November 2009

November 3rd

Johnson & Johnson to Cut Up to 8,000 Jobs
CNN Money

NEW YORK -- Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that it will cut up to 8,000 employees worldwide as part of a cost-savings plan that will allow the health-care giant to expand its business.

The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company, which makes everything from mouthwash to anti-psychotic drugs, said it will cut between 6% and 7% of its global workforce.

Great Job Openings, No Candidates
CNN Money

According to a recent survey by Human Capital Institute and TheLadders, more than half of employers said "quality of candidates" or "availability of candidates" are their greatest challenges -- despite the recession.

Mary Willoughby, the director of human resources at the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, New York, has been trying to hire registered nurses, home health aides and service coordinators for several of the agencies that she oversees.

Many of the positions, which require specific skills and offer salaries in the range of $30,000 to $45,000, have been vacant for six months or longer.

The job postings, which appear on CareerBuilder, Craigslist and some regional sites, garner a lot of attention, she says. "We get tons of résumés from people. We are just not getting highly qualified candidates."

November 2nd
Important News on HR1207
Campaign for Liberty E-Mail

Congressman Paul will offer an amendment to restore the provisions contained in H.R. 1207 to audit monetary policy and activity with foreign central banks. Thirteen of the 41 Democrats and all 29 Republicans on the Committee have cosponsored H.R. 1207, and if they hold the line, we will have the votes to win and restore our audit.

Pressure on the Democrat House Financial Services Committee members is critical! Below is a list of Democrats who have cosponsored. Please call them and urge them to vote “Yes” on the Paul Amendment. Click on their names to get their web contact information.



Dollar Falls as Manufacturing Grows; Oil, Copper, Gold Rally
Bloomberg

The dollar slid against high-yielding currencies, led by the Australian dollar, as China reported a surge in manufacturing and investors bet factory production in the U.S. accelerated. Oil, copper and gold climbed

House Health Bill Totals $1.2 Trillion
MSNBC

WASHINGTON - The health care bill headed for a vote in the House this week costs $1.2 trillion or more over a decade, according to numerous Democratic officials and figures contained in an analysis by congressional budget experts, far higher than the $900 billion cited by President Barack Obama as a price tag for his reform plan.

November 1st

China’s Recovery Strengthens, Adding Room for Stimulus Cuts
Bloomberg

Chinese manufacturing data for October showed the nation’s economic recovery is strengthening, giving policy makers more room to pare stimulus measures in coming months.

Billionaire investor George Soros said Oct. 30 in Budapest that China will be the “greatest winner” from the global financial crisis, with the U.S. losing the most. Nobel Prize- winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said Oct. 31 that emerging economies including China need to guard against “bubbles” caused by surging liquidity as governments around the world stimulate growth.

Payrolls Probably Fell, Factories Sped Up: U.S. Economy Preview
Bloomberg

Employers in the U.S. kept cutting jobs in October and manufacturing picked up, pointing to an uneven economic recovery that will take time to encourage hiring, economists said before reports this week.

Payrolls fell by 175,000 workers last month, deepening the worst employment slump since the 1930s, according to the median of 63 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of a Nov. 6 Labor Department report. A purchasing managers’ report may show factories expanded at the fastest pace since 2006.

A government report showed consumer spending, which comprises about 70 percent of the economy, fell in September for the first time in five months.

Home sales have climbed in recent months, propelled in part by an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers that’s set to expire at the end of this month.

Senate Democrats want to extend the credit through April and expand it to allow higher-income Americans and some who already own homes to qualify for the incentive. The White House endorses the extension, and lawmakers are expected to vote on the measure this week, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

CIT Files For 5th Largest U.S. Bankruptcy
CNN Money

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- CIT Group Inc., one of the nation's leading funders of small and medium-sized businesses, filed for the fifth largest bankruptcy by assets in U.S. history Sunday as part of a reorganization plan that has the support of an overwhelming majority of debtholders.

In a statement, the company said it is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for a quick approval of the prepackaged plan. CIT said none of its operating subsidiaries would be affected by the filing, allowing them to continue operations.

Common shareholders, however, will be out of luck. CIT said all existing common and preferred stock will be cancelled upon emergence from bankruptcy protection. That would likely include preferred stock from the $2.3 billion in funding from the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) the company received in its efforts to stay afloat.