March 2011

Video: Ranadive Says Tibco Helps Companies Retain Customers

by on March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Vivek Ranadive, chief executive officer at Tibco Software Inc., talks about Tibco’s software and services and growth in retail. Ranadive also discusses companies’ use of data. He speaks with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Ranadive Says Tibco Helps Companies Retain Customers

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Edward D. Kleinbard: The Global Tax Avoidance Dance

by on March 31, 2011

Huffington Post…

America’s most successful multinationals make great products and offer superior services. But they have another, less enviable quality in common — they have become world leaders in tax avoidance. General Electric’s global effective tax rate for 2010 was 7.4% . Pfizer’s was 11.9% ; Cisco came in at 17.5% . The nominal U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%. Each company has its own tax story, but all — like other multinationals — have for years relied heavily on low-taxed foreign income to drive down their worldwide tax obligations, including those of their U.S. businesses. American multinationals claim they are taxed on their worldwide income, but in reality the “active” income they earn through foreign subsidiaries is not taxed in this country until the cash is repatriated. In addition, financial accounting practices (the lens through which we view these firms because their tax returns are not public) permit a company not to book any U.S. tax liability on foreign earnings if the firm states that the income is “indefinitely invested” abroad. General Electric has $94 billion in indefinitely reinvested earnings. The total for corporate America is more than $1 trillion. 
 If the story was simply that U.S. firms have successfully expanded into international markets and are paying taxes abroad at lower rates, one could argue that there is no U.S. tax mischief afoot. But these are not the facts. Tax collectors in the U.S. and in high-tax foreign countries are the direct victims of the tax avoidance, but we all suffer from the resulting budget deficits and distorted investment decisions that firms make as a result of their ability to generate what I call “stateless income” — income derived from selling goods and services in a high-tax country but that, through internal tax legerdemain, surfaces in a low-taxed affiliate. What’s going on is a highly choreographed six-step dance. Step 1: U.S. firms rely on aggressive “transfer pricing” to sell, at bargain prices, high-profit U.S. assets or business opportunities to their low-taxed foreign subsidiaries in countries like Ireland. It cannot be simply the luck of the Irish that explains the extraordinary profitability of the Irish subsidiaries of U.S. firms relative to their European sister companies. Step 2: U.S. multinationals move income from higher-tax foreign countries, where their customers actually are located, to lower-taxed ones not only through transfer pricing but also through “earnings stripping.” For example, a corporation funds its German subsidiary with loans secured in Ireland, so the interest is deductible in Germany. Step 3: Not satisfied with low corporate tax rates in Ireland (12.5%) or in other countries, U.S. firms set up exotic internal funding structures — with such names as “Double Irish Dutch Sandwich” — to shift income from these countries to zero-tax havens like Bermuda. Step 4: Firms arbitrage what remains of their U.S. tax base by parking their global external-debt financing here, which creates interest deductions to shield their U.S. income. They then overstuff their low-taxed foreign subsidiaries with equity capital. Step 5: Having put their stateless-income generating machines in motion, U.S. firms let their ultra-low-taxed foreign income accumulate abroad. Microsoft, for example, has accumulated $29.5 billion in offshore indefinitely reinvested earnings. Its financial statements suggest that its effective foreign tax rate from selling its products and services to customers located primarily in populous and relatively high-tax countries is in the neighborhood of 4%. Step 6: With more than $1 trillion in low-taxed earnings offshore, the firms complain to Congress that U.S. tax law impedes their ability to reinvest their foreign earnings back home because they have not yet paid U.S. taxes on them. They demand a special tax holiday from Congress so they can complete the circle and repatriate all those earnings at nominal cost. All this tax engineering has yielded tax burdens that bear no relationship to tax rates in the United States or in the populous foreign countries where the firms actually have personnel, real investment and customers. It’s true that the U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35%, is too high relative to its economic peers, about 28% on average. ( Click here for data on the 31 member states of the OECD; the 28% figure is an unweighted average of the larger OECD members. Click here for the “BRICs” and other non-OECD countries.) But the solution is not to reward U.S. multinationals for concocting and implementing worldwide tax-minimization schemes. The only feasible solution is to lower the U.S. rate to a level comparable with global norms and to pay for the reduction in part by introducing worldwide tax consolidation for U.S. firms, just as they today consolidate their worldwide operations for financial accounting purposes. Edward D. Kleinbard, a professor of law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, is former chief of staff of the U.S. Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation. The facts and arguments in this piece are abstracted from two recent papers authored by Prof. Kleinbard: Stateless Income and The Lessons of Stateless Income . 




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Video: Saks’s Sadove Says `Core Luxury Consumer Is Back’

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Stephen Sadove, chief executive officer at Saks Inc., talks about the outlook for consumer spending and retail sales. He speaks with Julie Hyman and contributing editor Jay Margolis on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Saks’s Sadove Says `Core Luxury Consumer Is Back’

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Stephen Sadove, chief executive officer at Saks Inc., talks about the outlook for consumer spending and retail sales. He speaks with Julie Hyman and contributing editor Jay Margolis on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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U.S. Rules On Radiation Pills Vary Widely From State To State

March 31, 2011

NEW YORK — Potassium iodide pills have played a central role in Japan’s nuclear response. And they’ve contributed to widespread paranoia in the United States, as people fearing exposure to radiation from thousands of miles away have snapped up the substance from drugstore shelves and online vendors. But as a matter of U.S. emergency preparedness policy, the government’s distribution of potassium iodide to people living near nuclear plants is a hazy and voluntary process that varies widely from state to state. Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission included potassium iodide in its emergency preparedness regulations nearly a decade ago, the decision on whether to distribute the radiation pills to the public was left up to individual states. Twenty-three of the 33 states that have people living within 10 miles of nuclear power plants have chosen to participate in the federal program. The inconsistent standards across the country point to the difficulties in managing public perceptions of a nuclear disaster and reveal a lack of consumer education about how the pills work. State officials who have chosen not to distribute potassium iodide say they worry that residents might be lured into a false sense of security and not evacuate in the case of a disaster. But doctors and other public health advocates have long urged for a more centralized approach on potassium iodide, which can reduce the risk of thyroid cancer for those exposed to radioactive iodine, particularly in infants and young children. Critics have long said that the federal government has shied away from requiring distribution of the pills to avoid any negative stigma attached to living near a nuclear plant. “Everyone agrees with the need for evacuation,” said Dr. Lewis Braverman, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine who coauthored a 2004 National Academy of Sciences report advocating the use of potassium iodide for anyone at risk from radioactive iodine. “But if that doesn’t occur, or if it’s slow, and you’re worried about radioactive iodine in the atmosphere … then I think it should be available.” Potassium iodide is available over the counter in drug stores, but not in great supply. As evidenced by the run on the substance at drugstores in the United States, the pills are often misunderstood. If taken shortly before or after exposure to radiation, potassium iodide can be effective in reducing the risk of thyroid cancer, mostly for people under 40. But they are in no way a panacea for the effects of radiation, since exposure to other radioactive elements can lead to other illnesses, such as lung cancer. Taking the pills effectively fills the thyroid gland with enough iodine to prevent the gland from absorbing radioactive iodine, a harmful isotope emitted from a nuclear reactor. Nonetheless, other countries with extensive nuclear power industries, such as France, have consistent distribution of potassium iodide to households living near nuclear plants. For years, the American Thyroid Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have pushed for greater and more consistent distribution of the pills. Greater distribution doesn’t mean greater intake, though. States that do participate in the program warn that the pills should only be taken as directed — in case of emergency, while evacuating to a safe distance. Following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, a commission appointed by President Jimmy Carter recommended that the United States stockpile potassium iodide, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not adopt a rule regarding the substance until 2001. The rule now “requires that consideration be given to including potassium iodide as a protective measure for the general public that would supplement sheltering and evacuation.” It applies to states that have populations within 10 miles of a nuclear plant. At the time, the commission told states that there would only be a one-time distribution of the pills; since then the commission has told states they will continue to provide more supplies if they run out. Individual states had to come up with a distribution plan and submit it to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for approval. Methods of distributing potassium iodide vary: some states stockpile it in case of emergency, while others make it available to the public at regular intervals. Officials in states that have chosen not to distribute the potassium iodide to residents point out that the pills only address the thyroid gland, and not other parts of the body that could be harmed by exposure to radioactive elements. They also point out that pills could deter evacuation efforts. “It’s better for them to leave the area and get no exposure to radiation than rely on protection from one kind of radiation,” said Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Other health officials said they decided not to distribute the pills because of logistical questions: how and when to hand out the pills. “If we’re telling people to get out, but they’d rather get potassium iodide first at some distribution point, it confuses our emergency plan,” said Donn Moyer, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Health, which opted not to participate in the federal program. But the inconsistencies are notable. In Wisconsin, for example, potassium iodide is handed out in a county near two power plants but not near another one. County officials near Wisconsin’s two nuclear power plants along Lake Michigan did not want to distribute the pills. But potassium iodide is distributed in a county on the other side of the state, which is within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant in Minnesota. Minnesota officials did opt into the federal potassium iodide program, so officials in the adjoining Wisconsin county felt it would be inconsistent if they were not also available in Wisconsin. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not announced any specific policy changes since the Japan disaster, but noted that the commission is reviewing “all aspects of nuclear power plant safety and security regulations.”

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Top Digital Media Companies Of 2010

March 31, 2011

Few can question the rise of digital media, but arguably just as few can tell you who’s leading the pack. But paidContent did just that, ranking the top 50 digital media companies in the U.S. based on a number of factors, namely digital sales. If the sales figures were publicly available, that’s the number they used. Otherwise paidContent established a reasonable estimate based on a variety of reports. Overall it’s a pretty solid list , but check it out for yourself to decide if you think these companies are leading the way. Perhaps most telling is how these companies generate their revenue. Of the 50 companies on the list only 13 made their money be selling subscriptions or services (notably Netflix). The other 37 generate most of their money the old-fashioned way, through ads. Click here for the full paidContent 50 , or check out the top 10 in the slideshow below.

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Video: Kedrosky Says Microsoft May Expand Google Complaint

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg News contributor Paul Kedrosky talks about Microsoft Inc.’s antitrust complaint to European Union regulators against Google Inc. which may expand an existing EU probe beyond Internet searches to online video and mobile phones. Kedrosky speaks with Emily Chang and Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Kedrosky Says Microsoft May Expand Google Complaint

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg News contributor Paul Kedrosky talks about Microsoft Inc.’s antitrust complaint to European Union regulators against Google Inc. which may expand an existing EU probe beyond Internet searches to online video and mobile phones. Kedrosky speaks with Emily Chang and Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: U.S. Stocks Fall, S&P 500 Trims Best 1Q Since 1998

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg’s Deborah Kostroun reports on the performance of the U.S. equity market today. U.S. stocks fell, trimming the biggest first-quarter rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 1998, as a Federal Reserve official said interest rates may need to rise and concern about Europe’s debt crisis grew. Bloomberg’s Julie Hyman also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: U.S. Stocks Fall, S&P 500 Trims Best 1Q Since 1998

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg’s Deborah Kostroun reports on the performance of the U.S. equity market today. U.S. stocks fell, trimming the biggest first-quarter rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 1998, as a Federal Reserve official said interest rates may need to rise and concern about Europe’s debt crisis grew. Bloomberg’s Julie Hyman also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Harrison Calls EBay Acquisition of GSI Is `Game Changer’

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Gilbert Harrison, chief executive officer at Financo Inc., talks about EBay Inc.’s agreement to buy GSI Commerce Inc. Harrison also discusses the outlook for mergers and acquisitions in the retail industry. He speaks with Julie Hyman and Bloomberg Contributing Editor Jay Margolis on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Harrison Calls EBay Acquisition of GSI Is `Game Changer’

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Gilbert Harrison, chief executive officer at Financo Inc., talks about EBay Inc.’s agreement to buy GSI Commerce Inc. Harrison also discusses the outlook for mergers and acquisitions in the retail industry. He speaks with Julie Hyman and Bloomberg Contributing Editor Jay Margolis on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Fed Accepted Nearly $1 Billion In Defaulted Debt From Banks As Collateral During Crisis

March 31, 2011

The Federal Reserve accepted more defaulted debt than U.S. Treasuries as collateral to back $155.7 billion on the largest day of borrowing from the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, according to documents released today.

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Video: Tennant Likes Abercrombie & Fitch on Overseas Sales

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Adrienne Tennant, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, talks about her investment strategy for retailers. She talks with Julie Hyman and Bloomberg Contributing Editor Jay Margolis on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Sbarro Prepares To File For Bankruptcy

March 31, 2011

Fast-food pizza chain Sbarro Inc may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as next week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Sbarro SBARO.UL is in talks with a group of hedge funds holding its senior debt to provide about $35 million in so-called debtor-in-possession financing to help keep the chain operating in bankruptcy, the Journal said. A Sbarro representative was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Dena Aubin; editing by Carol Bishopric) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Video: Horwich Says Facts `So Far’ Show Sokol Violated No Rules

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Allan Horwich, a securities law professor at Northwestern University’s School of Law, talks about David Sokol’s resignation from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Sokol stepped down yesterday amid disclosures about his stock trading in a company he identified as a takeover target. Sokol says he did nothing unethical. Horwich speaks with Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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RemedyMD Expands Executive Leadership Team With the Addition of Kathi Brown

March 31, 2011

New Vice President of Research Management Systems, Kathi Brown, Has a Strong Background in Medical Research

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Video: Dwyer Expects Fed to Raise Rates in Second Half of 2011

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Anthony Dwyer, chief equity strategist at Collins Stewart, talks about the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy. Dwyer also discusses tomorrow’s U.S. jobs report for March, the U.S. economy and stocks. He speaks with Matt Miller, Adam Johnson, Julie Hyman and Sheila Dharmarajan on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Groenewegen Says Gold Rises on Inflation Anticipation

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Gijsbert Groenewegen, founder of Silver Arrow Capital Management, talks about the performance of the U.S. stock market and outlook for gold and silver prices. Groenewegen speaks with Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Missouri Unemployment Benefits Extension To Be Dropped

March 31, 2011

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Thousands of people in Missouri who have been unemployed for more than a year soon will lose their jobless benefits, marking a significant victory for Republican fiscal hawks who are crusading against government spending. When eligibility ends Saturday, Missouri will become the only state to voluntarily quit a federal stimulus program that offers extended benefits. Michigan, Arkansas and Florida also recently took steps to cut back on money going to the unemployed, although they targeted state benefits instead. “We have to take a stand and say, `When is enough enough?’ and send a message to the federal government, and hopefully shame them into doing the right thing and quit spending money that they don’t have,” said state Sen. Jim Lembke, a Republican from St. Louis. Lembke has led a coalition of four filibustering senators who have blocked legislation necessary to reauthorize Missouri’s participation in a federal program offering long-term unemployment benefits. It’s been a stunning setback for a bill that had passed the Republican-led House 123-14 two months ago and had the support of GOP Senate leaders and Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. As a result, more than 34,000 unemployed residents in Missouri could miss out on $105 million in benefits over the next nine months. Unlike some other stimulus programs, Missouri’s unclaimed money would not be redistributed by the federal government to other states. It simply would remain unspent. At issue is a provision in the 2009 federal stimulus act that allowed residents in states with high unemployment rates to receive up to 20 additional weeks of federally funded jobless benefits after exhausting the 79 weeks authorized under other federal laws. At least three dozen states, including Missouri, enacted laws to participate. Although their unemployment rates were high enough to qualify, seven other states – Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma and Utah – never passed laws to join in, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Maryland is now pursuing participation, but many of the other states seem content to remain out of the program. Much like his Missouri counterparts, Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups said the states need to set an example of self-sufficiency. “Somebody has to start pulling back from the federal government somewhere,” said Waddoups, a Republican from Taylorsville. That federal backlash is particularly strong in Missouri, where voters were the first in the nation to pass a measure challenging the new federal health care mandate and where Republican senators also are holding up federal stimulus money for education. Missouri’s unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent for nearly two years. Yet it is poised to become the first state to take the additional federal unemployment money, then later voluntarily stop doing so, according to officials at the federal Labor Department and the National Employment Law Project, a New York-based advocacy group for employment rights that has been urging Missouri to remain in the program. Several other states could have been in the same situation. But the governors of Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon all signed laws within the past week continuing participation. Michigan’s action came with catch, also cutting state jobless benefits from 26 to 20 weeks starting in 2012. The Florida House has passed a similar state benefits reduction. Arkansas’ legislature this week gave final approval to a bill shaving off one week of eligibility for state jobless benefits. In Missouri, about 10,000 people would immediately be cut off from additional jobless payments, according to the state department of labor. And extended unemployment benefits would be denied to about 24,000 additional residents who otherwise are projected to become eligible. St. Louis resident Peter Gordon, who has been unemployed for a little over a year, is among those who could miss out. A former patient care coordinator at a hearing aid company, Gordon has been searching for jobs over the Internet but said he can’t travel far because he can’t afford to license his car. He fears he could eventually be evicted from his apartment. “They can provide money for government programs to take care of the elite and rich,” Gordon said. “But when it comes to a small person like me – people who are just trying to make ends meet – it seems like the rights are being taken away.” Kimberly Clark, a laid off union organizer, says her post-tax unemployment benefit of $275 a week already is consumed by her rent, utility and phone bills. She’s been searching for work since November 2009, and she’s only a couple of months away from needing the extended benefits that Missouri is poised to reject. “The mentality is we’re just creating a bunch of lazy people, and that is not true,” said Clark, 48 of St. Louis. The National Employment Law Project says its supporters sent 15,000 emails in a roughly 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday urging Missouri senators to allow a vote on the legislation reauthorizing the extended jobless benefits. But Sen. Brian Nieves, a Republican from Washington, Mo., who is popular among tea party activists, said he has no intention of compromising his position. “The people have been crystal clear for about the last two years in saying that they expect us to at least start the process of weaning ourselves off of the federal government,” Nieves said. ___ Associated Press writers Wes Duplantier in Jefferson City, Josh Loftin in Salt Lake City, Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City, Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Miss., Nomaan Merchant in Little Rock, Ark., Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, La., and Matt Gouras in Helena, Mont., contributed to this report.

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Auto Union Grows For First Time In Years

March 31, 2011

DETROIT – United Auto Workers membership rose for the first time in six years in 2010, helped by a recovering U.S. auto industry and expanding to include workers outside that industry, the UAW said in a federal filing on Thursday. UAW membership rose 6 percent in 2010 to 376,612 members, the first rise since 2004, when UAW-represented workers totaled 654,657. Still, membership is way down since 1979, when it hovered near 1.5 million. “This increase is a reflection of new organizing by the UAW, the recovery of the domestic auto industry and UAW members who won a first contract during the year,” said UAW President Bob King. “We hope to continue this growth in 2011 and beyond, as we fight to win a more fair and democratic process for workers to organize unions in the United States.” Membership has risen in areas outside of the auto industry as the UAW expanded its footprint with gaming workers in Atlantic City, New Jersey, post-doctoral workers at the University of California system and other public and private company workers. The UAW is currently trying to increase membership by appealing to auto workers at U.S. plants of companies based in Japan including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and Nissan Motor Co (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Kia Motors (000270.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Germany’s Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). The UAW enters contract talks this summer with the three major U.S. automakers General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Chrysler, which is managed by Fiat SpA (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). (Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Gary Hill) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Video: Ivry Says Goldman Borrowed From Fed Window Five Times

March 31, 2011

March 31 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg reporter Bob Ivry discusses the release of the Federal Reserve’s discount-window lending records and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s borrowing history. He speaks with Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Tesla Stock Soars After It’s Called ‘America’s Fourth Automaker’

March 31, 2011

Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Tesla? A new report by Morgan Stanley suggests that electric car startup Tesla is in good position to break into the Big Three to become “America’s fourth automaker.” The brokerage believes that increasing gas prices and promises of governmental support for alternative fuel vehicles may help launch the manufacturer to global success. Tesla’s stock rose 20 percent following the report, to $28.51, but the firm’s price target for the end of the year is $70, about double its current price. Not everyone is quite so optimistic, however. Though Morgan Stanley’s report estimates that electric cars will reach 7 percent of total U.S. car sales by 2020, previous estimates have placed that figure closer to 1 or 2 percent. “I’d say that the praise is a little bit of a hyperbole,” said Ed Kim, director of industry analysis with AutoPacific. “In fact more than a little — Tesla still has a long way to go before they become a true volume automaker in North America.” Major obstacles still confront the electric vehicle industry from reaching widespread adoption. Unlike gasoline-run cars, or even hybrids, pure electric cars require significant infrastructure to be at all viable outside of urban areas where driving distances tends to be shorter. Ultimately, though, experts believe EV adoption will come down to price: if gas prices continue to rise, and the government actually steps in to provide major subsidies on electric vehicle purchase, American consumers may come to regard the cars as worthwhile investments. “As long as we’re still in a world where we don’t have a vastly expanded infrastructure, in a world where gasoline is still cheap enough, the mainstream is not going to embrace them,” said Kim. “Consumer behavior is affected first and foremost by price.” Watch a short video about Tesla below by AOL Autos: PRODUCTION PLAYER! DO NOT DELETE.

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House Republicans Trying To Use Tax Law To Limit Abortions

March 31, 2011

WASHINGTON — A House panel voted Thursday to limit tax breaks for insurance policies that cover abortions as House Republicans try to chip away at President Barack Obama’s health overhaul. The House Ways and Means Committee voted 22-14 on a party-line vote to pass the bill, which would prevent people from deducting the cost of an abortion from their taxable income. The bill also would prevent small businesses and taxpayers from using tax credits in the new health care law to provide or pay for insurance policies that cover the procedure. If women pay for an abortion using tax-free income set aside in a health savings account, the money would have to be reported as taxable income. There would be exceptions for cases of rape or incest, or if a physician certified that a woman’s life would be in danger if she didn’t end the pregnancy. All Republicans voted in favor of the bill and all Democrats voted against it. The bill now goes to the full House, where it is supported by GOP leaders. The bill, however, faces strong opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Current law bars federal money for abortion, with the same exceptions as those in the bill. The health overhaul creates state marketplaces for insurance known as exchanges, and allows participating plans to cover abortions, as long as they collect a separate premium from policyholders and that money is kept apart from federal subsidies. The abortion language in the new law resulted from a compromise among Democrats that didn’t leave everyone happy. Republicans were united in opposing the overhaul. Now, with their efforts to repeal it stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate, Republicans are attacking it piece by piece. Supporters say the bill is necessary because current law doesn’t go far enough in ensuring that no tax money is used to subsidize abortions. According to congressional estimates, the bill would raise only a negligible amount of tax revenue. “The legislation is necessary because the Democrats’ health care law included a massive expansion of the IRS’ authority and concocted a host of ways to funnel taxpayer funds for various costs and procedures, including abortions,” said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., the Ways and Means Committee chairman. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, said, “What we are trying to do is codify longstanding policy that federal dollars should not be used for abortion.” Opponents say the bill would make it difficult, if not impossible, for many women to obtain medical insurance that covers abortions – even if they pay for it themselves. Worse, they say, it could put the IRS in the awkward position of determining whether women who get abortions were sexually assaulted, so the agency can decide whether the procedure is tax-deductible. “We will intrude into your life in the most difficult of circumstances and send in IRS agents, the ultimate bean-counters, to determine whether your medical records, your criminal records, are sufficient,” said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass. By law, people can deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross income, a threshold that increases to 10 percent in 2013. They can set side tax-free money in health savings accounts and spend it on approved medical expenses. The Internal Revenue Service lists the cost of an abortion as an approved medical expense. The bill would not affect employer-provided health insurance. But Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America, said she is concerned the bill would cause insurers in the state marketplaces to drop abortion coverage, making it unavailable even for women who pay their own premiums.

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Goldman Tapped Fed’s Emergency Loan Program, Contrary To Exec’s Claims

March 31, 2011

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) tapped the Federal Reserve’s discount window at least five times since September 2008, according to central bank data that contradict an executive’s testimony last year.

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Howard Steven Friedman: Gladwell’s Views on Entrepreneurs

March 31, 2011

Last night, I was privileged to listen to Malcolm Gladwell discuss innovation at an ICAP Ocean Tomo dinner for entrepreneurs. In his speech, he proposed that innovators are operationally conservative but socially nonconforming. This contrasts with the vast majority who tend to be socially conforming — constantly looking for acceptance from their families, peer groups, co-workers and even strangers. The operationally conservative part of innovators specifically refers to the idea that innovators are better at identifying the true risk of a situation and are more willing to fail than others. One example he gave was Ted Turner. Turner had inherited Turner Advertising Company, a highly profitable billboard business from his father. In 1969, Turner purchased a defunct television station and put it back on the air with inexpensive programming while promoting it using his billboard business. The synergies between his businesses helped this television station eventually became the super-station, a cash machine which funded many of his future ventures. Operationally, Turner’s move into a defunct television station was conservative in that he understood the synergies between the billboard and TV advertising business, but socially he was highly criticized in the Atlanta business community. Additionally, Turner’s outspoken personal style has continued to earn him public enemies but his business moves have generally been built on carefully analyzed insights. Mark Zuckerberg fits this model of operationally conservative but socially nonconforming as well. Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004. Soon after, he dropped out of Harvard and moved to California to pursue his business goals. Dropping out of school is generally socially nonconforming as so many of us are pushed to graduate from top colleges and graduate schools. For Mark, dropping out may have been particularly nonconforming given the significant educational accomplishments of his family — his father is a dentist, mother a psychiatrist and he had recently graduated from the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy. But operationally, dropping out was reasonably conservative. Zuckerberg had interest from entrepreneurs like Sean Parker and investors such as Peter Theil (who invested $500,000 by late 2004), there was good reason to feel confident in the customer base growing (based on initial successes like Facemash and the limited version of Facebook that was operational) and he could re-enter a top university sometime in the future if Facebook failed. There is selection bias in Mr. Gladwell’s discussion, much like in his book Outliers . After all, his lecture focused on examples of successful innovators, with no discussion of those who misestimated risk and failed perpetually. Nonetheless, there is a broader point about social conformity. How often do we avoid taking an action not out of the fear of failure itself, but rather out of the fear of other people’s opinions of our failure? On a personal note, my greatest regrets have never been in my abject failures, but rather in the times where I simply didn’t try.

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Richard Kirsch: Andrew Cuomo Tramples His Father’s Vision for America

March 31, 2011

I just left the New York State Capitol, where demonstrators were streaming into the building to protest Andrew Cuomo’s state budget. The budget gives tax breaks to millionaires in a state loaded with them while making devastating cuts to education in the poorest school districts. The demonstrators plan to spend the night at the Capitol, inspired by the example of protesters against Republican Governor Scott Walker. Did someone really say that Andrew was not only a Democrat, but Mario Cuomo’s son? In 1984, Mario Cuomo thrilled Democrats across the nation with a visionary speech that denounced President Reagan’s portrait of America as a “shining city on a hill.” Mario Cuomo told Reagan, “Mr. President you ought to know that this nation is more a ‘Tale of Two Cities’ than it is just a ‘Shining City on a Hill.’” What more appropriate description could there be of New York, which boasts the biggest gap between the rich and poor of any state in the nation, than a tale of two cities? Mario Cuomo went on to use words that could be a direct indictment of his son’s budget. He said Reagan’s philosophy was to “make the rich richer, and what falls from the table will be enough for the middle class and those who are trying desperately to work their way into the middle class.” Instead, he urged the president to listen to Americans like “a woman who had been denied the help she needed to feed her children because you said you needed the money for a tax break for a millionaire.” Mario Cuomo laid out the task for Democrats in the 1984 election: “We must convince them that we don’t have to settle for two cities, that we can have one city, indivisible, shining for all of its people.” And he asserted, “We speak for young people demanding an education and a future.” While New York faces a budget crisis — and budget cuts are inevitable — Andrew Cuomo has chosen to emulate Reagan rather than his father. As the New York Times wrote in a March 20th editorial : Just extending the surcharge on New York’s highest earners through 2012 would add an estimated $1.2 billion in revenue to the upcoming budget and $4 billion the following fiscal year. Without that surcharge and other targeted tax increases, Mr. Cuomo’s proposed cuts in education and other vital services will inevitably be deeper and more painful than necessary, harming both individuals and the foundation for the state’s future economic growth. The choice is most stark when it comes to education. As the Times pointed out: For instance, Mr. Cuomo wants to withhold a $1.2 billion payment due to poor school districts under a 2006 court order. If the Legislature agrees, it will be the second year in a row that the ordered payment is not made. And it will further widen an already unconscionably wide gap between rich and poor school districts. The editors at the Times highlighted the injustice of that gap in another editorial a few days later, in which they compared two school districts, echoing Mario Cuomo’s portrait of two cities. In wealthy Syosset, which offers almost 30 Advanced Placement courses to children who graduate to Ivy League schools, Cuomo proposed to cut $212 per student. In upstate Ilion, which has one AP class and where one-third of the students qualify for the school lunch program, Cuomo’s budget cut $688 per student. The buzz around Albany is that this is all about Andrew Cuomo’s insatiable desire to be president based on a strategy of being a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. At the same time that Cuomo has insisted on giving tax breaks to the rich, he’s begun pressing the State Legislature to legalize gay marriage. His father’s moving address was based on unifying people, saying, “Remember that, unlike any other Party, we embrace men and women of every color, every creed, every orientation, every economic class.” His son seems to have put his finger in his ears after “orientation.” But then, the wealthy Democratic donors who are spending millions of dollars to push Cuomo’s budget plan don’t hear that well either. One courageous New York Senator is rejecting the calculus that civil rights will trump economic rights. Manhattan Senator Thomas Duane, an openly gay champion of marriage equality, will vote against the budget. But where are the rest of New York’s Democrats, who control the State Assembly and make up 48% of the State Senate? Only seven Democratic assemblymembers had the guts to buck the Democratic governor and vote against the budget bill that will lower tax rates for the rich. A handful of Democratic senators will join them. The rest are captive of Albany’s craven “let’s make a deal” politics that seems to strip state legislators of the courage to do what is right. In 1984, Mario Cuomo told the nation that: The difference between Democrats and Republicans has always been measured in courage and confidence. The Republicans — The Republicans believe that the wagon train will not make it to the frontier unless some of the old, some of the young, some of the weak are left behind by the side of the trail. “The strong” — “The strong,” they tell us, “will inherit the land.” We Democrats believe in something else. We democrats believe that we can make it all the way with the whole family intact, and we have more than once. Mario Cuomo seems to have lost one of his own family members along the way. Cross-posted from New Deal 2.0 .

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Jamie Dimon Worries That Financial Regulation Will Doom Banks, Forever

March 31, 2011

As you may or may not recall, in 2008, the insane, overleveraged derivatives casino that Wall Street had built for itself came crashing down, taking the part of the economy many of us enjoyed — the part that allowed us to have “jobs” — down with it. And the reaction was swift: “Here, banks, take several trillion dollars and live, my friends! Pay yourself bonuses and hire lobbyists and feel free to mark your assets to whatever fantasy value you would like.” And no one was held responsible for any of this, except for unemployed people, who wanted “unemployment benefits” to pay for things like “some food.” Against this backdrop, there were a few naive, inexperienced and unserious people who thought, “Hey, maybe we should actually do something to prevent this from happening again? Like maybe some sort of regulation? Transparency in the derivatives market? Could we do something about predatory lending? Could we even just make a credit card agreement legible?” But those people were and are, of course, socialist monsters. Here’s Jamie Dimon, still pillorying the idea of such a regulation yesterday : Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, launched a broadside against financial regulation on Wednesday, warning that new capital rules could be “the nail in our coffin for big American banks.” …Restrictions on debit card fees charged to retailers are also coming under attack in Congress….”It basically penalises us for having debit cards,” he said. “I think it was very unfairly done in the middle of the night with no facts and analysis whatsoever. This is not the way legislation should be done.” So, Dimon sees “restrictions on debit card fees” as the final “nail in the coffin for big American banks.” Which sounds worrying until you realize that this “nail” doesn’t become dangerous until you gather some wood, plane it, sand it, assemble it into coffin shape, add hinges, upholster the interior, and put varnish and stain on the exterior, and then say, “Okay, now I better get those last few nails.” And, as Kevin Drum points out, we’re not there yet: It’s only been two years since the Great Collapse, and finance industry profits have already rebounded to their bubble-era levels. That’s a strong sign that finance industry leverage is also returning to its bubble-era levels, which in turn means the industry is about as dangerous as it’s ever been. And Dodd-Frank is a notably weak piece of regulation, about as weak as any bill could be and still be called regulatory reform in the first place. Wall Street got off easy, and Dimon knows it. The Financial Times surmises that opposition to financial regulatory reform is really starting to ramp up now that we’re years from the crisis and “anger at the financial industry” is on the wane. Drum and Matt Yglesias disagree on this. Yglesias says: ” I see absolutely no reason to believe that anger at the financial industry has subsided ,” and Drum insists: ” the fact is that the public was never really all that angry at the financial industry in the first place .” I’d split the difference on that score. Anger at the bailouts was definitely incoherent and inconsistent — witness the fact that Russ Feingold, who voted against TARP, lost his seat in the U.S. Senate to bailout-baby Ron Johnson — but it did animate people and it was lasting . At the moment, there’s a movement afoot to satiate the populist hunger for a pound of flesh by serving up teachers and public sector employees as the real “vampire squids.” Meanwhile, it’s worth reminding everyone that — at a time when Jamie Dimon is asking us to imagine a coffin — the financial services industry is well on the rebound : Three years later, the financial sector, despite coming under scrutiny for its role in the financial crisis, has returned to prominence, accounting for 29 percent — $57.7 billion — of U.S. profits during a record-breaking fourth quarter last year, notes the Wall Street Journal. That might be the highest percentage of the post-recession period, per the Commerce Department’s figures, but it’s still no where close to a historic 2001 quarter when the finance sector recorded a record-setting 46 percent of all domestic corporate profits. Before the 1990s, financial institutions rarely accounted for more than 20 percent of total corporate profits. That the financial sector is again America’s most dominant sector is even more amazing when, the WSJ notes, “the sector accounts for less than 10% of the value added in the economy.” All I can say is if this is the coffin-like environment that Dodd-Frank created, I deeply regret the fact that nobody attached the “Kill Jason Linkins Immediately Amendment” to the bill. [Would you like to follow me on Twitter ? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here .]

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Goodbye To Federal Funding For 2012 Candidates

March 31, 2011

NEW YORK — A cornerstone of U.S. politics since the 1970s, public funding of presidential campaigns may soon go the way of other relics of the era like long sideburns and lava lamps. Neither President Barack Obama nor any of the leading 2012 Republican contenders is expected to accept federal matching funds and the limits they impose. In fact, opting to take public money to finance a presidential campaign this year is likely to be seen as the mark of a loser. “I would be shocked if they took matching funds. I don’t think that it’s a successful model this time, or in the future,” says GOP strategist Carl Forti. He’s been an adviser to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and helped run American Crossroads, an independent group that raised millions to defeat Democratic candidates in 2010. Obama’s record-breaking fundraising in the 2008 campaign allowed him to abandon the public system in both the Democratic primaries and the general election. With his success as a benchmark, top-tier Republican candidates now are planning to go it alone. The president, who has no Democratic primary race, may become the first candidate to raise $1 billion for the general election in 2012. Republicans in a wide field must battle each other for the party’s private donors. But the emergence of free-spending independent political groups – since the Supreme Court in 2009 cleared the way for unlimited corporate spending in campaigns – is expected to help close the imbalance between Obama and the GOP. Several of the Republicans also have immense personal wealth. Presidential candidates of both parties once relied on money from the U.S. Treasury as an indispensible part of their budgets. Indeed, the ability to qualify for matching funds was considered an indication of a candidate’s strength after the system was put in place following Watergate-era fundraising abuses. The system was intended to reduce candidates’ dependence on large contributions from individuals and groups. Money for the program comes from a voluntary $3 checkoff on Americans’ income tax returns. The fund currently contains $195 million, which can be used only for presidential primary and general election campaigns and to subsidize the major parties’ nominating conventions. Over time, the program began to weaken. George W. Bush refused public funding in his 2000 and 2004 presidential primary campaigns but did accept the money in the general election. Several candidates in both parties opted out in the 2008 primaries, but others did accept matching funds, including Democrat John Edwards. Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, turned down matching funds for the primaries but then took them in the general election – a move that severely hindered his ability to compete financially with Obama. For this year’s serious GOP candidates, refusing federal funds will be both liberating and daunting. By refusing matching funds, candidates are potentially forfeiting a lot of money. Edwards received nearly $13 million in matching funds in the 2008 primary, and Joe Biden, now the vice president, accepted over $2 million for his primary run. McCain, the winner of the GOP nomination that year, accepted $84 million in federal funds for the general election, but that barred him from any private fundraising. Obama opted out of the system and raised $264 million. For the general election this time, a qualifying party’s nominee would get just under $90 million and would be prohibited from raising more privately. For the primaries it’s more complicated: Qualifying candidates can receive a federal match of up to $250 for each contribution from an individual and must abide by both state spending limits and an overall spending limit of around $50 million. Among the likely Republican candidates: _ Romney, a multimillionaire, turned down public funds in 2008. He raised $66 million and lent his campaign $44 million before eventually dropping out. He’s expected to enter the 2012 field soon and has begun assembling a list of “bundlers” who have been asked to raise $25,000 apiece. He has told donors he hopes to take in $50 million for the primaries – less than his 2008 run but an ambitious figure nonetheless. He has not indicated how much of his personal fortune he will commit. _ Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich hopes to raise $30 million for the primaries, his advisers say. Gingrich has long solicited funds for several organizations including the independent American Solution for Winning the Future, which raised and spent $28 million in 2010. _ Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has a strong national fundraising base from his years as a lobbyist and as chairman of the Republican National Committee and Republican Governors Association. His advisers say he plans to refuse federal matching funds and has set a goal of raising $55 million for the primaries. _ Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty hopes to raise about $25 million for the primaries. Advisers say they don’t believe he would accept matching funds. Pawlenty’s campaign has deployed a 16-member national fundraising team aimed at starting an aggressive fundraising push April 1. He also has raised $4 million for three separate political action committees. Other potential candidates have been less clear about their plans. _ Real estate developer Donald Trump says he will decide by June whether to join the field. Like Romney, he is very wealthy and has vast business connections. _ Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is expected to launch a campaign sometime this spring when he returns from China, where his is serving as U.S. ambassador. Huntsman has abundant personal wealth. _ Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, a tea party favorite weighing a run, raised more than $13 million for her 2010 re-election campaign and has a strong national fundraising base. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is also considering a run and is popular among many social conservatives. _ Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin are weighing bids but are considered less likely to run. Both have strong fundraising connections. The big Republican field is off to a late start. Most 2008 contenders were in by early 2007 and were able to raise money in the first quarter of the year, between January and March. Most this time won’t start until the second quarter, beginning April. 1. “We have a very different environment than we did in 2008,” said Dave Levinthal of the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign fundraising. “These candidates have all shown they have a proven ability to raise money. The problem is, if you have half a dozen or more relatively well-known Republicans running around, there is only so much cash to go around.” Some of the GOP-favoring private groups may get involved in the primaries, raising and spending money on behalf of candidates or targeting others for defeat. But many are likely to save their firepower for the general election.

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Chantiers Davie conclut une entente d’exclusivité avec Fincantieri et DRS Technologies Canada

March 31, 2011

LÉVIS, QUÉBEC–(Marketwire – 31 mars 2011) – Chantiers Davie (« Davie » ou la «Société») a annoncé aujourd’hui qu’elle a conclu une entente d’exclusivité avec Fincantieri – Cantieri Navali Italiani (« Fincantieri ») et DRS Technologies Canada («DRS»), une entreprise de Finmeccanica, afin de négocier l’acquisition potentielle du chantier par le biais d’une entité détenue majoritairement par Fincantieri. Afin de poursuivre ce processus, Davie a obtenu une ordonnance de la Cour supérieure du Québec (la « Cour ») pour prolonger la période de suspension ordonnée par la Cour en vertu de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers du Canada (« LACC ») jusqu’au 19 mai 2011.

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Davie Yards Enters Into an Exclusivity Agreement With Fincantieri and DRS Technologies Canada

March 31, 2011

LÉVIS, QUÉBEC–(Marketwire – March 31, 2011) – Davie Yards (“Davie” or the “Corporation”) announced today that it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Fincantieri – Cantieri Navali Italiani (“Fincantieri”) and DRS Technologies Canada (“DRS”), a Finmeccanica company, to negotiate the potential acquisition of the shipyard by an entity that will be majority-owned by Fincantieri. In order to continue this process, Davie has obtained an order from the Québec Superior Court (the “Court”) extending the stay of proceedings ordered by the Court to May 19, 2011, the whole pursuant to the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”).

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The 3 U.S. Nuke Plants Regulators Are ‘Most Concerned About’

March 31, 2011

WASHINGTON — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says three U.S. nuclear power plants need increased oversight from federal regulators, although officials stressed that all are operating safely. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko (YAHT’-skoh) says the three plants – in South Carolina, Kansas and Nebraska – need more intensive review than other plants because of problems with safety systems or unplanned shutdowns. Jaczko told a House subcommittee Thursday that the plants “are the ones we are most concerned about” among the 65 U.S. nuclear power plants in 31 states. Jaczko did not identify the plants, but an agency spokesman said they are the H.B. Robinson nuclear plant in South Carolina, Fort Calhoun in Nebraska and Wolf Creek in Kansas.

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IRS: Tax Refunds Could Be Delayed Due To Government Shutdown

March 31, 2011

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman said the Obama administration has not decided whether the IRS would process tax returns and issue refunds if Congress cannot agree to a plan to avert a halt of government spending authority on April 8. “We’ve never had a government shutdown in the middle of the filing season before,” Shulman said in testimony before a House Ways and Means subcommittee today in Washington. “The closer we get to April 15, the more consideration and factors are at play.”

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College Job Market Shows Impressive Turnaround

March 31, 2011

Graduating college students might have an easier time finding gainful employment this year. According to a new survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers , hiring is expected to be up 21 percent from last year for jobs and internships across all majors. The results of this most recent survey come as a surprise — in August, NACE predicted a 13.5 percent increase in hiring. Full results of the survey will become public next month. As of press time, 114 companies had responded to NACE.

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Robert Lenzner: Buffett’s Heir Apparent Confused Personal Interest With Business Loyalty

March 31, 2011

My favorite legal guru on white collar legal offenses tells me this morning that David Sokol’s purchase of 96,000 shares of Lubrizol ($10 million) “appears legal, but stupid and arguably confusing his personal interest with his business loyalty.” This was all too apparent in Sokol’s whiny performance on CNBC this morning where he mused inconsequentially about, “The only thing you can do is just say if you invest your own money, you don’t even mention it to anyone at Berkshire.” Excuse me, but Mr. Sokol, you bought 96,000 shares for $10 million not 100 shares for $106,000. You had an obligation to really spell out the true extent of your position to your boss. And that new information the Lubrizol CEO gave you on January 25th that swung the deal with Buffett; are you sure that wasn’t material and substantive? Because it ended up in a $135 a share offer — a 30% premium over what you paid for your shares. Here’s what Neil Hume of FT’s Alphaville blog quipped this morning after Sokol’s wooing of Buffett’s favorite TV personality. “When he looks back at Thursday’s interview with CNBC it might be with some regret,” writes Hume with proper understated British wit. “When you are in a hole, stop digging etc.” So, the big megillah questions are; 1) Did Buffett push Sokol out the door? I says yes. Get thee to a private equity nunnery and pillage the equity holders some poor leveraged up industrial; and 2) who is the favorite to succeed Buffett now? My choice has always been the brilliant insurance entrepreneur Ajit Jain, who speaks to Buffett each evening at 10 pm, according to the misbegotten Buffett biography. I’m biased of course, because I like and admire Ajit. But, also, every time I’ve tried to convince Buffett to let me put Ajit on the cover of Forbes , he says with the classic Buffett humor: “When the whale breached the water, sometimes he gets harpooned.” Ajit always smiles with Cheshire cat look when he hears that.

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Nanjing and the New International Monetary System

March 31, 2011

I am delighted to be back in China this week for a high-level seminar in Nanjing on the international monetary system . Every time I come to this part of the world, I am impressed by the dynamism of the economies and the optimism of the people. The future is here. The region’s economic performance over the past few decades has been nothing short of remarkable. Asia now accounts for about a third of the global economy, up from under just a fifth in 1980. This trend has been reinforced by the crisis, with the emerging market powerhouses leading the global recovery. Asia has also made tremendous progress with poverty reduction. China alone has pulled hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the past few decades. Such a feat has never before been accomplished in the history of human civilization. But to sustain this progress, Asia needs to grapple with numerous challenges today, among them the need to deal with overheating pressures and volatile capital inflows. And this relates directly to our discussion at Nanjing . The current international monetary system has certainly delivered a lot. But it also has flaws that need to be fixed, especially if the next phase of globalization is to succeed in bringing a strong and broad-based rise in living standards. I see four pressing issues: Imbalances across and within countries. We need stronger cooperation to promote effective global adjustment and discourage countries from running policies that lead to global imbalances. The G20 Mutual Assessment Process and the IMF’s “spillover reports” for the five most important systemic economies–which look at the effects of country policies across their borders–are steps in the right direction. More ambitious ideas, including a strengthening of countries’ multilateral obligations and of accountability mechanisms for these, are also worth discussing. No framework to oversee capital flows. Everybody knows that capital flows can sometimes be destabilizing. This is something many countries worry about. But we do not have globally agreed “rules of the road” on what they should do. Sometimes we need to look at old ideas with a fresh perspective, and we are developing more of a consensus view. In the past, capital controls were not in our toolkit. Today, we see them more as part of the toolkit, although only in specific circumstances and not, of course, as a substitute for good macroeconomic policies. Inadequate global liquidity. We need to strengthen the global financial safety net, to reduce the need to “self-insure” by building up costly reserves buffers. There are a number of options here. One possibility is to strengthen partnerships with regional financing arrangements. Another is to improve the predictability of the provision of systemic liquidity more generally. Too few options for safe global assets to meet the demand. The question here is how to diversify reserve assets. One option is to encourage greater international use of currencies other than the four currently in the SDR basket, including those of large dynamic emerging markets. Over the longer term, the SDR itself could play a greater role. These issues go right to the heart of the IMF’s mandate, and their resolution will require further engagement and discussion among our global membership. Certainly, they are challenges in which all global citizens have a stake–to support an ongoing recovery and avoid future crises, ensuring better outcomes for all. The Nanjing meeting was a useful step toward the international monetary system of the future. And speaking as the head of the IMF, it was also a useful step in advancing the partnership between Asia and the Fund. A partnership that I firmly believe will continue to strengthen in the future. From iMFdirect blog

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CHART: Americans’ Race To Buy Bigger Homes

March 31, 2011

By Catherine Mulbrandon VisualizingEconomics.co m Our homes have changed in many ways over the last 70 years, including homes size, building technology, family size and a rise in standard of living. As people’s income increased over the 20th century, they bought bigger and better homes. This caused the median home value to go up even when taking into account the effect of inflation. For example, a full bath costs a lot since you need double plumbing for hot and cold water, while a flush toilet needs a home connected to a sewer system or septic tank. In addition, housing costs include both land and the house; where building space in limited — i.e. cities — land will increase in value with population growth. Median home value calculated by the U.S. Census factors in all of these changes and covers the housing markets in both rural and urban areas. The historical price index created by Robert Shiller, however, looks at home prices as an investment (like stocks), focusing on the resale prices of a subset of the standard, unchanged houses in large metro areas. Visualizing Economics is a website by Catherine Mulbrandon dedicated to publishing infographics about economic data. Visualizing Economics has been featured at Slate.com, NPR.org, WashingtonPost.com, The Big Picture, Seeking Alpha and on MSNBC Find more graphics explaining the U.S. economy at VisualizingEconomics.com Data Source for Housing Price Index from Robert Shiller’s Irrational Exuberance Median Home Values: Historical Census of Housing Tables Home Values ; “An Approach for Calculating Reliable State and National House Price Statistics” Characteristics: Housing Characteristics In The U.S. and Median and Average Square Feet of Floor Area

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Certain Software Expands Senior Leadership Team

March 31, 2011

Industry Veteran, John Correia, Joins Company as Vice President, Global Services

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Obama Health Care Idea Could Mean Better Treatment, Savings

March 31, 2011

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Thursday outlined a new approach to medical care that it said could mean higher quality and less risk for patients, while also saving millions of dollars for taxpayers. The plan involves accountable care organizations, which are networks of hospitals, doctors, rehabilitation centers and other providers. They would work together to cut out duplicative tests and procedures, prevent medical errors, and focus on keeping patients healthier and out of the emergency room. “We need to bring the days of fragmented care to an end,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said as she announced a proposal regulation that defines how the networks would operate within Medicare. If things work out, medical providers would share in the savings. If the experiment fails, they’re likely to get stuck with part of any additional costs. Sebelius said early estimates are that Medicare could save as much as $960 million over three years. That’s not a whole lot for a $550-billion-a-year program, but officials say it’s a start. The estimate was prepared by Medicare’s office of the actuary, known for its independence. Eagerly awaited by the health care industry, the new approach was called for in President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. If it succeeds in Medicare, it is expected spread quickly to employer-provided health insurance. Already in some parts of the country, such as the Minneapolis area, insurers, hospitals and doctors have set up similar networks for privately insured patients. But there are risks. The networks could end up costing more money because of the intensive work involved in coordinating among different providers. Medicare recipients now may see four or five different doctors, who never talk to each other or compare notes. There’s another potential problem. What if a network of hospitals and doctors acquires monopoly power in its community and starts raising prices? Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney said the administration won’t allow that to happen. “We believe there is no area of the economy that can benefit more from collaboration than health care,” said Varney. “Those who collaborate to fix prices inappropriately will be prosecuted.” Unlike some managed care plans, such as health maintenance organizations, patients will not be locked into the new networks. “The beneficiary has not lost any choice at all,” said Medicare administration Donald Berwick. Instead, it will be doctors, hospitals and other service providers who join the networks. They will have to make a three-year commitment to care for a group of at least 5,000 patients. Medicare administrators will monitor performance on costs and quality. If the network succeeds in saving money over what its patients’ care would have otherwise cost, Medicare will share a portion of the gains. If it loses money, providers could get stuck with a bill. Providers are required to let their patients know that they are part of an accountable care organization and to get permission to share personal health information within the network. The experiment is focused on traditional fee-for-service Medicare. “We are committed to getting the details right,” said Sebelius. “The rules we are proposing today are just the first step in a long process.” ___ Online: Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov

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VIDEO: David Sokol Says He Didn’t Want Warren Buffett’s Job

March 31, 2011

By Ben Berkowitz and Jonathan Stempel – Former Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol on Thursday said he has invested in companies he then recommended for acquisition in the past, a day after Berkshire disclosed Sokol pushed Lubrizol Corp to Warren Buffett after investing in it. But Sokol said on CNBC if he had it all to do again, he would have invested in Lubrizol for himself and not passed the recommendation on to Buffett. He said he did not expect Buffett to want to buy the company and was surprised at how quickly the “Oracle of Omaha” moved to make a deal. Sokol was seen by many investors as the most likely successor to Berkshire Hathaway’s iconic CEO, though he made clear in the interview he did not aspire to the job and wanted to build his own “mini-Berkshire” instead. Buffett released a letter on Wednesday disclosing that Sokol bought a substantial stake in Lubrizol before urging Buffett to acquire the company, which Buffett did for $9 billion this month. Sokol appeared to have made a profit of at least $2.98 million on his investment. In a half-hour interview, Sokol insisted he never had any inside information on Lubrizol and that he bought the shares solely as a good investment for his family. “I’d like to invest my own money, control a significant piece of it, and control my own schedule,” Sokol said, later adding “I didn’t know anything others don’t know.” Sokol also said he has on past occasions invested in companies that he suggested Buffett buy, noting one example of a bank that Buffett did not ultimately acquire. He also said other Berkshire executives have in the past held stock in companies they then identified for investment or acquisition, citing the example of Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger owning a stake in Chinese car maker BYD before suggesting it for an investment. Nonetheless, the chairman of Berkshire units MidAmerican Energy and NetJets told CNBC’s anchors he understood how the sequence of events looked, even if he did nothing wrong. “I can understand the appearance of an issue … That’s why we made it public,” he said. Sokol resigned March 28. He said Buffett did not try to talk him out of resigning. Buffett’s letter included an excerpt of Sokol’s letter, but the full Sokol letter was not made public. Berkshire’s Class B shares, which are more heavily traded than its Class A stock, opened 1.6 percent lower at $84.06. Watch the full CNBC video here: (Reporting by Ben Berkowitz and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Derek Caney, Lisa Von Ahn, Dave Zimmerman) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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State Workers/Mega Millons Winners REVEALED

March 31, 2011

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The seven state workers from the Albany, N.Y. area who won last week’s $319 million Mega Millions jackpot may have gotten some extra luck from the patience and appetite of the man delegated to buy the winning ticket. Mike Barth was at a newsstand in downtown Albany to buy the random Quick Pick ticket for the group when he decided to pick up a candy bar. “I was at the counter. It was my turn to buy a ticket when I reached down to grab a Snickers bar from the candy display and someone reached over me, actually cut in front of me to buy a ticket,” the 63-year-old from suburban Bethlehem said Thursday. “I thought about saying something but decided to just let it slide. I bought the next ticket.” On Friday night, Barth’s co-worker Gabrielle Mahar, 29, of Colonie, learned that she and her fellow information technology workers at the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal had the winning numbers “I was up late reading and wanted to catch the numbers but missed them. I was dialing up the Lottery website on my phone when the numbers scrolled across the screen. I was dumbfounded,” she said. Word spread quickly among the group. When Leon Peck, 62, of Johnstown got the call Saturday morning, he assumed there must have been a problem at work. “We’re IT people. We get calls all the time about malfunctioning servers so I figured that was why my phone was ringing so early in the morning,” he said. Tracy Sussman, 41, of Colonie said she took the good news call after initially thinking, “What’s wrong now?” The other winners are John Hilton, 57, of North Greenbush; John Kutey, 54, of Green Island; Kristin Baldwin, 42, of Clifton Park. The group said they haven’t decided if they’ll leave their state jobs, but they’ve got plans for things like buying a dishwasher, tires and college educations for their kids. They’re each collecting checks for $19.1 million after taxes. The jackpot was the fifth-largest in the multistate game’s history.

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WATCH: Trump Suggests Obama Birth Certificate Could Say He’s ‘Muslim’

March 31, 2011

During an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News on Wednesday night, Donald Trump suggested that President Barack Obama’s birth certificate could indicate that “he’s a Muslim.” The billionaire real estate mogul and potential presidential candidate made the indication in raising skepticism over whether Obama is a citizen of the United States. It was only the latest instance in recent weeks that Trump has sounded off on the debunked conspiracy theory issue. “He may have one, but there is something on that birth certificate,” he explained , suggesting the document could highlight something the president doesn’t want voters to see. “Maybe religion. Maybe it says he’s a Muslim. I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t want that. Or he may not have one. I will tell you this: if he wasn’t born in this country, it’s one of the great scams of all time.” Trump released his own official birth certificate to ABC News earlier this week and called on Obama to do the same. The president’s birth records, however, have been accessible online for more than three years. Meanwhile, Karl Rove signaled a sense of discontent that Trump continues to discuss the issue. Business Insider relays what Rove had to say about the matter on “The O’Reilly Factor” following Trump’s appearance: “You know, the troubling thing in the interview tonight was he said as time has gone on here, over the last couple of weeks, he has become more interested and more believing in the issue. You know, when he first brought it up, he said ‘of course I accept that he’s a citizen. He ought to just release the, release his birth certificate.’ Different tone tonight. This is a mistake. It will marginalize him and he’s falling into Barack Obama’s trap. Barack Obama wants Republicans to fall into this trap because he knows it discredits us with the vast majority of the American people when they do.” During an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown” on Thursday morning, Trump said , “I am embracing the issue, and I’m proud of the issue. I think somebody has to embrace it.” Trump has repeatedly insisted that his talk of exploring a run for president in 2012 is not an attempt to garner publicity for his reality television show. He recently said he’s looking at mounting a campaign “fairly seriously.” WATCH: Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

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Boeing Received Minimum Of $5.3B In Banned U.S. Subsidies, WTO Says

March 31, 2011

Planemaker Boeing received at least $5.3 billion of dollars of banned U.S. subsidies, the World Trade Organization said Thursday. The subsidies included banned support in the form of research and development payments from the NASA space agency. The ruling by a panel of trade judges is the latest round in a six-year battle between the industry’s two giants that has spiraled into the world’s largest and costliest trade dispute. A separate WTO trade panel condemned European support for Boeing rival Airbus in a parallel case last year. Both sides immediately claimed the upper hand in the row, which now extends to 2,000 pages of rulings in the most complex and bitter battle ever brought before the Geneva trade court. Airbus, part of European aerospace group EADS, said it had lost $45 billion in aircraft sales because of the subsidies. “It’s time for Boeing to stop denying or minimizing the massive illegal subsidies it gets,” said Rainer Ohler, head of public affairs and communications at Toulouse-based Airbus. Boeing acknowledged receiving $2.7 billion of illegal U.S. funding on top of a dispute that has already been aired, but said this was dwarfed by more than $20 billion of European aid which it said the WTO had earlier identified at Airbus. “This WTO ruling shatters the convenient myth that European governments must illegally subsidize Airbus to counter U.S. government assistance to Boeing,” said Michael Luttig, executive vice-president and general counsel at Boeing. Boeing says the condemned U.S. aid includes $2.2 billion in tax breaks on exports, which the United States says have already been remedied but which Airbus says must be repaid. Both sides can appeal the latest findings. (Reporting by Andrew Callus, Tim Hepher; Editing by Jon Boyle) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Rijkman Groenink, Former Chairman of ABN AMRO Holding N.V., Joins Board of Directors of Elephant Talk Communications, Inc.

March 31, 2011

SCHIPHOL, THE NETHERLANDS–(Marketwire – March 31, 2011) – Elephant Talk Communications, Inc. ( OTCBB : ETAK ) ( www.elephanttalk.com ), an international provider of business software and services to the telecommunications and financial services industries, today announced that Rijkman Groenink, a Dutch banker, investment expert and former CEO of ABN AMRO Holding N.V., is joining the company’s Board of Directors, effective April 1.

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Wisconsin Judge Declares Union Law Not In Effect

March 31, 2011

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Thursday did what thousands of pro-union protesters and boycotting Democratic lawmakers couldn’t, forcing Republican Gov. Scott Walker to halt plans to implement a law that would strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights and cut their pay. Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi, who had issued an order intended to block implementation of the law while she considered a challenge to its legitimacy and warned of sanctions for noncompliance, amended her order Thursday to clarify that the law had not taken effect, as Republican leaders argued it had. The governor’s top aide, Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch, later issued a statement saying Walker would comply with Sumi’s order and halt preparations that were under way to begin deducting money from most public workers’ paychecks, but that the governor’s administration still believes the law took effect after a state office unexpectedly published online. “While I believe the budget repair bill was legally published and is indeed law, given the most recent court action we will suspend the implementation of it at this time,” Huebsch said. The law would require most public sector workers to contribute more to their health care and pensions, changes that amount to an average 8 percent pay cut. The measure also strips them of their right to collectively bargain any work conditions except wages. Walker signed the proposal into law earlier this month after weeks of large pro-union protests in and around the state Capitol and after the Senate’s Democrats fled Wisconsin in an attempt to deny Republicans the quorum needed to vote on the measure. Several lawsuits challenging the law are pending, including the one before Sumi filed by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. His lawsuit contends that Republican legislative leaders violated the state’s open meetings law in the run-up to a vote on the plan. Sumi issued an order blocking Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law, typically the last step before it can take effect while she considers the case. But Republicans convinced another state office to publish the law online on Friday and declared the law took effect the following day. The state Department of Administration has begun preparations to start taking the deductions out of state workers’ paychecks. Sumi issued another restraining order on Tuesday after a day of testimony that reiterated her initial order. She warned anyone who violated it would face sanctions. But state Justice Department attorneys and Huebsch said they didn’t believe that order applied to the Walker administration since it wasn’t named as a defendant in Ozanne’s lawsuit. They continued work to implement the bill. Early Thursday morning, Sumi added the non-effect declaration to her restraining order clarifying that the law has not been published and is therefore not in effect. She is expected to take more testimony at a hearing on Friday. Ozanne said Thursday that Sumi’s ruling speaks for itself. Justice Department spokesman Bill Cosh had no immediate comment. A spokesman for Republican Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said he had nothing new to say beyond his previous statement that he didn’t believe the judge had the authority to interject herself into the affairs of the Legislature given the separation of powers. The Legislature was scheduled to be in session Tuesday to pass other parts of Walker’s plan to balance the current year’s budget that faces a $137 million shortfall. There were no immediate plans to take up the collective bargaining piece again. The judge has said lawmakers could avoid the legal fight by passing it a second time, but legislative leaders have said they are confident it was done correctly the first time and it will prevail in court. The law would require that about $30 million be saved by the state by July 1 through increased pension and health care contributions. If enactment of the law is delayed, the deductions from state workers would have to increase in order to get those savings by that time.

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Robert Reich: The Economic Truth That Nobody Will Admit: We’re Heading Back Toward a Double-Dip

March 31, 2011

Why aren’t Americans being told the truth about the economy? We’re heading in the direction of a double dip — but you’d never know it if you listened to the upbeat messages coming out of Wall Street and Washington. Consumers are 70 percent of the American economy, and consumer confidence is plummeting. It’s weaker today on average than at the lowest point of the Great Recession. The Reuters/University of Michigan survey shows a 10 point decline in March — the tenth largest drop on record. Part of that drop is attributable to rising fuel and food prices. A separate Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence, just released, shows consumer confidence at a five-month low — and a large part is due to expectations of fewer jobs and lower wages in the months ahead. Pessimistic consumers buy less. And fewer sales spells economic trouble ahead. What about the 192,000 jobs added in February ? (We’ll know more Friday about how many jobs were added in March.) It’s peanuts compared to what’s needed. Remember, 125,000 new jobs are necessary just to keep up with a growing number of Americans eligible for employment. And the nation has lost so many jobs over the last three years that even at a rate of 200,000 a month we wouldn’t get back to 6 percent unemployment until 2016. But isn’t the economy growing again — by an estimated 2.5 to 2.9 percent this year? Yes, but that’s even less than peanuts. The deeper the economic hole, the faster the growth needed to get back on track. By this point in the so-called recovery we’d expect growth of 4 to 6 percent. Consider that back in 1934, when it was emerging from the deepest hole of the Great Depression, the economy grew 7.7 percent. The next year it grew over 8 percent. In 1936 it grew a whopping 14.1 percent. Add two other ominous signs: Real hourly wages continue to fall, and housing prices continue to drop. Hourly wages are falling because with unemployment so high, most people have no bargaining power and will take whatever they can get. Housing is dropping because of the ever-larger number of homes people have walked away from because they can’t pay their mortgages. But because homes the biggest asset most Americans own, as home prices drop most Americans feel even poorer. There’s no possibility government will make up for the coming shortfall in consumer spending. To the contrary, government is worsening the situation. State and local governments are slashing their budgets by roughly $110 billion this year. The federal stimulus is ending, and the federal government will end up cutting some $30 billion from this year’s budget. In other words: Watch out. We may avoid a double dip but the economy is slowing ominously, and the booster rockets are disappearing. So why aren’t we getting the truth about the economy? For one thing, Wall Street is buoyant — and most financial news you hear comes from the Street. Wall Street profits soared to $426.5 billion last quarter, according to the Commerce Department. (That gain more than offset a drop in the profits of non-financial domestic companies.) Anyone who believes the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill put a stop to the Street’s creativity hasn’t been watching. To the extent non-financial companies are doing well, they’re making most of their money abroad. Since 1992, for example, G.E.’s offshore profits have risen $92 billion, from $15 billion (which is one reason it pays no U.S. taxes). In fact, the only group that’s optimistic about the future are CEOs of big American companies. The Business Roundtable’s economic outlook index, which surveys 142 CEOs, is now at its highest point since it began in 2002. Washington, meanwhile, doesn’t want to sound the economic alarm. The White House and most Democrats want Americans to believe the economy is on an upswing. Republicans, for their part, worry that if they tell it like it is Americans will want government to do more rather than less. They’d rather not talk about jobs and wages, and put the focus instead on deficit reduction (or spread the lie that by reducing the deficit we’ll get more jobs and higher wages). I’m sorry to have to deliver the bad news, but it’s better you know. Robert Reich is the author of Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future , now in bookstores. This post originally appeared at RobertReich.org .

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Robert Lenzner: Turning Dirty Coal in China Into Clean Natural Gas

March 31, 2011

The future of a technology that converts dirty cheap coal into clean natural gas for transportation fuel was underscored last night by a Chinese investment in Synthesis Energy Systems (SYMX,NASDAQ), a small Houston company that holds a valuable license for this transforming technology. The transaction is significant because it comes to fruition in the wake of crisis over nuclear energy signified by damage to the Japanese nuclear plant sending radioactive particles to China, and at a time of political unrest in the Middle East, when crude oil is priced well above $100 a barrel. And it underscores the crucial need to utilize an abundance of dirty coal in China and Mongolia as a clean energy source for the fastest growing economy in the world. The investment by China Energy and its investment arm Zhongjinuan Investment Management, a private company in Beijing, can be leveraged into $3.0 billion capital investments in new gasification plants with financing from some later-to-be identified state-owned companies, according to Robert Rigdon, SYMX chief executive officer, calling from Beijing last night. “The current energy landscape supports the use of low quality coal,” Rigdon emphasized last night. The $83.5 million is being raised from private Chinese investors, in a transaction that is unique for the manner in which Chinese investors will now be on the way to controlling a technology in gasification of coal that was originated in the US. The deal for 43.5% of SYMX at $2.25 a share can be increased to 60% in 8 years, giving the Chinese ultimate control of the U.S. company and a valuable hold on a technology that is held by the Gas Technological Institute. SYMX stock has been trading at a volume multiple its usual activity the last several days. The transaction will undoubtedly be seen as a model for other such strategies that could help the Chinese slow down their plans to build dozens of new nuclear power plants. SES(SYMX) has a 10 year exclusive license to the technology, which can be extended further. It already has a plant producing methanol in China and has plans to produce both methanol and and glycol in another facility. Methanol and glycol are used as blending agents for gasoline fuel, according to Rigdon.

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Number Of People Seeking Jobless Aid Drops

March 31, 2011

WASHINGTON — Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs are dropping and companies may be stepping up hiring. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people seeking benefits dipped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 for the week that ended March 26. That’s the second decline in three weeks. Applications near 375,000 or below are consistent with a sustained increase in hiring. Applications peaked during the recession at 659,000. The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, rose to 394,250. Still, that figure has dropped by 35,500, or 8 percent, in the past eight weeks. “The downtrend … is undeniable,” Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at MFR Financial Inc., said. “We believe that this improvement will continue in the weeks and months ahead.” The department also revised the previous five years of data. The changes showed that applications in recent weeks were moderately higher than previously reported. As applications have fallen, hiring has started to pick up. Economists forecast that employers added a net total of 185,000 jobs in March. That would be just below February’s gain of 192,000 – the most jobs added in nearly a year. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.9 percent. The March data will be released Friday. Still, hiring must rise by about 300,000 per month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate, economists say. The economy has gained more than a million jobs in the past year but still has 7.5 million fewer jobs than before the recession. The number of people collecting benefits also dropped. It fell by 51,000 to 3.7 million in the week ending March 19, the latest data available. That’s the lowest figure since October 2008. But that doesn’t include millions of people receiving aid under the emergency unemployment benefit programs put in place during the recession. All told, 8.8 million people received unemployment benefits in the week ending March 12, the latest data available. That’s slightly higher than the previous week. There have been other positive reports about jobs and hiring this week. More than half of the largest U.S. companies plan to step up hiring in the next six months, according to a survey by the Business Roundtable, released Wednesday. That’s the highest proportion of the group’s members that plan to add workers since the quarterly survey began in 2002. The Roundtable represents the CEOs of roughly 200 of the largest U.S. companies. And the Conference Board said more job openings were posted online in March. The number of postings rose by 208,800, or nearly 5 percent, to 4.45 million. Job openings have increased by 600,000 in the first three months of this year. The Conference Board is a nonprofit business research group.

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Yes, Even Apple Screws Up Sometimes

March 31, 2011

When you are in business, mistakes will happen. Given that, one of your jobs is to make sure that you don’t get burned by a really bad one, that you limit your risk and the downside potential in your various ventures. After that, you can only pray that what mistakes you do make are not crippling. But mistakes do happen, even to the best of companies. Coca-Cola bet big on New Coke and we all know how that turned out. Ford famously flubbed the Edsel. But even so, it is hard to imagine that Apple has ever had anything but the golden touch. Today, between the iPad, iPod, and iPhone, you might forget that Apple was once just another computer maker (albeit one that has always had some cachet) but indeed it was. And it was when the company first swung for the fences that it struck out.

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Albany Passes Historic On-Time Budget Amid Protests

March 31, 2011

MANHATTAN — The state legislature voted to pass an on-time budget in the early morning hours Thursday, overshadowing the opposition of hundreds of protesters whose voices could be heard ringing through the State Capitol’s halls. The State Assembly cast its final vote just after 1 a.m. on the $132.5 billion budget plan, which slashes state spending across the board. “Tonight the Legislature not only passed an on-time budget, but a historic and transformational budget for the people of the state of New York,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement just after the vote. The budget, which Cuomo has hailed as representing a new era in Albany, reduces spending by more than two percent , including a $1.3 billion cut to local school aid. Negotiations over recent weeks had restored about $250 million in cuts from the governor’s original executive budget . But it wasn’t until late Wednesday night that lawmakers finally came to an agreement about how to divide restorations between district schools. New York City will now receive $51 million, while upstate schools will get $134 million, the AP reported . Legislators scrambled — but failed — to pass the budget by midnight Wednesday to earn the title of having passed the first early budget since 1983. But proponents didn’t complain. “I think we should all be very proud,” said Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, before the body’s session ended at 11:50 p.m. “This budget has chartered a new course,” he said. The Assembly finally adjourned at 1:08 a.m. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who made significant compromises, including giving up the so-called “Millionaires’ Tax” on high-income earners, described the budget as “a sobering one.” He said he hoped the restorations would at least help soften the blow on working families, students, seniors and other vulnerable groups. And he credited Cuomo’s leadership with ushering in the budget on time. Meanwhile, hundreds of activists flocked to the Capitol to voice their opposition, particularly to cuts to education and social services spending. Their chants were so loud that they could be heard echoing through the Assembly and Senate chambers as members debated and cast their votes. “New Yorkers from every part of the state are outraged that the budget will sacrifice our kids’ education in order to give another tax cut to millionaires,” Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action of New York, said in a statement. Ron Deutsch, the executive director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, also favored extending the tax. “His fiscal agenda is more in line with Fox News than with a progressive state like New York,” Deutsch said of the governor, accusing him of “pushed his agenda through the legislature like a loCuomotive, knocking down any opposition in his way.” Following the vote, some of the protesters tried to camp out overnight, curling up in hallways next to colorful placards, photos posted online showed . Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson said he wished that Albany could have done more to protect the state’s most vulnerable citizens and restore more in education aid. “The only reason I voted this,” he said, was “because I trust and have faith in the governor that these choices that we’re making today will put us on the road to fiscal prosperity,” he said. READ MORE AT DNAINFO

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