Archives: April 2009

Consumer Spending in a Recession

Posted by: Jena McGregor on April 30

It should come as little surprise that consumer spending was down in March, the fourth straight month in a row that shoppers reeled in their purchases and held onto their...

Job Security AIG Style

Posted by: Nanette Byrnes on April 29

Now here's an interesting twist on the AIG bonus scandal. The Wall Street Journal reports that James Shephard had decided to remain at Banque AIG, a part of AIGFP involved...

How Companies Should Manage Swine Flu

Posted by: Aili McConnon on April 28

Though swine flu luckily hasn’t become a pandemic yet, I recently spoke with Booz Allen Hamilton vice president Mark Herman about what companies should do to prepare for pandemics like...

Companies that Pay Little in Taxes

Posted by: Nanette Byrnes on April 24

Some interesting comments coming in on a study we published this week on corporate taxes -- the big payers and those who pay very little. (Here's the link to interactive...

Most Chinese Don’t Believe Their Country is in a Recession

Posted by: Aili McConnon on April 24

It looks like China’s $585 billion dollar stimulus package is working to boost consumer confidence. New research from Nielsen shows that only 35% of Chinese believe their country is in...

How will the CEOs of tomorrow be paid?

Posted by: Matthew Boyle on April 23

For our upcoming package on "The CEOs of Tomorrow," one question we wanted to answer was how the economic crisis and the increasing regulatory environment will impact CEO pay packages...

Laid Off? Publicize your way into a new job

Posted by: Diane Brady on April 22

Every day brings more news of talented, driven people falling victim to the downturn. When covering the world of publishing, one of my favorite folks to work with has been...

Starwood vs. Hilton: Trade Secret Theft Claims

Posted by: Michael Orey on April 21

In the annals of corporate spying, things don’t get much juicer than the current tussle between Starwood Hotels and Hilton. Today, according to the Wall Street Journal, Hilton said it...

GE Earnings Beat Consensus, Fall 35% in First Quarter

Posted by: Jena McGregor on April 17

One year after Jeffrey R. Immelt's quarter horribilis--when the General Electric Chairman and CEO shocked Wall Street with a wide earnings miss that left investors reeling--the GE chief beat analyst...

Retailers to the Rescue

Posted by: Diane Brady on April 16

Here is a guest blog from Madison Riley and Kathi Toll, consultants with Kurt Salmon Associates: Walgreens’ announcement this month that it would give free health care services to newly...

The Overtime Lawsuit Conundrum

Posted by: Michael Orey on April 14

A recent ruling in an overtime lawsuit against J.P. Morgan Chase highlights a conundrum for companies: Corrective action they take to bring themselves into compliance with so-called wage and hour...

Motivating Employees in Tough Times

Posted by: Aili McConnon on April 13

As salaries and bonuses are getting slashed, not to mention widespread lay-offs, I am fascinated by creative ways managers are motivating their remaining troops without breaking the bank. One strategy...

Warren Buffett Taken Down a Notch Again

Posted by: Nanette Byrnes on April 09

Moody’s downgraded Berkshire Hathaway and its marquee re-insurance business National Indemnity on April 8, more evidence that the meltdown has flummoxed even the most famous investor in America. The move...

Quick's Secret Slip Prompts Terrorism Raids

Posted by: Michael Orey on April 08

This how-not-to management lesson comes courtesy of Bob Quick, Britain’s counter-terrorism chief: Don’t carry highly confidential information casually under your arm and put it on full display for news photographers....

CEO Pay Down? Not So Fast

Posted by: Jena McGregor on April 07

Everywhere you look recently, the headlines say CEO pay is going down. Last week, the Wall Street Journal's annual survey found that median salary and bonuses for CEOs of 200...

Goals Gone Wild

Posted by: Jena McGregor on April 07

One need look no further than the current financial crisis to see what disastrous effects can occur when employees are too focused on meeting "stretch" goals--and the outsized compensation that...

Surfing the web at work increases your productivity

Posted by: Aili McConnon on April 03

Worried about being caught on Facebook while at work? Surfing the web actually increases productivity according to a new study from the University of Melbourne. Dr. Brent Coker studied 300...

Wal-Mart Hate

Posted by: Nanette Byrnes on April 02

Tim Manners has an interesting blog up noting that a recent survey of his readers found a third of them never shop at Wal-Mart. This is interesting because Tim describes...

Pat Lencioni on Rediscovering Work

Posted by: Diane Brady on April 02

Here's a guest blog from noted author and consultant Patrick Lencioni: Sometimes when we're in the midst of a major event or a crisis, we don't notice big changes that...

Trying to Turn Up the Heat on Boards

Posted by: Nanette Byrnes on April 01

Million dollar AIG bonuses and CEO grillings on Capitol Hill make the headlines, but one root cause of the breakdown in corporate governance has gotten scant attention, and that's the...