Filed under: Industry, Rants and raves, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Employees, Getting started, Entrepreneurs, Workspace, Recession, Nissan Motors (NSANY)

There’s never a shortage of jobs. Some people have two or three jobs. The classified adds have thousands of jobs all the time — always. If someone is unemployed there is a reason and it is definitely not a lack of jobs.

Sometimes it is a regional lack of jobs, General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor (NYSE: F) in the rust belt says of Michigan and Ohio have downsized, but foreign manufacturers Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Nissan Motors (NASDAQ:NSANY) in the Southeast have up sized. This does not help the states where jobs are leaving, and indeed causes other large problems like weakening the tax base and pushing housing and other elements of the local economy down. However, from a national unemployment standpoint that does not count.

In our discussions of unemployment and the economic picture we attempt to comprehend the government figures and attribute some meaning. We know the government is apt to put things in their best light (lie) sometimes and there is discussion about what a true measure would be, but does that really matter? It is more important that whatever criteria is used remain constant so that we can use the data for comparisons, not that it be modified often as people become concerned about the exactness of the figures.

It might be time we need to account for a new set of metrics. What are the costs of retraining? How could these costs be distributed without expanding government — not something I would support. We know that some people are not employable or are only marginally employable because they simply don’t have the capability to do many jobs. I’ve numerous jobs, even though generally speaking, I’ve created them myself over time. Clearly education and training are a factor, along with over all aptitude.

Some people are unemployed because of a life circumstance that reduces their opportunities for finding a job. Perhaps for a young single mom scheduling and eduction limits opportunity. Perhaps, a veteran with a disability that is limited to some degree. But my experience as an employee, an employer and as an observer of same, is that those that want a job do find them. It might not be the job of their dreams or it may be a boring job for low pay but the jobs exist.

I don’t have a solution to the problem of creating a work ethic or a high desire for education among those that are lacking but I think business people supporting local schools by sharing their time with young kids is very valuable.

The most important thing the employed can do to help the unemployed is communicate the opportunity broadly, be willing to offer training, and sometimes relocation expenses. The most important thing that the unemployed can do to help themselves is spend any time not working or looking for work educating themselves on the web or at the library or both, and increase you skill sets. Most importantly, I cannot express enough the importance of keeping a positive attitude no matter what — that can be hard sometimes — but it can make all the difference in the world.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the design and research principal for an architecture and planning firm. He writes Chasing Value and Serious Money columns.Disclosure: I don’t own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

No matter how much Detroit would like to change the math, the total always adds up to 100%.

Over the course of the last week, management from GM (NYSE: GM), Ford (NYSE: F), and Chrysler have tried to convince the industry and investors that this would still be a year when domestic automobile sales will hit over 15.5 million. JD Power recently revised its forecast down to 14.95 million. High gas prices and a tough economy could make that number worse.

Toyota (NYSE: TM) stated yesterday that it might not make its global sales goal for 2008, mostly due to poor performance in the US, Europe, and Japan.

Nissan says its market share in the US will increase in March. According to Reuters, Nissan stated “U.S. sales were in line with its March targets and it expects to win a higher market share despite increasing concern about the economy.”

In the math of the car business, that means someone will lose share. If it is one or all of the US automobile companies, the dream of 2008 being a good year fades closer to black.

At 14.5 million automobile sales, the US market produces about $40 billion less in car revenue than it did last year when sales were 16.1 million. GM had a 25% share last year, Ford 15% and Chrysler a bit over 12%.

Shrinking pieces of a shrinking pie.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Share This

Share This

World wide web Banking
First Security Bank’s Ourbank ONLINE gives you secure, 24-hour access to your accounts and other financial services through our website www.ourbank.com. We offer the latest in

Misys Banking Homepage
Misys Banking Systems homepage Misys is a market leader, with over 1,200 customers in more than 120 countries, including all of the world’s top 50 banks.

Citizens Bank | Citizens Bank Home
checking accounts, home equity lines and loans, savings options, money markets, certificates of deposit (CDs), mortgages, student loans, credit cards, debit cards, online banking

St Petersburg College Bachelors Degree Program
St. Petersburg College Bachelors Degree Program (SPC - formerly St Petersburg Junior College) serves all of Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay metro area on the gulf coast of If

NY Say Banking Department
Primary regulator for state-licensed and state-chartered financial entities and other financial institutions operating in New York.

Advanta Bank Corp.
Find out more about Advanta Bank Corp. (”ABC”). In addition to learning about our financial services, you’ll also discover why our deposit products can offer some of the most

Banking - MSN Encarta
Banking, the business of providing financial services to consumers and businesses. The basic services a bank provides are checking accounts, which can.

Banking Jobs / Financial Resumes | Bankjobs.com
Banking and financial industry career site.

Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking
The Banking Bureau of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB dbfi Website

State of Alabama - Banking Department
W elcome to the Alabama Banking Department web site. The Alabama Banking Department regulates all say

First National Banking Company
First National Banking Company P.O.Box 8 636 Ash Flat Drive Ash Flat, AR 72513 (870) 994-2311

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Internet, Web services, web 2.0

Whether you use Twitter or not, you might want to check out Tweet Scan, a Twitter-based search engine. Basically, what Tweet Scan lets you do is search Twitter’s public timeline for snippets of text. There are at least a few reasons this could come in handy even if you don’t use Twitter:

1. You can find out what people are saying about a topic, web site, political candidate, etc right now
2. Twitter users might only be able to post 140 characters at a time, but they often post links to longer articles with more information, so you can treat Tweet Scan as a sort of blog/news search engine
3. Having trouble accessing a popular web page? Just type it into Tweet Scan and if a major web site or service is down, odds are other people are complaining too

If you are a Twitter user, Tweet Scan is also a quick and easy way to find other users with similar interests.

[via MakeUseOf]

Read

Share This

Share This

markybob writes “Ubuntu Hardy 8.04 beta has been released. It features GNOME 2.22 and uses Linux kernel 2.6.24. Furthermore, it uses Firefox 3 beta 4, and PulseAudio is enabled by default. To ease the transition of Windows users, it includes Wubi, which allows users to install and uninstall Ubuntu like any other Windows application. It does not require a dedicated partition, nor does it affect the existing bootloader, yet users can experience a dual-boot setup almost identical to a full installation.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Share This

Share This

An anonymous reader writes “In July 2007, Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group (BD+ Standards Board) declared: ‘BD+, unlike AACS which suffered a partial hack last year, won’t likely be breached for 10 years.’ Only eight months have passed since that bold statement, and Slysoft has done it again. According to the press release, the latest version of their flagship product AnyDVD HD can automatically remove BD+ protection and grants you to back-up any Blu-ray title on the market.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Share This

Share This

I Don’t Believe in Imaginary Property writes “Bruce Schneier has an essay on the mind of security professionals like himself, and why it’s something that can’t easily be taught. Many people simply don’t see security threats or the potential ways in which things can be abused because they don’t intend to abuse them. But security pros, even those who don’t abuse what they find, have a different way of looking at things. They always try to figure out all the angles or how someone could beat the system. In one of his examples, Bruce speaks about how, after buying one of Uncle Milton’s Ant Farms, he was enamored with the idea that they would mail a tube of live ants to anyone you asked them to. Schneier’s article was inspired by a University of Washington course in which the professor is attempting to instruct the ’security mindset.’ Students taking the course have been encouraged to post security reviews on a class blog.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Share This

Share This

cayenne8 sends us to Newteevee.com for a blog posting reporting from the Digital Living Room conference earlier this week. Gerard Kunkel, Comcast’s senior VP of user experience, said that the cable company is experimenting with different camera technologies built into its devices so it can know who’s in your living room. Cameras in the set-top boxes, while apparently not using facial recognition software, can still somehow figure out who is in the room, and customize user preferences for cable (favorite channels, etc.). While this sounds ‘handy,’ it also sounds a bit like the TV sets in 1984. I’m sure, of course, that Comcast wouldn’t tap into this for any reason, nor let the authorities tap into this to watch inside your home in real time without a warrant or anything.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Share This

Share This

Lucas123 writes “The US International Trade Commission said it will launch an investigation into possible patent infringements involving Sony’s Blu-ray players and other technologies using laser and light-emitting diodes, such as Motorola’s Razr phone and Hitachi camcorders. The investigation was prompted by a complaint filed in February by a Columbia University professor emerita who states she invented a method of using gallium nitride-based semiconductor material for producing wide band-gap semiconductors for LEDs and laser diodes in the blue/ultraviolet end of the light spectrum. Her complaint asks the ITC to block imports of LED and laser diode technology from Asia and Europe. The total market for all types of gallium nitride devices has been forecast at $7.2 billion for 2009 alone.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Share This

Share This

Money - AOL Money & Finance
Features business and financial news, including stock quotes, research investments, and information on how to track your portfolio, and manage your accounts.

Finance On the web GmbH
Professional Services - Project Management and Software Development Developing Java Enterprise Systems for major companies of the

Finance and Financial Planning
Discussions on the art of finance and financial planning strategies. Financing Sports In earlier times the marketing manager of an athletic team would project sales, the

Finance Department Home
The Finance Department is… Designed to prepare students for careers in private business as well as the public sector, and to also prepare students for careers in commercial

Export.gov
Export.gov International Finance. Become familiar with the various government programs designed to help your company finance its export transactions, and give it the capital to

Freight bill factoring - Sunbelt Finance of Jonesboro, Arkansas
Provides factoring with a specialization in the transportation industry.

Finance And Budget
Finance And Budget: 807 NE Broadway, Minneapolis, MN 55413 |  Phone: 612-668-0412  |  Fax: 612-668-0385

Finance at Del Rio Ford Lincoln Mercury, Ltd. - Your Del Rio, Texas
Finance at Del Rio Ford Lincoln Mercury, Ltd. Del Rio Texas Ford Lincoln Mercury

Finance Application Center
Welcome to Steve White Dodge - Jeep and Program Vehicles USA’s Finance Application. We currently have over 30 lenders that compete for your auto loan.

Wachovia Personal Finance
Wachovia offers you complete, personalized service to help you manage your money through a variety of on the web services, investment accounts and loan options.

Index - Department of Finance - W. P. Carey School of Business
Index Redesign Department of Finance W. P. Carey School of Business P.O. Box 873906 Tempe, AZ 85287-3906 Phone: 480-965-3131

Share This

Share This