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BofA Declares Living Person Dead

2012-02-10T20:03:48Z

They say dead men tell no tales, but in this case, a living man has quite a story about how Bank of America incorrectly declared him deceased.

According to WISTV in Columbia, S.C., Bank of America has been reporting Arthur Livingston as dead to all the major credit agencies since May of 2009.

Livingston said he noticed the problem more than three months ago and contacted the bank, which said it would correct the problem within 30 days.

"I went to Bank of America, I brought this to their attention and we're working on 100 days now with no resolution," Livingston told WISTV.

Until the problem is corrected, Livingston said he can't improve his credit score or take out a home mortgage.

The Consumerist notes that Livingston's ongoing problem explains "both the man's hunger for human brains and why his credit report reads 'file not scored because subject is deceased'".

Livingston's case is all too similar to an even more egregious story also reported this month.

Ten-year Army veteran Jerry Miller of Brevard County, Florida, has been declared deceased by the U.S. Veterans Administration four times in the span of less than two years.

And Bank of America is no stranger to headline-grabbing snafus.

Last month, the bank nearly took away a man's home because of a typo and previously gave $30,000 worth of Social Security payments to the wrong person, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Ben Bernanke: Blame Housing For This Lousy Recovery

2012-02-10T19:25:03Z

Housing, with some help from Wall Street, got us into the Great Recession, and it is housing that has made the recovery from that recession so slow and painful, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today.

"The state of the housing sector has been a key impediment to a faster recovery," Bernanke said in a speech at the National Association of Homebuilders International Builders' Show in Orlando, Florida on Friday.

"In the typical economic recovery, a resurgent housing sector helps fuel reemployment and rising incomes," he added. "But as you know all too well, that scenario has not played out this time."

Bernanke cited economic studies that suggest the collapse in home prices might be shrinking consumer spending, the largest engine of U.S. economic growth, by between $200 billion and $375 billion a year.

Underwater homeowners are also unable to move to find better, higher-paying work or borrow against home equity to help with emergency expenses, Bernanke observed. So begins the vicious cycle in which clusters of foreclosed homes lower property values throughout entire communities and hurt property tax revenues, which lead to cutbacks in municipal services that push house prices still lower.

Economists have seen evidence lately that the housing market might finally have hit a bottom after a collapse and slump that has lasted more than six years. But home prices and new-home construction are still in a deep pit despite record-low mortgage rates that have made housing theoretically more affordable than ever.

The Fed helped push those interest rates to rock-bottom lows in part to support the housing market. But their efforts have mostly been met with frustration.

Bernanke suggested the still-weak housing market might be making it hard for low rates to do much good. Banks, suffering from losses on bad mortgages are afraid of taking still more losses so tighten lending standards, making borrowing more difficult even at low rates.

"The Federal Reserve, in its supervisory capacity, continues to encourage lenders to find ways to maintain prudent lending standards while serving creditworthy borrowers," Bernanke said. "But the slow recovery of the housing market and the economy" and other factors are keeping lenders cautious.

He also acknowledged that the recovery in housing will continue to be painfully slow, estimating that one million foreclosed homes owned by banks could hit the market each year "for the next few years," keeping downward pressure on prices.

One possible solution, he acknowledged, would be to turn some of these foreclosed properties into rental properties, to help meet rising rental demand. But he also acknowledged there was no silver bullet for housing.

Without it, the recovery could stay slow and painful for a while longer.

BP Wins Ruling To Keep Old Accidents Out Of Gulf Spill Trial

2012-02-10T19:12:00Z

* Evidence of Texas, Alaska incidents excluded

* Judge: Older cases too dissimilar from Gulf spill

* Feb. 27 trial expected

By Jonathan Stempel

Feb 9 (Reuters) - BP Plc won a court order to keep references to some previous accidents out of this month's trial to assess blame for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the oil company's second victory in as many days to bar potentially damaging evidence.

Thursday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans followed a ruling Wednesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan to keep out some emails questioning some of BP's activities before and after the spill.

Barbier blocked the introduction of evidence related to two accidents involving BP facilities: a 2005 explosion at a Texas City, Texas refinery that killed 15 people, and a 2006 rupture of a corroded pipeline at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

In the Texas case, BP pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and accepted a $50 million fine. BP pleaded guilty to a criminal Clean Water Act violation and was fined $20 million in the Alaska case.

Barbier, however, ruled that the prior incidents were "not sufficiently similar" to the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and blowout of the Macondo oil well, which BP mainly owned.

"The prior incidents were all land-based, while the Macondo incident occurred in the Gulf of Mexico," Barbier wrote. "Additionally, the circumstances of oil refinery disasters and (an) exploratory drilling disaster are vastly different."

James Roy, a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs, who include people and businesses harmed by the accident, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BP was also fined a record $87 million by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety problems at the Texas refinery.

Barbier is scheduled on Feb. 27 to preside over a non-jury trial to assign blame for the Deepwater Horizon accident, which killed 11 people and caused the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Other corporate defendants include rig owner Transocean Ltd and Halliburton Co, which provided cementing services for the well. Plaintiffs also include the U.S. government, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

BP has set aside roughly $42 billion for spill costs. Chief Executive Bob Dudley this week said the London-based company is preparing for trial, but willing to settle on reasonable terms.

The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 10-md-02179.

Awful Cover Letter To J.P. Morgan Laughing Stock Of Wall Street

2012-02-10T19:04:32Z

It takes a lot to get noticed in this town, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.

An NYU undergraduate student named Mark has become the laughing stock of Wall Street after his awful cover letter to JPMorgan made its rounds among NYU Stern alumni, the financial district, and then went viral online.

A cover letter can make or break you in the job hunting game and Mark's letter is a lesson in exactly what not to do.

By boasting that he "managed to bench double [his] body weight and do 35 pull ups" while achieving a 3.93 GPA, young Mark invited the inevitable comparisons to the infamous Aleksey Vayner.

There's a fine line between convincing your potential employeer of why they need to hire you, and only you, and coming across as a pompous ass.

There is no doubt Mark's status as a triple major in Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science is impressive on its own, but throw in the fact that he held two part-time jobs, placed-out of two classes and managed to keep himself in top physical shape, and it's safe to say he crossed the line.

Mark's cover letter also could have used an edit from an English major, who might have advised him to find a different way to express that he "can perform basic office functions with terrifying efficiency."

He ended the letter with a disclaimer asking JPMorgan to "Please realize that I am not a braggart or conceited, I just wanted to outline my usefulness. Egos can be a huge liability, and I try not to have one."

Nice.

It's a letter so obnoxious that it's unclear if Mark sent it as a joke.

According to Gawker, Mark is well aware bit of laughter he brought to the bankers on Wall Street. When asked if he'd gotten a job at JPMorgan, he laughed, telling the website, "No, not at all. Didn't you see my letter?"

Joke or not, Mark is not alone when it comes to terrible cover letters. An applicant for a position as an API Engineer in New York City recently wrote:

"I'm super awesome and have incredible experience compared to this -- it includes the required experiences below plus I am trained in MMA fighting, am the mayor of multiple Chipotles, Starbucks, and locally famous restaurants in downtown NYC, and I type really fast."

And we can't forget Roanald Dvorak's cover letter for a office manager position, where he wrote: "Forget all the other candidates for Aviary, I am the BEST," and listed his skills in bullet points: "Organizing shit? Check. Calling numbers and shit? Doublecheck. Customer support and shit? Mega-check. Faxing numbers and shit? MOTHERFLIPPING CHECK ALL OVER THAT."

At a time when even the most qualified applicants can't find jobs, it's questionable if sending over-the-top or ironic cover letters is a good idea -- especially given the fact that there's no expectation of privacy.

Last year, Business Insider even posted 12 of the worst cover letters they received, redacting the names to provide some protection for those who made the list.

READ THE COVER LETTER:

1/23/2012

J.P. Morgan

Dear Sir or Madame:

I am an ambitious undergraduate at NYU triple majoring in Mathematics, Economics, and Computer Science. I am a punctual, personable, and shrewd individual, yet I have a quality which I pride myself on more than any of these.

I am unequivocally the most unflaggingly hard worker I know, and I love self-improvement. I have always felt that my time should be spent wisely, so I continuously challenge myself; I left Villanova because the work was too easy. Once I realized I could achieve a perfect GPA while holding a part-time job at NYU, I decided to redouble my effort by placing out of two classes, taking two honors classes, and holding two part-time jobs. That semester I achieved a 3.93, and in the same time I managed to bench double my bodyweight and do 35 pull-ups.

I say these things only because solid evidence is more convincing than unverifiable statements, and I want to demonstrate that I am a hard worker. J.P. Morgan is a firm with a reputation that precedes itself and employees who represent only the best and rightest in finance. I know that the employees in this firm will push me to excellence, especially within the Investment Banking division. In fact, one of the supporting reasons I chose Investment Banking over any other division was that I know it is difficult. I hope to augment my character by diligently working for the professionals at Morgan Stanley, and I feel I have much to offer in return.

I am proficient in several programming languages, and I can pick up a new one very quickly. For instance, I learned a years worth of Java from NYU in 27 days on my own; this is how I placed out of two including: Money and Banking, Analysis, Game Theory, Probability and Statistics. Even further, I am taking Machine Learning and Probabilistic Graphical Modeling currently, two programming courses offered by Stanford, so that I may truly offer the most if I am accepted. I am proficient with Bloomberg terminals, excellent with excel, and can perform basic office functions with terrifying efficiency. I have plenty of experience in the professional world through my internship at Merrill Lynch, and my research assistant position at NYU. In fact, my most recent employer has found me so useful that he promoted me to a Research Assistant and an official CTED intern. This role is usually reserved for Masters students, but my employer gave the title to me so that he could give me more work.

Please realize that I am not a braggart or conceited, I just want to outline my usefulness. Egos can be a huge liability, and I try not to have one.

Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Mark

Mobile Apps Are Saving Small-Business Owners Millions

2012-02-10T19:04:03Z

Small businesses that use mobile apps to help manage their operations are saving more than 370 million of their own hours and over 725 million employee hours annually, according to a study by the Small Business and Entrepreneur Council.

The study showed that 31 percent of small firms with 20 or fewer employees were using mobile apps. Of those using apps for their business, owners estimated that they saved an average of 5.6 hours a week. In conjunction with the total number of small firms in the U.S., the study estimates that 1.28 million small-business owners are saving time with mobile app usage.

"Hours of paper-pushing, administrative work, customer research, extra driving trips and unproductive downtime add up very quickly," SBE Council President and CEO Karen Kerrigan said in a statement. "Mobile apps are allowing small-business owners and their employees to get more time from their day and to focus on higher value work."

Based on the amount of employee hours saved and the average pay for small-business employees, the study estimates that small firms are saving $275 per week, adding up to an average of over $14,000 per year.

The use of mobile apps, which can spare firms time spent on monotonous tasks like bookkeeping, document sharing and travel can save small-business owners an average of $377 per month, adding up to over $4,000 per year. The study emphasizes that such estimates are conservative, since only firms with 20 or less employers were surveyed.

As a result of app usage, 49 percent of the owners surveyed said their firm was able to spend more time on increasing sales and creating new revenue streams, while 36 percent said app usage allowed them to cut overhead costs. Perhaps most significant, 51 percent of small-firm owners said app usage allowed their business to become more competitive and better able to maneuver through an uncertain economy.

The Most HIlarious #FedValentines

2012-02-10T18:45:46Z

Whoever said monetary policy isn't sexy just doesn't know what they're talking about.

In anticipation of Valentine's Day, the twitterverse is abuzz with economics nerds tweeting sweet nothings using the hashtag #FedValentines, of course in reference to the Federal Reserve. You can't blame them. With the Fed's head, Ben Bernanke, constantly discussing stimulus tactics like quantitative easing, the urge for double entendre is hard to resist.

The trend comes as Bernanke addressed the National Association of Homebuilders International Builders' Show Friday, saying that the Fed's efforts at spurring economic growth are being thwarted by obstacles to mortgage lending, according to Bloomberg. Tragically, the bearded, bald hearthrob didn't offer his own #FedValentine during the speech, but rest assured we’ll update this post if that changes.

That's not to say the regional federal reserves themselves can't have some fun on a Friday. According to its twitter feed, the San Francisco Federal Reserve is "going through extraordinary measures to increase your stimulus."

Check out some of our favorite #Fedvalentines, to get a sense of love in the time of near-record low interest rates:

The 10 Tech Companies Taking The Biggest Stand Against Climate Change

2012-02-10T18:21:18Z

How are some of the world's biggest IT companies taking a stand against a climate change?

A list released by Greenpeace this week ranks some of the world's largest information technology companies based on their efforts to mitigate climate change.

The fifth edition of the Cool IT Leaderboard puts Google at the top, with Cisco and Ericsson grabbing second and third.

According to a press release, the list "ranks 21 IT companies on their clean energy leadership potential, willingness to embrace clean energy solutions and potential to influence energy decisions."

Neither Apple nor Facebook were included in the list, as they have not pursued "market opportunities to drive IT energy solutions" to the same extent as others, according to Greenpeace.

Greenpeace International IT analyst Gary Cook said, "Technology giants have a real opportunity to use their power and influence to change how we produce and use energy -- Google tops the table because it's putting its money where its mouth is by pumping investment into renewable energy."

As Wired notes, the highest scoring company, Google, only received a score of 53 out of 100. Cisco was last year's winner, with 70 points, but dropped to 49 this year. Greenpeace says Cisco's fall is due to "a much less forceful support for priority climate and energy policies."

For more information on some of the greenest companies around, check out Newsweek's 2011 list of the 30 greenest tech companies.

List courtesy of Greenpeace. Read their full report here. Scroll down for the companies ranked 11-21.

The companies which did not make the top 10 include:
11. Wipro
12. Dell
13. Microsoft
14. SAP
15. AT&T
16. HCL
17. NTT
18. NEC
19. TCS
20. Telefónica
21. Oracle

Alabama's Largest City Looks For Alternatives To Payday Lenders

2012-02-10T17:51:21Z

The biggest city in Alabama is putting its payday lenders on notice.

Bankers and community leaders in Birmingham, Alabama met Thursday to discuss developing new financial resources for cash-strapped residents, according to The Birmingham News. The meeting was part of the city's broader effort to relax the influence of payday lenders -- small loan shops where borrowers can get quick cash, but often end up sucked into a cycle of debt thanks to the lenders' high interest rates.

While Birmingham leaders say they can't force the payday lenders to close up shop, they are talking about adopting a program similar to San Francisco's Bank On initiative, which aims to offer safe, non-exploitative resources -- including financial counseling, online pay options and inexpensive checking and savings accounts -- to people who are hesitant to use traditional banks.

Nearly 8 percent of U.S. households are "unbanked," or don't have a checking or savings account, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation data cited by The New York Times. Another nearly 18 percent of Americans have a checking or savings account, but still use alternative financial services.

In Alabama, more than 20 percent of households have sought loans from payday lenders, according to the Associated Press.

Birmingham's pushback against payday lenders comes at a moment when a vast number of Americans are cash strapped, pushing them to turn to an off-brand loan shop.

Thanks to high unemployment and flat wages, a growing number of Americans are struggling to simply put food on the table and cover other basic household expenses. Nearly half of all households in the U.S. are only one financial emergency away from the poverty line.

Amid such a weak economic climate, payday lenders have thrived. But consumer-protection advocates are beginning to take a hard line against the industry. Richard Cordray, who recently assumed control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has put payday loan regulation front and center on his agenda, despite protests from lenders that they provide a valuable service to borrowers in a tight spot.

Payday lenders have come under particular criticism for allegations that they target and take advantage of minority borrowers. A study by the Center for Responsible Lending found that in some regions, payday loan shops are clustered disproportionately in African-American and Latino neighborhoods, and that minorities form a large part of their customer base.

Democrats' Fake Unemployment Compromise

2012-02-10T16:57:00Z

WASHINGTON -- Democrats in the U.S. Senate this week firmly rejected GOP proposals to drug-test the jobless, but they signaled a new willingness to compromise on cutting weeks of unemployment benefits.

Members of both parties in the House and Senate are negotiating a legislative package that would extend unemployment insurance and a host of other domestic spending provisions, chief among them a 2 percent Social Security payroll tax cut. These benefits expire at the end of February under a two-month extension deal reached late last year.

The Senate Democrats' proposal, outlined in a one-page document (PDF), would cut six weeks of unemployment compensation, limiting the maximum benefits to 93 weeks. But the offer does not reflect the fact that Democrats already gave ground on the duration of benefits.

Under the most recent reauthorization of federal unemployment insurance, Congress set in motion a gradual 20-week reduction that is already taking effect in Maine and Michigan. Democrats admitted to HuffPost in December that they had to give up the 20 weeks in order to win Republican support for the two-month deal. The Obama administration was the first to support phasing out 20 weeks of benefits.

Republicans, for their part, want to cut 40 weeks of benefits and have not publicly surrendered on any of their demands to reform the unemployment insurance system. Under a Republican bill that passed the House of Representatives but not the Senate last year, states would be allowed to drug-test the jobless and deny benefits to laid-off workers who don't have high school diplomas. The Senate Democrats' offer rejects those proposals.

Republicans are not impressed. "Given that even the president has moved to 79 weeks and the fact that Democrats are still rejecting GED and drug-screening reforms, this offer appears to be more of a political stunt than it is a serious proposal," a Republican aide said.

The offer does not say how Democrats would achieve 93 weeks of benefits. It's not as simple as adjusting a dial in the Department of Labor.

There are two federal programs that kick in for workers who use up the standard 26 weeks of state benefits without finding jobs. The first, called Emergency Unemployment Compensation, provides 53 weeks of aid broken into four tiers, each of a different duration. In 32 states, workers who exhaust EUC can then receive Extended Benefits, which provides checks for up to 20 weeks.

The Extended Benefits program only triggers on in states where the jobless rate is high and rising compared with a corresponding period in the previous three years. But jobless rates have been slowly falling from those of three years ago. Unless Congress changes the look-back period to encompass four years, Extended Benefits will trigger off in every state over the course of 2012.

If Congress were to adopt a four-year look-back, most state legislatures would still need to change state law to conform with the new federal law. Many Republican-controlled statehouses would probably not want to bother -- at least not without winning further concessions from Democrats on unemployment or other policies.

It could be that Democrats are willing to drop Extended Benefits altogether and stretch the tiers of Emergency Unemployment Compensation to keep the jobless receiving benefits for 93 weeks. The proposal is vague, and spokesmen for Senate and House Democrats declined to elaborate.

Greece Is Blowing Up The Stock Market Today

2012-02-10T16:51:40Z

The U.S. stock market could be on track for its worst day of the year Friday because of turmoil in Greece.

Protesters are rioting in the streets of Athens in opposition to fresh demands for budget cuts and belt-tightening from Greece's European creditors. There are also reports of the resignation of some Greek cabinet members.

This all follows a week of optimistic reports that Greece was on the verge of getting a new bailout package from the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission, while also working out a debt deal with private creditors.

Greek political leaders did agree Thursday on new austerity measures that seemed likely to placate Greece's creditors, but those measures must be put to a vote in Greek parliament over the weekend, and the Greek public is once again expressing its displeasure with being forced to eat another big plate of austerity when the economy is already flat on its back.

Uncertainties about the outcome of all of this are weighing on European stocks, the euro and U.S. stock prices Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down about 133 points, which is not that awful, but would be the biggest one-day loss of what has so far been a fairly happy year for the blue-chip index.

The S&P 500 was down 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite index was down about 0.8 percent.

The stock market has been drifting higher for months, recently convincing many skeptics, including Dr. Doom himself, Nouriel Roubini, that the rally could be long-lasting. Friday could be a wake-up call, though it is far too early to tell, given this is one day and the mood could brighten considerably over the weekend if Greece passes austerity measures and gets more money.

The euro was down about 0.7 percent against the U.S. dollar as of Friday afternoon.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was recently down to 1.96 percent from about 2.04 percent Thursday, an unusually large one-day move, in a sign of investors scrambling for safety -- bond yields fall as bond prices rise.

Though it is generating fewer headlines, news out of China is also affecting sentiment Friday. Chinese imports and exports suffered their first decline in two years last month, and lending fell to a five-year low, reviving worries about a slowdown in that country.

Also souring the mood are the morning's economic data back in the United States: The December trade deficit came in a little wider than expected, and a February reading of consumer sentiment by the University of Michigan was a little lower than expected.

Oil And Gas Exploration... At DIA?

2012-02-10T16:32:24Z

Most travelers at Denver International Airport have their thoughts on the sky, with a couple wayward glances at overpriced beers in the terminal, and concern their luggage may be lost in transit. Lately, though, officials there have focused on all that's beneath their feet.

According to a KMGH report, a number of oil and gas companies have approached the airport about the possibility of drilling on the property. The land there hosted several drilling rigs prior to DIA opening in 1995.

In 2010, the airport purchased 27 oil and gas wells on its property for $5.5 million, bringing the total number of DIA-owned wells there to 76. The Associated Press reports those wells generated $7 million in revenue for the airport in 2010.

Denver International Airport lies on the western edge of the Niobrara Formation, a shale and clay band more 6,000 feet beneath the surface estimated to contain more than 1 billion barrels of oil.

Are Hackers Stealing Money From iTunes Accounts?

2012-02-10T16:30:18Z

The Globe and Mail recently took an in-depth look at allegations that hackers may have infiltrated iTunes accounts. According to that investigation, there's something fishy going on at iTunes.

An Apple Support Communities thread titled "iTunes store account hacked", which currently includes 73 pages of more than 1,080 replies, details users' complaints about mysterious charges stretching all the way back to November 2010. Many of these comments are from users reporting what appear to be third-party purchases made from PayPal accounts, credit cards and gift cards linked to their iTunes accounts, as well as unexplained changes in their account information.

Here are two examples of complaints on the "iTunes store account hacked" thread:

I've been hacked twice in the last couple of days. Amount deducted from my gift card credit. Apple told me it must have been an in-app I downloaded by accident. Rubbish!!!! Not impresseed -- crimsonfox62
I was just hacked too... My account is linked to my PayPal that's linked to my checking and they literally stole all of my money in my checking account. Already sent in the support ticket, not very happy at this point. -- elitez28

According to The Global Mail Apple has yet to acknowledge or even comment on whether iTunes accounts may have been compromised, even though users have been reporting discrepancies for over a year. When The Global Mail contacted Apple, the company responded with a generic reply about security but did not address the specific concerns that had been raised.

The statement read:

Apple takes precautions to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft and misuse, as well as against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. Apple online services such as the Apple Online Store and iTunes Store use Secure Sockets Layer encryption on all web pages where personal information is collected.

Although many of the people who have claimed they were hacked report similar experiences -- such as the types of apps purchased with the stolen funds, and similar changes to account information --The Global Mail speculates that there is just enough variation among the individual hacks to allow Apple to assert that they are not linked.

According to comments on Support Communities thread, the amount of money stolen has ranged from a few cents to $500. Some users also report that Apple refunded the charges.

Apple Insider speculates that the iTunes gift card algorithm may have been compromised and compares this problem to an earlier attack on iTunes. "In 2009, iTunes gift vouchers surfaced on Chinese websites for pennies on the dollar after hackers allegedly discovered a way to generate codes," writes Apple Insider.

In 2011, 50,000 iTunes accounts were reportedly hacked and sold through a Chinese auction site. Chinese newspaper The Global Times purchased one such account for about $5 and found that it was linked to someone's credit card in the United States.

[Hat tip The Globe and Mail via Cult of Mac]

Walmart Fined For 'Unacceptable' Workplace Violations

2012-02-10T15:59:43Z

In recent years, Walmart has taken some steps to try to turn around its reputation as the company that everyone loves to hate through its sustainability initiatives, low-cost banking services and increased community donations.

But the mega-retailer still has a long way to go, judging by its repeat violations of workplace safety and health standards at some stores.

This week, it was fined $365,000 by the Occupational and Safety Health Administration for 24 alleged violations at a single store in Rochester, New York. The penalty stems from multiple inspections initiated after one complaint.

Among the alleged violations were those for obstructed exits, lack of eye and face protection for workers, lack of information and training on hazardous chemicals and an unguarded grinder. OSHA's area director, Arthur Dube, said in a statement that the size of the fines was due to the fact that the conditions are similar to those at nine other Walmart locations in New York and eight other states. The company was cited for similar violations between 2008 and 2010 at stores around the country, from Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Fargo, North Dakota, reports the Occupational Safety and Health Reporter.

"This situation is unacceptable," said Dube. "A corporate employer must take effective and proactive steps to assess, correct and prevent the recurrence of hazards at all of its locations."

Walmart released a statement on Tuesday, saying: "The safety of our customers and our associates is a top priority for us and we've put in place policies and training in our stores with that in mind. We're taking these claims seriously and looking into them to determine if any mistakes were made and, if so, what we can do to correct them."

The company is also taking some heat on another front this week. After the electrocution death of a Brazilian immigrant subcontractor doing demolition work at a store in Boston, Romulo de Oliveira Santos' family is trying to hold Walmart accountable for what they call unsafe practices at its construction sites. Walmart is contesting the claims.

Does Goldman's Subprime Trade Violate Volcker?

A test of the Volcker Rule's ability to stop banks from making trades with their own money may be the recent purchase of a $6.2 billion portfolio of subprime mortgage securities by Goldman Sachs (who else?). Back in 2010 the firm infamously paid $550 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it bet against virtually worthless mortgage-backed securities that it was selling to investors.

In this latest deal, Goldman bought the packaged securities from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which is unloading assets it gained through the bailout of AIG. Goldman "held the bulk of the portfolio overnight before moving to sell the bonds en masse," according to Reuters. "While there was strong demand from Goldman clients, by doing so the Wall Street bank took the risk of events in Europe roiling markets and the value of those assets falling in a short period of time."

A tough interpretation of the Volcker Rule may ban such trades, Stanford University finance professor Darrell Duffie told Reuters. Goldman insists that the trade was always intended to benefit its clients. And financial writer Cate Long tweeted on Thursday night:

Quick Hits

* "Restaurant A" -- How Bill Marler's Food Safety News tied the salmonella outbreak to Taco Bell.

* A brass foundry in southern Wisconsin was slapped by OSHA with 10 alleged safety violations for failing to protect workers from exposure to metal dust, reports the Chicago Tribune.

* Next week marks the deadline to submit comments on 13 different proposed Dodd-Frank rules, from Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations on retail commodity transactions to the SEC prohibition against conflicts of interest in some securitizations.

* Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban is due to be deposed today in the SEC's case against him for insider trading.

Education Gap Grows Between Rich And Poor, Studies Show

2012-02-10T15:39:43Z

WASHINGTON -- Education was historically considered a great equalizer in American society, capable of lifting less advantaged children and improving their chances for success as adults. But a body of recently published scholarship suggests that the achievement gap between rich and poor children is widening, a development that threatens to dilute education's leveling effects.

It is a well-known fact that children from affluent families tend to do better in school. Yet the income divide has received far less attention from policy makers and government officials than gaps in student accomplishment by race.

'Soup Movement' Brings Local Donors Together To Fund Community Projects

2012-02-10T15:38:36Z

Gathering around a bowl of soup never warmed so many souls.

Communities around the country are organizing local soup gatherings for local good. This "Soup Movement" brings together friends and neighbors, who all bring a modest donation -- usually about $5 -- as fuel to share ideas to tackle social change in their communities, NPR reports.

The news outlet cites examples such as funding proposals that have been submitted by local artisans or shop owners who want to continue their community-driven work. FEAST in Brooklyn, N.Y., for example, has given out more than $17,000 in local grants.

Lloyd Piehl and Heather Renner, both Grand Prairie, Tex., residents, got wind of the idea and worked to spread the word in their community, the Daily Herald Tribune reports. Their organization, GPSoup, asks for a $10 donation and can of soup per attendant.

Piehl, who is new to the city, is excited about meeting people. He's also excited to fund new ideas for the community.

“Ingenuity is a big part of this," Piehl told the news source, "because honestly, $500 or $1,000 is not Earth-changing, but with a really good idea, it could be.”

Feeling inspired? Check out NPR's full story for even more organizations bringing the "Soup Movement" to their communities.