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04 Feb 2011 14:19

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Biz, U.S.: Unemployment rate: How did it fall with such low job creation?

  • 36,000new jobs in January (really freaking low)
  • 9.8% November’s really high unemployment rate
  • 9.4% December’s falling unemployment rate
  • 9.0% January’s rate; how did it dip so far? source
  • » Explaining exactly what happened: We’ve seen three perfectly valid arguments for why this disparity between slow job growth and deep unemployment decline took place. The first is pointed out by a Gallup chart that shows that non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment is actually at 9.8 percent – suggesting seasonal adjustment is skewing the numbers. The second suggested reason is much more sinister-sounding: Unemployment benefits for so-called 99ers are starting to run out, and they aren’t looking for jobs, meaning that they are no longer covered as part of the total amount. Finally, the weather sucked in January, with snow covering most of the country, so that could be a possible explanation too. So, which one is the case, anyway?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2011 22:59

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Biz, Music: Citigroup owns EMI: Will they start selling CDs at bank branches?

  • 2007 In one of the most un-rock-‘n’-roll moves a major label has ever done, private equity firm Terra Firma, led by financier Guy Hands, buys EMI for $6.7 billion, $4.3 billion of which was loaned to Terra Firma by Citigroup in a deal which looks really stupid in retrospect.
  • 2011 A few years after the financial crisis made that deal look like a really stupid idea, the musical home of Radiohead, Blur and The Beatles was just taken over by Citigroup. Which means that the company that runs your ATM also sells the Beastie Boys’ catalogue. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 20:08

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Biz: Why do U.S. cable companies continue to block al-Jazeera English?

  • There was reluctance from these companies to embark in a direction that would perhaps be opposed by the Bush administration. I think that’s changed. I think if anything the Obama administration has indicated to al-Jazeera that it sees us as part of the solution, not part of the problem.
  • Al-Jazeera English’s head of North American strategies Tony Burman • Discussing why getting his network on U.S. cable systems has been such a hard sell. When the English-language network launched in 2006, it carried a bit of a reputation with it (despite its editorial independence and BBC-like business model), and it’s one that’s kept the network running in D.C., parts of Ohio and parts of Vermont. That’s it. (Oh, and if you happen to own a satellite dish.) This is despite the fact that the service is widely-available in Europe and Canada without any troubles. “Why in the most vibrant democracy in the world, where engagement and knowledge of the world is probably the most important,” Burman continues, “why it’s not available is one of these things that would take a PhD scholar to understand.” Meanwhile, Fox News airs unabated. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jan 2011 11:04

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Biz: Something else to blame on the snow: Crappy job numbers

  • 51,000 the increase in new jobless claims last week, blamed partly on snow
  • 454,000 last week’s jobless claims level – the highest it’s been since October source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jan 2011 11:17

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Biz: Housing numbers: Prices, sales on the up-and-up right now

  • 17.5% jump in single-family home sales source
  • » Oh, and home prices are on the up, too: Good news, everybody. The housing market appears to be improving – home prices are at their highest since April 2008, and sales of single-family units are at their highest in eight months. This is a fundamental suggestion that the recovery seems to be gaining wings. But will it last? It seems like just yesterday we were talking about the anger of a double-dip.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jan 2011 10:25

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Biz: Dow Jones touches 12,000 again, analysts dancing in the streets

  • 12k the level the Dow Jones Industrial touched today – for the first time since June 2008
  • 24% the amount the stock market has gone up in the last seven months alone (wow)
  • 83% the amount it’s jumped since we hit rock bottom in March 2009 – so are we fully rehabbed? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jan 2011 16:03

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Biz: Taco Bell president says “proprietary blend of seasonings and spices”

  • Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later — and got their ‘facts’ absolutely wrong.
  • Taco Bell President Greg Creed • Who used the phrase “proprietary blend of seasonings and spices” to defend itself from a hilarious lawsuit that claims their taco meat isn’t real meat. We’ll just leave this here. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 

25 Jan 2011 10:59

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Biz: Consumers pretty confident in January, ready to take on world

  • 60.6 consumer confidence level – the highest since May source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jan 2011 10:42

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Biz: How much meat does Taco Bell have in its “taco meat filling”?

  • 40% the percentage of meat needed in a product to call it “meat taco filling,” according to the USDA
  • 36% the percentage of meat in Taco Bell’s “meat taco filling” (UH-OH); here comes the lawsuit source
  • » The other ingredients: Water, isolated oat product, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, oats (wheat), soy lecithin, sugar, spices, maltodextrin (a polysaccharide that is absorbed as glucose), soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), garlic powder, autolyzed yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, cocoa powder, silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent), natural flavors, yeast, modified corn starch, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of beef broth, potassium phosphate, and potassium lactate. (thanks rubenfeld)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jan 2011 10:52

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Biz: Google’s Eric Schmidt got a pretty golden thank-you card

  • $100 million in equity earned for his time as CEO source
  • » He still has hefty stock options, too: Schmidt, who recently announced he was stepping down as Google’s CEO, but will stay on as chairman, will keep around 9.1 percent of his voting rights. This, by the way, is after selling a crapton of his stock.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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