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After peaking at over $147.00 a barrel just weeks ago, oil prices have dropped over twenty dollars to just over $126.00 a barrel today. While the prices are still high compared to a year ago, and there is no assurance that the decreased price isn't only temporary, at least for the time being airline stocks have responded positively.
The price of oil has had a tremendous impact on the airline business. AMR Corp.'s (American Airlines) stock, which has traded as high as $29.00 a share in the past year, was trading for as low as $4.00 a share only 8 days ago. As of the posting of this blog, the price of American's stock has increased to over $9.00 a share. While other factors surely come into play, the inverse reaction that airlines stocks have to the oil market is undeniable.
The drop in oil prices is much need good news for the airlines industry, which has suffered bankruptcies, significant job cuts and flight cuts in 2008.
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The television network CNBC has recently reported that Texas is the number one state for doing business in 2008. The current first place ranking is the result of a jump from the number 2 spot in 2007. Other states in the top five include last year's number one spot holder Virginia, followed by Utah, Idaho and Colorado.
Some of the reasons that were cited as why Texas tops the list of the best states for doing business is our large and diverse population, our abundance of natural resources and our cost of living.
CNBC is a financial and business news channel. To read more about Texas' number one rank among the best states for doing business, check out the Austin Business Journal Article on the subject or view the complete list of best states for doing business on the CNBC website.
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A recent article in the American Bar Association's "Business Law Today" discusses in depth the problems many companies are facing today defining employees and independent contractors. Robert W. Wood, an attorney with Wood & Porter in San Francisco and the author of "The Legal Guide to Independent Contractor Status" notes in his article that "incentives for treating workers as independent contractors instead of employees have led to an epidemic of mischaracterized independent contractors who do not necessarily function the way they are supposed to."
Distinguishing whether or not someone should be regarded as an employee or an independent contractor is important for many reasons. A worker's status can have implications regarding eligibility for federal unemployment, state workers' compensation and pension benefits. A worker must be classified as an employee to be eligible to sue under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the National Labor Relations Act and others.
At Ross Law Group, we represent clients who have been wrongly classified as independent contractors by their employers. Many times, an employer will classify a worker as an independent contract to avoid compensating the worker for overtime. A worker must meet certain criteria to be regarded as an independent contractor.
If you believe that you may have denied overtime compensation as a result of being miscategorized as an independent contractor, contact our Austin, Texas based law firm today.
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The Associated Press and the San Antonio Express-News recently ran an article regarding problems that many small businesses nationwide are having to deal with regarding late payments for products or services rendered. Joyce M. Rosenburg, the article's author, points out that as a result of the recent economic slowdown, more and more small businesses are dealing with increasingly late payments from their customers or clients.
The article highlights as one example the economy's effect on the independent contractor. As an example, the article refers to a Florida based publishing company whose "late payers tend to be people who work as independent contractors for companies that, because of the uncertain economy, suddenly decide to end the relationship." Because "the independent contractor isn't getting paid anymore" they are having a hard time paying their own accounts payable.
The article puts forth some good advice for small businesses to cope and deal with accounts receivables. The article cites Roberta Bernhardt, a partner with the accounting firm Citrin Cooperman, who states that "small businesses need to have a systematic method of billing and a timeline for following up if an invoice hasn't been paid."
If you or your business is having trouble collecting on an outstanding business account, our business attorneys may be able to help. To set up a consultation with one of our business lawyers, contact our Austin, Texas based law firm. |
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As discussed in the June 5, 2008 edition of the Austin Business Journal, Ethisphere Magazine and Forbes magazine have teamed up to comprise a list of the world's most ethical companies. The list was released last week at a conference in New York entitled "Driving Profit through Ethical Leadership."
A handful of Texas based companies made the list of the world's most ethical business including Texas Instruments Inc., Fluor Corp., Waste Management, Inc and Austin based Fressscale Semiconductors.
The complete list of the world's most ethical businesses can be found here.
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