Looking at Wall Street right now, you would never know that we just came out of a recession. And it is worth noting that for most regular folks, the end of the recession is merely a technical economic detail. Individuals still face a number of financial challenges, and with the weak labor market, it is little surprise that things most of Main Street is still wonder whether things are going to pick up. For thousands of Wall Street folks, though, that is not much of an issue. They just found out that they will be enjoying record bonuses.
Wall Street firms …read more

Yesterday’s distressing unemployment data sent the national unemployment rate above 10%. This came as President Obama prepared to sign into law a bill providing an extension of jobless benefits. The bill is a relatively small measure, by recent economic stimulus standards, at $24 billion. The bill will extend the eligibility to collect unemployment benefits by 14 weeks. In states with higher unemployment rates (of more than 8.5%), there is a 20 week extension.
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 …read more

The Federal Reserve should be announcing its interest rate decision later today, and stocks are heading higher on the assumption that the Fed is likely to keep interest rates near 0%, as well as the expectation that the Fed will keep stimulus help coming in. Indeed, what Ben Bernanke says about economic policy going forward is more likely to influence the stock market than just about anything else today, and expectations that he will play up the fact that we’re only at the beginning of the recovery, and that there will be a continued need for economic stimulus for some …read more

One of the realities of banking is that there are fees involved. And, interestingly, the bigger the bank, the bigger the fees. It is rather frustrating to read about bailouts of big banks, only to find that very large percentages of their profits come from fees. So, not only are your taxes going to help prop up these big banks, but you also prop them up through the fees you pay. The Service Employees International Union estimates (since banks don’t reveal it) that J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America all make more than 70% of their profits from …read more

A new report issued by the Commerce Department has shown that average consumer spending fell in September for the first time in five months, a development that has been attributed to the ending of the Cash for Clunkers automotive rebate program. This drop in consumer spending matching analyst estimates and follows a 1.4 percent jump in the previous month.
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, …read more

The consumer electronics industry has been hit especially hard by the recession and slow consumer spending, as electronics are among the first things that many families cut back on when money is tight. However, several consumer electronics companies, including Sony and Panasonic, have posted results that may signal some recovery in the market.
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 …read more

Though production is up, Chevron, the nation’s second largest oil and gas producer, posted overall profits down 51 percent to $3.83 billion, or $1.92 per share, in comparison with the same three-month period last year.
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.
“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 …read more

One of the hottest industries in the online world is PC backups. There are a number of major players in this industry, which wants to capitalize on the market that is filled with consumers who want to backup their important data from their PC quickly, easily and without paying a fortune.
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 …read more

Bizzia Small Business will be going away and merging with some of the content at EveryJoe starting tomorrow, so I wanted to bid you all a fond farewell since I will not be writing here any more. You can still find me several other places online, give me a shout out on Twitter sometime I’m @Linetteg there. I’d love to hear from you.

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 …read more

Being able to manage a support team successfully, means that you are a project manager who know how to listen and delegate. Yes there are other key skills that a successful project manage need to have in place but listening and delegating are two of the most important one.
Managing a successful support team takes a project manager who is willing to not only work on developing their team but also developing themselves. Below are a list of areas where a project manager should either currently excel in or are developing in as part of their skillset. This list is based …read more