Says one happy worker: 'We're fortunate to have great bosses'
DENVER - Eleven-year FreeWave Technologies Inc. employee Melanie Duran says the wireless data radio maker is a great place to work. But you can judge for yourself.
The Boulder-based company says it has had profits every month since it hired its first employee in 1995. There have been no layoffs. Employees get company-funded retirement plans and bonuses based on profits and growth.
And there's more: As part of a $113 million private-equity investment deal in 2007, FreeWave is sharing $9 million of investors' money with its fewer than 100 employees as a reward for the company's success. Shares are divvied up based on individual performance. FreeWave refused to disclose individual payments.
NBC anchor says request for positive stories has hit ‘incredible nerve’
NEW YORK - Between the drumbeat of bad economic stories, two wars and a winter that won't quit, NBC's Brian Williams knows he's been anchoring a depressing "Nightly News" for a depressed audience.
Still, even he was shocked at the thousands of responses he has received in less than two days after asking viewers to suggest some good news to report.
By Caleb Hellerman
CNN Medical Producer
Mark Wooten, 41, was devastated when his supervisor told him in November that he was being laid off from his job as a forklift operator in Norfolk, Virginia. It was the first time in his adult life he'd been out work; just a month earlier, he and his wife Caprice had moved into a new apartment with their two 15-year-old daughters.
"It's hard," Mark said. "We've made tremendous cutbacks."
When the Wootens sat down to plan a survival strategy, they agreed to make big changes. But there was one unconventional change: They hit the gym with a vengeance.
Caprice, 40, a hospital technician, had been struggling to stick with an exercise routine. With time to spare, Mark told her he would lend a hand; he needed to work off his own stress.
"Me being out of work and trying to file for
unemployment, going through hard times and tribulations -- I told [Caprice], 'You can be my inspiration, and I can be yours. We'll keep each other motivated, even on days we don't want nothing to do with the gym,' " Mark said.
There are four days until the Inauguration, and the country is alight with excitement, not just about the arrival of Barack Obama in the White House but also for the beginning of a new era of civic engagement.
We’ve tapped into this energy with our
Ideas for Change in America, and today we held a press event at the National Press Club in Washington DC to announce the winners of the competition. The 10 winning ideas reflect the diverse interests of the millions of people calling for change across the country, and include ideas for securing universal heath care, LGBT rights, and sustainable green energy. All winning ideas can be viewed at
www.change.org/ideas.
The winning ideas were accepted on behalf of the Presidential Transition Team by Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media and the person who oversees our second-favorite website, Change.gov. Macon then addressed the attendees of the event, which included nonprofit leaders and grassroots activists, and spoke about the importance the administration will place on citizen-driven efforts like Ideas for Change.
Read the rest of the story.......
Banking giant gives nod to legislation that would allow judges to alter mortgages for homeowners who have filed for bankruptcy.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Citigroup reached an agreement with Democratic lawmakers Thursday on legislation that would allow judges to reduce mortgage debt for individuals who have filed for bankruptcy.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the bill's architect, said he hoped the participation of Citigroup would entice other mortgage lenders to sign onto the program.
"I hope other institutions will follow suit," he said. Durbin appeared at a press conference along with fellow sponsors of the bill, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.
Until recently, members of the banking industry, including Citigroup (C (
C,
Fortune 500), Fortune 500), as well as other housing-related groups like the National Association of Realtors, have criticized the notion of allowing the courts to have a say over their mortgage portfolios.
Read the rest of the story.......
Some companies are promising not to lay off any workers, even during times of financial hardship.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In the midst of a recession, job cut announcements have become a daily occurrence. But some employers have promised no pink slips, and are sticking to it.
So far this week around 40,000
job cuts have been announced by an array of companies as varied as Dow Chemical, Electronic Arts, the National Football League and Sony Corp.
But even as the number of unemployed grows, some companies say their workers have nothing to fear.
"I have never in my 13 years [at the company] felt that my job is in jeopardy due to the economy," said Jill Kronman, a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines (
LUV,
Fortune 500).That's because Southwest is committed to avoiding layoffs at all costs - and they're not alone.
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Buying a home might be out right now, but you might have the cash to make improvements to the place you have.
Major upgrades requiring a contractor might give you pause, but a simple faucet upgrade, paint job or switch to energy-efficient lighting probably is manageable Ace Hardware, a fixture in nearly every neighborhood, is benefiting from that trend.
As home construction has declined, so have sales at big-box home-improvement stores.
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But Ace Hardware Corp., with its smaller-store format and focus on building long-term relationships with customers who do their own home repairs, reported revenues that were even with the year before in its most recent quarterly earnings statement. And Ace's quarterly net income was up 13.2 percent, to $33.4 million.
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New York (CNN) -- Saying that moving quickly is imperative, President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday offered an outline of his economic recovery plan to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, saying American workers will rebuild the nation's roads and bridges, modernize its schools and create more sources of alternative energy.
"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis," Obama said in the weekly Democratic address, posted on his Web site. "These are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long."
Details of the plan are still being worked out by his economic team, Obama said, but he hopes to sign the two-year, nationwide plan shortly after taking office January 20.
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In a presidential campaign marked by bitter and often gratuitous negativity, Barack Obama campaigned on hope, painting the possibility of a better future. Millions across the U.S. and abroad were moved by his message.
Even amidst economic crisis and international turmoil, a shared sense of hope lifted and opened people's hearts, seeding their better dreams.
And with Obama's decisive win on November 4th, hope erupted into effusive joy. For millions of his supporters, dreams came true. "Yes, we can" morphed into "Yes, we did." Those highs will fade. Life goes on. Our daily routines - commuting, work, buying groceries, paying bills - eventually flatten such emotional peaks into foggy memories. Sobering us up further, we're told that economic times will get worse before they get better. Millions face or fear joblessness, lost homes, and more
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A new program aimed at homeowners who haven't defaulted yet could help 130,000 mortgage borrowers stay in their homes.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Citigroup says it will expand its foreclosure prevention efforts and try to keep 130,000 troubled borrowers with $20 billion in mortgages in their homes.
The news follows similar initiatives announced earlier this year by IndyMac Bank, which was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last summer, as well as Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) each of which heralded enhanced housing rescue efforts.
Banks are undoubtedly feeling pressured to be more aggressive in aiding home owners, given how many billions of taxpayer dollars have poured into the industry to stem the credit crisis.
More......
1. Forget the myth that happiness is elusive and unattainable, and that it’s something that either happens or it doesn’t.
Being happy is a choice.
2. Expand your understanding of
health to include happiness. Here’s a quote from Deepak Chopra, one of the world’s foremost experts on the mind-body connection:
“Health is not just the absence of disease. It’s an inner joyfulness that should be ours all the time - a state of positive well-being.”
Read the rest of the story.....
7 Ways to Slash Stress
Chronic stress seems to be our national disease, especially these days. Millions suffer from symptoms of stress: nervous tension, restless sleep, difficulty focusing and remembering, irritability, and health complications. Generally speaking, stress speeds up aging. Learn the ways to
manage stress, and you will look and feel younger.
Relax with the rest of the story....
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