Taxi drivers with college degrees
Because of continuing weakness in the job market, nearly half of working Americans with college degrees are overqualified for their jobs. About 15 percent of taxi drivers and 25 percent of retail sales clerks have bachelor’s degrees.
USA Today
Morgan Stanley's revealing nicknames
Internal emails show that Morgan Stanley bankers had some telling nicknames for the mortgage-backed securities they once peddled to investors. Among the monikers were “Nuclear Holocaust,” “Mike Tyson’s Punchout,” and “Fludderfish.”
ProPublica.org
Sleep deprivation and lost productivity
One third of Americans aren’t sleeping enough, and it’s hurting their employers. Harvard scientists found that sleep deprivation costs U.S. companies $63.2 billion in lost productivity each year, thanks to “presenteeism,” defined as “people showing up for work but operating at subpar levels.”
The Wall Street Journal
A retreat for Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble is retreating. The bookseller said it plans to shut down about 20 stores each year over the next decade. The company’s new store openings have slowed since 2009, thanks to a shrinking print market and competition from vendors like Amazon. Unit sales of print books dropped 9 percent last year and are off 22 percent from 2007.
The Wall Street Journal
Signs of a stabilizing economy
Americans’ moving patterns offer “a promising sign that the economy is stabilizing.” New data on interstate relocations shows more Midwestern states closer to balance, meaning people are now moving in and not just out. North Dakota and North Carolina remain big gainers.
Bloomberg Businessweek
