The dismal jobs front got a bit more good news, following the release of a report showing the nation's employers last year cut the fewest number of workers in more than a decade. Further, the findings showed 2010 ended on a high note, with December recording the lowest number of monthly cuts since 2000.

The slowdown in cuts follows an uptick in activity in 2009 when downsizing reached a seven-year high, according to the 2010 year-end job-cut report, released Wednesday by job-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Last year, employers announced plans to eliminate 529,973 positions, the lowest number since 1997.

Continue reading Job Cuts in 2010 Tumble to Lowest Level in More Than a Decade

Job Cuts in 2010 Tumble to Lowest Level in More Than a Decade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investing in yourself: Effective strategies for getting a raise originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Be sure to forward this to any recent college grads you know: BusinessWeek has released its list of the top companies for those just entering the workforce. Apparently, accounting is a good business: The top 3 companies on the list are accounting firms because of huge demand for the profession brought on, at least in part, by Sarbanes-Oxley. In some bizarre way, hirers at the firms say the scandals at companies like Enron and WorldCom made accounting sexy for the first time ever.

Companies looking to recruit talent from YouTube/Myspace generation are demonstrating an increasing willingness to cater to that demographic: They make YouTube videos, set up message boards, and encourage prospective employees to Facebook current ones to learn more about the company.

If you're a recent grad, you may want to pick up a copy of the latest issue of BusinessWeek. In addition to the rankings, there are numerous articles on the job market for new hires.

And if you're feeling civic-minded, check out Teach For America, which landed at number 10 on the list.

Recent graduates take note: Top places to launch your career originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• CIBC upgraded Commercial Metals (NYSE: CMC) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer based on valuation.

• KKR Financial (NYSE: KFN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings, following managements detailed conference call and managements prudent and rapid actions to address the sale of its Rambus (RMBS) portfolio.

• Bear Stearns upgraded Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) to Outperform from Peer Perform based on valuation.

• Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Piper Jaffray due to the upside at the company's LOFT division and the firm's belief that there is upside to their 2008/2009 estimates for Ann Taylor.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Outperform from Underperform based on expected margin expansion, a more benign competitive environment in the MPU sector, better positioning vs. AMD (AMD) at the high-end, and strong demand trends...

• Citigroup upgraded Sovereign Bancorp (NYSE: SOV) to Buy from Hold.

• Network Appliances (NASDAQ: NTAP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch and Caris raised shares to Buy from Above Average.

• JP Morgan added Continental (NYSE: CAL) to its Focus List. Punk upgraded Washington Mutual (WM) to Buy from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades: ANN, CAL, CECO, INTC and KFN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Piper upgraded shares of Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Outperform from Market Perform, citing valuation, and expects the company to have an upbeat tone on Thursday's quarterly report.

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and strength in its international business. The firm believes North American weakness is largely confined to the e-commerce channel while enterprise growth is ongoing and international business remains strong.

• Banc of America upgraded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) to Buy from Hold and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) & Comerica (NYSE: CMA) to Hold from Sell. The firm said JPMorgan's financial conglomerate structure gives it strength to gain share in times of stress. U.S. Bancorp was upgraded based on valuation and okay credit quality. Comerica was upgraded based on valuation and upcoming HQ move to Texas, which could make it a takeover target...

• JP Morgan upgraded Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Overweight from Neutral.

• Bear Stearns upgraded BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

• Stifel raised Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) to Buy from Hold.

• CL King upgraded Gap (NYSE: GPS) to Strong Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: CMA, GPS, JPM, MNST and VCLK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Baird believes Heelys (NYSE: HLYS) is poised to report strong results through FY07, which is not reflected in current valuation, and started shares with an Outperform rating and $47 target.

• JMP Securities believes a growing number of consumers will opt to acquire books and physical CD audio books digitally over the internet and started shares of Audible (NASDAQ: ADBL) with an Outperform rating and $12.50 target.

• Caris believes Response Genetics' (NASDAQ: RGDX) diagnostics opportunity may represent a significant long-term growth driver and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $7.50 target...

• JP Morgan initiated DeVry (NYSE: DV), Corinthian Colleges (NASDAQ: COCO) and Strayer Education (NASDAQ: STRA) with Overweight ratings, ITT Educational Service (NYSE: ESI), Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) and Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) with Neutral ratings and Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI) with an Underweight rating.

Analyst initiations 7-16-07: CECO, COCO, HLYS and UTI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY

• Davenport cut shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Neutral from Buy citing concerns of a potential Yahoo! (YHOO) acquisition, which would significantly dilute earnings.

• Gabelli downgraded shares of Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) to Hold from Buy as the firm believes turnaround efforts at the University segment are not gaining traction.

• Raymond James cut Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) to Underperform from Market Perform.

• With the greater dependence on midwater floaters, AG Edwards believes Transocean Inc (NYSE: RIG) now has a more balanced risk/reward and cut shares to Hold from Buy.

• AG Edwards also cut GlobalSanteFe (NYSE: GSF) to Hold from Buy based on the company's greater dependence on international jackups and balanced risk/reward.

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: LFG) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation.

• JP Morgan downgraded Westwood One (NYSE: WON) to Underweight from Neutral.

• Linear Technology Corp (NASDAQ: LLTC) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Prudential.

• Matrix USA downgraded shares of Armor Holdings, Inc (NYSE: AH) to Buy from Strong Buy.

• Matrix downgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Sell from Hold.

Analyst downgrades 5-07-07: AH, AMZN, CECO, MSFT and VZ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 May 2007 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Prudential raised shares of Schering-Plough Corp (NYSE: SGP) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect management's activity on the deal front and recent data on the drug TRA.

• ThinkEquity upgraded shares of Jones Soda Co (NASDAQ: JSDA) to Accumulate from Source of Funds after disappointing Q1 results. The firm believes results will get better in FY07 as the canned soda roll-out continues and high fructose corn syrup inventory is depleted.

• RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ: RNWK) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at JP Morgan, citing valuation.

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of Westwood One Inc (NYSE: WON) following reports the company hired UBS AG (UBS) to help find potential buyers.

• KeyBanc Capital markets raised Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) to Buy from Hold based on accelerating same-store sales at Olive Garden.

• Bear Stearns raised Plantronics, Inc (NYSE: PLT) to Peer Perform from Underperform.

• SunTrust Robinson Humphrey upgraded Career Education Corp (NASDAQ: CECO) to Neutral from Reduce.

• Credit Suisse upped Estee Lauder Cos (NYSE: EL) to Outperform from Neutral.

• Needham upgraded shares of Andrew Corp (NASDAQ: ANDW) to Buy from Hold.

• Wedbush upgraded Crocs, Inc (NASDAQ: CROX) to Strong Buy from Buy with a $95 target.

Analyst upgrades 5-04-07: CROX, DRI, EL, JDSA and RNWK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 May 2007 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to a piece in today's Wall Street Journal, companies are increasingly looking within in their search for new chief executives: "In 2005, 40% of the CEOs hired by companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index were outsiders, according to executive-recruiting firm Spencer Stuart. Last year, that figure fell to 15%. In the first quarter of this year, there were eight CEO transitions among the S&P 500; only one went to an outsider."

Gone are the days of companies bringing in icons like (the now-disgraced) "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap. More and more, companies are deciding that someone familiar with the company's operations and culture will be better equipped than a high-profile (and high price tag) outsider.

But there may be another compelling reason for the shift: With the growth in private equity (Firms which can, away from the glare of shareholders, often pay top executives more money), high-profile leaders have more alternatives to public companies now. And with the hassles of Sarbanes-Oxley and increasing scrutiny of pay packages, being a CEO of a public company may have gotten dramatically less fun in recent years.

According to a January piece in the New York Times's DealBook, "Some of those who have seen the cash benefits from the move from public to private include David Calhoun, a 50-year-old vice chairman at General Electric, who left G.E. last year to become chairman and chief executive of a privately-held media firm VNU; Mark P. Frissora, the former chairman and chief executive of the auto parts manufacturer Tenneco, who took the chief executive's job at Hertz, the rental car chain owned by a group of big private equity firms; and Millard S. Drexler, who ran the Gap retail chain and was recruited by the Texas Pacific Group, a private equity firm, to turn around J. Crew."

But the shift may be good news for shareholders, as promoted-from-within executives tend to get paid less. But will the higher pay offered by some private equity firms result in a "brain drain" of top managerial talent away from the public markets?

Looking within for new CEOs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 May 2007 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.