Memble

FDA approves new swine flu vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration approved the new swine flu vaccine Tuesday, a long-anticipated step as the government works to start mass vaccinations next month. Limited supplies should start trickling out the first week of October -- about a week earlier than expected, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told Congress. Then about 45 million doses should arrive around Oct. 15, followed by more shipments each week.

She said they'll be available at up to 90,000 sites, including schools and clinics, across the U.S. that state health departments have chosen as best at getting the shots out fast.[AP]

Automakers try to energize electric-car business

The race is on among the world's auto companies to make electric cars go farther on a single charge, bring the price down to compete with gas-powered vehicles, and give drivers more places to recharge them than just the family garage.

Electric is the big buzz at the 63rd Frankfurt Auto Show this week, and nearly every major automaker has at least one on display. Renault introduced no fewer than four electric models, while Tesla, the only company producing and selling purely electric cars, handed over the keys to its 700th all-electric vehicle, a blue Roadster Sport, to a German buyer at the show.

If the models unveiled Tuesday are any indication, the notion of electric cars as small, stunted boxes with little range is about to be junked.

US job openings fall to lowest level in 9 years

Job openings fell to the lowest level in nine years in July, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday, as businesses remain reluctant to hire despite signs the economy is improving.

The department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey, or JOLTS report, found that businesses and government advertised 2.4 million open positions on the last day in July, down from 2.5 million in June. That's also the fewest openings since the department began compiling the data in December 2000.

Still, jobs are being added in some sectors, as companies seek more health care, technology and child care workers.

The report underscores the tough competition that jobless Americans face. With 14.5 million unemployed people in July and only 2.4 million openings, that means there were six unemployed people, on average, for every job opening. [AP]

Obama setting up better security for computers

America has failed for too long to protect the security of its computer networks, President Barack Obama said Friday, announcing he will name a new cyber czar to press for action.

Surrounded by a slew of government officials, aides and corporate executives, Obama said the U.S. has reached a "transformational moment" when computer networks are probed and attacked millions of times a day.

He said he will soon pick the person he wants to head a new White House office of cyber security, and that person will report to the National Security Council and the National Economic Council -- a nod to his contention that the country's economic prosperity depends on cybersecurity. (AP)

Tips to Get Jobs

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Cardinal Health to cut 1,300 jobs at clinical unit

Cardinal Health Inc. said Tuesday its clinical and medical products unit will eliminate 1,300 jobs, with most of the cuts made over the next six months, as hospitals cut back on equipment purchases.

Cardinal plans to spin the unit off later this year under the name CareFusion Corp. Cardinal said the business will lay off 800 people and eliminate 500 more jobs through attrition. The region most affected by the job cuts is southern California, with 200 jobs in San Diego being eliminated. [AP]

Ford, GM to cover car payments if buyer loses job

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. are offering payment protection plans to help reassure consumers who may be putting off buying a new car because of worries about losing their job.

The offers come as auto sales have been battered by the recession and tight credit, reaching their lowest levels in 27 years.

Ford said Tuesday it will cover payments of up to $700 each month for up to a year on any new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle if consumers lose their jobs. The program runs until June 1. [AP]

Insurers offer to stop charging sick people more

The health insurance industry offered Tuesday for the first time to curb its controversial practice of charging higher premiums to people with a history of medical problems.

The offer from America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a potentially significant shift in the debate over reforming the nation's health care system to rein in costs and cover an estimated 48 million uninsured people. It was contained in a letter to key senators. [AP]

Home prices post 6.3 pct annual decline in January

A government report says U.S. home prices fell 6.3 percent in January from the same month last year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency says prices, on a seasonally adjusted basis, rose 1.7 percent from December to January.

Changes in the geographic mix of sales explained the unexpected monthly increase. Home sales included in January's data were weighted toward areas that haven't borne as much of the brunt of the housing recession, the agency says. [AP]

GM cuts 10,000 salaried jobs, trims employees' pay

General Motors Corp. is planning to slash another 10,000 salaried jobs this year, saying the cuts are unavoidable with a government restructuring deadline looming and industrywide sales in one of the worst downturns in history.

The Detroit-based automaker said Tuesday it will reduce its total number of white-collar workers by 14 percent to 63,000. About 3,400, or 12 percent, of GM's 29,500 salaried U.S. jobs will be eliminated.

Most of the company's remaining salaried employees will have their wages cut. [AP]

New jobless claims jump more than expected to 626K

New jobless claims jumped far more than expected last week in an already dismal labor market, and there's no relief in sight for workers as mass layoffs persist.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of newly jobless workers seeking benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 626,000, from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 591,000. The latest total is far more than analysts' expectations of 583,000.

That's also the highest since October 1982, when the economy was in a steep recession, though the work force has grown by about half since then. (AP)

Sustainable Electric Energy Delivery Systems

Renewable energy technologies are seen as the only sustainable energy source for the future. But, since many forms of renewable energy are intermittent in nature, an energy storage medium or energy carrier will be needed to effectively use this energy. Many renewable technologies, such as solar, wind, etc. are available over large areas, so installations of equipment to harvest this energy will likely be distributed at various locations on the power system. Also, efficient operation of the power system will require that power and energy to supply the power system peak demand must be available when needed. In order to address these issues, Progress Energy Florida (PEF) and the Power Center for Utility Explorations (PCUE) at University of South Florida are conducting this demonstration project to combine renewable distributed generation and an advanced battery system to supply renewable energy during the power system peak. ...more

Freddie Mac to ask for billions more in funds

Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said Friday it will need an additional $30 billion to $35 billion in government aid as it copes with losses on loans the company backed during the U.S. housing bubble.

The company disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Friday that it expects its government regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to make the request from the Treasury Department.

It comes on top of the $13.8 billion the company received last year after it was seized by the government. Sibling company Fannie Mae has yet to request any such aid but has warned it may need to do so. [AP]

Harley to cut 1,100 jobs as 4Q profit falls

Harley-Davidson Inc. said Friday it will cut 1,100 jobs over two years, close some facilities and consolidate others as it grapples with a slowdown in motorcycle sales.

The Milwaukee-based company also reported its fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 60 percent, and said it is slashing motorcycle shipments in 2009 to cope with reduced demand.

The iconic motorcycle maker said it will consolidate two engine and transmission plants in Milwaukee into its facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis. It will shrink its paint and frame operations in its York, Pa., plant and close its distribution facility in Franklin, Wis., whose duties will be handled by a third party. [AP]

Oil prices baffle traders; soar 6 pct to end week

The government reported by midweek that oil inventories had soared, suggesting a serious dent in demand; there were horrible housing and jobless numbers Thursday and to end the week there was talk that OPEC couldn't cut production fast enough. Over the same three days, oil prices jumped 11 percent.

Traders searched for logic in a market that seemed to defy it, and by Friday had largely given up.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery soared more than 6 percent Friday, or $2.80, to settle at $46.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the volatile hours between market open and close, prices swung as low as $41.40 and as high as $47.