Lowe's
Lowe's Cos, said first-quarter profit fell 18 percent. It also said 2008 sales won't meet estimates. In a statement today, First-quarter net income decreased to $607 million, or 41 cents a share, from $739 million, or 48 cents, a year earlier. Sales declined 1.3 percent to $12 billion.
LWCC
By the time they are seniors in high school, the majority of youth in the United States are, or have been, employed for pay outside their homes.
Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) is reminding employers as well as teen workers about the importance of safety in the workplace.
The potential for workplace injuries, especially for teenage workers, is a serious one. Nearly 230,000 teens in the United States are injured on the job every year, with nearly 100,000 of them requiring emergency room treatment. At least 70 teens die as a result of these workplace injuries. While Louisiana’s rate of work-related fatalities for workers age 16 and older has decreased, the average rate of 6.8 per 100,000 workers is still higher than the U.S. average rate of 4.5, as of 2006. Employers are encouraged to provide proper training and safety measures, and young workers (with the guidance of their parents/guardians) are also encouraged to choose summer jobs wisely and do their part to adhere to workplace guidelines.
In 2007, the National Consumers League (NCL) released findings on the Five Worst Teen Jobs, which are the most frequent causes of workplace injury or death among young workers. Those jobs include, in order:
Agriculture: Agricultural workers aged 15 – 17 are four times more likely to incur fatal injuries than those in other workplaces.
Construction and work in heights: The most common types of fatal falls occur from working at heights of 6 feet and above, usually from rooftops, ladders, scaffolding or staging.
Outside helper: landscaping, groundskeeping and lawn service: While lawn mowing and clipping keeps teens on the ground, electrocution is common and so are injuries using chain saws and tractors.
Driver/operator of forklifts, tractors and ATV’s: Injuries and resulting fatalities occur when minors are operating or riding as passengers, or non-operators are working near such machines. Tractor-related accidents are the most prevalent cause of agricultural fatality in the U.S.
Traveling youth crews: Young people who are recruited to sell candy, magazines and other door-to-door items under dangerous conditions and without adult supervision may be more vulnerable to assaults and abductions by customers and strangers.
“Safety is not common sense for young workers,” says Michael Page, LWCC director of safety and loss prevention. “It takes commitment on the part of employers to ensure that young workers have the proper training and safeguards to keep them safe in the workplace. As leaders in youth hiring, industries such as fast-food, construction, amusement parks, retail and landscaping are particularly encouraged to create a culture of safety.”
According to LWCC, summer hires and other employees with less than one year of experience on the job account for nearly half of LWCC’s policyholder workplace injury claims. “The inexperience of young workers may result in accidents that can cost them not only their summer, but possibly their lives,” says Page.
A list of tips, Summer Youth Safety, for safely employing young workers is available at www.lwcc.com and includes important information such as:
Emphasize leadership from front-line supervisors on the hazards of work assignments and appropriate work practices to prevent injuries. Supervisors have the greatest opportunity to influence new employees and their work habits.
Show young workers how to use safety equipment and explain why it is critical to the job. Make sure they know when to wear protective gear such as eye protection, hard hats and gloves; where to find it; how to use it; and how to care for it. Have them demonstrate they understand the message.
Recognize that what may be obvious or common sense to an experienced employee may not be so clear to a young worker tackling a project for the first time. It is important to build that knowledge through hands-on training and on-the-job coaching by skilled staff.
In addition to employers, other influencers such as parents and coworkers can play a vital role in encouraging young workers to follow safety guidelines on the job.
For more information on safely employing young workers, as well as a variety of other helpful workplace safety topics, visit LWCC’s Web site at www.lwcc.com.
“As the start of the summer hiring season fast approaches, we simply ask that employers remain watchful about safety in the workplace so that everyone can have a safe, rewarding and productive summer,” says Page.
Recession
Are we in a recession? Not quite. The Conference Board announced today that the U.S. leading index increased 0.1 percent, the coincident index remained unchanged and the lagging index increased 0.1 percent in April.
The leading index increased for the second straight month in April. Stock prices, the interest rate spread, and housing permits made large positive contributions to the index this month, more than offsetting the sharp declines in average weekly hours and consumer expectations. In April, the six-month rate of decline in the leading index slowed to -1.2 percent (a -2.3 percent annual rate), from - 2.4 percent (a -4.7 percent annual rate) from July 2007 to January 2008. In addition, the weaknesses among the leading indicators have become somewhat less widespread in the last two months.
The coincident index was unchanged again in April, and this measure of current economic activity has not increased since October 2007. Industrial production and employment decreased this month, but these declines were offset by gains in personal income less transfer payments* and real manufacturing and trade sales*. The six-month change in the coincident index continued to fall, to -0.4 percent (a -0.7 percent annual rate) in April, down from an increase of 0.3 percent (a 0.6 percent annual rate) from July 2007 to January 2008. The lagging index continued to increase this month and as a result, the coincident to lagging ratio decreased further.
After declining steadily since the middle of 2007, the leading index appears to have stabilized lately, increasing slightly in March and April. Meanwhile, the coincident index declined slightly since October 2007 and the weaknesses among its components have been widespread in recent months. During the first quarter, real GDP expanded at a 0.6 percent annual rate, the same growth rate that prevailed in the fourth quarter of 2007. The current behavior of the composite indexes so far still suggests that economic activity is likely to remain weak in the near term.
LEADING INDICATORS Six of the ten indicators that make up the leading index increased in April. The positive contributors — beginning with the largest positive contributor — were stock prices, interest rate spread, building permits, average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance (inverted), index of supplier deliveries (vendor performance) and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials*. The negative contributors — beginning with the largest negative contributor — were index of consumer expectations, average weekly manufacturing hours, and manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods*. Real money supply* held steady in April.
The leading index now stands at 102.0 (2004=100). Based on revised data, this index increased 0.1 percent in March and decreased 0.3 percent in February. During the six-month span through April, the leading index decreased 1.2 percent, with four out of ten components advancing (diffusion index, six-month span equals 40 percent).
COINCIDENT INDICATORS Two of the four indicators that make up the coincident index increased in April. The positive contributors to the index — beginning with the larger positive contributor — were personal income less transfer payments* and manufacturing and trade sales*. The negative contributors were industrial production and employees on nonagricultural payrolls.
The coincident index now stands at 106.9 (2004=100). This index remained unchanged in March and decreased 0.3 percent in February. During the six-month period through April, the coincident index decreased 0.4 percent.
LAGGING INDICATORS The lagging index stands at 112.2 (2004=100) in April, with three of the seven components advancing. The positive contributors to the index — beginning with the largest positive contributor — were commercial and industrial loans outstanding*, change in CPI for services, and ratio of consumer installment credit to personal income*. The negative contributors — beginning with the largest negative contributor — were average duration of unemployment (inverted), average prime rate charged by banks, and change in labor cost per unit of output*. The ratio of manufacturing and trade inventories to sales* held steady in April. Based on revised data, the lagging index increased 0.4 percent in March and increased 0.4 percent in February.
DATA AVAILABILITY AND NOTES The data series used by The Conference Board to compute the three composite indexes and reported in the tables in this release are those available "as of" 12 Noon on May 16, 2008. Some series are estimated as noted below.
* Series in the leading index that are based on The Conference Board estimates are manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials, manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods, and the personal consumption expenditure used to deflate the money supply. Series in the coincident index that are based on The Conference Board estimates are personal income less transfer payments and manufacturing and trade sales. Series in the lagging index that are based on The Conference Board estimates are inventories to sales ratio, consumer installment credit to income ratio, change in labor cost per unit of output, the consumer price index, and the personal consumption expenditure used to deflate commercial and industrial loans outstanding.
The procedure used to estimate the current month's personal consumption expenditure deflator (used in the calculation of real money supply and commercial and industrial loans outstanding) now incorporates the current month's consumer price index when it is available before the release of the U.S. Leading Economic Indicators.
Venture Capital
Pritchard Capital Partners, an energy investment bank, today announced the addition of Mark Brown as a senior analyst to the firm’s established equity research group. He will be responsible for coverage of the oilfield services sector. Mr. Brown has over 15 years financial experience and most recently spent the pervious two years as a research analyst at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. covering oil services & equipment.
Best Buy
Best Buy is pleased to participate in Louisiana's upcoming sales tax holiday May 24-25, 2008. During the holiday, tax-free purchases are authorized on the first $1,500 of the sales price of hurricane preparedness supplies including portable lights and radios, two-way radios, cell phone chargers, and select batteries. All purchases should be for personal, non-commercial use.
School Construction
Federal legislation that provides hurricane-damaged schools along the Gulf Coast $500 Million in school construction funding has won approval in the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee.
By a vote of 28 to 19, the committee passed the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 3021), introduced by U.S. Representative Ben Chandler (D-KY).
H.R. 3021 authorizes $6.4 billion for school renovation and modernization projects for the fiscal year 2009, and ensures that school districts receive funds quickly for projects that improve schools' teaching and learning climates, health and safety, and energy efficiency.
In the Gulf Coast, where public schools still face hundreds of millions of dollars in damages caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this legislation also authorizes separate funds - half a billion dollars over five years - for schools still trying to recover. It ensures that the schools are safe, energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and technologically advanced.
If this legislation is adopted, it will finance the construction of a large number of new public schools in New Orleans.
Representative George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, has been working with the RSD to develop this school construction appropriation for more than a year. Last y! ear, Rep . Miller was instrumental in developing the 2007 Rebuilding Education in New Orleans by Attracting America's Leaders (RENEWAAL) bill, which funded the RSD's 2007-2008 teacher incentives as well as the district's unprecedented performance-based pay initiative.
"Far too many schools across our country are literally crumbling, making it much harder for teachers to teach and children to learn," said U.S. Rep. George Miller. "We must invest in making every school building a place that communities can be proud of and where children will be eager to learn. This legislation begins to make that investment, and at the same time, it boosts the economy by creating new construction jobs and helps the environment by making our schools more energy efficient. This legislation is a win for children, workers, and the planet."
In February 2008, Recovery School Superintendent Paul Vallas testified, via the internet, before the U. S. House Education Committee about the RSD's rebuilding and monumental classroom-modernization initiatives. "I congratulate Congressman Miller for his leadership and courage in taking this issue on, not just for the children of New Orleans, but for children throughout the nation," said RSD Superintendent Paul Vallas. "When school districts spend money on capital needs, it takes away precious funds that could be used in our classrooms. If we can secure more federal resources for school construction, it will allow us to shift more resources to our classrooms, keep class sizes small and continue the reforms that led to across-the-board improvements in test scores this year."
"What Representatives Chandler, Miller, Dave Loebsack (D-IA), and Dale Kildee (D-MI) are doing for schools along the Gulf Coast and the children who attend those schools is far greater than any words can express," said State Education Superintendent Paul Pastorek. "Currently, the RSD has enough school construction funds to cover just forty percent of the district's to! tal long -term school construction needs, but there are no recurring school construction revenues. This legislation will help to significantly close the funding gap, go a long way toward paying for the implementation of the School Facilities Master Plan, and ultimately help our kids receive a world-class education in world-class schools."
The RSD is undertaking more than $140 million in school construction for the upcoming year. The RSD's Quick Start Initiative will bring five new schools to the district during the 2009-2010 school year. The district is also renovating currently closed facilities to provide additional classroom space for the 2008-2009 school year. Funding for these initiatives will be provided by FEMA payouts, which the district continues to work aggressively to increase as well as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
The RSD is working toward building energy-efficient schools, and all of the district's Quick Start schools are on track to meet, at minimum, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Rating.
The next step in the process is for the full House of Representatives to vote on H.R. 3021, which is expected in early June.
New Orleans Recreation
LEAP, GEE and iLEAP scores improve, New Orleans Hornets surprise students, free tennis and aviation camps are available to students, KaBOOM! Playground Builds at Reed Elementary and Fannie C. Williams Elementary, and Reverend Jesse Jackson visits Reed High School
New Orleans Hosts Major Cable Show Event
