Well, let???s examine this. Love of money is the root of all evil. Money is the root of all evil. You???re obviously right.
Thank you very much for the correction; the right way makes a lot more sense not to mention being more insightful intellectually and morally. Saying money causes evil is like saying a knife or gun is evil because people can use them to cause murder and mayhem. Tools don't do the deeds; just help facilitate them.
However, I do take exception with the quote about ???It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Seems to me that the problem isn???t being rich; it is overly in love with being rich, which like any human failing ??? overeating, smoking, drinking, womanizing, manizing, whatever ??? are all temptations that we need to learn to deal with and not let ???the love of??? them undermine our virtue and destroy our souls.
I think it is very narrow minded to suggest that someone who is wealthy is automatically less godly than someone who is impoverished or who has forsaken material possession deliberately and not likely to attain ???the kingdom of heaven???. That is simply illogical; no matter who purportedly voice the quote.
Safe Havens?
Ten companies that won't cut jobs.
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Cutting the Unemployment Line
Even in this economic chaos, some jobs remain recession resistant
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Layoffs at big companies are so common now that it is novel when a day goes by without Microsoft, Caterpillar, or Macy's letting thousands of people go. There are a relatively small number of America's largest companies which will almost certainly not have significant layoffs. One of them might close an office in Turkey, another could replace telephone operators with an automated system, but each is in a unique position that makes it highly unlikely for them to want or need to fire employees.
Some of the companies on the list are simply doing so well that they cannot afford to do without all the people that they have. Not only will these companies be unlikely to fire people but some may actually be hiring. The other firms included have large amounts of cash on their balance sheets and have elected to use the slow economy to develop new products and services to take share away from financially weaker competitors. A few of the companies on this list had modest job cuts last year. None of them were significant and are highly unlikely to happen again.
Employees at these firms are as close to being "safe" from being thrown into the job market as almost anyone in the country.
Cisco cut 3,000 of its 66,000 people last year. CEO John Chambers has said that the company plans to avoid job cuts. Cisco probably has as much or more cash on hand as any tech company in the US, holding $27 billion in available funds. The company is in the midst of a very rapid expansion into the server and data center business. That will require extra personnel and may involve acquisitions. Cisco is in several businesses which are nearly recession-proof and should continue to do well. Its core router operation is critical to building out broadband and systems for popular products like VoIP. The new stimulus package should give that business a bump up. Cisco is also in several sectors like video conferencing which may actually grow as business people cut back on travel.
Visa is lucky. It does not offer consumers credit. It acts as an agent to transfer funds between buyers and merchants. Visa also handles transaction clearing and settlement services. Unlike large banks, when a customer defaults, Visa's balance sheet is not at risk. The company's role as an intermediary makes it an attractive investment. Over the last month the DJIA average was down slightly while Visa shares were up 32%. In the last quarter, Visa's profits rose 35%. Loaning money is a bad business. Handling the transaction between borrower and lender for a fee is a good one.
Apple will not lay people off because Steve Jobs would have to admit he had made a bad decision and that the company would not be appear to be perfect. This is, of course, only part of reason jobs at Apple are safe. The company has $24 billion in cash and securities and adds to that every quarter. Apple refuses to make acquisitions, preferring to create and market its own products. M&A deals often mean personnel cuts. Because Apple's success is based on creating new products, improving old ones and aggressive marketing, it will need all the people who work at the company and perhaps more. Apple is one of the few companies in the US prepared to drive product introductions and spend to pick up market share as the recession deepens. Apple believes that it makes the best consumer electronics and PCs in the world and it is not going to let anything get in the way of expanding those franchises.
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