PODCAST: Layoffs at BofA, protests in India
The U.S. seafood catch hit a 17-year high last year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has just come out with its annual report. When we think of foods that are safe to eat, rice is certainly up there. But Consumer Reports has just recommended that we limit our rice consumption. That's after tests found arsenic in over 60 rice products. And this week, Russian state media announced the existence of a 62-mile-wide diamond deposit in Eastern Siberia. But the big players in the diamond business aren't all that impressed.
Bank of America has set a target of 16,000 job cuts by year-end. So says a report in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. That would likely knock BofA from its spot as the biggest employer in the U.S. banking industry.
U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance fell only a bit last week — not very comforting.
More tough economic data out of Asia. Chinese manufacturing continues to contract — fewer people are buying Chinese goods, especially in Europe. Ditto for Japan, where exports in August were down six percent from last year.
There is a huge strike going on this morning in India. Schools, businesses and public transportation have been shut down as part as a protest against the government’s decision to allow mega retailers like Walmart and Tesco into the country.
This morning the Census Bureau put out a raft of new data for 2011. It includes the income and poverty rates from state to state, and across major metro areas. Nationally the poverty rate was largely unchanged, but it rose across California, for example, and in New York City. Numbers are one way to look at poverty from place to place. Blogger Tim De Chant tried another way: satellite images of tree-cover in urban areas.
This hour the Labor Department put out its annual list of the most dangerous jobs. Here are the top five, from most dangerous to … Still pretty dangerous: fisherman, loggers, pilots, garbage men, roofers.
Scientists in France have some ideas for the jet fuel of the future. They believe commercial airliners could run quite well on straw and sawdust soaked with animal waste. Farms have plenty of the stuff. We’ll just have to watch the airplane tires around all those pitchforks on the tarmac.