May 26, 2010 at 4:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Retail
Reuters | Many U.S. consumer goods companies still face a tough operating environment as shaky consumer confidence and lingering high unemployment keep discretionary spending soft.
Companies from big box retailers to nutritional supplement makers presenting at a Janney Capital Markets consumer conference in Boston on Wednesday forecast better times ahead after a brutal 2008 and 2009.
But most are keeping a reign on expansion and looking for ways to boost margins with supply chain improvements, e-commerce and, in some cases, squeezing out costs from acquisitions.
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May 26, 2010 at 3:48 p.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment
By Gerry Smith
| Navistar International Corp. has decided to scrap its plans for a new
corporate headquarters in west suburban Lisle, saying local opposition
to the project is “jeopardizing our image.”
In a letter dated Tuesday to Lisle Mayor Joseph Broda, Navistar CEO
Daniel Ustian said opponents were “jeopardizing our image and that of
many innocent people who have advocated for us.”
“We cannot in good conscience allow our supporters to be put on trial or
their name jeopardized in the name of this project,” he added.
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May 25, 2010 at 2:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Jobs/employment,
Manufacturing
Associated Press | Boeing Co. said Tuesday that it will bring an
estimated 450 jobs and $25 million in annual economic impact to
Michigan if it wins the Pentagon’s contract to build a new fleet of
aerial refueling jets.
The aerospace company said its proposed plane, based on a military
variant of the 767 passenger jet, would include components made by
companies with manufacturing facilities in Michigan. Those include Eaton
Aerospace, General Electric and Honeywell International.
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By Michael Oneal
| Tribune Co. plans to pay 35 of its top executives $14.9 million in additional 2009 bonuses, a court filing revealed late Monday, despite pointed opposition to the proposal from several key constituents in its 17-month-old Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
The company describes the bonuses, devised as two plans, as rewards for steering the company through bankruptcy court while generating total operating cash flow of $494 million in 2009.
The payments would supplement $42.1 million in management incentive bonuses the court allowed Tribune Co. to pay in February to approximately 670 managers, including most of the executives included in the most senior group.
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May 25, 2010 at 7:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
| Those co-workers in the cubicles next to you need a vacation as
much as you do, and they’re going to take it.
Some 56 percent of workers say they need a vacation more this year than
they did in previous years and they plan to be away from the office
longer this time, according to a new survey conducted of more than 4,800
workers and 2,700 companies for CareerBuilder.
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May 24, 2010 at 2:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Jobs/employment
Reuters | Ford Motor Co plans a $135 million investment in two Michigan-area
plants to assemble battery packs and transaxles for new hybrid vehicles
in 2012, adding 170 jobs, some likely at a new lower entry level wage.
Ford’s president of the Americas, Mark Fields, also said Monday that
U.S. auto industry sales were running in the low to mid 11 million-unit
annualized rate favored by economists, a double digit increase from May
2009.
Ford, which has said it expects to be solidly profitable in 2010, plans
to hire 130 workers at a plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, to make
electric drive transaxles now built in Japan. It will also add 40
positions at a plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to make battery packs now
assembled in Mexico by suppliers.
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May 24, 2010 at 1:19 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Education,
Jobs/employment
From The New York Times | A new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 24.4 percent of 2010 college graduates who applied for a job have one waiting after graduation, up from 19.7 percent last year. But the average salary offered to graduates with a bachelor’s degree has slipped 1.7 percent from last year, to $47,673.
Get the full story: nytimes.com.
May 24, 2010 at 10:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment
Reuters | There are “growing signs” of a recovery in the U.S. economy but the high unemployment rate remains a big concern, White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said on Monday.
Summers said the economic outlook had improved markedly since the credit crisis of 2008-2009 that spurred fears of another Great Depression.
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May 21, 2010 at 1:10 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment
Associated Press | Unemployment rates fell in a majority of
states last month as improved economic conditions spurred hiring. The
Labor Department said Friday that 34 states and the District of
Columbia reported lower jobless rates in April. Six states reported
higher rates, while 10 saw unemployment hold steady.
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May 21, 2010 at 9:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Labor
From Crain’s Chicago Business | New York-based brokerage MF Global Holdings, which has two offices in Chicago, said it will cut as much as 15% of its workforce, including Chicago employees.
Get the full story: chicagobusiness.com.
May 20, 2010 at 1:44 p.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment
Associated Press | Unemployment in Illinois fell slightly last
month as the state added more than 19,000 jobs. April’s jobless rate of
11.2 percent was three-tenths of a point lower than in March and the
lowest since December.
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May 20, 2010 at 8:00 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Jobs/employment
Job listings are posted on a bulletin board in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Associated Press | The number of people filing new claims for
unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly rose last week by the
largest amount in three months. The big surge was a setback to hopes
that layoffs were declining. Applications for unemployment benefits
rose to 471,000 last week, up 25,000 from the previous week, the Labor
Department said Thursday. It was the first increase in five weeks and
the biggest jump since a gain of 40,000 in February.
The forecast had been for claims to fall by around 4,000 from the
previous week. The large rise in new claims is evidence of how volatile
the job market remains, even as the economy grows.
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May 18, 2010 at 1:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Law firms,
Litigation
By Ameet Sachdev | A
Bolingbrook woman who was laid off from McDermott Will & Emery last
year says the Chicago law firm fired her because of her age.
Barbara Badakhshanian alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal
court that the reason the firm gave for terminating her in February
2009 was “false.” She was 50 years old at the time and said in the suit
the firm told her she was being let go as part of a larger reduction in
force.
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May 18, 2010 at 8:07 a.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Pharmaceuticals
Associated Press | Pfizer says it will cut 6,000 jobs as it
trims its manufacturing capacity worldwide after acquiring smaller
rival Wyeth last year.
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May 14, 2010 at 4:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Stock activity
Associated Press | Stocks tumbled for a second day Friday after concerns grew that the deep spending cuts under Europe’s bailout plan would slow a global recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 163 points, but closed well off its lows of the day. The Dow and other major stock indexes still posted big gains for the week after rocketing higher Monday on hopes that a bailout plan for Europe would prevent a debt crisis in Greece from spreading.
Get the full story: Stocks fall amid investor uncertainty.
