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04 Sep 2011 16:10

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Biz: James Murdoch turns down bonus; Rupert Murdoch takes his own

  • In light of the current controversy surrounding News of the World, I have declined the bonus that the company chose to award to me. While the financial and operating performance metrics on which the bonus decision was based are not associated with this matter, I feel that declining the bonus is the right thing to do.
  • James Murdoch • Explaining his reasons for not accepting a $6 million bonus from News Corp. in the wake of the News of the World scandal. Accepting the bonus would have increased his 2010 take-home pay by 74 percent. His dad Rupert, meanwhile, accepted a $12.5 million bonus of his own. Do you think James made the right move? And if so, should Rupert Murdoch have followed the same track? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2011 12:30

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Biz, Politics: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz planning political town hall next week

This is the CEO’s follow-up to his call for more corporate responsibility, and it’s sponsored by No Labels. All we know is that there had better be free coffee. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2011 19:51

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Biz, Tech: Netflix’s crappy day: As its stock falls, a new competitor shows itself

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2011 12:19

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Biz, U.S.: August’s depressingly bad job numbers will depress you greatly

  • 17k number of jobs gained in the private sector in August — down significantly from July
  • 17k number of jobs lost in the public sector in August — see where this is going, guys?
  • 0k number of jobs created as a whole in August; unemployment stayed at 9.1 percent source
  • » Another month of 9-plus-percent unemployment: Of the past 28 months, 26 of them have sported unemployment above 9 percent. And here’s a number that will depress the crap out of you — 14 million people are currently unemployed, which makes job gains of 100,000 seem like not enough, let alone completely flat months like August.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Aug 2011 23:34

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Biz, Politics: Rick Perry: Totally backed that AT&T merger with T-Mobile

  • $500,000 from AT&T to Rick Perry source
  • » AT&T’s contributions = Rick Perry’s support? Back in May, Rick Perry told the FCC he backed the AT&T/T-Mobile merger. “I believe that this merger will continue to provide for great consumer choice, offer a wide range of service options, and spur continued innovation,” he wrote. He might’ve had a little help from those campaign contributions over the past decade. AT&T has a bit of a history of going out of its way to turn public favor its way, going so far as to bizarrely convince GLAAD to support the merger. With the Justice Department coming out against the merger and AT&T’s contributions to Perry coming under scrutiny, will Perry back down? (Strangely enough, BTW, the Justice Department’s James Cole made a statement that reads like the polar opposite of what Perry wrote: “We believe the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would result in tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices, and lower-quality products for their mobile wireless services.” Hrm.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Aug 2011 15:46

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Biz: Solar buisness visited, touted by Obama last year files for bankruptcy

  • then In May 2010, President Obama visited Solyndra, a solar panel business based out of Fremont, CA. Solyndra was a business of great interest and investment by the government — they received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy in 2009.
  • now Solyndra will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy next week, a move that Reuters reports was caused by their being undercut by lower-cost Chinese competitors. The bankruptcy would be the third such filing for a prominent solar energy business in the past month. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Aug 2011 11:15

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Biz: Justice Department attempts to block AT&T merger with T-Mobile

  • then A while back, AT&T announced it would attempt to purchase T-Mobile for $39 billion, in an attempt to shore up deficiencies in its wireless network. Other companies and consumer groups, most notably Sprint, loudly complained.
  • now Now the Justice Department’s trying to block the merger. “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low-priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” their complaint said. *BOOM.* source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 Aug 2011 10:44

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Biz: Unemployment claims rise based on a single company’s labor issues

  • what Even though investors were expecting a drop in first-time jobless claims last week to roughly 400,000, they actually went up to 417,000 — up 5,000 from the prior week. Wait a second …
  • why Simple — Verizon workers went on strike, and 8,500 of them filed unemployment benefits (12,500 filed the week before). They’ve since gone back to work, so expect this to change next week. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2011 10:31

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Biz: Warren Buffett invests a ton of cash in struggling Bank of America

  • $5 billion investment from Warren Buffett to Bank of America source
  • » Giving it to the needy: Our boy Warren Buffett, who recently took the U.S. government to task for not raising taxes on the rich, is giving a big cash infusion to a company that’s struggling build confidence in investors. It’s taken a hit on the stock market — its shares are down nearly 30 percent since the beginning of August and it just announced some huge job cuts — and it owns a couple of properties, Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, noted for their spectacular combustions during the financial crisis. Buffett’s deal is pretty sweet — a 6 percent annual dividend and a 5 percent premium if he buys back the stock — but he nonetheless sounds like he’s doing it out of respect for the company. “I am impressed with the profit-generating abilities of this franchise, and that they are acting aggressively to put their challenges behind them,” Buffett said in a statement. “Bank of America is focused on their customers and on serving them well. That’s what customers want, and that’s the company’s strategy.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 21:49

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Biz: S&P’s President Deven Sharma: I’m stepping down, homies

We know what you’re thinking — his departure had something to do with this mess. Well, you’d be wrong; apparently, his departure’s been planned for months. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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