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01 Jun 2009 10:39

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Biz, U.S.: How did General Motors go from pioneering to bankrupt?

General Motors circa 1906
  • There’s a long, winding story of how GM got from hand-crank to Hummer to handouts. For a company this essential to our country – especially the Midwest, but really everywhere – it’s a sad, bastardized legacy.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 10:08

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U.S.: When GM entered – and will leave – the Dow Jones index

  • 1925 The year the historic company perched its sturdy, reliable roost on the Dow Jones industrial average source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 10:02

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Offbeat, Tech: University in Tokyo: We’ll give you an iPhone, but there’s a catch

  • Your GPS will catch you if you’re skipping class. It’s borderline brilliant and borderline evil, but Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo will give students of its School of Social Informatics for both classes and truancy reasons. As the university is one of the most prestigious in the country, attendance is very important, and now they have a better way to check it on those 550 students than notes from doctors or forged notes from classmates. There’s one loophole – a student could have their buddy bring their iPhone to class – but it’s unlikely because iPhones aren’t cheap. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 09:05

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Culture: See what you did, guys? Now Susan Boyle’s all exhausted.

  • She is getting away from everyone. She’s receiving the best care possible. She needs time to sleep and eat and do the things that she found rather difficult last week.
  • Piers Morgan • A “Britain’s Got Talent” judge and a huge supporter of Susan Boyle, on her need to take a break. The weeks of tabloid pressure due to her status as unexpected superstar singer had finally gotten to Boyle, who apparently cracked and is in the hospital for exhaustion. We’re responsible for making her this big, guys. This is why we can’t have nice things! • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 08:57

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Biz: An acquisition pays off in the form of a landmark cancer drug

  • $500 million The amount French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA paid for BiPar Sciences Inc. of San Francisco, which has just 18 employees source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 08:44

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Biz, U.S.: Big auto news #2: GM files for bankruptcy protection

  • One of the country’s greatest icons of industry is no longer independent. After years of mounting losses and an inevitable couple of weeks, General Motors filed for bankruptcy this morning. source
  • The automaker, which has been eroding market share since the ’80s and lost $30 billion last year alone, will likely be 60% owned by the federal government, which is sarcastically awesome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 08:31

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Biz, U.S.: Big auto news #1: Judge approves Chrysler’s Fiat sale

  • A speedy bankruptcy Chrysler, which has been trying to breeze through its bankruptcy as quickly as possible so it doesn’t lose its value in the meantime, got federal bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez to approve the sale of most assets to Fiat. source
  • A speedy bankruptcy Chrysler, which has been trying to breeze through its bankruptcy as quickly as possible so it doesn’t lose its value in the meantime, got federal bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez to approve the sale of most assets to Fiat.
  • A needed merger In case you’re wondering why this sale happened so quickly, it’s because the Obama administration is putting its muscle behind it. They made it the centerpiece of the automotive task force’s recommended reconstruction plan. source
  • A speedy bankruptcy Chrysler, which has been trying to breeze through its bankruptcy as quickly as possible so it doesn’t lose its value in the meantime, got federal bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez to approve the sale of most assets to Fiat.
  • A needed merger In case you’re wondering why this sale happened so quickly, it’s because the Obama administration is putting its muscle behind it. They made it the centerpiece of the automotive task force’s recommended reconstruction plan.
  • Sticking points Not everyone’s behind this merger – among the scorned lovers include a number of auto dealerships about to lose their franchises, some pension funds in Indiana with a $42.5 million stake, suppliers and ex-employees. source
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01 Jun 2009 08:17

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World: Where did the &*^!%$ plane go? Air France jet falls off radar

  • It just vanished apparently. 228 people on board. The plane, headed from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris – an 11-hour trip that’s not exactly the most common flight ever – fell off the radar late last night and didn’t make its 11:15 a.m. local time (5:15 a.m. ET) landing in Paris. Officials are flabbergasted and trying to figure out exactly what happened. It’s likely it crashed. source
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