| Travel junk fees are out of control
There's a lawsuit in California right now that's concerned with junk fees not being revealed until after you get to the car rental counter. This makes Internet comparison shopping very difficult. The lowest price you see online may be fake because it doesn't reflect junk fees. With airfare, the actual price is usually about 20 percent higher than the advertised price. What kind of junk fees are most common? For air travel, the passenger facility charge (PFC) is a biggie. This is where the terminal charges you for walking their halls -- a completely bogus charge that they convinced Congress to approve. Then you have a charge per flight segment, a federal security service charge and others. .
The science of biopharmaceuticals meets business flexibility.
Good science and sound strategies aren't enough anymore. This white paper explores how a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) can help improve the development and delivery of treatment to patients. SOA provides an agile business model and an open, integrated infrastructure that can rapidly respond to changing market dynamics. .
Apple tweaks iPhone for business uses
In January Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company has sold 4 million iPhones since they went on sale June 29. The iPhone has claimed 28 percent of the U.S. smart phone market since its release here in June, according to Jobs. But many businesses have shied away because they want the device to work better with their corporate e-mail systems. To woo more business customers, Apple said Thursday it's tweaking the iPhone to support Microsoft Corp.'s Exchange software, which addresses a key weakness in the gadget and puts it in more direct competition with Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and Palm Inc.'s Treo smart phones. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said the software update will give iPhones the security and integration of e-mail, calendars and contact lists that businesses have been demanding.
Hottest Hybrids of 2008
The only other vehicle segment that grew faster than hybrids in 2007 was what CNW calls "budget cars." Sales of these small, inexpensive models, which include the Chevrolet Aveo, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris, grew at an astonishing rate of nearly 48 percent. With rising gas prices and higher fuel economy standards mandated by the federal government, analysts expect hybrid technology to proliferate in the coming years. "You're going to see wider availability of hybrid powertrains as options on more and more vehicles," says David Wurster, president of the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based market research firm Vincentric. "I don't think they're going to be the ‘unique' vehicles for much longer because it's going to become commonplace technology." With new models entering the market and their popularity expected to rise, CNW predicts that 1.1 million hybrids will be sold annually by 2010.
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AS CONSUMERS AND lenders suffer the harsh consequences of the credit crunch, another industry is experiencing a boom in business: debt collectors. Just ask Sandy Lubin, owner of the Credit Bureau of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Based in Grover Beach, Calif., Lubin's 28-employee firm serves as both a credit bureau, selling consumer credit reports to businesses, and as a collection agency, recovering medical and property management debts, such as unpaid rent. While the credit reporting side of Lubin's business has dropped "fairly substantially," the collection side has seen a 10% increase in new business this year a trend he predicts will accelerate as the weakening economy and rising debt levels take their toll on consumers' finances. "We're fortunate because we have both sides of the business," he notes.
Blog Day Afternoon: Looking for something?
Since I'm looking for a bed, asap, being that I've slept an average of four hours a night over the last two-plus weeks, I'm getting straight to the good stuff. And by good stuff I mean Tylenol PM -- and your blogs. On to the best blogs ... around! Looking to see what's in the Bears' crystal ball? Common Sense with Patg006 breaks down what's left to do in free agency and the draft. Looking for a scouting report on the uh, Marlins and Orioles? Check out You've got eSmack!'s take on their spring training game. If you're looking for a solid Patriot League preview, dbacksfan414 has just the blog for you. There's also Sun Belt, Atlantic Sun and a bunch of other leagues I'm not paying attention to. If you're looking for a good photo of Jack Nicholson, Shulaces has just the blog for you.
Bill to ban teaching about homosexuality in schools killed
The bill was scuttled at the February meeting on a voice vote after critics said the bill was unnecessary, infringed on free speech rights and put the Legislature improperly in the business of dictating curriculum to schools. Campfield, R-Knoxville, had protested the voice vote authorized by the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis. House rules say that when a sponsor requests a roll call vote, that request must be honored. Towns declared at the time that Campfield had not made a proper request. He subsequently decided, after reviewing a videotape of the meeting, that Campfield had, indeed, made a proper request. Towns then agreed to bring the bill back for a second vote on Tuesday. The roll call vote was 6-4 in favor of House Education Committee Chairman Les Winningham's motion to send the bill to the Department of Education, in effect killing it.
EPA treads heavily on states' rights
Reilly is back in the news. He made an eleventh-hour appeal to current EPA boss Stephen Johnson to approve rules adopted by California to boost fuel efficiency and curb tailpipe emissions. A memo was prepared for Reilly's use by Christopher Grundler, deputy director at the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality. The memo was written as if Reilly were talking to Johnson: "You have to find a way to get this done. If you cannot, you will face a pretty big personal decision about whether you are able to stay in the job under those circumstances. "This is a choice only you can make, but I ask you to think about the history and the future of the agency in making it, if you are asked to deny the waiver. I fear the credibility of the agency that we both love will be irreparably damaged." In December, Johnson refused to grant California -- and 15 other states -- the waiver to enact their own curbs on greenhouse gases.
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