Financial News

High costs, global competition drive benefit changes (BizJournals)
A combination of government intervention and economic factors has forced changes in employee benefits in past decades, including shifts in health insurance coverage among many employers, the increase of 401(k) retirement plans and the subsequent decline of defined-benefit pension and retiree health care coverage.
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:37:04 GMT

Paterson vetoes retiree health benefit bill (WCAX-TV Vermont)
Associated Press - September 5, 2008 4:55 PM ET ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Governor Paterson has vetoed legislation that would have prevented for a year any reductions in health insurance benefits for...
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:12:31 GMT

Retirement plans to change (Marietta Daily Journal)
MARIETTA - County employees could see some changes to their pension plans and retiree health-care plans - including longer tenure requirements.
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:16:45 GMT

Paterson vetoes retiree health-insurance bill (The Ithaca Journal)
ALBANY — Gov. David Paterson has vetoed a bill that would have prevented local governments from cutting the amount they spend on health insurance for retirees, local-government officials said today.
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:51:16 GMT

Far from Free: A Q&A with Ford & Harrison's D. Gerald Coker on the Pitfalls of the Employee Free Choice Act (Centre Daily Times)
In an attempt to reverse the precipitous decline in union membership over the last 30 years, recent initiatives by organized labor reflect a determined assault on workplace democracy designed to organize new groups of employees regardless of whether those employees truly need or want union representation. One of organized labor's primary tactics is to secure passage of the deceptively misnamed ...
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:31:17 GMT

Flowserve Corp. to Present at Morgan Stanley Global Industrials CEOs Unplugged Conference (Centre Daily Times)
Flowserve Corp. (NYSE:FLS) a global leader in the fluid motion and control industry announced today that it will be presenting at the Morgan Stanley Global Industrials CEOs Unplugged Conference in Dana Point, California on September 11, beginning at 12:20 p.m. Pacific (3:20 p.m. Eastern). The live presentation can be accessed via the Flowserve.com website under the Investor Relations section.
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:31:27 GMT

Who is ‘big oil?’ Not the fat guy smoking a cigar (BizJournals)
Ask the average man in the street who actually owns “big oil” and you’re likely to get such answers as “corporate executives and insiders” or “millionaire fat cats.”
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:33:53 GMT

4 want to change pension systems (Knoxville News Sentinel)
Knox County Commission will consider a proposal this month to allow two judges and two former elected officials to switch from the county pension system to the state pension system, a plan that would boost their retirement pay and cost the county at least $1,098,000.
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:35:32 GMT

Aggressive Alcoa holds health costs in check (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
When faced with an $800 million bill in 2003 for employee and retiree health care benefits, Alcoa Inc.'s management took action. The result was a benefits transformation that's kept annual costs since 2004 flat.
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:17:17 GMT

Far from Free: A Q&A with Ford & Harrison's D. Gerald Coker on the Pitfalls of the Employee Free Choice Act (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
WASHINGTON----In an attempt to reverse the precipitous decline in union membership over the last 30 years, recent initiatives by organized labor reflect a determined assault on workplace democracy designed to organize new groups of employees regardless of whether those employees truly need or want union representation.
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:04:00 GMT