Matsushita Softbank Move to Retain Workers Amid Labor Shortage
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- Matsushita Softbank Move to Retain Workers Amid Labor Shortage
- Federal Investigators Probing Home Builder Beazer’s Mortgage…
- A bad call – Planning – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
- The house of cards – Investment – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
- Wall of worry – Investment – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
- Mixed messages – Banking – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
Matsushita Softbank Move to Retain Workers Amid Labor Shortage
Bloomberg – Mar 28, 2007
unveiled plans to attract and retain workersthat illustrate how concerned Japanese companies are about thelargest labor shortage in 14 years. Matsushita Japan's biggest private employer will let asmany as 30000 employees almost 10 percent of its staff workfrom home once or twice a week via the Internet. Softbank thethird-largest mobile-phone company said it will pay as much as5 million yen ($42550) for employees to have children. Japan this year will see the biggest change in work-forcedemographics since World War II as about 5. 6 million workersborn between 1947 and 1949 begin to retire over the next fiveyears. Companies are taking steps to encourage women into theworkforce amid government concern that the falling birthratewill shrink the labor pool… Companies also need to hire more womenthis will help them do that. '' The world's second-largest economy is also its most rapidlyaging society. Government and business leaders have called forpolicies to encourage families to reverse a predicament thatmakes it difficult to fund Japan's pension system and repay itspublic debt. `Encourage Employees' Softbank wants to reward families for doing just thatspokeswoman Makiko Ariyama said. “We want to encourage employees who are having their thirdand fourth babies in the age of a declining birth rate'' shesaid. The Tokyo-based company will give 1 million yen to employeeswho have a third child 3 million yen for the fourth and 5million yen after that. Softbank estimates the program will cost100 million yen in its first year.
Federal Investigators Probing Home Builder Beazer’s Mortgage…
FXNews – Mar 28, 2007
(BZH) the sixth-largest U. home builder on Wednesday confirmed it is cooperating with federal prosecutors in a probe relating to its mortgage business. The Atlanta-based company said it has been in contact with the U. attorney’s office and received a request for documents concerning the mortgage business. “At this time there have been no allegations of any wrongdoing” it said in a statement.
A bad call – Planning – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald – Mar 28, 2007
But the last number 1234 is a premium service directoryassistance number that comes with high costs attached. Telstracustomers can call 1234 and get access to a “personal assistant”who will not only provide telephone numbers but also restaurantreviews weather forecasts street directions and sportsresults. Your personal assistant will connect you straight through to thebusiness or home telephone number you’ve requested. He or she willalso send you that telephone number via a text message if you don’thave a pen and paper handy. Some of these services have been on offer for some time. But atthe end of last year Telstra and its directory assistance providerSensis changed the charges that apply to directory assistancetelephone calls. And further changes are afoot… It does not do anything that does notmake money. A change of a few cents adds up to millions [of dollarsof extra revenue]. Budde says the addition of extra services to what is currently afree directory assistance number – 1223 – might work if callers aretold when fees or charges cut in. “That has to be clear” hesays. “People have to know when they start paying. But he objects to the changes Telstra has made to charges forits premium service. The premium service to directory assistance number 1234 nowcosts $1.
The house of cards – Investment – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald – Mar 28, 2007
Desperation leads to rash decisions and areal gamblers’ mentality. Above all Weston says the danger is in thinking that makingmoney on the market is guaranteed or easy. He says companies suchas BourseData are often asked for trading systems that do all thework for you. The reality he says is that such systems can’twork. “You can make good money but the money you make isproportionate to the time you put in” he says. “The most importantthing is to manage the risks but that’s not as exciting as chasingthe big return. How do I avoid the traps? You need goodeducation and information so that you’re making informed decisionsnot flying blind.
Wall of worry – Investment – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald – Mar 28, 2007
“Good companies can achieve 6 to 7 per cent compound profits. Afew years ago analysts were saying investors needed 15 per cent”he says. However Nielsen can see good value among some of the bigmultinational companies where the size and breadth of theirbusiness makes them very hard to sink. Big companies are being massively de-rated” he says. But Neilsen believes there could be segregation between East andWest. “In Malaysia Thailand Korea there are many stocks thatdon’t look expensive small and large… Capital raisingWhen the market is booming listed companies raise capital byselling additional shares as it is a cheap source of funds andunlisted companies float their shares for the first time. When shares become overvalued there is a risk the paper beingissued to investors will end up worthless or at least worth lessthan they paid. There was a flurry of floats especially in the resourcessector last year as junior miners jumped at the opportunity toraise working capital by going public. The Federal Government’ssale of Telstra was the last big capital raising. However liver says many companies including BHP Billiton arecounterbalancing the trend and buying back shares. Flavour of the monthSometimes investors’ euphoria centres on one sector of themarket. At the turn of the century it was technology new media andtelecommunications shares that went through the roof.
Mixed messages – Banking – Money – Business – Home – smh.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald – Mar 28, 2007
A lack of awareness of comparison rates and how they work hasprompted calls for them to be scrapped. A finance industry grouphas described them as costly complex and open to abuse. And a recent study found that since 2003 when mandatorycomparison rates were introduced only about a third of people havefound out what they are and only about one in 10 could define themaccurately. Most people said they found the wide range of choice in theconsumer credit market confusing a situation that was not helpedmuch by comparison rates. The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia whichrepresents mortgage brokers says state governments are maintaininga costly system that has not served consumers well.
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