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11 Jan 2012 10:42

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Biz: Not the Twinkies! Hostess files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

  • Too many employees, too much debt: Hostess, the company that makes Twinkies, HoHos, Ding Dongs, Zingers and other amusingly-named foods (including Wonder bread), says that it has too many legacy payments. With 12 unions making up 83 percent of its 19,000 employees, the company says it “is not competitive, primarily due to legacy pension and medical benefit obligations and restrictive work rules.” The company, which is still negotiating with its unions, will stay in business thanks to $75 million in financing from lenders. (photo by Like_the_Grand_Canyon on Flickr) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2012 10:09

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Politics: Michelle Obama tired of being portrayed as “angry black woman”

  • I guess it’s more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here and a strong woman and — you know? But that’s been an image that people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced, that I’m some angry black woman.
  • Michelle Obama • Defending herself from claims that she fostered tension with the president’s top deputies — Rahm Emanuel and Robert Gibbs — leading to the claims getting into New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor’s book “The Obamas.” We can certainly agree with the basic thrust of what she’s saying — even if Kantor’s book is accurate, just look at how much crap she gets over the stupidest things from the right. That is clearly the result of others trying to typecast her in a certain image. Let’s cut the image politics here. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2012 10:00

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World: “Italy’s biggest bank”: The Mafia’s massive profits amid Italian turmoil

  • €140 billion the amount of financial turnover the Mafia had in 2011, according to anti-crime group SOS Impresa
  • €100 billion the amount in profits the Italian crime group had; SOS Impresa says this makes them Italy’s biggest bank source
  • » Not your father’s Mafia: The anti-crime group says in an annual report that organized crime is becoming increasingly more organized, leading to as many as 200,000 business tied to extortionate lenders and leading to profits equivalent to 7 percent of the entire country’s national output. “The classic neighborhood or street loan shark is on the way out,” the group says in its report, “giving way to organized loan-sharking that is well connected with professional circles and operates with the connivance of high-level professionals.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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