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Consumer Corner: Foreclosure settlement no magic bullet for economy
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck said Wednesday it would trim its workforce by 7,200 positions by the end of 2011.
The 12 percent job reduction was part of a cost reduction plan aimed at saving $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion by the end of 2011, the company said.
Third quarter sales worldwide fell 2 percent to $5.9 billion, the company said. Its net income was $1.09 billion compared with $1.52 billion in the third quarter of 2007.
"Our focus remains on increasing revenue from our new and in-line products," Merck's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Clark said in a statement.
The reductions include a cut of 25 percent of mid-level and senior executive positions. About 40 percent of the total reductions -- including 6,800 filled positions and 400 vacancies the company will leave unfilled -- will take place in the United States, the company said.
Merck currently employs 56,700, having just completed a downsizing of 10,400 jobs that began in 2005.
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SYDNEY, Feb. 13 (UPI) --
Researchers in Australia are developing a solar roof system that uses wasted energy to warm air and water.
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WASGHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 13 (UPI) --
Defense industries are weighing the potential impact of proposed defense cuts running into tens of billions of dollars over the next 10 years.
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Local markets will probably not be swamped by waves of foreclosures following the multi-state mortgage settlement announced yesterday. Rather, the huge inventory of one to two million foreclosures will enter markets gradually....
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Investors will not have the distraction of financial reports to look forward to this week. They will have to look at the spot news headlines instead.
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