New accounting rules set to be approved Monday could sharply raise (on paper) the massive pension shortfalls faced by states and municipalities, though government officials insist the change is only cosmetic and won't force an alteration in their behavior or return assumptions. Prepare for "sticker shock" says a benefits consultant. [View news story]
False. I worked for a manager that turned off the fume hoods to save money. So he could get a better bonus.
OSHA is a pain in the ass and it always costs employers money but accountants always see a cost as a bad thing.
New accounting rules set to be approved Monday could sharply raise (on paper) the massive pension shortfalls faced by states and municipalities, though government officials insist the change is only cosmetic and won't force an alteration in their behavior or return assumptions. Prepare for "sticker shock" says a benefits consultant. [View news story]
Do you really want competition in police forces?
You will end up with tribal warfare...
3700 comments and I'm still waiting for you to make a smart one.
New accounting rules set to be approved Monday could sharply raise (on paper) the massive pension shortfalls faced by states and municipalities, though government officials insist the change is only cosmetic and won't force an alteration in their behavior or return assumptions. Prepare for "sticker shock" says a benefits consultant. [View news story]
Strongly agreed.
Hedge funds managing public pension plans is a recipe for disaster. There have already been a few scandals but, ultimately, there are so many ways to game the system, and so few ways for the public officials to change money managers, that there is virtually no incentive for fund managers to act ethically.
I would not be surprised at vast amounts of skimming from each fund manager controlling a pension fund.
Although joblessness amongst the young has grabbed much attention, just as significant are the 3.5M+ middle-aged unemployed, 39% of whom have been without work for at least a year. The rate is unprecedented in modern U.S. history. "Even when you do return to work, it's a much worse job than before you were laid off," says Economist Sewin Chan. (See also) [View news story]
Age discrimination is a real thing, and, in some cases, justifyable.
Older people are, in general, harder to train and less technologically savvy which makes for a less attractive situation.
Many managers prefer younger employees because they're more apt to learn the manager's system rather than using their own that might clash with the company's processes.
It's make-or-break time for A123 Systems (AONE), according to Automotive News' Dustin Walsh. If the hype from the firm is correct over its lithium-ion battery that can deliver 10X the life of traditional lead acid batteries and withstand temperature extremes, then it's a game-changer. But without additional funding or a slew of new contracts, the naysayers may be proven correct. Shares of AONE +9.1% after aides with Obama make positive comments about fuel cell technology.
[View news story]
Fuel cells generate power based on the quality and pressure of the gas in the exchanger. It's a lot easier to control the power through a secondary battery than trying to change the pressure of the gas dynamically.
Former President Bill Clinton thinks the U.S. economy is already in a recession and urges Congress to extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year. "What I think we need to do is find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now," Clinton says, "Then deal with what's necessary in the long term debt-reduction plans as soon as they can, which presumably would be after the election." [View news story]
Remember though, that excludes the Social Security, SDI/SWI, and other "non-tax" charges on your income that are far flatter and, in the case of social security, caps out at 20k or something.
People like to quote just the progressive tax rate because it makes the wealthiest seem like victims but if you combine all of the tax and non-tax charges, it starts to look a lot flatter.
Former President Bill Clinton thinks the U.S. economy is already in a recession and urges Congress to extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year. "What I think we need to do is find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now," Clinton says, "Then deal with what's necessary in the long term debt-reduction plans as soon as they can, which presumably would be after the election." [View news story]
I would just love to see the GOP actually follow through on closing loopholes for the wealthy. I've heard a lot of talk about "closing loopholes" but, somehow, that has become a euphemism for ending social welfare programs. I would love to see them clean up the top end of the tax code instead of taking pot shots at public servants and those that need medical assistance.
More on Pandora's FQ1: The company expects FQ2 revenue of $99M-$101M and EPS of -$0.03 to -$0.05 vs. a consensus of $99.9M and -$0.03. However, it's guiding for FY13 revenue of $420M-$427M and EPS of -$0.07 to -$0.11, above a consensus of $415.9M and -$0.17. Listener hours +14% Q/Q and +92% Y/Y to 3.09B. Active users +10% Q/Q and +53% Y/Y to 51.9M. 5.95% share of U.S. radio listening, up from 5.55% in FQ4, 3.11% in year-ago period. P +8.8% AH. (PR) [View news story]
The fundamentals for Pandora are very good.
Presumably, they can get better with advertising.
The biggest risk for this stock is whether changes in pricing strategy will alienate their listeners because the current yearly price of a subscription is a bargain.
"Wall Street is capitalism in its purest form, and capitalism is predicated on bad behavior," rants William Deresiewicz in the NYT. "Shafting your workers, hurting your customers...Leaving the public to pick up the tab. These aren’t anomalies; this is how the system works," Deresiewicz writes, adding that capitalist values are antithetical to democratic one. [View news story]
Don't be ignorant.
Theft from one's own employees isn't the capitalist paradigm that the author says it is but if you don't think it happens in places that still stay afloat, you're naive.
I've talked to casino bosses that admit to skimming from bussers and waitresses for the good sections and experienced bosses lying to their employees about raises/bonuses.
The entrepreneurs cannot typically get away with these behaviors but hired management can.
"Wall Street is capitalism in its purest form, and capitalism is predicated on bad behavior," rants William Deresiewicz in the NYT. "Shafting your workers, hurting your customers...Leaving the public to pick up the tab. These aren’t anomalies; this is how the system works," Deresiewicz writes, adding that capitalist values are antithetical to democratic one. [View news story]
The piece as a whole is pretty stupid but there are a few important points.
1. Entrepreneurs build empires brick by brick and work in line with their workers. Workers in startups want to build the company. 2. When entrepreneurs leave, there is an inherent risk that the new management does not align completely with former leadership. 3. Financial companies are more incentivized to extract nonproductive value (extract money from a zero-sum exchange) [legal theft] from their own employees and customers. Especially if they can do so in an opaque way.
Mark Thoma says ~200K people will lose unemployment benefits in California and other states today. Under the terms of last year's agreement in Congress, benefits would be cut off if jobless rates fell below certain thresholds; despite a weak job market, rates have been falling. "Will a cut in benefits motivate workers who have become dependent on the program to go out and find jobs?” [View news story]
Yes, they hire hedge funds to grow their CalPERS fund so people with no fiduciary responsibility for the performance of the fund get free reign AND a public backstop.
The cost savings from two large distribution centers Amazon (AMZN -1.4%) plans to build in California could help offset the impact of inevitably having to collect sales tax in the future. Robert Baird's Colin Sebastian tells clients that the firm's competitive edge is so firmly entrenched, the sales tax issue won't have a meaningful impact on its growth trajectory. [View news story]
California has been collecting sales tax on online CA to CA sales for some time.
There was a recent acquisition by Amazon of a robotics company that made shipper robots. This may be an opportunity for amazon to try them out in warehouses custom designed for them.
More on Western Digital/Seagate: BofA is downgrading WDC to Neutral, arguing management's comments suggest softer-than-expected demand, which is proof the hard drive industry "can't have it both ways for much longer – pricing/margins at high levels, and expected strong demand." On that count, it doesn't help that solid-state drive prices are diving thanks to competition and cheaper flash memory. Nonetheless, Needham is staying bullish on both WDC and STX. [View news story]
This looks like a tasty dip.
1. To my knowledge, HDDs have longer-term stability and are easier to erase (think DOD-level erasing). 2. WDC is investing in alternative HD technologies
Wow. Blankfein: "The biggest threat to Goldman Sachs was the poor performance and bad risk management practices of our competitors." (earlier) [View news story]
Competitor is what they call their customers when GS ends up on the wrong side of the trade.
CalSTRS - the country's largest teacher's pension fund ($152B) - confirms its underfunding increased by 15% to $64.5B, leaving it covering just 69% of projected liabilities. Contributing to the shortfall were the recognition of 2008-09 losses as well as a reduction in the assumed rate of return to 7.5% from 7.75%, still greater than the 7.25% proposed by an actuary for CalPERS. (PR) [View news story]
I think that some of these public pension funds are sheep for money managers. Extraordinary wealth with underqualified oversight.
New accounting rules set to be approved Monday could sharply raise (on paper) the massive pension shortfalls faced by states and municipalities, though government officials insist the change is only cosmetic and won't force an alteration in their behavior or return assumptions. Prepare for "sticker shock" says a benefits consultant. [View news story]
OSHA is a pain in the ass and it always costs employers money but accountants always see a cost as a bad thing.
New accounting rules set to be approved Monday could sharply raise (on paper) the massive pension shortfalls faced by states and municipalities, though government officials insist the change is only cosmetic and won't force an alteration in their behavior or return assumptions. Prepare for "sticker shock" says a benefits consultant. [View news story]
You will end up with tribal warfare...
3700 comments and I'm still waiting for you to make a smart one.
New accounting rules set to be approved Monday could sharply raise (on paper) the massive pension shortfalls faced by states and municipalities, though government officials insist the change is only cosmetic and won't force an alteration in their behavior or return assumptions. Prepare for "sticker shock" says a benefits consultant. [View news story]
Hedge funds managing public pension plans is a recipe for disaster. There have already been a few scandals but, ultimately, there are so many ways to game the system, and so few ways for the public officials to change money managers, that there is virtually no incentive for fund managers to act ethically.
I would not be surprised at vast amounts of skimming from each fund manager controlling a pension fund.
Although joblessness amongst the young has grabbed much attention, just as significant are the 3.5M+ middle-aged unemployed, 39% of whom have been without work for at least a year. The rate is unprecedented in modern U.S. history. "Even when you do return to work, it's a much worse job than before you were laid off," says Economist Sewin Chan. (See also) [View news story]
Older people are, in general, harder to train and less technologically savvy which makes for a less attractive situation.
Many managers prefer younger employees because they're more apt to learn the manager's system rather than using their own that might clash with the company's processes.
It's make-or-break time for A123 Systems (AONE), according to Automotive News' Dustin Walsh. If the hype from the firm is correct over its lithium-ion battery that can deliver 10X the life of traditional lead acid batteries and withstand temperature extremes, then it's a game-changer. But without additional funding or a slew of new contracts, the naysayers may be proven correct. Shares of AONE +9.1% after aides with Obama make positive comments about fuel cell technology. [View news story]
So yes, fuel cells need secondary batteries.
Former President Bill Clinton thinks the U.S. economy is already in a recession and urges Congress to extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year. "What I think we need to do is find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now," Clinton says, "Then deal with what's necessary in the long term debt-reduction plans as soon as they can, which presumably would be after the election." [View news story]
People like to quote just the progressive tax rate because it makes the wealthiest seem like victims but if you combine all of the tax and non-tax charges, it starts to look a lot flatter.
Former President Bill Clinton thinks the U.S. economy is already in a recession and urges Congress to extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year. "What I think we need to do is find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now," Clinton says, "Then deal with what's necessary in the long term debt-reduction plans as soon as they can, which presumably would be after the election." [View news story]
More on Pandora's FQ1: The company expects FQ2 revenue of $99M-$101M and EPS of -$0.03 to -$0.05 vs. a consensus of $99.9M and -$0.03. However, it's guiding for FY13 revenue of $420M-$427M and EPS of -$0.07 to -$0.11, above a consensus of $415.9M and -$0.17. Listener hours +14% Q/Q and +92% Y/Y to 3.09B. Active users +10% Q/Q and +53% Y/Y to 51.9M. 5.95% share of U.S. radio listening, up from 5.55% in FQ4, 3.11% in year-ago period. P +8.8% AH. (PR) [View news story]
Presumably, they can get better with advertising.
The biggest risk for this stock is whether changes in pricing strategy will alienate their listeners because the current yearly price of a subscription is a bargain.
"Wall Street is capitalism in its purest form, and capitalism is predicated on bad behavior," rants William Deresiewicz in the NYT. "Shafting your workers, hurting your customers...Leaving the public to pick up the tab. These aren’t anomalies; this is how the system works," Deresiewicz writes, adding that capitalist values are antithetical to democratic one. [View news story]
Theft from one's own employees isn't the capitalist paradigm that the author says it is but if you don't think it happens in places that still stay afloat, you're naive.
I've talked to casino bosses that admit to skimming from bussers and waitresses for the good sections and experienced bosses lying to their employees about raises/bonuses.
The entrepreneurs cannot typically get away with these behaviors but hired management can.
"Wall Street is capitalism in its purest form, and capitalism is predicated on bad behavior," rants William Deresiewicz in the NYT. "Shafting your workers, hurting your customers...Leaving the public to pick up the tab. These aren’t anomalies; this is how the system works," Deresiewicz writes, adding that capitalist values are antithetical to democratic one. [View news story]
1. Entrepreneurs build empires brick by brick and work in line with their workers. Workers in startups want to build the company.
2. When entrepreneurs leave, there is an inherent risk that the new management does not align completely with former leadership.
3. Financial companies are more incentivized to extract nonproductive value (extract money from a zero-sum exchange) [legal theft] from their own employees and customers. Especially if they can do so in an opaque way.
Mark Thoma says ~200K people will lose unemployment benefits in California and other states today. Under the terms of last year's agreement in Congress, benefits would be cut off if jobless rates fell below certain thresholds; despite a weak job market, rates have been falling. "Will a cut in benefits motivate workers who have become dependent on the program to go out and find jobs?” [View news story]
The cost savings from two large distribution centers Amazon (AMZN -1.4%) plans to build in California could help offset the impact of inevitably having to collect sales tax in the future. Robert Baird's Colin Sebastian tells clients that the firm's competitive edge is so firmly entrenched, the sales tax issue won't have a meaningful impact on its growth trajectory. [View news story]
There was a recent acquisition by Amazon of a robotics company that made shipper robots. This may be an opportunity for amazon to try them out in warehouses custom designed for them.
More on Western Digital/Seagate: BofA is downgrading WDC to Neutral, arguing management's comments suggest softer-than-expected demand, which is proof the hard drive industry "can't have it both ways for much longer – pricing/margins at high levels, and expected strong demand." On that count, it doesn't help that solid-state drive prices are diving thanks to competition and cheaper flash memory. Nonetheless, Needham is staying bullish on both WDC and STX. [View news story]
1. To my knowledge, HDDs have longer-term stability and are easier to erase (think DOD-level erasing).
2. WDC is investing in alternative HD technologies
Wow. Blankfein: "The biggest threat to Goldman Sachs was the poor performance and bad risk management practices of our competitors." (earlier) [View news story]
CalSTRS - the country's largest teacher's pension fund ($152B) - confirms its underfunding increased by 15% to $64.5B, leaving it covering just 69% of projected liabilities. Contributing to the shortfall were the recognition of 2008-09 losses as well as a reduction in the assumed rate of return to 7.5% from 7.75%, still greater than the 7.25% proposed by an actuary for CalPERS. (PR) [View news story]