Week in biz without the boring bits: 1st year triumph for Marissa Mayer

 

IT'S tough being a tech giant. Despite earning billion dollars in the second quarter, both Google and Microsoft have been slammed for making less than analysts expected.
Google was under fire for focusing on outlandish projects like internet balloons and driverless cars at the expense of their bread and butter search advertising, while Microsoft shares fell after an "embarrassing" $900 million write down on their Surface RT tablets.
"You're in the hardware business now, and pretty shortly after entering it you have a pretty big write down. That's embarrassing," said Nomura Securities analyst Rick Sherlund.
In contrast, earnings at Yahoo! climbed 46 per cent under the first year for CEO Marissa Mayer's although revenue was down seven per cent making the result mixed overall.
Cost of living was in the spotlight after McDonald's in the US provided friendly budget advice on how to live on the minimum wage. Turns out working 75 hours a week in two jobs with no allowance for food, clothing or heating is the secret. Wage advocates were not lovin' it.
On a positive note, Chris Reynolds became the world's first and only quadrillionaire, enjoying a 17 figure bank balance for a few hours before the PayPal error was discovered and he was asked to renew his credit card details.

Standing out from the crowd could be as simple as having a drink or joining the staff social club. Picture: Thinkstock.

Careerwise, we looked at what you should do to get noticed by powerful people. And if you are looking to spice up your work life, why not apply for a job as a "mediologist" or a "security princess?" We asked whether the trend towards quirky job titles is endearing or just plain ridiculous.
Another favourite this week was a story from Jeffrey Alphonse, who told us about a typical day working at Laloki Psychiatric Hospital in Papua New Guinea.
Back in Australia, business confidence fell amid fears of a slowdown in China; Melbourne workers braced for job cuts at Lonely Planet; while Woolworths revised their profit expectations up. Billabong shares also soared after chief Launa Inman said she would step down as part of a deal to refinance the company's debt.
The Aussie dollar stuck to its now familiar range of 91-92 US cents.
If you need a weekend project it might pay to dust off the old shoebox and sort our your receipts, especially if you're a tradie, hospitality worker or carpenter, who the taxman will crackdown on this year.
And it has little to do with business, but in case you missed it, there was also a streaker.

news.com.au (Source : Malaysia Chronicle)