This spells trouble for one especially vulnerable group — managers in their 40s and early 50s. They tend to be more expensive than their younger counterparts; they may lack some of the high-tech savvy needed to succeed in a more efficient workplace; and they face a downsized job market that will stay that way much longer than usual.
Tag: financial crisis
Federal deficit: who owns what? |fst
Reports from last month reveal that the US federal deficit had been catapulted to record territory in August, hitting $1.38 trillion with just one month left in the budget year.
It remains a concerning figure – not least because of the worries it has raised regarding the willingness of foreigners to continue purchasing Treasury debt. For that is where the debt comes from: US Treasury securities – a government debt issued by the United States Department of the Treasury, which other countries and institutions then buy.
In essence then, Treasury securities (in this case, Treasury bonds) are nothing more than glorified loans – and as the US Treasury releases data pertaining to this – it is becoming increasingly hard for the American people to get a grasp on the fact this is how their country borrows money.
If its any consolation, it should be noted that this is how all governments borrow money, so the US isn’t alone: but with America’s deficit now soaring to an incredulous height, concerns seem to not only be justified but also gaining impudence.
The End – How Wall Street Did Itself In | Portfolio.com
I just reread this piece and decided to share it. If you were wondering how we got where we are today, this article combined with Matt Taibbi’s “Great Bubble Machine” (next article) will provide you with every thing you need to know.
To this day, the willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grownups remains a mystery to me. I was 24 years old, with no experience of, or particular interest in, guessing which stocks and bonds would rise and which would fall. The essential function of Wall Street is to allocate capital—to decide who should get it and who should not. Believe me when I tell you that I hadn’t the first clue.
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The Great American Bubble Machine | Rolling Stone
Another post on our blog, ‘The End’ by Michael Lewis, is prologue for this piece. It’s instructive and frightening. Especially when you take in to account the number of individuals setting American financial policy that have come from Goldman Sachs.
The Great American Bubble Machine
From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression – and they’re about to do it again
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Las Vegas Paper Sues Small Bloggers – Dispatches Withdraws Post, States Policy
The article that used to appear at this URL, ‘The People Living in Drains Below Las Vegas’, has been withdrawn because it was published by the Las Vegas Sun, the sister paper of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Journal has engaged the services of a firm named RightHaven, who is using the copyright law to sue little blog sites like this one for posting full text reprints of their articles, even though the paper is fully credited for it.
Their theory is they are losing money through lost clicks. Anyone with a website can tell you clicks do not a conversion make. So the truth is these are extortion shake downs of people who are, in reality, promoting the sources of the articles.
We have always only posted excerpts of articles with links to their original sources. But the Journal is suing people for doing that. On that basis, we will not link to, or run any content from the Las Vegas Sun or the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Any links or posts linked to or referencing articles published by these two papers will be deleted as soon as they are discovered.
NOTE TO LAWYERS:
This site is a small community created for our friends and clients to share business news along with the cool things we bump into on the internet. We always include a link to the original source. If we cannot include a link, we do not post it, period. We always credit the source. We are not thieves.
We also promote posted articles using both Twitter and Facebook, expanding the marketing footprint of the originating source. We think this is a nice thing to do and we do not charge for it. If, however, a source does not wish to avail themselves of our kindness, please inform us and we will remove the article, just like we did here.
Otherwise, file suit. You won’t win and you know it.
Toyoda says company is ‘grasping for salvation’, fears big sales loss | AutoWeek Magazine
We are grasping for salvation,” Toyoda said, adding that the company already has spiraled through the first three stages: (1) hubris born of success, (2) undisciplined pursuit of more and (3) denial of risk and peril. His self-admonitions echoed the apologies commonly made by Japanese executives who take responsibility for financial turmoil or corporate scandal.
Study: Bad economy may be good for your health | CNN.com
Are you finally ready for some good news about the recession? As it turns out, a shaky economy might actually be good for your health.
Detroit’s jobless economy: Start-ups take root | CNNMoney
Detroit, long depressed by the collapse of the auto industry, is beginning to reinvent itself.
Living Large: Wells Fargo Executive Squats in Foreclosed House | WSJ
Wells Fargo has worked with only 11% of troubled home owners to prevent foreclosure. Now this. Hmmmm…..
P.S. Make sure you look at the pictures of the house.
The Small Business Advocate for Aug-Sep 2009 | SBA
The Small Business Economy
Although many positive signs have indicated that the economy is beginning to improve and recover, at the end of 2008 America was experiencing one of the largest quarterly drops in GDP since the Great Depression. … The recession began with plummeting home values, and the construction industry, composed primarily of small businesses, has been the hardest hit.
Also:
Advocacy Interns Expand Summer Staff
Special Insert: Small Business FAQ
For the full report Click Here
Dispatches From The Front 