The bottom line

In Warren Buffett we trust

Two-year promissory notes sold by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway pay a lower interest rate than two-year notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. Since lower interest rates signal less risk, investors evidently have more confidence that Buffett will repay them than that Uncle Sam will.

Bloomberg.com

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China faces shortage of factory workers

With its exports up 46 percent in February, China is experiencing a shortage of workers to staff its factories. One reason for the shortage is that the number of Chinese college graduates has jumped from 1 million in 2000 to more than 6 million this year, decreasing the pool of potential laborers.

Forbes.com

Burger King’s customized wrapper

Burger King’s Brazil operation is testing a new way to remind customers to “have it your way.” A hidden camera behind the counter photographs customers when they’re placing their orders, then prints out a customized burger wrapper with the customer’s picture printed on it.

CNET.com

Nine of 10 companies would rehire former employees

In a survey of 1,000 laid-off people who recently landed new jobs, 290 said they’d been rehired by the same companies that fired them. Nine of 10 companies questioned in another survey said they were open to hiring their former employees.

New York Post

Sharp slowdown for shipyards

Hit hard by the recession, the cruise industry ordered only one new ship last year, and only four so far this year, after ordering 21 in 2006. The sharp slowdown puts several shipyards at risk of bankruptcy.

Associated Press