A class action suite filed by five software engineers against Apple, Google, and a number of other hi-tech giants has revealed some interesting correspondences by the late Steve Jobs to Google regarding his most highly skilled, and thereby, most highly sought employees; the programmers.

In a memo from Jobs to Google chief Eric Schmidt, Jobs is said to have told Schmidt to stop trying to lure an Apple engineer away from Apple and over to Google. The memo became public as part of a larger suit filed by these engineers against the high tech industry in which they charge that their wages and overall compensation packages were being manipulated lower by Apple and Google. The suit alleges that these companies, and five others, made a conscience effort to eliminate demand for their skills.

In 2010, the Justice Department found that and agreement between Apple, Google, Adobe Systems, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar to refrain from recruiting engineers and other highly skilled employees from one and other was illegal and all agreed to a settlement after the government’s ruling on the case. In a document that was part of the probe, Steve Jobs sent a memo to Eric Schmidt of Google asking that his company stop trying to hire away one of Jobs’ engineers. Schmidt replied that he would indeed and that the would find out who is making contact with the employee and put an end to it immediately. Google staffers asked to look into the matter told Schmidt that the Google employee would be terminated within the hour.

The civil suits against Apple, Google, and the rest is still in the courts with the tech companies asking a judge to throw out the case on the basis that these companies claim not to have engaged in any overarching conspiracy. However, the judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, said that the lawsuit could move forward.

Other evidence in the case finds that Intel also entered into agreements with their peers to keep engineers from moving to the highest bidder.

My take:

I hope they win their case because you shouldn’t be able to put a lid on the amount that a worker can demand for his skills. The people in the front offices of these companies might want to consider taking a cut in their own pay to keep their best workers happy and on the payroll. That’s how it is done everywhere else so why should these guys be an exception. Besides, from recent reports it looks like they have more than enough capital to pay the people making their products.

Economists were somewhat upbeat to see that the U.S. economy grew at a faster pace than many had been expecting in 2011, however recent data indicates that a lot of what was produced in Q4, 2011 remains on the shelves or in the warehouse.  When businesses are feeling better about the economy, they will often add to their existing inventories, a somewhat dangerous decision in an economy that is still limping along. These business managers must have believed that 2011 and 2012 would be promising because they added to inventories to the tune of $56 billion, which helped to boost overall GDP by nearly 2.0%.

On the other hand, while inventories were accumulating, spending to end 2011 didn’t nearly keep pace, rising at a paltry 0.8%. The result is that there’s a lot of stuff to be sold. Economist are now looking at the data for the end of 2011 and revising their growth estimates for the economy for 2012 based on what they feel might be a slowing of overall economic activity. Some estimates for 2012 GDP are now being revised downward to 1.5% from earlier estimates near 2.0% – 2.5%.  The Fed, the central bank of the U.S. doesn’t necessarily concur with the estimates by these private economists, saying that they are still looking for U.S. GDP to grow by 2.7% in 2012, and they look for the unemployment rate to fall to 8.2% by the end of the year.

However, the better growth estimates by the Fed are not so rosy that they are willing to risk allowing interest rates to rise anytime soon with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke saying last week that short term interest rates, the Fed Funds rate, would remain near zero percent until 2014 and that the central bank could also begin another round of quantitative easing in order to keep longer term interest rates contained at historically low levels. In order to achieve this, the fed purchases long term securities on the open market and thereby keeps prices firm for these longer dated bonds.

Recent data also shows that business investment slowed at the end of 2012, after much better spending on longer term investments earlier in the year. In addition to the slump that the economy could face in paring down inventories into 2012, the housing industry also remains stuck in the mud, and few if any industry analysts expect any boost to economic activity from this depressed sector of the U.S. economy. And while interest rates at their lowest levels in history should help spark demand in the housing market, banks are still holding tight on the mortgages they are even considering so while the money is there at rates that make sense, the banks aren’t letting go of the purse strings all too easily.

My take:

Inventory build-up is not a good thing and could definitely be a drag on growth going forward. The economy remains fragile so once again the single most important thing that will help this economy gain some steam is jobs. When people get back to work they are more apt to participate in economy full bore. Now, we’ll see what happens though I’d have to imagine that many retailers will be offering big discounts to move things out of their warehouses and off the shelves.

There seems to be two sides to almost everything, especially economic statistics. On the one hand the good news is that incomes are rising across the United States, and along with the increase in income is a higher savings rate across the country as well. However, the increased buying power is being socked away by the newly reborn, thrifty American public and thereby undermining consumer spending levels and overall demand in the U.S. economy to start off 2012. The U.S. economy is consumer driven so while an increase in savings rates is indeed a good thing, the news is potentially bad for the economy going forward, at least in the short term.

Statistics released today by the Commerce Department on consumer spending, income and savings show that spending in December 2011 was the weakest since earlier last year in June. They also revised the data for November 2011 to a meager gain in consumer spending to 0.1%. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. economy is based on the consumer so the news that spending slowed to end 2011 has some economist concerned that going forward we might find that the economy is going to limp along. For all of 2011 consumer spending increased by 4.7%, which was indeed a healthy increase and the largest since 2007. However, it is the future that has analysts concerned.

After accounting for the effects of inflation, spending fell in December by 0.1%. Economists were expecting a gain of 0.1% – 0.2%. Overall, consumer spending helped to boost GDP in Q4 2011 to 2.8%, from 1.8% reported for Q3. A large part of consumer spending in 2011 went toward the purchase of automobiles, a big ticket item with a big impact on the economy. However, much of the money for these cars came from savings and credit cards so industry experts are concerned about the demand for automobiles going into 2012.

With unemployment still a nagging issue for the economy, with overall rates still near 8.5%, economists speculate that consumer spending isn’t likely to build on the gains seen in 2011 until more people are back to work and feeling more comfortable about making purchases, especially bigger expenditures like a car or home furnishings and appliances.

Wages were higher by 0.3% to end 2011, more going toward savings than spending with the savings rate rising to 4% from 3.5% in November. Also on the bright side is the outlook for inflation, which remains subdued and likely to stay under wraps for the foreseeable future. After being flat in November, the price index for spending was up a mere 0.1% in December.

My take:

It probably isn’t the worst thing to see that people are starting to save more of their income than they spend, at least for a little while. With such an uncertain future for so many people, and with so many either unemployed or underemployed, you can understand why people are putting more money in the bank. I don’t think the trend is likely to continue to the point that it is detrimental to the economy long term because there’s always something being advertised that everyone has to have. And, perhaps retailers will offer such great deals that people won’t be able to pass up the opportunity to buy……

Police involved in disappearance of Ayla Reynolds, the 20-month old little girl missing since December 17, say that blood found in the home where she was allegedly abducted from is hers. The discovery of the blood, found by the Maine Department of Public Safety,  and analysis by police investigators has cast new doubts on the credibility of the adults in the house on the evening of Ayla’s disappearance.

According the Ayla’s father, Justin DiPietro, he put Ayla to bed in a first floor bedroom of his mother’s home, and then went down to the basement where he sleeps with his girlfriend and her son. His aunt was said to be asleep in a bedroom on the main floor of the small house with her daughter. DiPietro claims that someone must have broken into the house in the middle of the night and abducted his daughter. The next morning he called 911 to report that his daughter was missing.

Police say that blood found using advanced detection equipment in the basement of the home is indeed that of Ayla, and that the amount found was from more than just a small cut or abrasion. Police say that there is no evidence of a break-in or or anything else that would lead them to believe that someone came into the house and abducted Ayla.

Ayla’s mother Trista Reynolds, had given custody of Ayla to DiPietro because of her substance abuse problems, and her being in a rehab program to try to overcome her addiction.

Police believe that DiPietro, his aunt, and his girlfriend know a lot more than they are telling police about the events on the night of December 17 but have also said that all of the adults have been communicating and cooperating with the investigation; its just that police aren’t buying what they are saying, especially in light of the discovery of Ayla’s blood on the basement floor of the home.

Ayla’s father, Justin DiPietro, had no comment about the blood found by police, saying only that he want the person that abducted Ayla to “find the courage to do the right thing and return her safely.” Police decided to release their findings about the blood to the public to help the investigation, which up to this point was at a standstill. They believe that perhaps in making their findings public, someone will come forward with information that will help them get to the bottom of this case.

My take:

I have to believe that the father, the aunt, and the girlfriend know a lot more than they are saying. And now with the discovery of little Ayla’s blood in the basement, someone is bound to start talking in order to save their own arse. Such a tragic affair and in the end, this baby is the one to suffer. I only hope that this new evidence leads investigators to those that are guilty.

Cited: MSNBC

For years we have been hearing different opinions about the best diet mix for losing weight; all proteins, no carbohydrates, no fat, low fat, and every combination thereof. It seems that the best mix of all of them, is a healthy mix of all of them, including fats but just in lower quantities.  A recent study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that there was no real discernible difference in weight loss or loss of body fat between  four diets with different proportions of proteins, fat, and carbohydrates. The key element to shedding pounds found by the AJCN is sticking to the diet; eating less.

Research prior to this study by the AJCN came to some conclusions regarding carbohydrates that the scientific community didn’t exactly swallow, though the notion that eating less carbs was the way to go caught on with the American dieting public pretty quickly. In fact, the all protein approach, including eating fats, was one of the biggest fad diets around and it remains one of the more prominent approaches to losing weight for many. However popular, there was no consensus among the researchers as to the validity cutting carbs to lose weight and now the AJCN study seems to confirm their suspicions that lower carbs, in conjunctions with less of everything else is the best way to lose weight.

The study was conducted over two years on several hundred patients, all of whom were given diets consisting of varying amounts of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, with the ultimate goal of reducing each persons daily calories by 750. The people in the study were examined every six months for their weight loss, body fat, and lean muscle loss. Many of the people that started the study did not finish or simple did not adhere to the diet regime. Many either added more calories or changed their caloric mix. By the end of the study all of the groups wound up getting approximately 20% of their daily intake from proteins.

Those that strictly followed the calorie allotment dictated by the study lost weight and kept it off, with little or no appreciable difference noticed based on the make-up of the calories. In the end, researchers note the most important factor to losing weight and keeping it off is by reducing the calories you eat.

My take:

It certainly makes sense that the less you eat the faster you will lose weight. Exercise more, eat less. Fad diets are indeed fads with the only people benefiting from them being the company sponsoring the diet. I was a little surprised that fats, and carbs made no difference in losing weight but who am I to argue with science. Pass the beer and chips…..

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said today that the economy is indeed improving, that the recession is indeed behind us, but things aren’t so rosy that the Fed is about to change its interest rate policy anytime soon; in fact Bernanke believes that the economy is still in such a critical stage of growth that he doesn’t see a change in the Fed Funds rate until sometime in 2014.

Presently, the fed funds rate, basically the liquidity spigot from the U.S. central bank to the financial community, is at historically low levels near zero percent. The fed funds rate is the rate charged on money that works its way around the banking system, the rate that one bank charges another for overnight loans, with the Fed keeping enough in the system to fund these loans. The rates on these loans now have been in place since 2008 when the full grip of the recession threatened to bring down the entire financial system.

The news, or lack of news, regarding interest rates was well-received by the U.S. bond market with the rate on 10 year bonds falling to just 1.9%, down from over 2% in yesterday’s trading session. Economists warn however, that while Bernanke did say that Fed Funds rates would probably not change until sometime in 2010, his words are by no means etched in stone. Should economic activity, and especially growth in the U.S. jobs market, start gaining a full head of steam, the Fed Chairman and the Fed Open Market Committee, the voting arm of fed policy, could reverse course quickly and start to let rates rise to cut off any possible inflationary effects of faster economic activity.

The Fed announcement follows its two-day meeting after which the central bank tells the world what they are thinking behind closed doors, or at least some of what they are thinking, regarding the economic outlook for the U.S., the global outlook, as well as some details about their approach to monetary policy, which is followed most closely by the financial community.

The FRB also changed a few members on the 10 member board of fed voters, a regularly scheduled happening at the Fed, with some governors considered to be more in line with Bernanke’s approach than some of the outgoing voters. The new faces will help to ensure that any additional measures taken by the Fed to keep the economy rolling will meet with little or no opposition when it comes to a vote.

My take:

No one expected any change in the Fed’s interest rate policy from the conclusion of today’s meeting. It would certainly be nice to see that in providing the financial community with virtually limitless funds at no cost they would also make some mention of getting the banks to open their wallets a little and to put more of this money….our money….to work getting more people back to work. While it is not the job of the fed to use the bully pulpit to manipulate behavior, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for someone in a position of real power to acknowledge the problem, identify the culprits, and let them know that their behavior has not gone unnoticed.

Further to the ongoing efforts to stem the tide of childhood obesity and to get our kids eating healthy, at least while they’re in school, toady the U.S. Department of Agriculture published new standards for menus in the school lunch program. The Changes are aimed at improving nutrition by changing what the kids are served. Out, or at least less, are fats and sweets, and in are more fruits and vegetables. Getting the kids on a better diet is the first critical step in improving the overall health of our school children, the most glaring sign of their poor health being the obesity epidemic.

This is the first major change in the school lunch program in fifteen years, despite the problem being around for quite some time, and will effect over 30 million school children that eat in their schools. The new regulations will take over three years to fully implement into the entire school system after it is launched in the fall of 2012.

School officials nationwide are hailing the new standards as an important first step toward getting our kids back into shape and in improving their overall health. Under the new standards, schools will be required to offer their students fruits and vegetables every day. They will also have to increase the whole grain products served to children – meaning more whole grain breads and cereals, as well as reducing fat and sodium (salt) in their diets. The new standards will also require that schools only serve low-fat or reduced fat milk.

As anyone on Weight Watchers knows, portion size is also a key element in staying healthy and fit and this point is also being emphasized by the USDA in their new mandate. Menus offered in the schools will now be required to pay strict attention to portion sizes to ensure that kids are getting the right caloric in-take for their size and age. The efforts put forth by the USDA are part of the Obama Administration, and in particular First Lady Michele Obama’s, campaign Let’s Move as well as the Healthy, hunger-Free Kids Act, which is a law passed last year. The most recent studied conducted on childhood obesity show that over 17% of American children are obese.

Part of the challenge will get kids to “buy into” the program. Just because they have healthier choice doesn’t mean that they will necessarily eat them. White House chef Sam Kass has been working with school chefs around the country to make sure that the new menus are tasty and healthy. For example, while the kids will still get their favorites like pizza and fries, now they will get whole wheat pizza and sweet potato fries instead.

School districts in Seattle are taking the new guidelines a step further by partnering with local farmers and also planting gardens in schools for kids to learn more about food, and eating the food they grow. Many school nutritionists have said the new diets won’t be as big of a challenge as will be trying to reduce sodium in the kid’s food while still making it appealing to them.

My take:

My first question is why on Earth did it take 15 years to revamp the school lunch program when the obesity problem in the U.S. has grown to epidemic proportions? Well, better late than never. To some extent the schools will have to get some help from home too to ensure that the kids understand why the changes are being made and how they can live a better life if they eat better…..at home too. In fact, it probably wouldn’t be the worst idea to have some kind of program for the parents so that they can learn how to prepare more healthy meals for the whole family.

The Chevy Volt, the all-electric car manufactured by General Motors, finds itself in the middle of a Washington D. C. firestorm, the political type that continues to engulf much of the district these days. One side of the aisle is accusing the Obama Administration of purposely hiding manufacturing defects in the vehicle that some say has fire safety issues. Republican Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Oversight regulatory subcommittee, opened this can of worms with questions as to why U.S. safety regulators delayed a formal investigation into the potential fire hazards posed by the battery pack in the Volt for over six months. He then went on to posture that the reason may very well be that the Obama Administration has been hiding the potential problems in the Volt for its own interests; those being the U.S. government stake in G.M. and the Volt being something of a poster child for the Administration’s advocacy for the electric car industry.

The head of GM, Dan Akerson, suspects that the Volt is being used as a political football by the Republicans and Mr. Jordan for the purpose of making the Administration look bad for it’s support for the technology behind the Volt and for its close financial ties to GM and the auto industry in the wake of the economic meltdown in 2007/2008. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted its own investigation into the Volt after its tests showed that the battery pack in the Volt can be the source of fires if breached in an accident. However, GM spokesmen note that not one on-the-road incident involving a fire from the Volt battery pack has ever been reported.

The NHTSA was satisfied with GM’s response to the issues with the Volt battery and the proposed remedies, and closed their probe into the matter last week. Head of the NHTSA, David Stricktland came under relentless fire from Jordan and other GOP lawmakers on the committee but he held firm to his agencies findings that the Volt battery pack posed no serious threat to the public safety and that over the course of six months, and without the benefit of any real world data, his agency and engineers did everything possible to probe the Volt for potentially hazardous fire safety risks but found no reason to issue any warnings about the electric vehicle.

Some lawmakers have accused the Obama administration of pressuring GM into hiding information about the fire risks posed by the Volt battery so as to save face for their support and subsidies for the electric car industry. GM head Akerson, a Volt owner, said that no such pressure was ever put on him or anyone at GM by the Obama Administration, further adding that the reputation of the Volt would be the only thing that has to be rebuilt after coming under attack for political purposes by the Republicans on the committee.

My take:

Yet another example of the logjam and take no prisoners mentality of politics in Washington these days. If one side found a cure for cancer, the other side would accuse them of undermining the health care industry. If there are problems with the Volt, then let’s hear about them, address them, and move on. If not, the suits in D.C. should get back to doing the job they were sent there to do and stop all the grandstanding and agenda driven non-sense.