The percentage of the total population that is of working age increased from 58.4% in January 2010 to 58.5% in February 2010.
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The average weekly hours of manufacturing production workers decreased from 40.7 hours in January 2010 to 40.3 hours in February 2010.
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The percentage of people unemployed for more than 26 weeks as part of the total population decreased from 2.67% in January 2010 to 2.59% in February 2010.
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(AP) Almost-complete results show voters in Iceland have resoundingly rejected a $5.3 billion plan to pay back Britain and the Netherands for debts caused by the collapse of an Icelandic Internet bank.
Returns released Sunday with more than 98 percent of ballots counted show 93 percent of voters said “no” in Saturday’s referendum, and just 1.8 percent voted yes. The rest were blank or spoiled ballots.
The result reflects Icelanders’ anger at bankers and politicians as the tiny island nation struggles to recover from a deep recession.
Britain and the Netherlands want to be reimbursed for money they paid citizens with deposits in Icesave, an Internet bank that collapsed in 2008 along with most of Iceland’s banking sector.
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Because startups aren’t required to report regular financial results as publicly traded companies are, it can be hard for outsiders to get a sense of what hot ones like Facebook and Twitter are really worth.
Now, a private online stock exchange hopes to shed some light on the subject by rolling out an index that reflects the changing values of such companies.
Starting Wednesday, SharesPost is releasing an index that will track the values of seven startups over time. It’s similar to the way the Dow Jones industrial average measures the value of a basket of big stocks.
SharesPost founder Greg Brogger says the index will help investors and startup employees get a sense of what emerging companies are worth in real time.
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(AP) A tsunami warning was in effect for Hawaii Saturday following a massive earthquake that struck central Chile.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also issued a tsunami advisory for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands.
The first waves were expected to arrive in Hawaii at 11:19 a.m. Saturday (4:19 p.m. EST).
The center said a tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the Hawaii. It said a tsunami in California and Alaska was possible.
The Ewa Beach, Hawaii-based center called for “urgent action to protect lives and property” in Hawaii, which is among 53 nations and territories subject to tsunami warnings.
“The main thing is we want everyone to take this event seriously,” said Charles McCreery, director of the center.
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LONDON (AP) — Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is warning Spain that its weak economy could undermine its plan to rein in its budget deficit — and make a debt downgrade even more likely.
S&P said Friday that Spain’s deficit would likely remain above 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product through to 2013. That means the debt burden could rise.
The ratings agency said it was keeping Spain’s AA+ bond rating but that any deterioration in its economy or finances could put “downward pressure” on its rating.
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Business Insider is expanding and we’re looking for a few good editorial interns this spring.
Specifically, we need smart people who are interested in business and can write.
Our interns do everything: Research, write, copy-edit, produce features, and help break news (among other tasks).
A journalism background helps, including copy-editing skills; light HTML and Photoshop experience preferred. Knowledge of social media and previous blogging experience a plus.
Please send resume and clips via email to [email protected].
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s newest member says he will break ranks Monday with fellow Republicans and support a Democratic jobs bill in an important procedural vote.
The vote of Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown gets Democrats closer to the 60 they would need to end debate and vote on passage of the bill. They need one more Republican vote because Democrat Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey is expected to be absent because he is ill.
Brown says the bill is not perfect but he will support it. Brown was elected last month to fill the seat vacated by the death of Edward Kennedy. His election deprived Democrats of the 60 votes needed to end filibusters.
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Calling all AAPL enthusiasts…Business Insider has launched the the new Apple Investor newsletter.
What is it? This email newsletter provides a daily compilation of important news and trends affecting Apple and delivers them straight to your inbox. Signing up is quick and easy. Use the form below to enter your information then click the “Sign Up” button.
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Controversial Canadian foreign policy analyst Michel Chossudovsky recently told Russia Today that any military action against Iran will ignite a regional war from the Mediterranean to China. After that, Russia and China will become involved, sparking a global war.
What’s more, he says that it really does not matter what Iran says or does. It is not a nuclear power any more than Iraq was a hotbed of weapons of mass destruction. The only thing holding back an attack on Iran is the lack of public support in the US and Europe. If the public’s mood changes, we’re going to war, Chossudovsky says.
(Hat tip: LewRockwell.com)
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Think you know a thing or two about Wall Street, finance, and business?
Do you know your futures from your forwards from your options from your swaptions?
Well, let’s see about that.
We’ve put together a quick quiz to determine if you have what it takes
to be a real Business Insider.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the emergency legislation he signed a year ago to help the struggling economy has saved at least 2 million jobs and avoided a deeper recession.
Speaking on the first anniversary of the American Recovery and Investment Act, Obama said that embracing the $787 billion measure “wasn’t a politically easy decision,” but said he had no choice.
He conceded that too many people still are in need of work and many more are struggling to pay bills. But Obama also chided critics. He said that many of the same lawmakers who assailed the stimulus bill “showed up at ribbon-cutting ceremonies in their districts.” But Obama also acknowledged that current economic conditions don’t “feel much like a recovery” to those who are still hurting.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A spokesman for Greece’s governing Socialists says the party plans to call on parliament to investigate how the previous conservative government relayed faulty fiscal data to the European Union.
Parliamentary spokesman Christos Papoutsis on Tuesday gave no other details on the probe, which could lead to potential prosecution if politicians are found responsible of wrongdoing.
Greece’s new Socialist government sharply revised the 2009 budget deficit after winning general elections last October. The deficit revision to 12.7 percent of GDP, from a 3.7 percent forecast months earlier, helped trigger a financial crisis around mounting debts by Greece and several other countries using the euro.
The Socialists have 160 deputies in the 300-seat parliament.
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LONDON (AP) — Royal Bank of Scotland PLC said Tuesday that its joint-venture commodities unit RBS Sempra Commodities has sold its metals, oil and European energy businesses to investment bank J.P. Morgan for $1.7 billion.
RBS, which is 84 percent owned by the British government, will get 47 percent of the sale price, and expects to report a small gain on the deal, it said.
“We believe we have struck a fair price and contract with J.P. Morgan,” said Bruce Van Saun, RBS’ group finance director.
“The remaining assets in RBSSC, namely the North American power and gas businesses, remain of high value and are performing well. Along with our joint-venture partner, Sempra Energy, we continue to actively consider various ownership alternatives for the remainder of RBSSC.”
J.P. Morgan said the acquisition would be integrated into its existing Global Commodities business.
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By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer
Struggling technology company Motorola Inc. said Thursday it plans to split in two in early 2011 — with one half containing its consumer-focused mobile phone and television set-top box products, and the other holding divisions that target business customers.
The split will give current shareholders a share in each new company, which will be roughly the same size in terms of annual revenue at $11 billion. Both halves will be publicly traded.
The move gives the company’s two co-CEOs, Sanjay Jha and Greg Brown, separate companies to run. Jha will concentrate on Motorola’s entertainment and consumer-oriented devices, including smart phones like the Droid, and Brown on high-tech business solutions.
“We believe this configuration is cleaner and more compelling for customers and investors,” Brown said in an interview. “We do anticipate that both business segments will have positive operating cash flow moving forward.”
The move is a change from plans the company announced in late 2008 to spin off only its handset unit by the third quarter of 2009. It put that plan on hold as the recession deepened and sales deteriorated.
The current separation is planned for the first quarter of 2011.
Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., rode high for a few years after introducing the wildly popular Razr flip phone in 2005, but as the phone’s popularity faltered, the company struggled to develop a worthy successor and losses piled up in its cell-phone division.
Two newer phones based on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, the Cliq and the Droid, have been well received, and Motorola said it shipped 2 million units in the fourth quarter. Motorola’s Android-based Devour will go on sale in March through Verizon Wireless.
Motorola plans to launch 20 smart phones this year alone.
Jha suggested that smart phones will be increasingly wedded to television set-top boxes as video is watched on multiple devices. He added that Motorola’s mobile-device business will be profitable in the fourth quarter of this year.
“Together, mobile devices and (the) home (business) is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the largest opportunity in technology today, the convergence of mobility, media, and the Internet,” Jha said.
Brown, the company’s other co-CEO, will head what’s left of the company, made up of the enterprise mobility and networks businesses. The enterprise mobility division makes such products as handheld devices for warehouse workers and bar-code scanners.
The networks business consists of helping build out cell phone towers and setting up fiber-optic cable lines to enable the spread of high-speed Internet connections.
Earlier, the company said that if the spinoff of the handset unit did not happen before Oct. 31, 2010, Jha would get $30 million in cash. Jha said Thursday he had extended his contract until June 2011 and so won’t qualify for that payment.
About $3 billion in public debt will reside in Brown’s half, and Motorola expects it to get an investment-grade rating of “BBB” by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch’s rating system.
The executives did not make clear how much debt will exist on Jha’s side.
Analyst Douglas Christopher with Crowell, Weeden & Co. in Los Angeles said the split made sense.
“They both gain focus on their core businesses,” he said. “I’ve always believed that every company should have one CEO.”
Both halves of the company will continue to use the Motorola brand, with the mobile device side owning it and licensing it royalty-free to the other.
Investors appeared to welcome the news.
Motorola’s shares were up 17 cents, or 2.6 percent, at $6.82 in after-hours trading following the announcement. They earlier added 2 cents to close the regular session at $6.65.
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BALTIMORE (AP) — Legg Mason Inc. on Wednesday said its assets under management slipped to $679.4 billion at the end of last month, down slightly from $681.6 billion at the end of December.
January’s preliminary figure is down from $702.7 billion at the end of September, but up from $632.4 billion at the end of March, when the start of a bull market began sending stock prices higher.
Last month’s slight decline in managed assets at Baltimore-based Legg Mason came as the Standard & Poor’s 500, a broad stock index, fell 3.7 percent.
Legg Mason’s stock assets under management fell about 4 percent to $161.7 billion at the end of January, compared with $168.7 billion at the end of December. Fixed-income assets rose to $367.5 billion from $365.8 billion, and liquidity assets rose to $150.2 billion from $147.1 billion.
Shares of Legg Mason rose 78 cents, or about 3.1 percent, to $25.86 in morning trading.
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The total nonfarm job gains/losses improved from a loss of a 150,000 in December 2009 to a loss of 20,000 in January 2010.
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The percentage of the total population that is of working age and that is employed increased from 58.2% in December 2009 to 58.4% January 2010.
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