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| Sources of Productivity: Getting more bang from fewer IT bucks
December 12, 2009 at 3:00 pm
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| Filed under: Technology, Economy, IBM  U.S. productivity grew 8.1% in the third quarter, the Labor Department told us last week. In the short term, that's great news for company profitability, but bad news for workers. In the medium term, though, higher productivity is good for both companies and workers, because if demand starts to grow, companies will still need to hire more workers to meet that demand. But where does increased productivity come from? Information technology spending has dropped off significantly since the dot-com bust. And since the recent recession began in December 2007, companies have been looking for ways to cut IT spending further while maintaining or increasing performance. Continue reading Sources of Productivity: Getting more bang from fewer IT bucks Sources of Productivity: Getting more bang from fewer IT bucks originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments |
| London's new Robin Hood moves the homeless into city's poshest mansions
December 12, 2009 at 1:00 pm
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| Filed under: People  The champion of London's homeless, Mark Guard, is becoming nearly as famous as his celebrity neighbors, including Maggie Thatcher, Joan Collins, Sean Connery and Nigella Lawson. Guard, the self-appointed leader of a group of squatters, is grabbing headlines again after taking up residence in yet another mansion in Belgravia, London's most upscale district.
This £4 million ($6.5 million) government-owned home was once the residence of David Blunkett, a former cabinet minister and member of parliament. The blind politician lived here with his seeing-eye dog, and it is in its rooms that he conducted an infamous love affair that led to his resignation. Now the fancy pad is the latest in a series of empty multimillion-dollar mansions that Guard and his band of homeless Londoners have squatted in to raise awareness of all the vacant properties nearby that could be used to house homeless people, the group says.Continue reading London's new Robin Hood moves the homeless into city's poshest mansions London's new Robin Hood moves the homeless into city's poshest mansions originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments |
| Gordon Ramsay in hot water, as his business goes down in flames
December 12, 2009 at 11:40 am
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| Filed under: Economy, People, Investing  Anyone hoping for the foul-mouthed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to get what's coming to him will have their wildest dreams come true. Ramsay's restaurant empire is in tatters, done in by ill-advised over-expansion, just as the economy was tanking.
The bellicose Brit's failure as a businessman is breathtaking to behold. "In the fall of 2008, his London-based Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd. breached the covenants on a £10.5 million [$17 million] loan and overdraft facility from Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.," according to Bloomberg News. "In late December, Ramsay says, KPMG recommended that the company declare bankruptcy, fire hundreds of people and close all but its best-performing restaurants."Continue reading Gordon Ramsay in hot water, as his business goes down in flames Gordon Ramsay in hot water, as his business goes down in flames originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
| A year after Madoff, another Ponzi schemer
December 12, 2009 at 11:30 am
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| Filed under: Economy, People, Investing, Media It's hard to believe, but a year has passed since Bernard Madoff admitted to his sons that his financial empire was built on an elaborate scam. In the ensuing months, Madoff has inspired an ongoing lesson in banking scandals, as the media has reported on his conviction and sentencing, the auction of his possessions and the accusations of his alleged lovers. Ironically, on the first anniversary of history's biggest Ponzi scheme, yet another massive money scam has come to light.
On December 22, 2008, as the country was caught in the first flush of Madoff mania, 32-year old Genadi Yagodayev opened his own investment company, Rockford Funding Group LLC. Located at 80 Broad Street, in New York's financial district, Rockford claimed to be a "leading private equity firm" with $800 million in investments. Offering "fixed dividend accounts" with returns of up to 21%, Yagodayev used cold calls and his website to attract customers who were receiving structured settlements from personal injury and malpractice suits.Continue reading A year after Madoff, another Ponzi schemer A year after Madoff, another Ponzi schemer originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments |
| Virgin America soars in its third quarter
December 12, 2009 at 10:30 am
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| Filed under: Company News, Earnings  Virgin America has cracked the airline growth code in the U.S. Despite a travel market slump that shows almost no signs of recovering and an industry with perpetual financial and operational woes, the start-up carrier has shown that strong financials don't have to be a dream for the embattled business. Only two years old, and living most of its life in a severe recession, Virgin America has demonstrated that airlines don't have to rely on bailouts.
For the third quarter of 2009, Virgin America posted revenues of $157.9 million, a year-over-year increase of 38.3%, largely because of improved unit costs and record load factors -- the latter improving by 5.2 percentage points to 86.6% from the same quarter the previous year. The increase was possible even with a 36.5% increase in scheduled service capacity. Meanwhile, costs per available seat-mile fell 33.9% -- 24.4% when you take fuel out of the equation. Virgin America was able to add capacity at a rather low marginal cost. Though privately held, the airline is disclosing its financial results ahead of Department of Transportation requirements. Continue reading Virgin America soars in its third quarter Virgin America soars in its third quarter originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments |
| Google Books, Amazon Kindle to collaborate?
December 12, 2009 at 9:40 am
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| Filed under: Technology, Google , Amazon.com Inc.  The head engineer of Google (NYSE:GOOG) Books would like to sell his library on the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle.
Dan Clancy of Google told Reuters, "If Amazon allowed Kindle users to buy from Google Editions it would be easy for the two companies to set up the sales." In that scenario, there are two big "ifs." First, Google is still embroiled in disputes with publishers, authors, and the Justice Department about license fees and copyright issues. The legal portion of that fighting could go on for months and perhaps years.
It is unlikely that Amazon would want to put e-books that are part of a series of lawsuits on its Kindle. That might cause Amazon legal problems of its own for distributing books that have copyright issues. Continue reading Google Books, Amazon Kindle to collaborate? Google Books, Amazon Kindle to collaborate? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments |
| Liar, liar, scans on fire: fMRI could have predicted Madoff would break promises
December 12, 2009 at 9:00 am
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| Filed under: Technology  Just one year ago, on Dec. 11, 2008, FBI agents went to Bernard Madoff's house to arrest one of the most notorious white-collar criminals in history, a man who has pulled off the largest Ponzi scheme ever, swindling his clients out of an estimated at $19.4 billion. Well, what if those clients could have discovered ahead of time -- through a simple brain scan -- that Madoff wouldn't keep his promises?
Here's where a science fiction concept becomes science fact. New-found patterns in brain activity can actually reveal whether someone intends to keep his (or her) word, scientists say. While the researchers thought this technology would be useful to determine the true intentions of criminals who are up for early release on parole, I can think of other uses -- mainly on Wall Street.
Continue reading Liar, liar, scans on fire: fMRI could have predicted Madoff would break promises Liar, liar, scans on fire: fMRI could have predicted Madoff would break promises originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments |
| McDonald's is winning three-way fast-food fight, at home and abroad
December 12, 2009 at 6:00 am
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| Filed under: Company News, Economy, Investing, Healthcare, McDonald's  In its three-way food fight with Burger King (BKC) and Wendy's (WEN), category leader McDonald's (MCD) is finishing a tough year in the industry battered but victorious.
The company announced Friday that it will being offering an extensive dollar breakfast menu in January -- all the better to reach its cost-conscious customers (and, incidentally, destroy its rivals). Meanwhile, halfway around the world, Wendy's announced it's pulling out of Japan after 29 years. With McDonald's an apparently insurmountable force in the Land of the Rising Sun, the smaller chain is throwing in the towel.Continue reading McDonald's is winning three-way fast-food fight, at home and abroad McDonald's is winning three-way fast-food fight, at home and abroad originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments |  |
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Tiger Woods, the world's top golfer with a 
Counterfeiting money is crazy enough; creating your own form of currency and trying to pay your bills with it seems like downright insanity. Yet, that's exactly what dozens of members of the militia movement are doing, according to a leading civil rights group. 
On Friday evening, a statement on Tiger Woods' website announced that the world's greatest golfer is going to take "
