By Kyle Austin
By Kyle Austin
Earlier today I was monitoring the Twittosphere when I saw this from Fortune’s Adam Lashinsky:
adamlashinsky: HP is having an analyst day Monday and the press isn’t invited. What is Mark Hurd hiding? (It will be webcast.)
Turns out they were “hiding” some pretty bad news - as in cutting 24, 600 jobs or 7.5% of their work force.
Add comment September 15th, 2008
By Ben Haber
By Ben Haber
A couple weeks ago Philip wrote about some of the questions you should expect during your first PR job interview. However, in addition to thinking about some answers to possible questions, you should also be sure you’re Facebook page is appropriate.
According to CareerBuilder.com, one of ever three hiring managers search social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to screen job candidates. I’m surprised this number isn’t higher, especially when it’s so easy to access this information.
The study also went in-depth about some of the top areas of concern, highlighting information about alcohol or drug use, inappropriate photos or information, Poor communication skills, inaccurate qualifications, and notes showing links to criminal behavior.
In total, 24 percent of hiring managers found content on social networks that helped convince them to hire a candidate, so this can clearly work both ways.
There are already plenty of internet stories about how Facebook pictures have come to dig someone in a deep hole with their employer (or worse yet, secure prison time) so as eWeek’s Clint Boulton told us before, be careful about what you put online, it could come back to haunt you!
1 comment September 15th, 2008
By Kyle Austin
![[charts]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AM929B_LEHMA_NS_20080914220947.gif)
By Kyle Austin
All eyes are fixed on Wall Street this morning and the Wall Street Journal. In what may have been the wildest 48 hours in the last few decades, Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be sold to Bank of America for $29 a share, or $50 billion and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection.
The two moves sent global stocks plunging and raised questions as to why there was no federal bailout this time around.
Meanwhile, insurance giant A.I.G reached out to the federal reserve for $40 billion as people close to the situation maintained that it only has days left to survive.
So how did the events transpire? Adrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times has some insight (The WSJ isn’t the only one with good financial reporters):
“The weekend that humbled Lehman and Merrill Lynch and rewarded Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., began at 6 p.m. Friday in the first of a series of emergency meetings at the Federal Reserve building in Lower Manhattan.
The meeting was called by Fed officials, with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. in attendance, and it included top bankers. The Treasury and Federal Reserve had already stepped in on several occasions to rescue the financial system, forcing a shotgun marriage between Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase this year and backstopping $29 billion worth of troubled assets — and then agreeing to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The bankers were told that the government would not bail out Lehman and that it was up to Wall Street to solve its problems. Lehman’s stock tumbled sharply last week as concerns about its financial condition grew and other firms started to pull back from doing business with it, threatening its viability.”
In early morning trading the Dow has sunk more then 300 points.
1 comment September 15th, 2008
By Kyle Austin
Scott Kirsner features our musings on Steve Jobs and Apple in his “Blog Filter” column for today’s Boston Globe.
Add comment September 15th, 2008
