viewed Flumom's post as one contributing to the overall topic in a way that we could all learn from and add our own insights. Perhaps she was just sharing from her personal experiences albeit vicariously and did not want the situation to be used as a starting point for anything else. low bat gotta go.
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purplepanther
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Posted: January 14 2009 at 1:17pm |
In the paper they announced they wre laying off another 800 people at Cummins which is a big supplier of diesel engines . i think it was around the world in Indiana it has the one of the largest employments here and if they layoff alot of employees here the whole city would be hurting.
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reality check
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Posted: January 14 2009 at 1:42pm |
Dr.Who wrote:
the misunderstanding here is one of perspective. I viewed Flumom's post as one contributing to the overall topic in a way that we could all learn from and add our own insights. Perhaps she was just sharing from her personal experiences albeit vicariously and did not want the situation to be used as a starting point for anything else.
low bat gotta go.
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What he said!!!"albeit vicariously"...thanks I will make good use of that terminology at my next meeting when dealing with simular circumstances
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