July 15, 2008

The Latest Business Headlines from WWJ Newsradio 950

GM Retools | General Motors Corp. plans to lay off salaried workers, cut truck production, suspend its dividend and borrow $2 billion to $3 billion. GM said the moves will raise $15 billion | Story

Pfizer Cuts 275 Jobs | The company says job eliminations in Kalamazoo will affect supervisory and support staff, and some operational staff such as project engineers. | Story

New Northwest Fees | The airline will add or raise fees on frequent flier award travel, checked baggage, and changes to certain tickets the Detroit Free Press reports. | Story

Gift Card Law | Michigan's governor has signed legislation requiring stores in the state to accept gift cards and certificates for at least five years after selling them. | Story

Bottled Water Debate | Municipal leaders in southeastern Michigan and across the country want to wean residents off their precious bottled water, The Detroit News reports. | Story

Blue Chips Lose Ground | The Dow industrials fell 45.35 points Monday despite an intraday gain of more than 100 points, as all of the index's banking components slid. | Story

This Week in 'Your Career'

Half of ad, marketing executives say they have been sabotaged.

More employers checking claims of job applicants.

How to deal with a shrinking 401(k) portfolio.

Most in middle class could outlive retirement savings, study says.

Social networking on the job could be a security threat.

Health insurance caps leave some patients stranded.

Today's Worldwide Automotive Report podcast.

HALF OF AD, MARKETING EXECS SAY CO-WORKERS HAVE TRIED TO MAKE THEM LOOK BAD

The “creative class” is touted as the potential savior of the Michigan and national economies. But, according to a recent survey, careers in advertising or marketing – fields that attract a lot of creative professionals – might not be for you if confrontation makes you squeamish.

According to the survey, conducted by The Creative Group, based in Menlo Park, Calif., half of advertising and marketing executives polled has said a colleague has tried to make them look bad on the job. Even more – 70 percent – say the correct response for that kind of sabotage is to directly confront the offender.

Only 10 percent said executives should notify the person’s manager when a colleague tries to make them look bad. Five percent said the best response to workplace sabotage was to alert your colleagues to the situation. Another 5 percent said doing nothing was the best response, while 10 percent gave other answers or did not know what the best response would be. More...

Feldman Report: More Employers Checking Claims of Applicants

It's getting harder and harder to stretch the truth when you are looking for work, WWJ Newsradio 950 and Fox 2 News reporter Murray Feldman says. You know you are having a bad career when even your own dad tells interviewers he would not hire you. BusinessWeek documented just such a case.

How to Deal with a Shrinking 401(k) Plan Portfolio

The bad news is in the mail for many of us – in the form of retirement account statements about the just-concluded quarter. Falling stock prices have been dragging down 401(k) and IRA bottom lines. Ray Martin, financial guru for "The Early Show" on CBS television, says you needn't panic. More...

MOST COULD OUTLIVE THEIR RETIREMENT SAVINGS: Almost three out of five new middle-class retirees will outlive their financial assets if they attempt to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living, according to a new study conducted by Ernst & Young LLP on behalf of the coalition Americans for Secure Retirement. The study also finds that middle-income Americans entering retirement now will have to reduce their standard of living by an average of 24 percent to minimize the likelihood of outliving their financial assets. Those Americans seven years out from retirement are even less prepared and the study estimates that they will have to reduce their standard of living by even more, an average of 37 percent. More...

SOCIAL NETWORKING ON THE JOB CAN BE A SECURITY THREAT: The number of employees that admit to visiting social networking sites on the Internet while connected to the corporate network is increasing, according to a survey by Trend Micro Inc., an Internet content security form based in Cupertino, Calif. The study, which surveyed 1,600 corporate end users in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan, found that 19 percent of respondents across these countries have visited social networking sites – up from 15 percent in 2007. The trend can be a problem Trend Micro says, because social network sites – which usually are built using Web 2.0 technologies – are prime targets for cybercriminals and malware authors. More...

HEALTH INSURANCE CAPS LEAVE SOME STRANDED: Health insurers set lifetime limits to keep rates low on some policies, but holders are learning that individual caps that seemed large quickly max out as health care costs soar. Several patient advocacy groups are prodding insurers to raise the caps, which generally don't adjust for inflation. Congress also is considering two bills that would do that. Only 1 percent of employer-offered group plans, the largest health insurance segment, had caps as low as $1 million last year, according to a survey by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. But 22 percent had caps of less than $2 million, and some want to see the relatively low maximums eliminated entirely. More...

WORKING FROM HOME ON THE INTERNET: The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger recently set out looking for Web sites that help people find real, paying home-based work. She found that, while a lot of sites are legitimate, those who log on should go into them with modest expectations. "Although at-home opportunities are increasing," she wrote in a recent column, "most are only for part-time, low-paid work without benefits; some people who use these Web sites make as little as $5,000 a year. Many work very hard at tasks most people would find difficult, such as telemarketing. Competition for at-home work is keen; prepare to wait months to get a client, project or assignment." To read more, click here.

WORLDWIDE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT PODCAST: General Motors Corp. makes more cuts. A Ford Motor Co. worker sues for age discrimination. Volvo says it's not making big cuts in dealer ranks.

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