Google investing $300M to build Iowa data center

Google investing $300M to build Iowa data center — Google Inc. announced Tuesday it was investing $300 million to build another data center in Council Bluffs, bringing the Internet search company's total investment in the western Iowa city to about $900 million.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said the center would bring about 50 new jobs to the city across the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb. Those will include jobs in computer repair, heating and cooling, and logistics, said Chris Russell, operations manager for the Council Bluffs Google data center.

Construction will begin immediately on a 1,000-acre site south of Council Bluffs, where Google workers joined Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and other officials for the announcement. Russell could not say when the new center is expected to be completed or how large it would be.

Google's existing $600 million data center opened in 2009, bringing about 200 jobs to the area. That center houses computer systems that support services such as Google Search, Gmail and Google Maps. The new center will provide the same support, Russell said.

"We are glad to be in Iowa, and Google's future here is very bright," Russell said.

Russell, Branstad and Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan all credited the state's competitive electricity rates and educated workforce for Google's expansion in western Iowa, but the approval of more than $9 million in tax credits certainly didn't hurt.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved the credits — which include everything from property tax to sales and corporate tax breaks — last week to help convince Google to select the Iowa site.

Debi Durham, director of the state Department of Economic Development, said the move makes good economic sense. She noted that Google's proposal for its first Council Bluffs data center was for $300 million, but that it doubled to $600 million by the time the facility opened in 2009.

"I well anticipate them doing that again," Durham said. "But their (tax incentives) are capped at $300 million."

Durham said that without the incentives, Google likely would have gone to another state, possibly neighboring Nebraska. Lawmakers there used Iowa's data center tax incentive as a model for their own measure, which was approved last year and designed to attract data centers like Google's facility in Council Bluffs.

Google announced a similar expansion in Pryor, Okla., earlier this month, bringing Google's investment in that community to $700 million. ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Google investing $300M to build Iowa data center

Shutterfly stock flies on Eastman Kodak deal

Shutterfly stock flies on Eastman Kodak deal - Shutterfly's stock climbed after the online photo publishing company emerged as the sole and thus the likely winning bidder for Eastman Kodak's online photo services business.

The company says no other offers have emerged for Kodak Gallery. Pending final approval by a bankruptcy court, the business will be Shutterfly's for $23.8 million. Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection in January.

The deal could help Shutterfly ramp up growth in a competitive industry. Janney Capital Markets analyst Shawn Milne said the deal increases Shutterfly's customer base, with the company gaining about 2 million active customers from Kodak. He predicted that the purchase could add 10 to 15 cents per share to Shutterfly's earnings this year, and 20 cents per share in 2013. The company earned $14 million, or 40 cents per share, in 2011.

Kodak has said the service has more than 75 million users, but that likely refers to all users who have registered for the service.

Kodak Gallery, like Shutterfly's website, lets users store their photos online and order prints of uploaded photos. Though such services still make money, demand has declined in recent years as people opt to share photos online through Facebook and other social networks.

Shutterfly Inc. had offered to buy Kodak Gallery in early March, following Eastman Kodak Co.'s Chapter 11 filing. Other bidders had until April 20 to come forward. A final bankruptcy court hearing on the deal will be held on April 30.

Kodak has been narrowing its focus to its core printer businesses. The company said in February that it will exit the camera business entirely, save for a few disposable point-and-shoots. That means no more digital cameras, video cameras or digital picture frames for the troubled 132-year-old company. Kodak is also trying to sell its trove of patents that cover basic functions in many smartphone cameras. It has until June 30 to come up with a procedure to sell them. So far, no buyers have emerged.

Redwood, Calif., Shutterfly's stock rose $1.57, or 5.4 percent, to close at $30.58. The stock has gained 34 percent in 2012, but is down 45 percent over the past 12 months. ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Shutterfly stock flies on Eastman Kodak deal

Indonesia economy on track but faces hurdles

Indonesia economy on track but faces hurdles - Indonesia's designs on joining the top table of global economies have been boosted by its upgrade to investment status, but corruption and a poor infrastructure are hurdles to full membership.

Southeast Asia's biggest economy has made huge strides since the dark days of 1997, when its bond rating was reduced to junk during the Asian financial crisis and foreign investors fled the country.

Wednesday's decision by Moody's to upgrade Jakarta from Ba1 to Baa3 with a stable outlook -- following a similar move by Fitch last month -- boosted its claim to join the league of emerging "BRICS" economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The rating upgrades "affirm worldwide recognition of Indonesia as an investment-worthy country," said Darmin Nasution, governor of Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank.

"It gives confidence that, even if there were financial turbulence in the world, Indonesia would be able to contain it and we will not be affected too much by it."

Residential buildings are seen in Jakarta on January 19. Indonesia's designs on joining the top table of global economies have been boosted by its upgrade to investment status, but corruption and a poor infrastructure are hurdles to full membership

Jakarta has been quick to turn the ratings reviews into cash. This month, soon after the Fitch upgrade, it sold its first 30-year global bonds since 2008, saying the sale had raised $1.75 billion.

The day after the Moody's upgrade, trade minister Gita Wirjawan had more good news, announcing that foreign direct investment last year had hit a record $20 billion, with Singapore, Japan and the United States among top investors.

Wirjawan told reporters the economy had the potential to grow to $9.3 trillion by 2030.

And Britain's Standard Chartered bank agreed, tipping a similar figure in the same timeframe, representing a more than tenfold increase from the country's current output.

The bank also tipped Indonesia to become the world?s sixth-largest economy after China, the US, India, Brazil and Japan in the next 20 years, putting it in front of Germany, Mexico, France and Britain.

It noted that the vast archipelago of 240 million people is already a member of the G20 club of rich countries and major emerging economies.

However, the outlook is not entirely bright.

Standard Chartered also said the country was handicapped by infrastructure bottlenecks and corruption. Indonesia came 100th in a list of 183 countries -- with 183 being the worst -- in a Transparency International index last year.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won two elections, the first in 2004, on a graft-fighting platform but few now believe he has what it takes to tackle the nefarious forces that control the country's judiciary.

Despite being an economic miracle, Indonesia is mired in red tape and corruption while its ports, roads and airports are hopelessly inadequate for the pace of growth it hopes to sustain in coming years, according to investors and analysts.

"The absence of sound infrastructure has been the main hurdle for Indonesia to implement its key economic policies," the Jakarta Globe daily wrote on Friday.

Indonesian truck drivers have been known to get locked in massive traffic jams, sometimes for more than a week and forced to sell their belongings such as mobile phones to buy food.

The government in 2010 announced plans to spend $140 billion on infrastructure until 2014, more than half of which would have to come from the private sector.

However, at a time when much of the world is trying to steer out of economic doldrums Indonesia, whose economy all but fell apart during the Asian financial crisis, has escaped relatively unaffected by the current global slowdown.

Gross domestic product growth last year was estimated to have reached 6.5 percent while this year's official target is 6.7 percent.

Although foreign investment will underpin future growth, domestic consumer demand accounts for more than half of GDP, making the economy less dependent on exports and less vulnerable to shocks from Europe or the United States.

Consumer goods are in hot demand in Southeast Asia's largest market for various goods from smartphones to cars, where the middle class has been swelling in tandem with the economy.

Helmi Arman, Citibank's chief economist in Jakarta, said: "In terms of 'surpassing' the European countries it would be better if it (Indonesia) is not only viewed from the size of the economy, but also from income distribution and productivity.

"We still have a lot of homework to do in this regard." ( AFP )

READ MORE - Indonesia economy on track but faces hurdles

11 Things You Should Stop Paying for in 2012

Ten Things You Should Stop Paying for in 2012 - Looking to tighten your belt in 2012? You can start by using coupons, searching for discounts or simply buying lower-cost versions of the items you typically purchase. But if you're looking for truly big savings, consider entirely cutting out the products and services you really don't need.

"There are lots of things that you can eliminate from your life altogether, and you can do it without sacrificing convenience and quality of living," Andrew Schrage, co-owner of Money Crashers Personal Finance, tells MainStreet.

Indeed, from those daily coffee shop runs to your landline phones, there are many items you can certainly live without this year if you're looking to build up your savings.

Here are 10 things to consider cutting from your budget in 2012 so your new year isn't filled with new debt.

Coffee Shop Visits

We know, it's hard to resist those morning coffee shop runs, but even buying just one cup every day can make a dent in your wallet. A small coffee from my local Starbucks (12-oz.) costs $1.75, which equals $12.25 a week if you buy one cup a day or almost $25 if you buy two cups a day.

A cheaper alternative would be to brew your own. You can buy Folgers ground coffee at Wal-Mart for about $10, and that brews about 270 6-oz. cups (or 135 12-oz. cups). The expense of filters is minimal, too. For instance, you can buy a 200-pack of filters by Original Gourmet Food Co. Coffee Pro for about $2 at Wal-Mart.

Incandescent Light Bulbs

You've heard that it's "greener" to switch to energy-efficient light bulbs and that it could save you money on your electric bill in the long run, so if you haven't done so already, what are you waiting for? Although it will cost you a few more dollars up front, replacing just one traditional incandescent bulb with a bulb that qualifies for the government's Energy Star program will save $40 or more over the lifetime of the bulb, and changing five bulbs will save $200 or more over the lifetime of the bulb, according to the Energy Star website. What's more, Energy Star-qualified light bulbs last at least six times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

Disposable Water Bottles

Whether you're heading out to the gym or packing your lunch for work, it's easy to just throw a disposable water bottle in your bag for whenever you get thirsty. But those bottles can really add up, even if you buy them in bulk (a 12-pack of half-liter Poland Spring bottles cost $3.99 at my local grocery store, which only lasts me about a week).

To save money, skip the disposable bottles and buy a reusable Brita water bottle for $9.99, which will purify any tap water you add to it. You'll just need to change the filter every two months, which costs $7.99. That means your costs for the first two months are about $18, and after that you'll only be paying $7.99 every two months for as much water as you'd like to drink.

Baggage Fees

These days checking a bag for a flight can cost a pretty penny, with Continental, Delta and American Airlines charging $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second checked bag on domestic flights. If you fly often, avoid the fee by packing your things in a carry-on, or consider sharing a checked bag—and splitting the fee—with a family member or friend you might be traveling with.

You could also choose to fly with an airline that does not charge for checked bags. For instance, Southwest will accept the first two checked bags for free, as long as they're not more than 50 pounds and 62 linear inches in size (combined length, width and height) each.

Subscriptions You Don't Use

Is your coffee table cluttered with magazines and newspapers you don't get around to reading? While we're certainly not advocating cutting out any reading materials you rely on, it's worth canceling subscriptions to publications that you really don't read, or that you could easily read for free online. For instance, a subscription to the print edition of The New York Times cost $5.85 per week for daily delivery, and a one-year subscription to Men's Health costs $19.90 plus $4.97 for delivery, but you can read articles from both publications online for no cost.

Baby Food

You want the best for your little one, but those jars of baby food can get pricey. An equally healthy and more affordable option is to make your own baby food. Here's an easy recipe courtesy of Leslie Banister, chef for the website Food on the Table. All you'll need are veggies, water and a blender or food processor. This recipe makes six servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of fresh vegetables
• Water

Directions:

1. Cut vegetables into small pieces (1-inch cubes).
2. Place veggies into a steamer basket with just enough water visible through the steamer basket.
3. Steam until tender
4. Do not reserve any leftover water to use for thinning out the carrots if your baby is under eight months old, as nitrates may seep into the cooking water.
5. Place steamed vegetables into a blender or food processor.
6. Add purified water as necessary to achieve a smooth, thin consistency.

Credit Score Fees

If you're looking to be more financially sound in the new year, it's a good idea to check your credit score. But while some companies will charge you a fee, others offer free versions—you just have to know where to look. Here are three websites where you could get your score for no charge.

CreditKarma.com: To get your free score, you must create a free account on CreditKarma.com. Doing so requires you to enter your Social Security number and answer some questions about the accounts appearing on your credit report—such as which lender is associated with your auto loan—to verify your identity.

Quizzle.com: You can get a free copy of your Experian credit report and accompanying score on credit monitoring site Quizzle.com. To do so, you must create a free account on the site. Although you won't have to enter your Social Security number, you will have to answer some questions about your credit history to verify your identity.

CreditSesame.com: You can also get a free version of your Experian score on CreditSesame.com, which you can obtain by providing your Social Security number and answering some personal questions to verify your identity. Credit Sesame also has a free iPhone app that will provide a free score as well as monthly updates on your score's status.

Cable

You don't have to shell out hundreds of dollars every year to watch your favorite shows. This year, consider canceling your cable and taking advantage of several free and low-cost entertainment services. The website Hulu, for instance, lets you watch a variety of hit shows for free such as Glee, The Office and Modern Family, plus movies and documentaries. Or for $7.99 a month, you can take advantage of Hulu Plus, which gives you access to all of the selections on regular Hulu, plus more shows and movies.

You can also watch many shows for free on the network's website, or pay $7.99 for Netflix, which provides access to unlimited movies and TV episodes.

Landline Phones

If you think about it, that landline phone really isn't necessary if you're trying to cut costs. You could make calls on your cellphone, or take advantage of free calling services. For instance, Skype provides free calls to other Skype users and free video calling (in which you talk face-to-face with live video).

You can also take advantage of Google Voice, which lets you place free calls to the U.S. and Canada and charges low-cost rates to other locations, including 10 cents per minute to France and Germany.

Schrage also suggests replacing your landline phone with the magicJack, a device that lets you make calls over the Internet. The magicJack plugs into your computer's USB port, and has a standard phone jack into which you can plug a standard phone. The device costs $39.95 the first year plus $6.95 for shipping and handling, and after that you'll only have to pay a $19.95 annual renewal fee

Cleaning Supplies

If you’re doing multiple loads of laundry per week, those bottles can go fast – and add up in price. An alternative is to stop buying detergent and start whipping up some of your own. Sound daunting? It actually can be done easily with just a few common household products. Here’s a recipe for liquid detergent courtesy of Money Crashers:

Ingredients:

• 2 gallons hot water
• 1 bar soap, grated
• 2 cups baking soda

Directions:

1. Melt bar soap in a pan with just enough boiling water to cover. Stir until the soap is completely melted.
2. In large pail or bucket, pour in 2 gallons of hot water. Add the melted soap.
3. Add the baking soda, and stir well. Use 1/2 cup per load, or more for oversized or very soiled loads of laundry.

ATM Fees

Nothing’s more annoying than being short on cash and having to pay a surcharge at an ATM. And with ATM fees often ranging from $1.50 to $3 per transaction – and sometimes more – we felt it was worth exploring a few ways to avoid them.

If you use your debit card at certain merchants, such as CVS and Rite Aid, you can often get cash back for no additional fee. Another option is signing up for a credit union that’s part of the CO-OP Network, which allows access to 28,000 surcharge-free ATMs across the U.S. and Canada. The CO-OP Network website also lets you type in your current location to find the closest ATM.

Home Repairs You Can Do Yourself

From fixing that leaky faucet to repairing your washing machine, it might not be necessary to call in a professional. Many home repair projects can actually be handled yourself, which can save you big bucks. A good place to start is by checking out the website of The Family Handyman, which offers step-by-step instructions on a variety of home repair projects, from plumbing and electrical fixes to repairs in your kitchen, bathroom and backyard.

Although you might have to spring for a new tool set if you don’t have one already, it’s well worth the investment when you consider the savings in the long term. ( mainstreet.com)

READ MORE - 11 Things You Should Stop Paying for in 2012

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Credit Cards

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Credit Cards. Credit cards are rarely as straightforward as they seem - and if you fall foul of their complex terms and conditions, it could cost you hundreds of pounds. Laura Starkey explains five things all of us should know about our flexible friends…

Most people know misusing credit cards can lead to debt disaster. However, even if you're generally sensible with your credit card, the relationship you have with your flexible friend may not be as simple as it seems.

Lenders love to include tricky terms and conditions in credit agreements, which often muddy the waters of how cards work - and can mean you end up paying far more for the privilege of using your plastic…


1. Negative payment hierarchy

As far as most lenders are concerned, not all forms of debt are the same - even when they sit on the same credit card.

Companies use categories to classify different types of debt. Balance transfer debt, purchases debt and cash withdrawal debts, for instance, are usually listed individually on bills and can attract wildly different rates of interest.

Most lenders put the cheapest form of debt you hold (usually balance transfer debt) at the top of the payment priority list, leaving the most expensive (often cash withdrawal debt) at the bottom. This is called a negative payment hierarchy because, in terms of how much they cost, it means you're paying back your debts in reverse order.

For example, if you held £2,000 of cheap balance transfer (BT) debt and £500 of expensive cash withdrawal debt (CW) on the same credit card, you would have to pay off your entire BT before you were able to make a dent in your outstanding CW balance.

In the meantime, this 'untouchable' CW debt would be racking up hefty interest charges, potentially costing you a significant sum.

This is why, as I explained in my article Recession Busting Balance Transfers, it's usually a disastrous idea to spend on a balance transfer credit card.


2. Monthly minimum repayments (MMRs)

The MMR is the minimum sum you must pay off your credit card balance each month. However, lenders generally set these so low they barely cover the amount of interest charged on your debt.

Typically, a credit card's MMR will be either 2% or 3% of the total balance, or £5 (whichever is the greater).

However, some lenders specify even lower MMRs. Cards issued by the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) group, for example, come with an MMR of just 1%.

Blithely paying back the MMR is a catastrophe for any cardholder who wants to beat down their borrowing. This is because sticking with the small monthly sum most credit card companies demand will not help you diminish your debt - and in fact could mean it lasts for decades.

Here's a scary example: a person who held a fairly modest credit card balance of £2,000 at a rate of 17%, and who repaid only the MMR of 2% each month, would be saddled with that debt for a staggering 32 years!

It may seem shocking, but it makes perfect mathematical sense. This is because MMRs are generally worked out as percentages - and as your credit card balance decreases, so will the amount you're regularly required to pay off.

No matter how large your credit card balance, it's crucial to try and overshoot your lender's MMR when you're making repayments. Paying off an affordable fixed sum each month could significantly shorten the lifespan of your credit card debt.


3. Foreign transaction charges

When you're on holiday, it's often tempting to pound your plastic. After all, whipping a credit card out of your wallet is far less hassle than queuing to exchange currency.

Sadly, if you use the wrong credit card abroad it's likely you'll be stung by a host of horrible charges. Many lenders add foreign currency loading fees (typically around 2.75%) onto transactions made abroad, and also charge high interest rates and fees for cash withdrawals.

If you're a keen traveller and prefer to use credit cards on holiday, it makes sense to get a credit card specifically for this purpose. The Post Office Platinum MasterCard is a good choice as it will not add a foreign currency loading fee to overseas spending (though you will still be charged for withdrawing cash from an ATM).


4. Interest free periods

An often unsung benefit of credit cards is the interest free period they offer. Usually, any purchases you make won't start accruing interest for several weeks - and this applies to bog-standard credit cards as well as special promotional deals.

So, what's the catch? Firstly, some credit card providers offer longer interest free periods than others.

While many lenders allow customers up to 59 days to pay their bills, others offer significantly smaller windows of opportunity. The Lloyds TSB Advance MasterCard, for instance, offers no interest free period at all.

Secondly, the interest period that comes with any credit card only remains interest free if the balance is paid in full and on time.

If you don't repay what you've borrowed within the time your card issuer allows, interest charges will be applied - and back-dated to the days when your purchases were made.


5. Penalty charges

If you use a credit card, it's crucial to avoid missing payments and ensure you don't exceed your credit limit. If you do, you'll be breaking the terms of your credit agreement with the card issuer - and you'll be liable to penalty charges of £12 for each mistake you make.

Worse still, it's likely that a missed payment will leave a blemish on your credit history. This could make it harder for you to obtain credit in the future.

Just as importantly, breaking the rules with a balance transfer card might mean you lose your promotional deal. I've heard horror stories of 0% offers being withdrawn, even after just one late payment. Don't let this happen to you! ( mailcompare.mailonline.co.uk )

READ MORE - Five Things You Didn’t Know About Credit Cards

Cause of death in South Africa

Cause of death in South Africa. Although HIV/Aids is gaining acceptance as a cause of death in South Africa, the leading causes are tuberculosis, influenza and pneumonia, according to a report released by the South African Institute for Race Relations on Tuesday.

"This should not be taken to mean that HIV/Aids was not a direct contributor to a very large proportion of observed mortality, but rather it should be noted that these statistics track, for the most part, direct causes of death," the researchers said.

Close to 70% of all people diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa were also HIV-positive, the report found. There were 353,879 TB cases in 2007 compared with 73,917 in 1995.

"It is thus reasonable to assume that at least 70% of observed mortality from tuberculosis, and by extension a comparable percentage of deaths from influenza/pneumonia, also has HIV/Aids as an underlying cause," the report noted.

Aids-related infections

A person did not die from HIV/Aids directly, as it was a syndrome which caused immune system deficiency.

"Rather, mortality from Aids-related infections will be observed," the researchers said.

"It is possible that a person who is immuno-compromised enough to be classified as having reached 'full-blown' Aids would succumb to a great many infections that a person with a healthy immune system would never suffer from."

This meant that people infected with HIV/Aids could die from a vast range of secondary infections.

"It is impossible to say with certainty how much mortality is directly attributable to HIV/Aids, although the Actuarial Society of South Africa estimates that by 2009 some 2.9 million people will have died from HIV/Aids-related disease in South Africa," according to the South Africa Survey 2008/9.

It records 382,521 HIV/Aids related deaths for 2009. The report found that the "actual" figure of people living with HIV/Aids was 5,728,711, or 11.7% of the population.

Death by race

Researchers said that when analysing causes of death by race, a very clear pattern of mortality emerged for each different race group.

For Africans, the leading causes of death were TB and influenza/pneumonia - the diseases most closely associated with HIV/Aids-related mortality.

Coloureds were likely to die of TB, but also suffered from cerebrovascular disease and diabetes; Indians were most likely to die of diabetes or heart disease; and whites were most likely to die of heart disease.

"These causes of death are closely related to socio-economic status."

There had also been an unprecedented spike in deaths between the ages of 25 and 45, but antiretroviral treatment seemed to be having a positive effect. The researchers estimated that there were 497,756 new infections in 2009.

Other statistics the report identified were:

• An increase in the deaths of children up to the age of four from 32,468 in 1997, to 63,596 in 2006.
• A decline in malnutrition of children up to the age of six from 25% in 2001, to 5.7 percent in 2006.

  The report found that there were five recorded malaria deaths in 1971, but this spiked to 459 in 2000 and declined to 48 in 2007.

  It also found that there were 81,900 terminations of pregnancy in 2007.

  Researchers projected life expectancy for people born in 2008 as 50,5 years.
  

( Sapa, November 2009 / health24.com )

READ MORE - Cause of death in South Africa

Summer sick leave rates low

Summer sick leave rates low. Employees take the least amount of sick leave in December and January and this figure is decreasing every year. But 'presenteeism' may be more of a problem.

In a study of doctors' certificates covering 150 000 South African employees from over 60 companies, it emerged that December has the lowest absenteeism rate of any month of the year at 1.08%, with January the next lowest at 1.43%. Absenteeism over the 2007-2008 festive season had also decreased since the year before, when the figures were 1.47% and January 1.56% for December and January respectively, according to Corporate Absenteeism Management Solutions CEO, Johnny Johnson.

How this was calculated

The absenteeism rate was calculated by dividing the number of days employees were absent by the number of days that they should have been at work during that month. The average monthly absenteeism rate for South African companies which actively manage abenteeism is about 1.67% (the total for the country as a whole may be higher).

"Sick absenteeism in South Africa costs around R19 billion a year, which is about 1% of South Africa's GDP," Johnson said. "The reasons for the lowered sick absenteeism rates during these months are obvious, as employees know they will soon be on Christmas leave, so even if they are sick, they come to work to get the job done before the holiday starts.

"Also, in South Africa, work sometimes slows down in December and early January, and the workday vibe can therefore be more enjoyable for those who still have to work, making it less tempting to abuse sick leave.

"December and January are also short months, with many companies shutting down over the festive season, so there are also fewer days available for employees to take sick leave," Johnson explained.

'Presenteeism' also a problem

He also mentioned the problem of 'presenteeism'. This refers to an employee who comes to work despite being ill, and whose productivity levels are low as a result of it.

"Presenteeism is also a big problem in December and January and is worse in times of economic downturn, because people are fearful of losing their jobs, so they don't take sick leave, and they come to work regardless.

"What is important to bear in mind here is that employees who are truly sick must be sent home, and employees who are present and are able to work, should be enjoying their jobs and not spending their days sleeping at their desk, avoiding their managers or surfing the net. In these cases, they are so unproductive, they might as well have taken sick leave," said Johnson.

"If companies are feeling the effects of presenteeism, managers could arrange tasks so that the more complex ones are completed earlier in the day and the less strenuous ones after lunch. Also, looking in to how to make the work more rewarding, and making employees feel valued for their contribution are important ways to avoid presenteeism.

"Many South African companies deal with presenteeism by shutting down in the slower parts of December and January, thereby ensuring that employees get their rest and are productive and raring to go when they return in January," Johnson added. ( health24.com )

READ MORE - Summer sick leave rates low

Five Ways to Face Your Finances

Five Ways to Face Your Finances. "Early Show" Financial Contributor Vera Gibbons Gives Tips for Tricking Yourself into Saving Money

1) Save regularly for recurring expenses.

This is a trick that helped me break my habit of relying on my credit cards or raiding my savings account whenever a big annual or semi-annual expense came up. I set up several high-yield savings accounts with one online bank and arranged for automatic deposits into those accounts on a regular basis. For example, I have a car insurance fund, a holiday gift fund and a vacation fund. (HSBC Direct, Emigrant Direct, or ING Direct are good online bank choices.) Each account is linked to my checking account at my regular brick-and-mortar bank, and I can transfer money in and out easily online for free.

(CBS/AP/PHOTODISC)

If you automatically save a little money on a regular basis, it doesn't take much to build up a good stash for when your big expenses come due. For example, if you arrange for a mere $25 a month to transfer from your checking account into your holiday gift fund each month, that's much easier to manage than coming up with $300 all at once come December.

2) Wield a stick

You may be one of those people who respond more to the fear of punishment than the promise of a prize. Well, you can make a threat work for you too.

Outline a savings regimen -- say, investing $500 a month -- with the condition that you'll incur a penalty each time you don't follow it. Maybe you can't watch your favorite television shows for a month or you have to forgo eating out. Your spouse or a friend can be the enforcer.

Or, you can up the ante even further, and make the penalty cold hard cash. A new Web site called Stickk.com, created by a Yale economics professor and two colleagues, allows you to create "commitment contracts" for resolutions ranging from losing weight to saving more dough. If you don't hold up your end of the deal (as verified by a designated "referee"), you pay an amount that you've agreed to in advance -- $100, $1,000, whatever.

The idea is that you'll be more likely to stay the course if you stand to lose real bucks (or suffer in other ways) for breaking your resolution. This money can go to a friend or a charity or, in a clever twist, you can stipulate that the payment go to a non-profit whose goals aren't simpatico with yours. So, for example, if you're an advocate of gun control, the National Rifle Association Foundation might get a donation each time you lapse.

3) Use cash for all your expenses.

This is a foolproof way to keep spending under control. It also prevents buying on impulse. As many as a third of all purchases are bought on impulse, and according to one estimate, we spend a third more when we pay with plastic than we do with cash. This is because we have emotion attached to cash that we just don't have with plastic.

4) Pay bills automatically.

There are all sorts of excuses for forgetting to pay your bills, but the end result, no matter the excuse is the same: All have negative effect on your credit rating, which could affect your ability to get a loan, get a job, among other problems, such as getting hit with late fees. It's best to have bills - utilities, cell phone - taken directly out of your checking account. You can make that arrangement through your bank or make arrangements through each individual biller. It takes little legwork, but once you set it up, you can forget about it.

5) Give yourself a raise.

Change the number of allowances you claim on your W-4 form. Chances are, you need to: The Internal Revenue Service processed over 120 million returns last year. A whopping 70 percent of them called for refunds. The average refund was about $2400 in 2008. This tells us we're having too much withheld. Claiming extra allowances automatically pushes down the withholding, and pushes up your take-home pay. It's better to get your money when you earn it, rather than give the government an interest-free loan. ( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - Five Ways to Face Your Finances

Let's Kill the OS Upgrade Disc

Let's Kill the OS Upgrade Disc. Life Would Be Easier if We Paid for Ongoing OS Upgrades the Way We Pay for Other Digital Assets - By Subscription

Operating System Upgrades

The reason I'm writing this column won't be a surprise to anyone one who follows technology: Windows 7. I bought the upgrade disc (on the pre-order special price). When it arrived, I started the upgrade process for my Vista desktop. Knowing that the disc was licensed only to upgrade an existing Windows installation, I pressed the big button for a "Custom" installation and the disc set up my computer more-or-less cleanly with Windows 7. What I really wanted to do was re-format my hard drive and start from a blank slate on my computer, but I was afraid to do that since I thought the disc would see that as a non-upgrade install and not work.

Microsoft Windows Vista upgrades on display at a Costco in Mountain View, Calif., in this Oct. 23, 2008 file photo. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Eventually, I did it anyway, thanks in part to the confidence I got from other users who had found ways to install an upgrade disc to a fresh PC. I re-installed Windows 7 on the computer and asked the installer to format the disc first. It did; it installed Windows 7; and two days later I nervously entered my license key for Windows to authorize itself - which it did, no problems. I didn't have to resort to any hacks. Hats off to Microsoft for doing what it should have.

But my fear about the upgrade did cause me some nerves, and is also the reason I did the "custom" or semi-clean upgrade in the first place, which turned out to be a waste of valuable time.

I'm also peeved that I had to pay for this upgrade. Wasn't running Vista for two years payment enough? That OS was patched and upgraded numerous times while I was running it, at no cost to me. Windows 7, while a better experience, is still clearly Vista with problems fixed and an improved interface. I don't feel I should have to pay for it again.

Then there's OS X Snow Leopard, another upgrade I paid for. Sure, it was only $29, but what did I get? Nothing that's made a tangible difference in my Mac experience. My Macbook runs very well now. It ran very well before I did the upgrade, too. There are nice new features, but they're incremental.

How many times can operating system vendors charge users for offering the same fundamental benefit on the hardware that they already own?

Here's what I propose: No more OS upgrade pricing. Vendors, make your money for each new machine that runs your OS, either up front when the OS is installed on the machine (easy for Apple, which makes 99.99 percent of the machines that run the Apple OS), or by letting customers subscribe to operating system upgrades as an ongoing service. The OS subscription model is probably a better bet for business customers on the Windows side. On OS X, it could be part of Apple Care. When users retire a machine, they can end the subscription and get a pro-rated portion of their money back.

So much of what you pay for with an OS is ongoing maintenance and security updates anyway. I don't see how a reasonable subscription fee would be a stopper for reasonable users, assuming the total cost for the subscription was about the same as the cost for buying the operating system license outright.

It's time to recognize that the Webware, or software-as-a-service model, can work for installed software, especially now that we've become accustomed to paying subscription fees for almost every digital asset we use (Web apps, mobile phones, cable TV boxes, multiplayer games). We need ongoing vendor support for an OS anyway, so why not level out the expense?

Sure, OS makers don't get the big revenue spike when they ship a major new version. But they do get a predictable revenue stream, and as machines age and people replace them, and as new machines are built and bought, they can still make enough money. And market forces would (I would hope) keep prices competitive.

If we end up paying more for our OSes, I will be first in line to tar and feather myself.

Application Upgrades

There's another form of upgrade that I find vexing: the major app upgrade. I'm looking at Microsoft again here, with its Office upgrades, but also at Adobe and many other software vendors that offer upgrades at retail for existing users of their products.

These upgrade prices are often so low in comparison to new-user prices that they encourage users to find workarounds, legal and not, to get the deals. One co-worker, for example, once acquired Photoshop by buying an upgrade version online, and a leftover, older version at a local computer store, just so he could install the older version and upgrade it. Legal? Sure. Ridiculous? That, too. With new-user pricing for major apps being so high, it's no wonder that people will go to lengths to get the cheaper upgrade path . . . and then be stuck with having to install two apps to do the job of one.

Here's a better idea: Sell software at a reasonable price. And take the upgrades off the shelves. Instead, offer upgrades to apps exclusively from within the apps themselves, to current users of the apps, and deliver the code over the Net. Users might pay the same for major software upgrades, but the upgrade discs won't be floating around telling new users that they're being taking for a ride when they want to buy the app for the first time. Hopefully this could help vendors actually lower prices and get their apps in the hands of more customers.

I was surprised to hear from a Microsoft exec that the issue with in-place full version upgrades is more technical than economic. Chris Bryant, director of Office Product Management, told me that building an upgrade path into an app requires a clear vision of the future of the app so the upgrade framework will work (which doesn't quite explain how major service pack upgrades are possible). The reason I expected to hear - that retailers wouldn't benefit from the upgrades - he said didn't necessarily hold, since Microsoft has methods to track who sold an installation of the software first, and can credit that seller for revenues from in-place upgrades.

These are just a few ideas, and I'm aware they're far from perfect solutions. But upgrade discs cause consumers confusion. There are ways to give users and companies the same benefits in cleaner packages. ( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - Let's Kill the OS Upgrade Disc

1 in 7 Americans Went Hungry in 2008

1 in 7 Americans Went Hungry in 2008. More than one in seven American households struggled to put enough food on the table in 2008, the highest number since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began tracking food security levels in 1995.

That's 14.6 percent of U.S. households, or about 49 million people. The numbers are a significant increase from 2007, when 11.1 percent of U.S. households suffered from what USDA classifies as "food insecurity" — not having enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.

"This report suggests its time for America to get very serious about food security and hunger," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the numbers could be higher in 2009 because of the global economic slowdown.

"This report suggests its time for America to get very serious about food security and hunger," Vilsack told reporters during a conference call.

The USDA said Monday that 5.7 percent of those who struggled for food experienced "very low food security," meaning household members reduced their food intake.

The numbers dovetail with dire economic conditions for many Americans. And they may not take the full measure of America's current struggles with hunger: Vilsack and the report's lead author, Mark Nord with USDA's economic research service, both emphasized that the numbers reflected the situation in 2008 and that the economy's continued troubles in 2009 would likely mean higher numbers next year.

The report also showed an increasing number of children in the United States are suffering food insecurity. In 2008, 16.7 million children were classified as food insecure, 4.3 million more than in 2007.

Hunger advocates said they were not surprised by the numbers, and said the numbers for children, in particular, were lamentable.

"What should really shock us is that almost one in four children in our country lives on the brink of hunger," said David Beckmann, the President of Bread of the World, a hunger advocacy organization.

Vickie Escarra, the president of Feeding America, another hunger advocacy group, said all indications were that numbers in 2009 would be even worse than 2008.

"(T)he escalating unemployment rate and the number of working-poor, lead us to believe that the number of people facing hunger will continue to rise significantly over the coming year," she said. "Research on previous economic recessions indicates that people who fall into the grips of poverty in a time of recession do not recover financially."

Vilsack said that it would take a concerted effort to reduce the number of Americans who face food insecurity and said he hoped that the stark reality of Monday's report would inspire action. He also said it was important to recognize that the numbers could have been much worse without adequately funded food aid programs, such as food stamps.

"There's an opportunity here for the country to make a major commitment to focus on ways we can improve this process and make sure that food is safe and available for everyone," he said.

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI decried the steadily worsening tragedy of world hunger on Monday after a global summit rebuffed a U.N. call to commit billions of dollars a year for a new strategy to help poor countries feed themselves.

The meeting at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization did unite nearly 200 countries behind a pledge to increase aid to farmers in poor countries to help the developing world lessen its dependence on foreign food aid.

Only hours after the three-day summit began, some 60 heads of state and dozens of ministers rejected the U.N.'s call to commit $44 billion annually for agricultural development in these nations. The final declaration also omitted a pledge, sought by the United Nations, to eradicate hunger by 2025.

"Hunger is the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty," Benedict told the delegates after the document was approved. "Opulence and waste are no longer acceptable when the tragedy of hunger is assuming ever greater proportions."

The last previous papal appearance at a food summit in Rome came in 1996, when Pope John Paul II delivered a speech.

U.N. officials say roughly 1 billion people — one of every six people on the planet — don't get enough to eat. ( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - 1 in 7 Americans Went Hungry in 2008