PODCAST: Sony to cut jobs, a look inside Foxconn
Wall Street will get its first chance to react to Friday’s disappointing jobs report from the Labor Department. The report said just 120,000 jobs were created last month — far short of the 210,000 economists were expecting. That could influence the Federal Reserve as the central bank considers whether to do more to spur hiring. We may get some clues about what the Fed plans to do when chairman Ben Bernanke speaks in Atlanta this morning.
The consumer electronics giant Sony is reportedly going to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of this year. That’s a lot — about 6 percent of its total workforce. The Japanese Nikkei newspaper is reporting that it’s the first major move by Sony’s new CEO, who took over this month.
British supermarket company Tesco tried to expand into the U.S. under the Fresh & Easy brand. The effort has since proven fruitless. Investors are now pressuring Tesco to focus on the business back home.
Also in grocery news, ever wonder how they make money off those bags of ice you can buy on the way out of the supermarket? They may not be making money. The Wall Street Journal reports that Reddy Ice is “ready” to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. There’s talk it might someday merge with Arctic Glacier, a Canadian rival that also sought protection from creditors.
Marketplace China correspondent Rob Schmitz is the second journalist to ever visit an Apple production line at Foxconn, where many of the world’s electronics are manufactured. He describes what he saw and learned.
The airlines of the world are coming up with some pretty interesting ways for you to use your frequent flier miles. According to the L.A. Times, with 21,000 points on the German carrier Lufthansa, you can get three pairs of socks delivered to you three times a year. And Air Baltic, the Latvian national airline, will give you a dog sled adventure for 13,754 miles. Though if you going to bring your own dog sled, you may have to pay a fee to check it.
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