The recession has been brutal for many businesses but the airline industry has suffered dramatically from soft ticket demand and unpredictable gas prices. Considering the dire straits that many of the world’s most prominent airlines are facing, a federal bailout for the airline industry may not be too far in the future.
 
Airlines typically look forward to the second quarter as a time of the year when travelers most frequently travel by airplane to get to their exotic vacation destinations. However, this year’s outcome has been very disappointing for the airline industry, as the recession, combined with a global swine flu …read more

Perot Systems Corporation announced today that its Fairfax, Virginia-based Government Services Business Unit, won the re-compete for the performance-based contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) valued at over $119 million. Perot Systems will provide a wide range of infrastructure support to the CDC’s Information Technology Services Office nationally and internationally. Perot Systems Government Services subsidiary QSS Group, Inc. has been the incumbent contractor for these services since 2004.
“This is a cornerstone win for us in the public health market. We are honored to continue to serve the CDC in support of its critical missions. It is …read more

Paula Deen has spoken out against the myth that you can catch H1N1, or swine flu, from eating pork. The queen of down home southern cooking says she’s heard enough of the myths and misinformation surrounding the safety of pork.
“You know y’all, the Secretary of Agriculture has said it’s safe to eat pork,” said Deen, restaurateur, best-selling author and the host of “Paula’s Home Cooking” and “Paula’s Party” on the Food Network. “You can eat all the pork you want. You are not going to catch the flu from eating pork.”
Deen tied her plea to ‘eat a pork chop’ to …read more

Recently while researching about Swine flu, I found a video from MSNBC that shares how Swine flu could affect small businesses. There were pointers given to business owners on how to plan ahead in case Swine flu affects your employees.
This video gives suggestions to small business owners with employees and how they should have a backup plan in place where you could possibly allow employees to work from home. Or maybe if you are a soloprenuer you may have a contingency plan in place so that you can have business associates back you up in case you contract Swine flu.
Watch …read more

While the Swine Flu still has millions of people around the world concerned, the United States’ largest processor, marketer and producer of pork products says that their products are safe. Smithfield Foods, which has pork sales of approximately $12 billion, says that they haven’t found the swine flu in any of its pigs or in any of its employees.
Though the swine flu is believed to be only passed from human-to-human contact, it’s highly advisable to thoroughly cook all pork products to eliminate any danger. Purchasing Smithfield Foods products could also be a good idea.
According to the latest reports, many medical …read more

What would a full blown swine flu outbreak mean for the economy? Opinion ran wild this week.
The Wall Street Journal looked at a possible pandemic in light of the current economic circumstances.
The swine-flu outbreak has come at a particularly precarious time for the global economy, which could see signs of recovery wilt if a pandemic develops.
Some took advantage of the opportunity for swine flu satire:
As the map from Wikipedia clearly shows, the outbreak in America and Canada is in red, thus confirming that Republicans are responsible. While in Mexico the blame falls squarely on the blacks (thus, the Democrats) and …read more

Cruise lines have already started to limit travel to Mexico as fears concerning swine flu grow. The United States airline industry has now followed suit. Many U.S. airlines are now planning to limit their flights to Mexico. Others are lowering the number of available seats on flights heading to Mexico.
Industry experts say that travel throughout the United States has slowed in the last few weeks — even flights that don’t involve Mexico. The deadly swine flu has caused millions of people around the world to take extra precautions, which has included canceling vacation and travel plans.
It’s unknown how long travel …read more

While most of the financial industry is struggling, a few companies are still able to shine. One such company is Visa. The biggest credit card company on earth, Visa’s year-over-year income rose approximately 70% in their latest quarter.
This time last year, they posted an income of $314 on the quarter that finished at the end of March. In 2009, that number jumped all the way up to $536 million — beating predictions from almost every expert.
Visa thanks their increased fees, the increase use of debit cards and cut expenses for the improvement. In recent advertising campaigns, Visa has focused on …read more

With the swine flu spreading around the world, less and less people feel comfortable going to Mexico. As a result, many flights to Mexico have empty seats by the dozen. Resorts in Mexico also at a lower than normal capacity.
The swine flu has hit Mexico the hardest. According to the latest numbers, more than 150 people in Mexico have died due to the swine flu, while more than 2,500 have contracted the illness. Because the swine flu spreads from person-to-person contact, someone traveling to Mexico likely increases their odds of coming down with the swine flu.
While airlines are flying nearly …read more

The swine flu has many people around the world panicking. That panic has led to Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines temporarily canceling stops at ports in the country of Mexico. According to various reports, more than 150 people in Mexico have died from the swine flu and more than a 1,500 have been infected with the illness.
Both companies say they are monitoring the situation closely to see when it will be safe to begin traveling to those Mexican ports again. Many other cruise lines appear to be considering similar moves.
Although the World Health Organization says that a traveling …read more