Help Wanted In Filling These Hot Jobs

JOBS, CAREER, EMPLOYMENT, HARDEST JOBS TO FILL, IN DEMAND JOBS

By Joseph PisaniNews AssociateCNBC.com

It’s a job hunter’s dream come true: A shortage of talent and a wealth of needy employers has made for a hot job market for some.

Among the jobs in most demand are engineers, machinists, skilled trades, technicians, accountants, mechanics, IT staff and production operators, according to a survey conducted by staffing and employment services company Manpower.

"Manufacturing has a more negative reputation with students," says Lynn Sarikas, director of the MBA career center at Northeastern University, "not only are they aware of significant layoffs and outsourcing in the industry, there is also a perception that manufacturing is a bit behind the times."

She says that hardly true in that manufacturing jobs increasingly require tech skills as these jobs become less hands-on.

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Has Telecommuting Fallen from Grace?

FROM EWEEK

Once considered the cure for all workplace ills, many businesses and employees are questioning the merits of working from home.

There was a time when telecommuting was seen as a panacea. The proliferation of wireless technology had made it easier for workers in countless arenas to work from their living rooms or the coffee shop of their choice, leading waves of companies to embrace partial or total remote work policies for their masses.

IBM, where more than 40 percent of employees don't come into the office every day, recently evaluated the pros and cons of telecommuting through a study by Jay Mulki, a marketing professor at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration.

In his study, Mulki found that telecommuting presented two major challenges: a feeling of isolation and difficulty achieving a work-life balance.

"Isolation happens when telecommuters can't get the support they need," Mulki said. "When face-to-face communication isn't possible, workers need a substitute—and voice mail isn't it."

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B-school prof and CE expert comments on DVD format war

As you may know, one of the big news items to come out of this year's CES was the indication that several prominent DVD producers were going to discontinue producing HD-DVDs, signaling that Blue Ray may be finally winning the DVD format war.

Gloria Barczak, marketing professor and consumer electronics branding expert at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University, feels that it may be premature to write the obituary for the HD-DVD format:

However, the prediction that the format war is over may be premature for two reasons.
“First, the price of Blu-ray players is still high and now that Toshiba has slashed its prices on its HD-DVD players by 50%, it makes Blu-ray even more expensive,” Prof. Barczak points out. “Although early adopters may be willing to pay whatever they have to for Blu-ray, the average consumer will not spend $500. for a DVD player. So, unless the price for Blu-ray players comes down, we still may see sales of HD-DVD machines.

“Second, and related to price, is that the consumer still holds the key to determining which format wins,” Prof. Barczak continues. “If consumers are reluctant to buy Blu-ray players because of price or other reasons, it could force the movie studios to back-peddle and support both formats. Certainly, having one format ends confusion for the consumer but they will still be unwilling to buy if they don't see value in what they're buying. It seems that many consumers are unaware of the two formats and their differences and even more so, about the move to HD TV in 2009 and what this means. Unless the consumer is educated by the industry, the format war could continue for at least another year.”

You can find Prof. Barczak’s bio here: http://cba.neu.edu/faculty/directory_detail.cfm?e=106

How to keep your business growing during a slowdown?

FROM BNET.COM

Make the leap overseas. Here are 10 countries for expansion — and why they’re the places to be.

While the U.S. economy has slowed, demand for foreign business investment is still on the rise in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Extending your reach outside U.S. borders is a risk, but it can also provide new revenue and profit streams that help companies ride out the recession. It works for the big dogs: General Electric, IBM, and General Motors now make more than half of their revenue offshore.

So how can you make it work for your company? We’ve staked out 10 countries that are ripe for investment — including the best small, mid-size, and large markets. Read on to find out which foreign markets are strongest for your product or industry — and where new policies and reforms are creating the best incentives to move your operations overseas.

Russia
GDP:
$1.286 trillion

Sectors in demand:
Russians are demanding furniture, fast food, high-end clothing and jewelry, and home-improvement products. One of the fastest-growing sectors is retail, which attracts 24 percent of Russia’s foreign investments, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report “ Doing Business in the Russian Federation 2006.” “This is a country starved for consumer goods,” says Sheila Puffer, professor of international business at Northeastern University. The Russian government has offered tax breaks to companies that start major assembly lines in the country. Ford, General Motors, and most major auto manufacturers now operate there, as do Microsoft, Intel, and IBM. Commercial banking also is big and growing faster than the country’s overall economy, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Even The Rich Feel Pinched, Await New Presidential Leadership

From Marketing Daily

They may not be struggling to gas up the Lexus, but even affluents are losing their economic nerve, according to a new study, with 70% of them believing the U.S. economy is on the skids.
Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumption Index fell to 54.4 points--its lowest ever--with 41% of luxury consumers reporting that they plan to spend less on luxury goods in the year ahead.

For marketers, the trick is providing luxury goods so compelling that well-shod consumers just can't say no. JustLuxe.com recently introduced LuxeConcepts, for example, which combines a personal-shopping twist with its Web offerings, personally introducing a prospective buyer to the specific vendor, whether it's a $220,000 yacht charter to the Greek Islands or a $6,500 handmade handbag from a world-renowned designer.

The site has about 500,000 unique visitors, and Gilbert Gautereaux, president of LuxeMont, a vertical media company with a community of upscale web sites, including JustLuxe, says he expects revenues to increase 40% this year.

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Three exotic luxury trips to Vegas

If you are looking for exotic, creative, high-end trip ideas to Las Vegas, I thought you might be interested in a few examples from LuxeMont, a vertical media and travel company with a community of Web properties (including http://www.luxevegas.com/ ) singulary focused on high net-worth consumer wants, needs, desires and expectations.

Exotic Luxury Divorce Party for 40 year old restaurant management group owner from NY and 8 of his closes friends.

Supported by 24 hour concierge managing the entire event.

Private jet with Lingerie flight attendant, greeted by large hummer limo with 4 exotic dancers
Check into Hue Hefner suite, the most extraordinary suite at the Palms.

Gentlemen’s club with private VIP room w/ 25 of the best dancers

Private Black Jack table at Play Boy Club, a $500 divorce cake, Helicopter to Reflection Bay golf course @Lake Las Vegas; private Cabana at the Palms pool and exotic car driving experience on a private racing course

James Bond 007 Combat Adventure for Surprise 40th Birthday

Wife organized James Bond 007 Combat Adventure Surprise for her husband’s 40th birthday party.

Total luxury – Private jet, Wynn Villas, Aston martin vanquish exotic rental

OO7 Combat experience for himself and included military helicopter ride to set built in Arizona for rescue the hostage and live fire weapons experiences

300 guests were flow by helicopter to dry lakes of California for Moroccan Nights theme party

Romantic VIP Vegas Weekend for Real Estate mogul and his mistress

Arrive by a private jet with flowers, champagne and gourmet meal in flight

Greeted by private concierge and Rolls Royce Phantom and whisked away to The Mansions at the MGM Grand

Private hair and make-up artist and barber; best table at the incredible Guy Savoy; dinner on the rim of Grand Canyon; Private Cabaña @ TAO Pool; VIP tickets to “o”; and private shopping experience Vegas trendiest boutiques.

Please let me know if you'd be interested in more details on any of these three trips, or if their head of concierge services could serve as an expert resource for you.

Airline deal's fallout

Moving into position

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

BY JOSEPH R. PERONE
Newhouse News Service

The Delta-Northwest merger won't be the only airline deal to take off this year.
Widely reported to be in merger talks for months, Continental Airlines and UAL, parent of United Airlines, could be on deck.

UP IN THE AIR
It won't be entirely clear how a merger of Continental and United will affect consumers until a deal emerges. However, in broad terms, customers can expect changes in the fares they pay and less service to out-of-the-way cities.

Passengers can expect fewer nonstop flights, fewer routes served and higher ticket prices on routes with less competition, said Harlan Platt, a finance professor at the business school of Boston's Northeastern University who follows the airline industry.

"With fewer carriers, fewer seats and fewer planes, there will be a dramatic increase in fares," he said. "Otherwise, the airlines can't survive."

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Protecting borrowers

N.C. can do more on 'predatory loan servicing'

Sean Coffey

CHAPEL HILL - News stories have highlighted the effects of the subprime meltdown on borrowers throughout North Carolina. While much of the focus has been on practices that many would construe as predatory lending, state legislation went into effect April 1 to regulate another set of practices, ones that consumer advocates have described as "predatory loan servicing."
This term encompasses several practices that harm borrowers, including loan servicers illegally charging borrowers extra fees, not crediting borrowers' payments or charging borrowers for insurance they already have.

The new law makes progress in regulating loan servicing, but it fails to address all the predatory loan servicing practices that harm borrowers.

Loan servicing companies collect and process mortgage payments from borrowers and submit the payments to the mortgage owners. Two key factors may lower the incentive for servicers to act in the best interests of homeowners.

First, while borrowers choose their lenders, they have no input as to what company services their loan.

Second, loan servicers are typically allowed to keep all revenue generated from the fees they charge borrowers.

Kurt Eggert, a law professor at Chapman University, has cited the example of Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo, who allegedly bragged in 2004 that fees generated an extra $17 million to $19 million in monthly revenue.

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Law professor outlines implication of "crack cocaine" Supreme Court decision

As you may know, back in December, The Supreme Court said judges may impose shorter prison terms for crack cocaine crimes, enhancing judicial discretion to reduce the disparity between sentences for crack and cocaine powder. I thought you might be interested in some preliminary thoughts from Katherine Darmer, a professor and criminal procedure expert at Chapman University’s School of Law:

1. This decision is a natrual outgrowth of the Court's prior decision holding that the sentencing guidelines are "advisory" rather than mandatory. In the Booker case, the Court actually held that the guidelines are unconstitutional if they are viewed as "mandatory."

2. The case-- as others in this line -- bring togtether interesting bedfellows, e.g., conservative Scalia and liberal Stevens.
Both have viewed the sentencing guidelines as unconstitutional if mandatory. Their alliance continues in this latest case.

3. The crack/cocaine sentencing disparity has been a political hot potato for years. Crack has been punished 100 times more severely than cocaine, a largely politically driven decision that has plagued judges for years when they were forced to apply the differentials under the old, mandatory guidelines.

4. This defendant --a veteran -- is particularly sympathetic. Even those "tough on crime" who may normally FAVOR harsher sentences for crack are likely to find his case compelling. It was a brilliant "test case" for this issue.

Below is Prof. Darmer’s bio.

Professor Katherine Darmer specializes in criminal procedure. Before joining the full-time faculty at Chapman in 2000, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where she prosecuted public corruption, violent gang and narcotics cases. In 1998, she served as lead counsel in a three-month criminal RICO trial that resulted in the conviction of numerous Bronx-based gang members of crimes ranging from murder to narcotics distribution. During her tenure as an AUSA, she also argued seven cases in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Professor Darmer received her A.B. from Princeton University, with high honors, and her Juris Doctor from Columbia University, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar for two years and served as Articles Editor of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law. She then clerked for the Honorable Kimba M. Wood in the Southern District of New York and the Honorable William H. Timbers on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Following her clerkships and before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she worked for three years as a litigation associate at the Manhattan law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. While at Davis Polk, she was a member of the trial team that successfully defended Delta Air Lines in a $2.5 billion lawsuit brought by the Pan Am Corporation and the Pan Am Creditor's Committee. In 2003, Professor Darmer was co-editor of the book Civil Liberties vs. National Security in a Post-9/11 World, which is the text used in her Advanced Criminal Procedure seminar. Her co-edited book, Morality and the Law, is forthcoming in 2007. Professor Darmer’s other scholarship has focused primarily on Fifth Amendment and national security issues.