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Top Stories
- 1 .
Desperate for capital, small businesses turn to private lendersSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
Business owners turned down by banks are taking out 'hard money' loans, often at sky-high interest rates.
With financial help for the nation's small businesses locked in a congressional imbroglio and bank loans still tough to get, many smaller firms are turning reluctantly to high-dollar lenders of last resort. - 2 .
Ocean shipping lines cut speed to save fuel costsSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
'Slow steaming' upsets some customers, who worry about delays in delivery. But it also keeps more ships in service and lowers emissions.
On the high seas, full speed ahead is being replaced by slow and steady. - 3 .
New Century ex-leaders to pay $90 million in settlementsSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
Former executives settle civil claims stemming from the collapse of the Irvine-based subprime lender.
Thirteen former officers and directors of New Century Financial Corp. agreed to pay more than $90 million to settle all civil claims in a series of federal and private lawsuits stemming from the collapse of the Irvine subprime lender in the early stages of the mortgage meltdown. - 4 .
Chinese censors take notice of Twitter-style blogsSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
The popular personal websites were an unexpected advance in freedom of expression. But this month, four major portals went 'down for maintenance.'
Chinese censors blocked access to Facebook and Twitter a year ago for fear the foreign sites could be used to sow political unrest. Now it appears they're taking aim at the popular Chinese imitators that filled the void. - 5 .
Steep decline in GDP growth raises alarmsSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
Corporations flourish in the second quarter but won't for much longer if consumer spending remains weak, economists say.
U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the spring, stoking concerns about a weak job market, a drawn-out struggle for the unemployed and growing financial pressures on millions of American families. - 6 .
Bond-buying binge isn't exactly like the dot-com stock boom, but …Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
Greed motivated tech-stock buyers in the late '90s. Fear is behind the current rush into bonds. Now, as then, raw emotion is driving investors. It's a dangerous thing to have in common.
At the end of the dot-com stock boom in late 1999 and early 2000, it was harder and harder to find someone to say that buying into that mania was a mistake. - 7 .
NBC acknowledges mistakes, promises stronger prime-time lineupSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
NBC executives, meeting with TV critics for the first time since the Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien debacle, offer an array of scripted shows for the fall instead of relying on cost-cutting gimmicks.
Top NBC executives said they have learned their lesson and are trying to build a high-quality prime-time schedule to finally dig themselves out of their programming hole. - 8 .
ABC Family executive Paul Lee elevated to president of ABC EntertainmentSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
He takes over for Steve McPherson, who abruptly stepped down this week.
Paul Lee, the executive who revived Walt Disney Co.'s moribund ABC Family channel with shows that appealed to the sensibilities of the millennial generation, was elevated Friday to president of ABC Entertainment Group. - 9 .
GM to increase Chevy Volt production by 50%Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
GM says it aims to increase production of the electric vehicle to 45,000 in 2012. It says the Volt will be available in seven states in December. Nissan says its electric Leaf will be available in five states, including California, in December.
Counting on an eager — and large — fan base for the Chevrolet Volt, General Motors Co. announced Friday that it planned to boost U.S. production of the electric car by 50%. - 10 .
Google's data collection harmless, Britain saysSat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400
Authorities agree that information captured by Google's Street View fleet is fragmentary and can't be linked to identifiable people. The Internet giant faces similar scrutiny in the U.S.
In the United States, Google Inc. is defending itself against lawsuits, a congressional probe and a 37-state investigation over personal information the Internet giant collected from unsecured wireless networks while assembling photos and data for its Street View mapping service. - 11 . Every Tool You Need For HiringFri, 30 Jul 2010 13:01:04 -0400
Have you been considering hiring some new employees? Has it been awhile since you added staff? If so, then let us offer you a refresher course on how to manage the process. The following guide brings together tools you can use to manage the process including deciding what positions to hire, structuring job interviews, and effectively onboarding new employees. Tools You Need For Hiring: Job ... - 12 . US stocks end July with big gain; Dow gains 7.1 pctFri, 30 Jul 2010 19:18:56 -0400
Stocks had a fitting end to a choppy July as prices seesawed their way to a narrowly mixed finish. The market still had its best month in a year. - 13 . The Companies Hiring The Most Right NowThu, 29 Jul 2010 16:37:50 -0400
Here are the midsize companies with the greatest number of job openings listed at the moment. - 14 . A chance to diversify the senior civil-service ranks?Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:03:43 -0400
Opposition complaints aside, the Tory review of employment equity could help bring visible minorities out entry level ghettos - 15 . Dollar Ends Flat As Strong Manufacturing and Consumer Sentiment Data Offset Slower Pace of GrowthFri, 30 Jul 2010 18:07:00 -0400
Dollar Ends Flat As Strong Manufacturing and Consumer Sentiment Data Offset Slower Pace of Growth Euro to Face Whipsaw Price Action Ahead of ECB Rate Decision British Pound Ends the Week as the Second Best Performing G10 Currency Against U.S. - 16 . A bleaker outlook for US economyThu, 29 Jul 2010 00:42:14 -0400
The US economic recovery will remain slow deep into next year, held back by shoppers reluctant to spend and employers hesitant to hire, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. - 17 . Will U.S. Auto Industry Manage to Survive Recession?Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:39:33 -0400
Listen to the Audio On a day that President Obama touted his administration's efforts to save the U.S. auto industry, Judy Woodruff assesses the state of the industry with Micheline Maynard, senior editor of Changing Gears, a new public media project focusing on the future of the industrial Midwest, and economist Martin Bailey. JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: The overall economy shows new signs of slowing ... - 18 . Employment at NJ Biotechnology Companies GrowingThu, 29 Jul 2010 09:38:00 -0400
TRENTON, N.J.----The number of employees working at New Jersey biotechnology companies increased by 50 percent in the last three years, growing from 10,000 employees in 2007 to an estimated 15,000 in 2010, according to the results of an industry survey conducted by BioNJ, the trade association for the biotechnology industry in New Jersey, and Ernst &Young. - 19 . Yellow PagesSat, 31 Jul 2010 00:35:39 -0400
Corning, N.Y. A former dean at Corning Community College has filed a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against the school, claiming he was the subject of racial discrimination. - 20 . Taxing the richFri, 30 Jul 2010 17:29:11 -0400
Republicans seem more sure than ever that making tax cuts for the richest Americans permanent is the necessary first step to getting out of this mess. by David Hoppe Everybody's in a twist about America's budget deficit. I just saw a 30-second spot that shows a bunch of all-American school kids saying the pledge of allegiance, except they begin by pledging to China, for keeping us in hock. The ... - 21 . SEC vs. the media, round twoFri, 30 Jul 2010 18:58:28 -0400
The Securities and Exchange Commission was not seeking a blanket exemption from public information laws, when it asked Congress to include a little known provision in the Wall Street reform law, the agency said in a letter to lawmakers Friday. - 22 . Treasurys rise on weaker GDPFri, 30 Jul 2010 17:04:05 -0400
A weaker-than-expected government report on the economy sent investors flocking back into Treasurys Friday, pushing the prices up on U.S. debt and driving yields down. - 23 . Northwest to pay $38 million cargo price-fixing fineFri, 30 Jul 2010 15:47:54 -0400
Northwest Airlines will plead guilty and pay a $38 million fine for conspiring to fix cargo rates, the Justice Department announced Friday. - 24 . Face Off: Test-driving Gillette's new razorFri, 30 Jul 2010 15:21:37 -0400
General Motors' legendary CEO Alfred P. Sloan invented the annual styling change when he ordered a new body for the 1923 Chevrolet to cover up the car's nine-year-old technology. The new design made the old model feel out-of-date and was the first step in GM's drive to pass Ford Motor and its unchanging Model T to become the largest automobile company in the world. - 25 . China says it tops Japan as No. 2 economyFri, 30 Jul 2010 16:49:37 -0400
China has surpassed Japan to become the world's second largest economy, lagging only behind the United States, a Chinese government official said in remarks published on Friday. - 26 . GM to boost Chevy Volt productionFri, 30 Jul 2010 14:46:56 -0400
General Motors announced Friday that the automaker has raised its planned production of the Chevrolet Volt electric car to 45,000 in 2012. - 27 . Bulls tiptoe into homebuilder stocksFri, 30 Jul 2010 14:16:31 -0400
It takes a lot of courage to be a bull on homebuilder stocks these days. They exist, for sure. And they aren't on mind-bending drugs. In fact, they see the world much as the housing stock bears do. You won't find any uplifting messages in their reports on the economy and housing. - 28 . Worst job on Earth: BP calling all applicantsFri, 30 Jul 2010 17:05:41 -0400
It could quite possibly be called the worst job on Earth -- and the position is open. - 29 . Consumers not spending like drunken sailorsFri, 30 Jul 2010 12:34:32 -0400
The economy is heading nowhere fast. That's the bad news. But the good news is that it still seems like consumers may have actually learned a lesson or two about reckless fiscal behavior. - 30 . Recovery spin wars: White House vs. businessFri, 30 Jul 2010 12:36:41 -0400
The Obama administration gave a positive spin to second-quarter economic numbers released Friday, with the administration's chief economist saying they show a "steady recovery from the recession continues." - 31 . Let's fund every entrepreneurFri, 30 Jul 2010 12:10:27 -0400
There was a great conversation Thursday at Y Combinator's AngelConf in Silicon Valley. Anthony Ha of Venturebeat had a couple posts on it that I just read, one on Paul Graham's comments, and another on Ron Conway and Mike Arrington's comments. I would have enjoyed being part of that discussion, so I'll join in now. - 32 . Why a flounder gigger's suit against BP is one to watchFri, 30 Jul 2010 10:18:03 -0400
Although it's probably not BP's top priority at the moment, an ominous lawsuit was filed against it last month in state court in Mobile, Alabama, by a man named Obie F. Carlisle. - 33 . Pay gap persists for African-AmericansFri, 30 Jul 2010 09:53:50 -0400
African-American workers continue to earn far less than whites, according to statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau. - 34 . Stocks: Best monthly gain in a yearFri, 30 Jul 2010 18:11:01 -0400
Despite a mixed performance on Friday, stocks booked the best monthly gain in a year, with the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 both rising nearly 7% in July. - 35 . How Amway weathered the storm, one sale at a timeFri, 30 Jul 2010 09:10:47 -0400
Don't be fooled into thinking that direct sales are a thing of the past just because you haven't seen a pink Mary Kay Cadillac in a while. Amway is not only still alive and well, it's actually growing, even as many retailers continue to struggle. - 36 . U.S. recovery sputtersFri, 30 Jul 2010 12:35:04 -0400
The U.S. economy continued to grow during the second quarter, the government reported Friday. But the pace slowed more than economists were expecting, raising concern about growth - or even another recession - in the months ahead. - 37 . BP's Hayward: 'I became a villain for doing the right thing'Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:58:23 -0400
Outgoing BP chief executive Tony Hayward is defending his leadership of the company in the aftermath of the oil rig explosion that killed 11 workers and led to the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. - 38 . SEC charges billionaire brothers with fraudFri, 30 Jul 2010 10:13:51 -0400
Two billionaire brothers face federal fraud charges for selling stock in companies which they helped oversee and then trying to conceal some $550 million in gains. - 39 . Stocks headed for early selloffFri, 30 Jul 2010 09:50:08 -0400
U.S. stocks were headed toward an early selloff Friday, following a weaker-than-expected reading on second-quarter economic growth. - 40 . Why spend $300 a night for a hotel?Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:07:50 -0400
Book a hotel in a popular destination and you know what to expect: a bed, a mini-fridge, and a big bill at checkout. In Europe's big cities, for example, you can easily spend anywhere from $150 to $300 a night (hotels in Florence average $205). - 41 . Wall Street marks best month in a year in JulyFri, 30 Jul 2010 20:06:01 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed little changed on Friday, but Wall Street wrapped up its best month in a year after the earnings season rounded the final turn with a group of strong results that offset the impact of poor economic data. - 42 . Jobs data, earnings latest test for stocksFri, 30 Jul 2010 17:46:17 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks are unlikely to break above a key technical level next week unless monthly jobs data and consumer company results paint a more promising picture of the recovery. - 43 . Cuomo widens insurer probe with 6 more subpoenasFri, 30 Jul 2010 14:32:25 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed six more insurers as the state widens a probe into whether life insurance companies have defrauded families of deceased members of the military. - 44 . Imports slow Q2 growth as business spending surgesFri, 30 Jul 2010 17:06:04 -0400
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter as companies invested heavily in equipment from abroad and the pace of consumer spending eased, raising concerns about the recovery in the rest of 2010. - 45 . Goldman employees still enamored with firm and CEOFri, 30 Jul 2010 13:30:41 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc is the bank many Americans love to hate, but one group just plain loves it: its employees. - 46 . Bernanke recouped personal losses in 2009Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:25:27 -0400
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's personal finances recovered in 2009, disclosure forms released by the central bank on Friday showed. - 47 . Chrysler profitable, no rush to IPO: CEOFri, 30 Jul 2010 14:43:40 -0400
DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler, the No. 3 U.S. automaker, would be profitable on a net basis if it were not for the interest costs of loans remaining from its bailout, the automaker's chief executive said on Friday. - 48 . Disney to sell Miramax for more than $660 millionFri, 30 Jul 2010 17:15:40 -0400
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co has struck a deal to sell Miramax, the studio behind such films as "Trainspotting" and "No Country for Old Men," for more than $660 million to a group that includes construction magnate Ron Tutor and investment firm Colony Capital LLC. - 49 . Delta's Northwest pleading guilty to price fixingFri, 30 Jul 2010 16:20:43 -0400
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Northwest Airlines, now a part of Delta Air Lines, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix the prices of air cargo, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. - 50 . Emboldened RIM readies new touchscreen BlackBerryFri, 30 Jul 2010 15:06:54 -0400
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Research In Motion is not known for its dramatic flair. Like the BlackBerry itself, with its renowned email security, the Canadian smartphone maker seems to put function before form. - 51 . High executionersWed, 28 Jul 2010 09:14:05 -0400
China executes many more people than anywhere else. Changes to its laws may reduce a grim total
CHINA executes more of its own citizens than any other country, and more than all others in the world combined. “Thousands” of Chinese were executed in 2009 according to Amnesty International's annual study, which states that an exact number is impossible to determine because information on the death penalty is regarded as a state secret. But this gruesome record may yet change. The National People's Congress is reported to be reducing the number of offences that are punishable by execution. Among the crimes that currently carry the death penalty are bribing an official and stealing historical relics.
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- 52 . Golden parachutesTue, 27 Jul 2010 08:44:07 -0400
Bosses who walked away with large payouts
ON TUESDAY July 27th BP announced its chief executive, Tony Hayward, was stepping down after just three years in the job. He leaves with a year’s salary, GBP1m ($1.6m), and a pension reported to be worth GBP11m, accrued over 28 years of service. On the same day the company revealed a quarterly loss of GBP17 billion, reflecting the cost of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr Hayward has received criticism over his handling of the Deepwater Horizon spill. For all the opprobrium heaped on him over the last few months, Mr Hayward's payout is modest compared with those enjoyed by many similarly high-profile bosses.
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- 53 . Making a meal of itFri, 23 Jul 2010 06:47:27 -0400
Our latest Big Mac index suggests the euro is still overvalued
Correction to this article
THE Big Mac index is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), according to which exchange rates should adjust to equalise the price of a basket of goods and services around the world. Our index shows that Asia remains the cheapest place to enjoy a burger, while those on the hunt for a value meal should steer clear of Scandinavia. The euro, despite its troubles, continues to be expensive when compared with many other rich-world currencies, though the British pound is trading close to its fair value. China's recent decision to increase the "flexibility" of the yuan has not made much difference yet—the yuan is undervalued on the burger gauge by 48%. For more on the Big Mac index see article. ...
- 54 . Status updateThu, 22 Jul 2010 05:47:04 -0400
Facebook has become the third-largest nation
THE world's largest social network announced that it had reached 500m members on Wednesday July 21st. If Facebook were a physical nation, it would now be the third-most populous on earth. And if the service continues to grow as rapidly as in the three months to July, it will reach one billion in about 15 months—almost the size of India. Not least because of its gigantic population, some observers have started to talk of Facebook in terms of a country. “[It] is a device that allows people to get together and control their own destiny, much like our nation-state,” says David Post, a law professor at Temple University, Philadelphia. For more on social networks and statehood see article.
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- 55 . Flying high in the eastWed, 21 Jul 2010 06:18:14 -0400
Asian and Middle Eastern airlines’ share of the world’s aircraft fleet is set to grow
BY THE third day of the Farnborough Airshow on Wednesday July 21st, aircraft-makers had announced new orders worth around $25 billion. A whopping $9 billion order for 40 Boeing 777s from Emirates highlighted the ambitious expansion plans of the Gulf’s airlines. Analysis by Ascend, an aerospace consultancy, shows that the Middle Eastern airlines’ fleets have more than doubled in the past ten years. They have placed orders for over 1,000 new aircraft for delivery by 2020—or 14% of the industry’s entire order book. Even so, the Asian airlines, especially China’s, will be the planemakers’ biggest customers in the coming decade. By 2020, the North American and European airlines will no longer dominate the skies to the extent they do now.
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- 56 . Trouble on oiled watersTue, 20 Jul 2010 06:57:24 -0400
Deepwater Horizon may be the world's biggest accidental oil spill
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA meets Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, for talks in Washington on July 20th. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and allegations over the company's involvement in an “oil-for-terrorists” deal with Libya are likely to be on the agenda. BP is under pressure to satisfy government officials that the containment cap placed on the leaking well on July 15th is holding. Using the government task force's upper estimate, as many as 4.4m barrels of oil have escaped into the Gulf. This would make it the largest accidental oil spill in history (military attacks have created far bigger spills). Despite that, this quantity of refined oil is enough to keep America's cars and trucks on the road for just a quarter of a day. BP has spent almost $4 billion on clean-up costs to date, with the eventual total estimated at $39 billion.
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- 57 . Tours and TriompheMon, 19 Jul 2010 07:16:05 -0400
Is the Tour de France getting easier?
THE 97th Tour de France finishes on Sunday July 25th in Paris after 3,642km (2,263 miles) of cycling over 21 gruelling days. Although this year's route is regarded by many as particularly tough, it could be considered a mere jaunt through the sunflowers compared to earlier Tours. When the first race was staged in 1903 riders cycled 2,428km over six stages. But distances rapidly climbed to reach a peak of 5,745km in 1926, with the winner completing the race in 238 hours and 44 minutes at an average speed of 24.3km/h. Since then the length of the Tour has fallen steadily but the average speed of the winner has risen to around 40km/h.
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- 58 . Alien invasionsFri, 16 Jul 2010 04:43:09 -0400
The share of foreign-born labour in rich countries
AS ECONOMIES across the developed world fell into recession in 2008, legal permanent immigration to the mostly rich members of the OECD declined by 6%, after five years during which growth averaged 11%. Despite the slowdown in the arrival of new migrants, the number of foreign-born workers in most OECD countries rose in 2008 from a year earlier. In 2007 one in every four workers in Australia was born abroad; in 2008 that share rose further, to 26.5%. Among the 18 OECD countries for which 2008 data are available, the share of the foreign-born in the labour force fell only in Luxembourg (not shown), Austria, Belgium and France. The number of foreign-born workers in America rose by 308,000 in 2008, to 25.1m.
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- 59 . Authorised personnel onlyThu, 15 Jul 2010 08:57:00 -0400
Who restricts travel for people with HIV
THERE are some 33m people living with HIV in the world today, estimates UNAIDS, the United Nations agency charged with combating the disease and supporting the rights of those affected. Travel restrictions are one type of discrimination these people can face. In the past year, both China and America have lifted 20-odd-year bans stopping individuals with HIV from entering, but 51 countries still restrict movement in some form (be it entry to the country or a stay therein) based on a person's HIV status. Our tables show those countries applying the severest restrictions to HIV sufferers, including the denial of entry visas and even deportation. Many countries in the Middle East impose strict restrictions—and also report among the lowest HIV prevalence rates.
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- 60 . The green suitsWed, 14 Jul 2010 10:29:38 -0400
The economics of biodiversity and business
While climate scientists lament the fact that their flagship compendia, such as the IPCC reports, come under endless attack, scientists working on other environmental issues would love such high-profile pronouncements, even if they came with a similar cost. IPCC-envy was one of the rationales for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, published in 2005, and it is the main impetus behind the current development of an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. When the equally inelegantly named TEEB process (it stands for The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) was set up at the G8+5 meeting in Potsdam in 2007 its political patrons had a clear model in mind. They hoped that just as Lord Stern’s review of the economics of climate change, published in 2006, firmed resolve for action among governments and helped set in motion the processes that led to last year’s Copenhagen climate conference, so this new report should encourage a more serious global approach to the costs that damaged and dysfunctional ecosystems impose on people.
It’s worth noting that this approach implicitly assumes, as do many people, that the point of the IPCC and such endeavours is to find reasons for action, rather than dispassionately to assess the issue. Another caveat is that, as far as the climate is concerned, big and well publicised reports have manifestly not delivered the goods in terms of what UN negotiators call “environmental integrity”—producing actions that really do reduce emissions. But that does not mean that the TEEB process is either propagandistic or pointless. Treating the services provided by ecosystems as part of the economy is a good idea, and the various ways in which their value can be sustained, or even enhanced, deserve study. ...
- 61 . Quality of deathWed, 14 Jul 2010 06:11:29 -0400
A ranking of care for the dying by country
CUSTOMER-satisfaction surveys are, alas, unsuitable for rating the quality of death. So the Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister group to The Economist, has devised a ranking of end-of-life care, published on Wednesday July 14th. It rates 40 mostly rich countries by how well they care for the dying. Britain tops the table. For all the health care system's faults, British doctors tend to be honest about prognoses, the mortally ill get plentiful pain killers and a well-established hospice movement cares for people near death. Countries such as Denmark and Finland rank lower because they concentrate more on preventing death than on helping people die without suffering pain, discomfort and distress.
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- 62 . Invest in ChinaWed, 07 Jul 2010 07:42:42 -0400
Agricultural Bank of China's IPO may be the biggest in history
THE initial public offering of Agricultural Bank of China, the country's third-largest bank, looks set to become the biggest IPO on record. On July 6th and 7th the bank raised a reported $19.2 billion in a dual listing on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. If the bank takes up a further 15% allotment of shares, that would value the deal at a total of $22 billion, slightly more than the offering in another Chinese bank, ICBC, in 2006. In the 1990s telecommunications was the investors' choice but in the last decade the biggest IPOs have been mostly in the financial sector, and mainly of Chinese banks.
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- 63 . Too green to failWed, 07 Jul 2010 03:21:55 -0400
When it comes to protected areas, less really can mean more
Thomas Brooks, a biologist with NatureServe, a conservation group based in Arlington, Virginia, has long been fighting to preserve biodiversity in the Philippines. Quite often it can feel like a lost cause. Conservation efforts in the country have struggled against ever greater deforestation and decades of environmental neglect. You might think that, when Mr Brooks heard that the Philippine government is considering opening some of its protected areas to mining, it would have been the last straw. Instead, it was an occasion for hope.
According to Theresa Mundita Lim, Director of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, who made the announcement at a meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nairobi, the move on mining is part of a larger strategy to improve how much biodiversity the government protects. By cutting spending on areas that are lower-priority and instead putting the money where it will be more effective in protecting nature, she hopes to get more impact out of the limited conservation funds available. ...
- 64 . After the gold rushTue, 06 Jul 2010 09:12:31 -0400
Gold is not as expensive as it seems
FOR the past nine months, gold has been trading consistently over $1,000 an ounce. It reached a high of $1,259 on June 18th, up 35% from a year earlier. After adjusting for inflation, today’s heady prices are some way off the 1980s mania. The 2010 yearly average of $1,154 is still 29% below the inflation-adjusted price in 1980 of $1,623. Perhaps now is the time to sell. After the January 1980 peak, the price fell by 55% over the following two years.
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- 65 . Leaders of the fee worldMon, 05 Jul 2010 08:39:51 -0400
How much a country's leader is paid compared to GDP per person
ON MONDAY July 5th Raila Odinga, Kenya's prime minister, rejected the pay increase he was awarded by the country's parliament last week. MPs had granted Mr Odinga a rise to nearly $430,000 a year, while giving themselves a 25% increase to $161,000. This boost would place Mr Odinga among the highest-paid political leaders in the world. More worryingly, his salary would be some 240 times greater than the country's GDP per person (measured on a purchasing-power parity basis). Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, tops our list of selected leaders' salaries. He is paid more than 40 times the city-state’s GDP per person. At the other end of the scale, Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, reaffirms his reputation for saintliness by taking a modest sum from Indian taxpayers.
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- 66 . Dead-ammonite bounceMon, 05 Jul 2010 03:48:24 -0400
Life recovered from its worst extinction much faster than previously realised
THE dinosaurs went out with a bang. Most palaeontologists agree that those creatures and much of the rest of Mesozoic life ended when the Earth collided with an asteroid or a comet 65m years ago. But the Mesozoic, too, began with a mass extinction. Some 251m years ago, the efluvia of Siberian volcanoes wiped out 95% of life in the seas, and almost as much on the land, in an episode known as the Great Dying. This was the end of the Permian period, and of the era of life called the Palaeozoic. The survivors regrouped, re-evolved and turned into the Mesozoic species that led eventually to the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ammonites and belemnites that generations of fossil hunters are familiar with.
How that regrouping happened will be the topic of a presentation by Hugo Bucher, the director of the Palaeontological Institute at the University of Zurich, at the Third International Palaeontological Congress in London on July 3rd. According to Dr Bucher, it occurred faster than anyone had previously thought, but also stuttered on the way as the volcanic activity waxed and waned. ...
- 67 . The week aheadSun, 04 Jul 2010 12:38:53 -0400
Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, visits Barack Obama in Washington
• ISRAEL'S prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is set to travel to Washington for a meeting with Barack Obama on Tuesday July 6th. Mr Netanyahu’s previous date with America’s president at the beginning of June was postponed after Israeli forces killed nine people in a raid on a boat attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli blockade. Mr Obama will be keen to find a way to encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to begin direct talks again. Face-to-face negotiations were suspended in December 2008 after Israel’s deadly offensive against Gaza intended to stop rocket attacks from the territory. In a sign of a thawing of relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Ehud Barak, the country’s defence minister, said that he would shortly meet Salam Fayyad, the PA’s prime minister.
• THE lower house of France’s parliament begins debate on Tuesday July 6th over the controversial issue of banning women from wearing full Muslim veils in public before a vote likely to be held the following week. A burqa ban, which has the backing of President Nicolas Sarkozy, is also winning support in other parts of Europe. Belgium’s lower house has approved a similar measure and Spain Senate recently narrowly voted to impose a ban too. But the Council of Europe, an institution that oversees the human rights of Europeans, has voted unanimously to oppose any national bans on the burqa in EU countries. It also called on Switzerland to reverse its ban on the construction of minarets. ...
- 68 . Intelligence testedFri, 02 Jul 2010 06:35:12 -0400
Infectious disease may explain why some countries have cleverer populations
HUMAN intelligence is higher, on average, in some places than in others. And researchers at the University of New Mexico have come up with an explanation, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. Comparing the average IQ in a particular country with its disease burden (based on the reduction in life expectancy caused by 28 infectious diseases) reveals a striking correlation. At the bottom of the IQ list is Equatorial Guinea, followed by St Lucia, with Cameroon, Mozambique and Gabon tied for third last. These countries also have among the highest burdens of infectious diseases. At the opposite end of the scale, Singapore, South Korea, China and Japan show the highest intelligence scores and relatively low levels of disease. America, Britain and a number of European countries also place in the top left-hand corner of the chart. For more on this, see article.
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- 69 . Ploughing onThu, 01 Jul 2010 07:27:03 -0400
The rich world's farmers are still reaping handsome subsidies
FARMERS are getting by with fewer subsidies in many countries around the world compared with 20 years ago. Yet subsidies still accounted for more than three-quarters of farmers’ incomes in Norway, Switzerland and Iceland between 2007 and 2009. And farm subsidies in the EU made up a slightly greater proportion of farmers' incomes in 2007-09 than two decades beforehand. OECD countries spent $253 billion on farm subsidies in 2009—22% of gross farm receipts, the first increase since 2004. High agricultural commodity prices ensured payments slid, and reach a record low in 2008. Last year, this trend reversed as commodity prices fell.
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Welcome to AfterPinkSlip.com!
AfterPinkSlip.com is the website of a community dedicated towards pink slip recipients. Our objective is to provide a comprehensive resource for you, and create a platform for all Pink Slip receipients to share their knowledge and know-how. We hope to make your transition smooth from the day you received a Pink Slip to the day you are employed, or start on your own.
We hope this site will help you prevail over the tough times invited by unemployment. We believe that even with pink slip in hand, you can lead to a better future if you know how to handle the situation well. Best of Luck!
How You Benefit?
As a member of AfterPinkSlip.com, you will:
- Know your rights after you receive the Pink Slip;
- Learn steps to follow in order to get the benefits you are eligible for;
- Meet other people to share information and help eachother;
- Be more organized by keeping tabs of job openings, cover letters and resumes you sent to companies;
- Have access to our alumni, executive recruiter community and Service Providers;
- Learn how to negotiate and optimize your new compensation package; and,
- Have access to the Service Provider who will assess your skills and ambitions, and provide you with a real-world plan to get where you want to be.
Be a member today. Join



