Bits & Pieces
Bits and pieces from this reporter’s notebook.
Da-deet-da-deet-.....Citigroup announced that it will cut 53,000 jobs on top of the 22,000 previously put on the block. What does this say about how the company was operating if it can cut so many jobs? That’s a lot of trimming, all of a sudden, and one wonders why the decision-makers let the fat get so thick. It’s not like the trimmers will be fired.
Da-deet-da-deet...J.P. Morgan will be cutting several thousand jobs. That’s hardly a surprise considering the redundancy that must have been incurred with the gobbling up of Chase and Wamu.
Da-deet-da-deet...A Fed survey of private economists is saying that the recession that began last spring will last about 14 months. Considering how wrong so many of these – cough, cough – experts have been in forecasting the bursting of the housing bubble, the crash of Wall Street, and similar disasters, you have to take their prognostication with more than a grain of salt.
Da-deet-da-deet...Another survey of economists reports the conclusion that the unemployment rate will peak at 7.5% in the third quarter of 2009. This forecast from a group that only last month projected the jobless would peak at 6.4% in the second quarter next year. Oops, the unemployment rate hit 6.5% last month.
Da-deet-da-deet...The Somali pirates have plenty of work. They have seized a half-dozen ships off the Horn of Africa in just the past week, including a Saudi supertanker carrying two million barrels of crude and a crew of 25. The ship was seized 500 miles off shore, a significant increase in the range of the piracy plague.
Da-deet-da-deet...Finally, thanks to TiVo, you will soon be able to order Domino’s pizza on your TV. The only question is, who will carry the pizza from the front door to the couch.
©2008 SetonnoteS
.