Is GoodGuide helping to poison the same children it's trying to save?
We should all applaud consumer groups for doing their part to make us aware of unsafe products. GoodGuide recently rated the Zhu Zhu Pets Hampster[sic]. They found unsafe levels of tin and antimony in these toys. According to Dara O’Rourke, co-founder of GoodGuide, levels of about 93 to 106 parts per million of antimony were found, well above the new federal standard of 60 parts per million. Russ Hornsby, CEO of Cepia, the company that manufactures the Zhu Zhu Pets, countered in a written statement, “The results of every test prove that our products are in compliance with all government and industry safety standards.” Read more
Unemployment unexpectedly falls to 10% in November
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the unemployment rate fell to 10.0% in November, the biggest decline in three years. Only 11,000 jobs were lost last month, surprising many economists.
Let’s breakdown the numbers: Read more
McAfee reveals the riskiest web domains to visit
McAfee, Inc. issued its third annual Mapping the Mal Web report this week. Africa’s Cameroon (.cm), which borders Nigeria, has succeeded Hong Kong (.hk) as the web’s riskiest country domain. Japan (.jp) was rated the safest country domain. According to McAfee, 36.7 percent of Cameroon’s .cm domains pose a security risk. PR of China (.cn), Samoa (.ws), Philippines (.ph), and Former Soviet Union (.su) round out the top five riskiest country domains. Read more
Bank of America to pay back $45 billion in bailout funds
Bank of America announced that it would pay back 45 billion dollars in government bailout money it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). According to BofA, it has already “paid $2.54 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury on the TARP investment.” Paying back the bailout money will save the company 3.6 billion dollars in annual dividend payments. The funds to pay back the government will be achieved by using 26.2 billion dollars in “excess liquidity”, plus 18.8 billion dollars from the sale of “common equivalent securities.” Read more
GM to shutter Saab if no buyer is found by end of December
General Motors, having recently emerged from bankruptcy and reeling from the collapse of the Koenigsegg Group AB deal to buy Saab, its Swedish auto division, has drawn a line in the sand. In its announcement, GM stated if they did not have a suitable buyer for Saab by year end, they would “begin an orderly wind down of the global Saab business at that time.” Due to nondisclosure agreements, GM is not discussing any ongoing negotiations. Read more
