Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

25 Jan 2012 10:14

tags

Biz: HSBC faces money-laundering investigation in Senate

  • A big company with big problems: Reuters is reporting that HSBC is facing some tough allegations in the Senate, with the company reportedly getting investigated for its role in sketchy money-laundering practices. Reuters reports that while the scale of the investigation isn’t known, signs point to breakdowns in the company’s anti-money-laundering systems. In response to the Senate allegations, the company’s spokesman responded: “We have ongoing discussions with officials on a number of regulatory and compliance matters. The nature of these discussions is confidential; in all cases, we are cooperating.” Read more at the link. (awesome, incredibly fitting photo by Flickr user Will Survive) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jan 2012 10:31

tags

Biz: A new PlayBook: Struggling RIM replaces its dual CEOs with one dude

  • In the U.S. we were very, very successful coming from the core enterprise business, and in the public opinion this is still where we’re skewed to. We need to be more marketing-driven. We need to be more consumer-oriented because this is where a lot of our growth is coming from. That is essential in the U.S.
  • Research in Motion’s new CEO, Thorsten Heins • Discussing the difficult issues the company faces as it tries to compete with Apple and Google in a field that they popularized with the BlackBerry: Smartphones. Heins, the former Chief Operating Officer, replaced the company’s two co-CEOs, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, who stepped down over the weekend. It has not exactly been the best year for RIM — to call the company’s tablet, the PlayBook, a flop would be putting it lightly, as its failure cost the company nearly half a billion dollars last year. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of their problems. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jan 2012 10:10

tags

Biz: Associated Press leader Tom Curley to retire, leaves controversial legacy

  • The guy who guided AP into the aggregation era: You probably don’t know this guy very well, but all the organizations that give you your news know him quite well. Tom Curley, who has led the Associated Press since 2003, plans to retire later this year, after his successor is found. Curley, a former USA Today publisher, faced a not-very-enviable task as AP’s leader: As many of his member publications found it difficult to stay afloat (in some cases, trying to drop AP entirely as a cost-saving measure), Curley took a very hard stance against copyright issues, and once played a role in a protracted fight with Google over access to AP articles. (For years, the Curley-led Associated Press considered Google merely running headlines in search results to be lawsuit-worthy, before eventually backing off.) The AP’s leader will leave a somewhat-difficult legacy in its handling of the blogosphere, too: After previous stunted attempts to show control over its content, the site is moving forward with a new content-licensing initiative called NewsRight. Journalism is a difficult business to keep financially stable, and the AP has had a lot to fight against. But at times, you sometimes wonder if folks like Curley simply didn’t understand the environment. Their issues are certainly not as bad as the music industry’s. But they’re certainly not shining examples of new-media transition. (Photo by Richard Drew/AP) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jan 2012 13:56

tags

Biz: More on Eastman Kodak’s filing for bankruptcy protection

  • 131 years in the making: As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, the former film titan, whose  business put cameras in the hands of millions of people, now enters a new phase in its long history, bankruptcy proceedings. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called it “difficult and disappointing news,” which is understandable; their company was headquartered in Rochester, NY. Since 2003, Kodak has laid off about 47,000 employees, and now in bankruptcy protection their already weak stock price has plummeted to 34 cents per share. If you want to get really depressed about this story, read Alexis Madrigal’s great piece on the company’s history. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jan 2012 11:50

tags

Biz: Zappos nailed by security breach, millions of customers affected

  • 24 million customers affected by a major security breach source
  • » A consumer-focused brand suffers: A data breach with far-reaching implications, this couldn’t have happened to a better company. Anyone who’s ever bought shoes from Zappos knows the company has a rep for doing whatever it can to make the customer happy. “We’ve spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers,” wrote Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. “It’s painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident.” According to the company, sensitive data, including the last four digits of customers’ credit card numbers, may have been acquired in the cyber attack.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2012 10:42

tags

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

09 Jan 2012 11:18

tags

Biz: Auto industry recovery: Detroit Auto Show reflects a reversal of fortunes

  • 4-9% expected increase in U.S. auto sales in 2012 source
  • » Pulling out the big guns: This week’s Detroit Auto Show is a giant coming-out party for an auto industry that was struggling to keep the engine running just a couple of years ago. But, while those times are certainly not gone entirely, they’ve certainly improved in recent years, which reflects in the boldness of this year’s models. In fact Chrysler, the weakest of the the three auto companies, is actually looking like a bright spot for Fiat, whose Chief Executive, Sergio Marchionne, invested in the company at its weakest point. “He entered Chrysler at rock bottom and will now capitalize on a U.S. recovery — the timing was perfect,” said automotive analyst Philippe Barrier. But maybe you’re like us and you don’t care about the specifics of the recovery and just want to see cool new cars. Well, the Detroit Free Press has you covered.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Jan 2012 21:07

tags

Biz: Kodak may soon file for bankruptcy

  • The end of an era: According to sources reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Eastman Kodak company sits on the verge of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and is expected to file within the next couple weeks. Once a colossus in the world of film, advancements in digital technology inevitably hurt the company’s profits, straining an outdated business model; they’ve failed to turn a profit five of the last six years. Kodak employs about 19,000 people, and has heavy responsibilities to retirees — this is certainly not what the private sector job market needs right now. (Photo courtesy of alf sigaro) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2012 20:05

tags

Biz: Yahoo tabs PayPal president Scott Thompson as new CEO

  • Yahoo picks the new boss: Scott Thompson, the president of eBay’s PayPal division, has been picked by Yahoo as its new CEO, replacing CFO Tim Morse who filled that role in an interim capacity. This marks the fourth CEO Yahoo has turned to in under five years; the company, once a giant in the world of search engines, has understandably suffered with the seemingly unstoppable ascendancy of Google over the past decade. Thompson faces a tall task — he’s being looked to, as chairman Roy Bostock said, “reignite innovation and drive growth” — this for a company that’s had a ton of trouble with both. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2012 16:08

tags

Biz: PayPal told dissatisfied buyer to destroy violin rather than return it

  • $2,500 violin destroyed, at PayPal’s behest source
  • » Bad policy, lazy practice? An eBay seller named Erica recently complained, in a letter to Regretsy, that her attempted sale of an antique violin ended with the violin smashed to pieces, apparently at the direct instruction of PayPal. The buyer had disputed the violin’s label, which Erica claims is common and matters little in the world of violins, and that it was “examined and authenticated” before being sold. That aside, PayPal declared the violin “counterfeit” and instructed the buyer to destroy it to receive his money back, which the buyer did. Meaning Erica came away with nothing: “…my main goal in writing to you is to prevent PayPal from ordering the destruction of violins and other antiquities that they know nothing about. It is beyond me why PayPal simply didn’t have the violin returned to me.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>