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Ford Aims to Cut Electrified Car Costs Through Volume Production | GreenCar.com
Ford plans to introduce five new electrified vehicles in the U.S. market within the next two years. These include the Ford Transit Connect Electric van already in production and the Focus Electric that will be available in late 2011.
Enough Said
Aircraft Wi-Fi fears won’t fly | News.CNET.com
There’s nothing the world likes more than a good radiation scare. Mobile phone health panics are quiet at the moment–which could be permanent, like the microwave oven cancer flap that went into spontaneous remission and stayed there. Instead, the burgeoning world of in-flight entertainment beckons as the next fear factory.
Weekly Economic Information | LAEDC
In this issue:
January State/Local Area Employment Reports
California’s Unemployment Rate Falls to 12.4%
Auto Sales Race Ahead in February
Global Economic Monitor
Events of Interest
* April 3-5: UCLA Climate Academy Business Leaders Course
The Testimony of Simon Johnson | Congressional Oversight Committee
“…Powerful people at the heart of our financial system still have the incentive and ability to take on large amounts of reckless risk – through borrowing large amounts relative to their equity.
There is an insularity and arrogance to policymakers around capital requirements that is distinctly reminiscent of the Treasury-Fed-Wall Street consensus regarding derivatives in the late 1990s – i.e., officials are so convinced by the arguments of big banks that they dismiss out of hand any attempt to even open a serious debate.
Next time, when our largest banks get into trouble, they may be beyond “too big to fail”. As seen recently in Ireland, banks that are very big relative to an economy can become “too big to save” …
…what the Bank of England refers to as a doom loop“.
Courtney Love Settles “Hosebag” Twitter Lawsuit for $430,000 | Seattle News
…designer Dawn Simorangkir, who’d had the nerve to ask her to pay for some clothing she’d bought. For that, Love called her a “nasty, lying, hosebag thief,” among other things. Simorangkir sued for defamation. And now Love has shelled out a sweaty wad of cash to make the lawsuit go bye-bye.
The grand total: $430,000.
Why Charlie Sheen’s Legal Case Against CBS, WB Is Not So Crazy | THR, Esq.
Similarly, if the deal between WBTV and Sheen is “pay or play” — as Singer’s letter says it is — then Sheen will argue that bragging that he’s survived “banging seven-gram rocks” can’t be held against him. Indeed, Warners knew for years about Sheen’s behavior—including stints in rehab and an arrest on charges of attacking then-wife Brooke Mueller—but only acted after Sheen insulted Lorre, perhaps the studio’s top showrunner.
Gold says, “This was going on for a long time, so it can hardly be called a surprise.”
Salaried vs. Hourly Personnel Issues | Lobb and Cliff
Tim Plewe of Lobb and Cliff wrote this brief and to the point discussion of some problems that businesses face when classifying employees as salaried and hourly employees.
I advise many of my business clients on employment issues and have found over the years that many of the same issues keep coming up over and over with employers. I am seeing a wave of wage and hour claims, that start with threats of claims (often at termination), move on to Labor Commissioner complaints, and often even result in lawsuits. These claims generally revolve around two issues: 1) misclassification of employees as exempt or non-exempt, and 2) meal and rest break periods.
Continue reading “Salaried vs. Hourly Personnel Issues | Lobb and Cliff”
Women in America | The White House
“This collection of data from across the Federal government offers the most comprehensive look at women in America since the 1960s,” Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank said. “With this report, the administration can more effectively manage programs that support women and girls and America’s families, and foster the growth of the U.S. economy.”
Each page of this report is full of the most up-to-date facts on the status of women. Of particular note
are the following:
- As the report shows, women have made enormous progress on some fronts. Women have not only caught up with men in college attendance but younger women are now more likely than younger men to have a college or a master’s degree. Women are also working more and the number of women and men in the labor force has nearly equalized in recent years. As women’s work has increased, their earnings constitute a growing share of family income.
- Yet, these gains in education and labor force involvement have not yet translated into wage and income equity. At all levels of education, women earned about 75 percent of what their male counterparts earned in 2009. In part because of these lower earnings and in part because unmarried and divorced women are the most likely to have responsibility for raising and supporting their children, women are more likely to be in poverty than men. These economic inequities are even more acute for women of color.
- Women live longer than men but are more likely to face certain health problems, such as mobility impairments, arthritis, asthma, depression, and obesity. Women also engage in lower levels of physical activity. Women are less likely than men to suffer from heart disease or diabetes. Many women do not receive specific recommended preventative care, and one out of seven women age 18-64 has no usual source of health care. The share of women in that age range without health insurance has also increased.
- Women are less likely than in the past to be the target of violent crimes, including homicide. But women are victims of certain crimes, such as intimate partner violence and stalking, at higher rates than men.
