Energy giant BP announced a return to profit on Tuesday but revealed new shock estimates for the cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, putting the expected bill at close to $40 billion.
The new figure is far higher than expected. BP said it had taken an additional charge of $7.7 billion during the third quarter, bringing the company’s own total estimated clean-up and legal costs to $39.9 billion. (more…)
A new study from North Carolina State University finds that anti-immigrant practices – such as anti-immigrant legislation or protests – are likely to backfire, and spur increased political action from immigrant communities. The study examined political activity in 52 metropolitan areas across the United States.
“U.S. Census data indicate that 60 percent of the foreign-born in the U.S. are not citizens,” says Dr. Kim Ebert, an assistant professor of sociology and co-author of a paper describing the research. “Non-citizens can’t vote, so we wanted to determine how they are participating in political life.” (more…)
Dr. Thembi Xulu. Image credit: Yale University
Thirty years after it was given a name, the epidemic of AIDS and its related illnesses continues to kill millions of people around the world. But nowhere are the numbers as high today as in sub-Saharan Africa, and in particular, the nation of South Africa.
Last week, a physician who has watched her country seesaw from denial to resolve delivered the seventh annual C. Davenport Cook Grand Rounds Lecture in International Child Health at Yale School of Medicine, speaking about how things are changing in South Africa and, perhaps, all of sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the changes she described are medical, others, attitudinal.
Dr. Thembi Xulu is medical director of Right to Care, a leading non-profit HIV/AIDS organization based in Johannesburg, as well as one of this year’s Yale World Fellows. Xulu has for many years been a persistent advocate for educating South Africans about the causes of AIDS and ways to prevent it, and for bringing affordable medication to those afflicted with it. She has grappled with governments in denial, unyielding cultural traditions, lack of funding and victims too ashamed to seek help. (more…)
*Automotive group migrates more than 180,000 computer workstations to Microsoft solution.*
REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 2, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. has won another key customer with its collaboration 
platform and cloud solution. Following an evaluation phase, Daimler AG decided to migrate onto Microsoft’s unified communications, messaging and collaboration solutions. Staff members at Daimler AG now communicate and collaborate more efficiently by using Microsoft technology. (more…)
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky., Nov 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that Staff 
Management is seeking to hire thousands of holiday positions for the Amazon Campbellsville, Ky. fulfillment center, operated by Amazon.com.kydc LLC.
Candidates should be highly motivated with drive, ambition and a passion for providing customers a first-class shopping experience. (more…)
Two spacecraft are now beginning to study the moon’s environment as part of NASA’s ARTEMIS mission, whose principal investigator is Vassilis Angelopoulos, a UCLA professor of Earth and space sciences. (more…)
*New gift card delivery option available just in time for the holiday season*
SEATTLE, Nov 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. today announced a new method for sending 
Amazon.com Gift Cards to friends on Facebook. Customers can now connect to their Facebook account on Amazon.com (www.amazon.com/giftcards-facebook) and create a personalized gift card that will be delivered on the recipient’s Facebook Wall.
After connecting to his or her Facebook account on Amazon.com, the sender can choose a gift card design, specify an amount up to $5,000 and provide an optional gift card message. The sender can also schedule the date for the gift card to appear on the recipient’s Facebook Wall up to a year in advance. (more…)
*More Than One Out of Three Financial Advice Seekers Visited Moneysupermarket.com*
London, UK, 02 November, 2010 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a 
ranking of top Financial Information/Advice Sites in the UK based on September 2010 data from its comScore Media Metrix service. Nearly 10 million internet users turned to the web for financial advice, spending an average of 15 minutes on sites in the category during the month.
Data from the comScore Ad Metrix service revealed that Adaptive Affinity ranked as the top online display advertiser amongst financial companies, reaching nearly 58 percent of the total UK online audience in September 2010, by promoting its site Quickcreditscore.co.uk. (more…)
