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U.S.-IRAQ: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost as much as $2.4 trillion through the next decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. The White House brushed off the analysis as "speculation." DRIVE-THROUGH FLU SHOTS: The Adams County Health Department will offer a drive-through flu shot clinic for the first time on Sunday at John Wood Community College. The clinic is doubling as an emergency preparedness training exercise. RED-LIGHT CAMERAS: Cameras used to catch motorists running red lights red-handed are expected to be in place at two of Hannibal's busiest intersections by the end of the month. Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. will install cameras at the intersections of U.S. 61 and Mo. 168 and U.S. 61 and West Ely/Pleasant. AROUND THE WORLD WILDFIRES: Rampaging wildfires still threaten several communities, but the worst may have passed.
Wanted: Housewives for banking, IT, retail jobs
NEW DELHI � Being a woman with children and a home to look after was considered a career-dampener not so long ago, but housewives are now being increasingly wooed by big guns such as Standard Chartered Bank and Infosys in an array of sectors like software, retail, banking and BPOs. Housewives are now in great demand in the job market as companies are realising that this particular class of employees is more stable in nature and could be a major weapon against the high level of attrition plaguing the industry. To tackle the aversion to long working hours, companies have come out with �flexi-timing� for women who have children, giving them an option to work only four hours a day. "We plan to hire women in 4-6 hour shifts in major metros, as there is a need to break away from the traditional processes amid the current talent crunch," Standard Chartered Bank's HR Head Madhavi Lall said.
Couch to replace Martinez as Regions' Florida president
Susan Martinez will retire as regional president for Regions Financial Corp.'s Florida Banking Group, effective Dec. 31. Martinez said she is stepping down to take care of a close family member who is undergoing a prolonged illness. She will be succeeded by Brett Couch, who will serve as regional president in addition to his current role as area executive for West Florida. Both Martinez and Couch are based in Tampa. Martinez said she would work with Couch over the next couple of months to ensure a smooth transition. "It should be a seamless transition," said Martinez, who said the bank successfully has completed a systems conversion after buying AmSouth one year ago. Martinez has been in the banking industry for 35 years, including 10 years with Regions and with AmSouth, before it was bought by Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions (NYSE: RF).
China's global reach; finance, trade, jobs, politics (book excerpts)
Is booming Chinese trade and commerce sustainable? Is a rising China to dominate world finance, banking, outsourcing, technology, stock market, wealth, oil, leadership? What is really inside Chinese society, multinationals, investment, management? Talk to provocative thinker George Zhibin Gu. timely and provocative book: China�s Global Reach Borderless Business, National Competition, Politics, and Globalization (book excerpts) by George Zhibin Gu Afterword China, United States and Global Development by Andre Gunder Frank Chapter 6. All International Business Players are important Today China is the biggest new frontier for international companies. In many ways, the Chinese market has more an international flavor than many other markets around the globe. Many unique characteristics have evolved along the way.
Stocks slip on news of poor banking outlook
Wall Street resumed its slide Monday as investors absorbed a gloomy outlook for the banking sector as well as bleak news about housing. The major stock market indexes each fell more than 1.5 percent, with the Dow Jones industrial average giving up more than 200 points. Concerns about the banking sector dominated the session. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s downgrade of large banks, and its estimate that Citigroup Inc. would have to write down $15 billion over the next two quarters due to its exposure to risky debt, unnerved Wall Street. Other sectors suffered big hits during the session, including homebuilders and airlines. The latest concerns about the housing sector arose after a downbeat survey from the National Association of Homebuilders and a lowered forecast from home-improvement retailer Lowe's Companies Inc.
European Markets Fall, Led By Banks, Insurers And Exporters - European Commentary
(RTTNews) - The European markets fell the most in three months on Monday, as banking, insurance and exporter stocks slipped on persistent worries over the health of the U.S. economy and its impact on exports. Crude for January delivery fell $0.29 to $93.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, by the time the European markets closed, as traders were concerned about the possibility of an economic slowdown in the U.S. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips closed 2.1% lower at 1,462.76 points, while the narrower DJ Stoxx 50 index fell 1.8% to 3,592.79 points. Around Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index dropped 2.71% to 6,120.80. Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock, Anglo American, Xstrata, BP and British Airways were among the major losers.
Cuomo subpoenas government-sponsored mortgage lenders
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo expanded his mission to correct conflicts of interest in the mortgage industry and protect consumers on several fronts last week. Cuomo announced last Wednesday that his office had subpoenaed the nation�s two largest financiers of home mortgages to examine loans they purchased from banks. The attorney general also went to Washington last week to endorse federal legislation aimed at protecting consumers from unethical appraisal practices. Cuomo�s office issued the subpoenas to the government-sponsored lending companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, requesting information on all of the mortgage loans they purchased from any bank, as well as any securities associated with the loans. Cuomo is also asking for information on appraisals and property valuation done by the original lenders and the procedures the companies used.
Business digest
OWOSSO - The Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce has received a $25,000 federal grant for its business loan program. The money, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program, will be used to recapitalize the chamber's revolving loan fund program, which has provided $125,000 in loans to local businesses since 2004. USDA Rural Development helped start the fund with a $99,900 grant. The $25,000 grant is being matched with $8,400 from the chamber. .
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