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A lot more than you probably think. But if you plan to get one, you have to finesse the degree’s lingering image problem.
Jo-Ann Stores is posting impressive sales and earnings numbers and is an example of a retail sector on which Walmart doesn't have a steel grip.
Even smart people make financial moves that are downright illogical. Emotions and superstitions have a sneaky way of keeping you from rational financial decisions. But dumb choices can have serious, real-world consequences. Here are some of the biggest blunders we all make, plus tips from the experts on how to keep cool.
AP File PhotoGeneral Motors Co. said Friday, Dec. 18, 2009 it will wind down Saab after talks to sell the brand to Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars collapsed.In a final attempt to rescue Saab Automobile AB, Dutch auto maker Spyker Cars on Sunday submitted a new offer to buy the Swedish brand from General Motors Co.
Spyker said it has submitted a new 11-point proposal to GM, addressing the issues that made talks collapse earlier this week.
GM on Friday said it would wind down Saab because issues arose during the sales talks with Spyker that could not be resolved, and the window of time to complete a deal was small.
Spyker CEO Victor R. Muller said he hoped the new offer would make GM change its mind.
"We are very confident that our renewed offer will remove the impasse that was standing in the way of an agreement on Friday, and this would still allow us to conclude the deal prior to the expiry of the deadline originally set by GM of Dec. 31," he said in a statement.
"We have made every effort to resolve the issues that were preventing the conclusion of this matter and we have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer," he added.
Muller said the new offer removes a demand that a loan from the European Investment Bank to Saab be approved before the end of the year, and has the full backing of Saab's management.
It said the offer expires Monday, giving GM little time to make a decision.
Later Sunday, GM said it had received "inquiries from several parties."
"We will evaluate each inquiry. We will not comment further until these evaluations have been completed," it said in a statement.
Saab employs about 3,400 people worldwide, most of them at its main plant in Trollhattan, Sweden.
Gert-Inge Andersson, leader of the local government in Trollhattan, said he did not yet dare to believe in the new offer.
"It's bordering on torture, of citizens and the employees at Saab, when messages like these fly back and forth," he told local news agency TT
Swedish government officials declined comment.
GM bought a 50 percent stake and management control of Saab for $600 million in 1989 and gained full ownership in 2000 for $125 million more.
In February, the Swedish brand went into creditor protection in an effort by GM to sell the unit. A consortium led by Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB signed a preliminary deal to buy the brand in June but dropped out in November.
AP PhotoThis 2009 photo released by Michigan Technological University shows Pete Pelissero, manager of fleet services at the Houghton, Mich. He is standing next to one the gas-powered vehicles the university is replacing with hybrids as part of its green campus initiative.One vehicle at a time, Michigan Technological University's fleet is turning green.The fleet manager at the Upper Peninsula school just replaced four sport utility vehicles used by admissions representatives with Ford Escapes. The new hybrids get 34 miles per gallon, compared with the 23 mpg the SUV's got.
"Our goal is to go totally hybrid, one vehicle at a time," Pete Pelissero said in a statement.
Pelissero said the extra $5,000 to buy each hybrid won't take long to pay off.
"We'll make up the difference in 12 to 24 months," he said.
Pelissero also has bought a 41 mpg Ford Fusion hybrid for general use.
"Fleet Services has 70 vehicles, from golf carts to dump trucks," Michigan Tech writer John Gagnon said in a story on the school's Web site. "To keep his vehicles running, Pelissero uses 5,000 gallons of unleaded fuel every three months."
The school generally buys about 10 vehicles a year. Pelissero said he aims to switch all 32 of his SUVs and cars to hybrids within five years.
Pelissero recently attended a trade conference in Chicago, which he said sought to guide fleet managers to "green their fleets and save some green."
He said Michigan Tech will consider what Milwaukee did when it converted its snow removal fleet to biodiesel fuel.
Vehicles make up only 0.8 percent of the university's carbon emissions footprint. Still, the initiative has importance as part of the school's broader effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions, said facilities management director John Rovano.
"In time, all the little efforts will amount to a big accomplishment," Rovano said.
AP PhotoCEO for General motors Europe, Nick Reilly, looks up during a meeting with Minister-President of the Flemish Government Kris Peeters, unseen, at his office in Brussels, Monday, Nov.16, 2009. GM last week called off the planned sale of Germany-based Opel to car parts maker Magna and Russian lender Sberbank.General Motors Co. said Monday that it plans to decide on the future of its European car making plants within the next two weeks.Nick Reilly, the head of GM's Adam Opel GmbH and Vauxhall divisions, told reporters that he knew workers at plants in Germany, Belgium, Britain, Spain and Poland were waiting to hear about the company's restructuring plans after it reversed a decision to sell the European business.
"We know it is disturbing and unsettling to have this hanging over your head for such a period of time and so we intend to take that decision in a relatively short period of time, approximately two weeks or so," he said after meeting the head of Belgium's Flanders region.
Reilly said GM was weighing options to cut costs at the troubled Opel unit and "we're going to have to take some tough decisions somewhere in Europe to reduce our capacities."
Belgium is keen to keep Opel's Antwerp plant open and earlier this year offered nearly $750 million to upgrade the facilities. Flanders Premier Kris Peeters said the money was still available on certain conditions that he did not mention.
Peeters earlier complained that Belgium could not match the amount of financial support that Germany was willing to offer Opel and Opel's potential buyers — allegedly in return for keeping jobs in Germany while shedding posts at other European plants.
Any condition protecting German jobs at the expense of other countries would break EU state aid rules.
Under pressure from EU regulators, Germany told GM last month that aid would be available whether it hung on to Opel or sold it to any buyer — and even if it rejected the Magna and Sberbank offer that Germany openly favored. GM subsequently decided to ditch the planned sale.