Recently, an acquaintance of mine was laid off — along with dozens of others — from a local company. Imagine our surprise when the Classifieds showed job openings in that company two weeks later! The reason? In the interest of cost-cutting, the company laid off around 50 of higher-earners and then posted job openings for about 20 jobs with entry-level pay.

This sort of practice is relatively common. The magazine SmartMoney points out the following: “Companies cutting jobs are often hiring in some areas, even as they shrink in others.” Instead of writing off companies that have announced lay offs, it is a good idea to check into where the lay offs are taking place, and then see which divisions of the company might be hiring.

Because so many people overlook businesses that recently laid off workers, it might be that you have less competition for new job openings. Of course, the company may be on the verge of collapse and there may not be any job openings. But it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Image source: Daylife

Post from: EveryJoe

Job Hunt: Openings at Firms with Lay Offs

Wall Street firms prepare to pay $30 billion in bonuses

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley all received taxpayer help, and made the news due to bonus programs last year — which were enabled in part by the taxpayer help. Now it appears that Wall Street is ready for more. The bonuses are expected to surpass the last high, reached in 2007, before the financial market collapse, of $26.8 billion. And it really doesn’t matter what anyone says. Bloomberg reports on what seems to be the prevailing attitude on Wall Street:

“Wall Street is beginning to resemble Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the film ‘Gone With the Wind’: ‘Quite frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,’” Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate on compensation at the Portland, Maine-based Corporate Library, said in an e-mail. “It doesn’t seem as if even political threat, disastrous PR, envy, rising unemployment rates and home repossessions is enough to get any of these people to refuse the bonuses they have ‘earned.’”

Clearly, Wall Street has policy makers nicely sewn up, and populist outrage doesn’t affect Wall Street because it clearly does little to prompt lawmakers to take action. So, while thousands stand in unemployment lines this holiday season, it will be little comfort to know that their Wall Street counterparts are enjoying record bonuses.

Image source: Fletcher6 via Wikimedia Commons

Post from: EveryJoe

Wall Street Set to Give Out Record Bonuses

But it’s not just the jobless benefits that have seen an extension. The bill is also extending the first time home buyer tax credit along the lines negotiated at the end of last week. The $8,000 credit for first time home buyers will be extended until the end of April, and there is an expansion to provide $6,500 for current home owners who are looking to buy.

On top of both of these sought after measures, the bill includes tax cuts for businesses that are struggling. This should help some businesses stay afloat until more substantial recovery can be seen in the economy.

Post from: EveryJoe

Jobless Benefits and Home Credit Renewed

Wall Street is hopeful that policymakers will continue to prop up the big companies, and focus on helping the banking system retain its stability. Investors will also be waiting to see what sorts of the things the Fed is mind for ensuring that the economic growth seen in the third quarter will be sustainable. Also of interest is how Bernanke and the rest of the Federal Reserve members plan to withdraw from the stimulus.

Withdrawing from economic stimulus is an important consideration for many, since it will be a delicate maneuver. If the stimulus measures are in place for too long, we could end up with hyper inflation and a number of other distressing economic problems. On the other hand, if economic stimulus is withdrawn too soon or too quickly, the economic recovery could be in danger, and the chances of a double-dip recession increase. With employment still an issue, and the housing market still reliant on the first time home buyer tax credit, though, it is unlikely that an exit from the stimulus will begin until sometime next year.

Image source: Daylife

Post from: EveryJoe

Stocks Heading Higher Ahead of Fed

Indeed, fees are big business for banks, since they provide a way for them to make money and fund various ventures and enterprises with very little risk. Nomi Prins writes about bank fees in The Daily Beast:

In general, not only do big banks charge higher service fees for the luxury of taking your checking deposits and using them as capital for other ventures, but the interest they provide on these, and savings accounts, are comparatively abysmal relative to smaller banks. …

Overdraft charges are administered not only to people who don’t have enough money in their accounts to pay their bills, but also to customers who may keep enough money in their savings account, but get slapped for not transferring it at the appropriate moment to their meager-interest-rate checking account.

It is no surprise, then, that there is a movement toward using smaller, more local banks and credit unions. Many of the smaller banks offer more attractive rates, and charge lower fees. They do this in order to be competitive and draw your business. And, of course, many of the smaller banks and credit unions aren’t in the habit of making risky decisions. So subprime mortgages and other risky investments don’t need to be covered to as great an extent.

If you are looking at your finances and seeing that some of your money is being leeched away by bank fees, you might consider banking elsewhere. Just like any other product or service, you should shop around for the best deal.

Image source: Wikipedia

Post from: EveryJoe

Using a Big Bank: Ripped Off by Fees

Image: istockphoto

Consumer confidence has taken a hit in recent months because of stagnant wages and growing unemployment, two factors that have raised worries that consumers will cut back spending in the coming months.

Analysts also worry that consumers will grow reliant on government programs, holding onto their money when no such programs are available.

These figures have caused analysts to predict that consumers will spend less aggressively going into the holiday season, which may prove to be disastrous for retailers that rely on strong holiday sales to get through the rest of the year. However, inflation did not rise as much as expected, which is a relief to policymakers.

Post from: EveryJoe

Consumer Spending Fell in September

Image: Flickr

Sony just posted its fourth-consecutive quarterly loss on Friday, a fact that is troublesome on its own. However, the brighter outlook on the global economy and cost-cutting measures have allowed Sony to trim its loss forecast for the year in hopes that the situation will continue to improve.

Panasonic also raised its annual forecast, a move that may show that Japanese consumer electronics makers have reached the depths of the recession and are on their way to recovery. While demand for televisions and other electronics had disappeared at the height of the global economic crisis, Panasonic’s optimism gives hope to the rest of the consumer electronics industry.

Post from: EveryJoe

Consumer Electronics Makers Recovering

The company did increase oil production by 11 percent. The average sale price was $62 per barrel — definitely better than last quarter but still far below the $103 per barrel during the same period in 2008.

Image: Flickr

“We continued to experience weak margins on the sale of gasoline and other refined products,” said Chairman and CEO Dave OReilly. “Weak demand and plentiful supply affected all our major markets.”

The exploration and production division saw profits fall 41 percent to $3.6 billion. The refining business saw earrings drop more dramatically — 89 percent to $194 million. In addition, the company said foreign exchange charges of $81 million for the quarter made it considerably more expensive to operate overseas.

The results weren’t unexpected. Chevron and other oil and gas companies did not expect results to compare to the go-go oil market of the summer of 2008.

Post from: EveryJoe

Chevron 3Q Profit Down 51 Percent

Rebit.com is one player in the PC backup market. Recently, this startup named Paul Guerin as its CEO. Guerin has worked for a number of major corporations including Lotus, IBM and GTSI. He has also worked for a few startups including Jabber, Torrent Systems and Digital Archaeology.

Said Guerin, who steps into his role immediately: “Rebit’s product line is impressive and innovative, and the company’s employees are highly experienced industry professionals and leaders. I am thrilled to be joining this exemplary team and taking the next steps toward growing the company from the strong foundation that Lew Frauenfelder built.”

Reviewers say that Rebit.com offers an extremely simple solution that provides continuous backup without any configuration, scheduling or setup. Its scope of what it backs up is also highly regarded.

What are you doing to backup your PC?(Image: Flickr)

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PC Backup Startup Names New CEO

You can also stop by and visit me at one of my other blogs. Mostly I blog about parties and entertaining, with a little kid’s stuff thrown in for fun. So, if you like parties or kids (and who doesn’t like kids!) stop by The Kid’s Birthday Fun Review, The Home and Garden Cafe, She Knows Parties, or Play Library and say hi when you get bored.

I’m also planning on writing a little about business (especially online businesses) at Lens Author, because I think I’m going to miss writing about business when I’m done here.

I’ve enjoyed sharing with all of you the last couple months. I’ve learned that I can pull quite a bit of information about small businesses out of my brain, I didn’t even know I had quite so much tucked away in there.

Thanks for the fun ride!

Image (c) L Gerlach

Post from: EveryJoe

Goodbye From Small Business