Money world

Apple Inc. said in a report posted on its Web site Saturday that an audit of its suppliers found that three hired 11 underage workers to help build its iPhone, iPod and Macintosh computer in 2009.

“Apple discovered three facilities that had previously hired 15-year-old workers in countries where the minimum age for employment is 16,” the company said about its onsite audit of 102 factories.

The full report can be viewed by clicking here.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) said the underage workers were “no longer in active employment at the time of our audit easy payday loans.”

The company said it also found eight cases where excessive recruitment fees were paid, three situations involving hazard waste disposal and three involving falsified records.

The company didn't name the suppliers where violations were found.

Source

Cashadvance Online without the hassle of credit checks, faxing or long waits. Fill out application 100% online and get your money quickly!

Martek Biosciences Corp., fresh off its $200 million acquisition of Amerifit Brands Inc., is expanding its Columbia headquarters.

The company has leased an additional 22,000 square feet at the Columbia Business Center. Martek (NASDAQ: MATK), in taking the additional space, has also renewed its lease of 66,000 square feet at 6480 Dobbin Road.

The firm, which has other facilities in Colorado, Kentucky and South Carolina, was represented in its lease by Manekin LLC broker Adam Nachlas cash advance. Preston Partners brokers Danielle Schline and Athan Sunderland represented the landlord.

Lease terms were not disclosed.

Source

Learn what faxless payday loans are and how online payday loans can be used as a quick fix to pay off your bills.

Good news for Zhu Zhu fans: The fuzzy electronic hamsters have quickly multiplied from just four last year to more than 40 new ones that will hit stores by summer.

The $10 Zhu Zhu Pets, which scurry around the floor making squeaks and interact with each other in separately sold habitats, were the hottest-selling toys of 2009.

According to Cepia Inc., the company that launched the toys last year, more than 7 million U.S. households are already owners of Zhu Zhu hamsters such as the hugely popular "Mr. Squiggles" and "Pipsqueak."

Bruce Katz, vice president at Cepia, said the company has so far raked in about $70 million from worldwide sales of these toy rodents.

But that was last year. The buzz ahead of the upcoming annual Toy Fair in New York is all about what Cepia has in its toy chest for this year.

Katz provided a sneak peek on Thursday. Among the new Zhu Zhus is a line of four hamsters called Rockstars names "Pax," "Kingston," "Rider" and "Roxie." The names are inspired by the children of celebrities, including Angelina Jolie and Gwen Stefani.

"Rockstars are the first long-haired hamsters with attitude," said Katz. Although the hamsters don’t interact with each other, Katz said a smart chip in each toy gives it its own unique personality.

Katz said the new "Wild Bunch" collection extends the brand beyond hamsters. "There’s a skunk, hedgehog, raccoon and a bunny," he said.

"The appeal of this new collection is that these are animals that every child wants to have but parents won’t let them have it," said Katz

There’s also a much-anticipated Kung Zu line of fighter hamsters geared primarily for boys aged 8 to 12.

Cepia will introduce 40 new Zhu Zhu characters in total this year, launching a new line every six weeks, said Katz.

And if that isn’t enough Zhu Zhu for you, Katz said Cepia is introducing new "play environments" that include cars, boats, an elevator and a beauty salon for these toy hamsters.

"The car, boat and other toys are all hamster powered," said Katz, explaining that the running wheels on each Zhu Zhu toy powers the car, boat and elevator into action.

But given that kids can easily become bored with one type of toy, isn’t Cepia worried about a Zhu Zhu overkill?

"We think that with what we shipped last year, we’re not even close to fulfilling demand in the marketplace," said Katz. "Kids love to collect, and there’s a strong collectible aspect to Zhu Zhu." 

Source

Flying into Pearson International Airport offers a view of the GTA that would make even the least excitable solar entrepreneur salivate.

What’s the big deal? In a word: rooftops. Thousands of flat rooftops on hotels, manufacturing plants, warehouses, apartment and office buildings, schools, hospitals and shopping malls. Each is a sunlight sponge with the potential to take the sun’s rays and convert them into emission-free electricity.

In a province prepared to pay richly for solar power, it’s no surprise then that the race is on to lock up leases on prime rooftop real estate across the Greater Toronto Area and the rest of Ontario.

"It’s kind of like a gold rush right now," said Justin Woodward, director of solar development for Toronto-based Greta Energy Inc., which is focusing its efforts on smaller towns outside the GTA.

Greta Energy is one of dozens of emerging ventures that are approaching commercial property owners with an offer that is difficult to refuse.

Give them 20-year access to your building’s unused rooftop and they’ll kindly compensate you for the space – similar to how farmers over the years have earned income by allowing wind turbines on their property.

With that secured access, companies will design, build and own the rooftop solar system at no expense or risk to the building owner. They’ll then apply to connect the system to the grid as part of the Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in-tariff program, which for large commercial rooftops pays between 53.9 cents to 71.3 cents per kilowatt-hour and guarantees quick connection to the grid.

Payment to the building owner can come in a number of ways: a percentage of annual electricity revenues from the system, or a fixed price per square-foot of rooftop being used to host the system.

Greta Energy prefers the square-footage approach, which can vary from 10 cents to $1 per square foot but on average lands at about 30 cents. This means a 250-kilowatt system that takes up 40,000 square feet (3,716 metres) of space would result in an annual payment of $12,000 to the building owner.

"The rooftop lease works out to about 10 per cent of (electricity) revenues," said general manager Chris Young of Ottawa-based Enfinity Canada

"At the end of the term the equipment is transitioned to the building owner’s hands so he can benefit from electricity production beyond the 20-year contract."

Alternatively, compensation might be a guarantee to supply solar-sourced electricity over two decades for less than what a building owner currently pays. CarbonFree Technology of Toronto takes this approach.

The market is increasingly becoming crowded, with Ozz Solar, Helios Energy, Rumble Energy and SunOne Energy Canada among a growing list of solar rooftop aggregators knocking on doors.

Woodward said he’s noticed a dramatic change since the Ontario Power Authority announced the province’s new feed-in-tariff program on Sept. 1. He estimated that for every 10 building owners that were cold-called three months ago there would be one that had already been contacted by a competing developer.

"It’s now probably one in four calls," he said. "Right now there are a lot of small players jumping into the market, people who just get business cards made up or foreign companies just cold-calling commercial property owners."

Building owners need to be cautious, said Young, warning that some "lease consultants" are merely accumulating rooftop real estate that can be flipped for a profit.

"If they sign on with someone who is going to flip the project to someone else, that’s money out of the building owner’s pocket," he said. "Property owners should be looking for people who have a strong financial track record and are capable of following through with the project they’ve contracted for."

He said rooftops must also be inspected to ensure they are strong enough to handle the weight of both the panels and winter snow. Enfinity, for example, builds the cost of insurance into its business model to take account of possible damage to a roof.

Ben Chin, a spokesman for the Ontario Power Authority, said it’s important for property owners to do their homework before entering any long-term leasing contract.

"You wouldn’t hire a plumber without experience," said Chin

Source

General Motors of Canada Ltd. has not reversed any of its decisions to close dealerships across the country after some store owners requested management reviews.

GM spokesman Tony LaRocca confirmed Monday that 38 dealerships had objected to the company’s wind-down offer and most have pursued management reviews, but the automaker has not yet changed its closing decisions.

"None of them have been reversed so far," said LaRocca, GM’s director of communications. "But the point of a management review is to look at all the available information, so if something new is presented, then a reversal can’t be ruled out."

LaRocca said 26 dealers requested management reviews and seven have resolved their objections by accepting wind-down offers providing partial compensation for closing before the end of last year.

"In other words, those dealers felt our offer was fair after review."

LaRocca added that three other dealers that initially pursued reviews are taking their cases to mediation and the industry’s National Automobile Dealer Arbitration Program.

He said GM continues to talk to 16 other dealers in efforts to resolve their cases. That could lead to acceptance of wind-down agreements, possibly taking their cases to mediation and arbitration or a reversal of a closing.

The other 12 dealers who objected to wind-down offers have sued GM for ending their franchise agreements, in a "high-handed, oppressive and patently unfair" manner, according to their claim statement business card.

In addition to millions of dollars in damages, those dealers are also seeking an injunction prohibiting GM from ending their agreements and a declaration entitling them to remain open for at least another five years. Their current franchises expire in the fall.

GM announced last May that it would close 240 Canadian dealerships to reduce costs and qualify for about $10.6 billion in federal and provincial government aid.

About 85 per cent of the dealers who received nonrenewal notices accepted wind-down agreements and shut down by the end of 2009.

Bob Slessor, one of the dealers suing GM, said he doubts GM will reverse any decisions by the time the company completes its review.

"Even though they go through the process, there are no surprises," said Slessor, who runs a dealership in Grimsby. "A GM vice-president reads from a prepared script."

In the United States, the termination of dealers by GM and Chrysler triggered a backlash that led to legislation last month establishing an arbitration process to determine the fate of many store owners.

The legislation calls for arbitrators to “balance the economic interest of the covered dealership, the economic interest of the covered manufacturer and the economic interest of the public at large” in considering criteria such as the dealer’s profitability and business plan.

Source

EVERETT, Wash. — Boeing’s new 787 jetliner finally got airborne Tuesday, the long-delayed inaugural flight of the world’s first commercial plane constructed with half its components made from lightweight composite materials.

The jet lifted off from Everett’s Paine Field on a flight over Washington state, beginning an extensive testing program needed to obtain Federal Aviation Administration certification.

The two-member crew performed a variety of basic system checks before landing at Seattle’s Boeing Field about three hours later.

Deteriorating weather brought the plane back about an hour earlier than planned, but company spokeswoman Lori Gunter said the pilots managed to test the landing gear and flaps.

The plane is the first of six 787s Boeing will use in the nine-month flight-test program that will subject the planes to conditions well beyond those found in normal airline service.

Chicago-based Boeing, which has orders for 840 of the jets, plans the first delivery to Japan’s All Nippon Airways late next year.

The 787 is a radical departure in aircraft design. Where other passenger jets are made mostly from aluminum and titanium, about half of the 787 is made of lightweight composite materials such as carbon fiber payday loan lenders.

Those materials have long been used on individual parts such as rudders, and on military planes, but the 787 is the most ambitious use of the technology aboard a passenger plane.

Boeing says the aircraft will be quieter, produce lower emissions and use 20 percent less fuel than comparable planes, while giving passengers a more comfortable cabin with better air quality and larger windows.

Boeing has relied on suppliers to build huge sections of the plane, which are later assembled in Everett. But that approach so far has proved problematic, with ill-fitting parts and other glitches hampering production.

The first flight was supposed to be in 2007. Boeing was forced to push that back five times — delays that have cost the company credibility, sales and billions of dollars.

The version being tested will be able to fly up to 250 passengers about 9,000 miles. A stretch version will be capable of carrying 290 passengers and a short-range model up to 330.

Source

Sales at U.S. retailers probably rose in November for the third time in the past four months, a sign consumer spending will sustain growth into 2010, economists said before a government report this week.

Purchases climbed 0.7 percent after a 1.4 percent gain the prior month, according to the median estimate of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Commerce Department figures on Dec. 11. Other reports may show the trade gap widened in October and consumers grew more confident this month.

Gains in sales show American households have survived the worst employment slump in the postwar era and are poised to join in the emerging expansion. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the labor market is moving closer to a period of job creation instead of losses, which may give the economy an additional lift early next year.

“Job gains are in sight,” said Ken Mayland, president ClearView Economics LLC in Pepper Pike, Ohio. “With employment increases, we can expect people to begin buying some more homes, cars, appliances, etc.”

A Labor Department report last week showed the economy lost 11,000 jobs in November, the smallest decline since the start of the recession in December 2007. The jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent from 10.2 percent.

The report showed “progress, but not good enough,” Geithner said in a Dec. 4 interview for Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt.”

Geithner on Economy

“The key test is when you see companies across the country starting to create jobs and add to payrolls,” Geithner said. “We’re getting closer to that point — that’s the important thing. The economy is now growing and growth seems to be gradually strengthening.”

Auto sales are improving even after the federal “cash- for-clunkers” incentives ended in late August.

General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC all posted November sales that beat analysts’ estimates. The seasonally adjusted sales rate was 10.9 million vehicles, up from 10.45 million in October, according to industry figures released last week.

Excluding automobiles, retail sales probably rose 0.4 percent after a 0.2 percent increase the prior month, according to the Bloomberg survey. A gain would be the fourth straight.

Holiday shoppers are turning out. Sales on Black Friday and the weekend after Thanksgiving advanced 0.5 percent as discounts on electronics and toys drew budget-conscious crowds, according to the National Retail Federation.

Electronics Sales

Best Buy Co., the biggest electronics chain, had bigger early-morning crowds than last year, said Brian Dunn, chief executive officer and president of the Eden Prairie, Minnesota- based company. He said shoppers would continue to see discounted pricing into the year-end holidays.

“You’re going to see great values throughout the holiday selling season,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Nov. 27.

TJX Corporation Inc. reported sales up 15 percent in the four weeks ended Nov. 28 from a year earlier. The operator of T.J. Maxx and other low-priced apparel retailers forecasts strong sales through the end of the year.

“We are confident in our momentum,” said Carol Meyrowitz, chief executive officer of TJX, said in a statement on Dec. 3.

Gaining Confidence

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment for December probably rose to 69 from 67.4 a month earlier, according to the Bloomberg survey before the Dec. 11 release.

The economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual pace in the third quarter following four quarters of contraction that marked the deepest recession since the 1930s. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg early last month forecast growth will accelerate to 3 percent in the current quarter.

The recovery is spurring demand for imports. That probably caused the trade deficit to widen to $37 billion in October from $36.5 billion in September, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before the Dec. 10 report from the Commerce Department. The collapse in trade earlier this year brought the deficit down to a near-decade low of $26.4 billion in May.

Source

Plummeting advertising sales have severely wounded media companies, but CBS is scoring big with the broadcast of this season’s Super Bowl XLIV.

Months away from the biggest football game of the year, CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) is already nearing a 90% sellout for advertising spots during the game. The network expects to close enough deals to hit that mark before Thanksgiving, said John Bogusz, CBS’s vice president of sports sales and marketing.

CBS hasn’t yet topped the $3 million rival NBC charged for each 30-second spot during the 2009 telecast, according to reports.

So far, CBS’s sales have hovered in the range of $2.5 and $3 million per spot. But with more than two months to go before kickoff, CBS still has time to reel in the big buyers.

Networks typically sell 62 commercials of 30 seconds each for the game. That math means CBS only has a half-dozen or so spots left to sell for the game that airs Feb. 7, 2010. Anheauser-Busch (BUD), Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500), PepsiCo (PEP, Fortune 500), and several movie studios and car companies have reportedly already purchased their ad packages for the 2010 game.

For last season’s big match, NBC didn’t reach the 90% benchmark for sales until January, just a month ahead of the telecast.

Bogusz said the pace of sales is ahead of that for the 2007 Super Bowl telecast, the last time CBS televised the event. A majority of the remaining slots are in the second half of the game, he said.

Super Bowl sales can pay off big for the broadcasters that air the game. In 2007, CBS said some advertisers paid more than $2.6 million for their 30-second commercials. The network’s advertising revenue jumped 9% in the first quarter that year thanks to its telecasts of the Super Bowl and the semifinals of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. 

Source

U.S. wine and spirits maker Constellation Brands Inc does not think drinkers will be bellying up to the bar in full force this holiday season, despite some signs of economic recovery.

“I would not be over-optimistic about the consumer this holiday season,” said Rob Sands, chief executive of the maker of Robert Mondavi wine, Svedka vodka and Black Velvet Canadian Whisky.

“I don’t think it’s going to be awful, awful, awful — but I don’t think it will be great,” Sands said in an interview ahead of the company’s investor meeting on Wednesday.

Sands said Constellation, which also has a joint venture with Mexico’s Grupo Modelo to import beers like Corona, will likely not see sales at bars, restaurants and convenience stores turn around until employment improves.

“When we’ve seen unemployment peak and start turning around, you’ll start seeing the on-premise and convenience sector start coming back,” Sands said, noting that people often buy beer at gas stations after work. By contrast, the grocery store business has been less hurt by the economy, he said.

NO UPDATE ON MERGER

Constellation, the world’s biggest maker of branded wine, said earlier this month it was in talks to sell or merge part of its Australian and U.K. wine operations.

At the time, the company said the talks included a potential combination of part of the Australian and British wine operations with Australian Vintage Ltd.

Sands did not offer any new details on the discussions, saying they were ongoing online cash advances. But he did say his plan was to improve margins and reduce investment in those regions, since a recovery is unlikely to come immediately.

“Finding a way to create synergies, improve margins and reduce investment is a prudent course of action, so that’s what this is all about,” Sands said.

As Constellation aims to sell assets, it is not looking for new ones, though Sands did not rule out acquisitions entirely.

“It’s not outside the realm of possibility, but it would be somewhat inconsistent right now with the other things we’re trying to accomplish,” Sands said, noting that he was more focused on improving organic sales growth, return on capital and free cash flow.

Constellation, which recently sold off some less-expensive brands, has closed facilities, cut jobs and consolidated distribution. It has also cut more than $1 billion in debt since March 2008.

Jay Wright, chief commercial officer of Constellation’s U.S. wine business, said it should complete the consolidation of its U.S. wine and spirits distributor network by the spring of 2010, giving it exclusive relationships with distributors in 30 states.

“By consolidating, we were able to … achieve a whole bunch of benefits to our business to help us with profitable organic sales growth,” Wright said. 

Read more

Ford Motor Co chose China’s Geely as preferred bidder for Volvo Cars while Magna said it still hoped to clinch a deal to buy a majority stake in Opel from GM after a board meeting on November 3

The shake-up of a car industry pummeled by the deepest crisis in decades continued, as Italy’s Fiat readied for the November 4 presentation of the five-year plan it hopes will turn around struggling partner Chrysler in Detroit.

Top officials from Canadian auto parts maker Magna and GM’s European unit Opel said they were confident the long-awaited deal — which has been held up after last-minute EU competition concerns — would be sealed.

“I am convinced that we will sign the contract soon if the EU … agrees. We are very, very hopeful,” said Siegfried Wolf, co-chief executive of Magna, which is seeking a 55 percent stake in Opel with its Russian partner Sberbank.

A source had told Reuters last week that there was still a possibility that GM’s board could opt out of a sale of Opel in favor of keeping the European carmaker.

The European Commission has been keeping a close eye on the transaction to ensure state aid is not misused for political purposes and was not skewed in favor of Magna.

FORD GOES FOR GEELY

U.S. automaker Ford’s selection of Geely moved the long-running sale process of its loss-making Swedish unit Volvo Car Corp savings account payday advance. closer to a conclusion but said more detailed talks were needed before any final agreement. The announcement signals that intellectual property concerns which threatened to derail the deal last week may have been overcome.

Ford did not disclose a possible sale price, but media reports have put it closer to $2 billion than the $6.45 billion it paid for Volvo in 1999.

Meanwhile, Swedish automaker Saab Automobile’s fate hung in the balance, after the Swedish government said it would have to wait for a decision on guaranteeing a 400 million euro European Investment Bank loan granted earlier this month. Niche sports carmaker Koeniggseg is buying the carmaker.

China’s BAIC agreed in September to take a minority stake in Koenigsegg, easing some of the funding concerns around the proposed purchase.

And in a further sign of car industry turmoil, Russia’s government denied on Wednesday that it had approved a plan by troubled carmaker AvtoVAZ — which is 25 percent owned by France’s Renault — to cut its workforce by a quarter.

(Writing by Helen Massy-Beresford, editing by Marcel Michelson)

Read more