source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/16/swiss-minimum-wage/9166687/
GENEVA, Switzerland – A vote on Sunday to establish a minimum wage of $25 an hour would make mostly immigrants here in agriculture, housekeeping, and catering among the world's highest paid unskilled workforce.
The ongoing U.S. debate over the minimum wage is not unique: on May 18, the Swiss will vote on a proposal to set a minimum salary for their lowest paid workers.
According to government statistics, the average household income in Switzerland is about $6,800 a month; in the USA, where the minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, the average household monthly income is roughly $4,300, Census Bureau figures indicate.
"A minimum wage of 4,000 francs could lead to job cuts and even threaten the existence of smaller companies, notably in retail, catering, agriculture and housekeeping." Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann told the local media recently.
As in America, the issue of minimum income is controversial in Switzerland, too, pitting employers against trade unions and left-wing parties, which sponsored the proposal.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Detroit bankruptcy costs hit $36 million
source: http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/07/news/economy/detroit-bankruptcy-fees/index.html\
Top partners at the firm billed the city at a rate of $825 an hour, according to the filing, while documents indicate that Jones Day partners have billed $1,000 an hour in other bankruptcy cases.
The city spent $13 million during the first three months of the proceedings, and Tuesday's filing shows bills from lawyers and other consultants jumped 61% in the last quarter of the year.
Jones Day's fees jumped 58% in the fourth quarter, because that's when the bankruptcy court held a hearing on whether the city would be allowed to use the bankruptcy process to shed billions in debt and restructure its finances.
Restructuring firm Conway MacKenzie had the second largest bill, charging the city $5.3 million in fees and $17,000 in expenses through the end of last year.
The first six months of Detroit's bankruptcy case cost taxpayers $36 million in fees and expenses for lawyers and consultants, according to a court filing late Tuesday.
Finally, there is no estimate on the cost of time spent by city employees on the bankruptcy case, or on what the city paid auction house Christie's to appraise the value of all the artwork in the Detroit Institute of Arts, the city-owned museum.
The largest payments went to Jones Day, the bankruptcy law firm representing the city in court.
The report by the independent fee examiner accounts for costs incurred from the city's initial filing on July 18, 2013 through the end of last year.
The first two quarters of 2014 should also prove costly, since the city, its lawyers and consultants have been negotiating with various unions, pension funds and banks to reach cost-cutting settlements.
And the report does not include the $275,000 annual salary that Orr is being paid, or the salaries of other members of the emergency manager's staff, because those are being paid by the state of Michigan, not the city.
Top partners at the firm billed the city at a rate of $825 an hour, according to the filing, while documents indicate that Jones Day partners have billed $1,000 an hour in other bankruptcy cases.
The city spent $13 million during the first three months of the proceedings, and Tuesday's filing shows bills from lawyers and other consultants jumped 61% in the last quarter of the year.
Jones Day's fees jumped 58% in the fourth quarter, because that's when the bankruptcy court held a hearing on whether the city would be allowed to use the bankruptcy process to shed billions in debt and restructure its finances.
Restructuring firm Conway MacKenzie had the second largest bill, charging the city $5.3 million in fees and $17,000 in expenses through the end of last year.
The first six months of Detroit's bankruptcy case cost taxpayers $36 million in fees and expenses for lawyers and consultants, according to a court filing late Tuesday.
Finally, there is no estimate on the cost of time spent by city employees on the bankruptcy case, or on what the city paid auction house Christie's to appraise the value of all the artwork in the Detroit Institute of Arts, the city-owned museum.
The largest payments went to Jones Day, the bankruptcy law firm representing the city in court.
The report by the independent fee examiner accounts for costs incurred from the city's initial filing on July 18, 2013 through the end of last year.
The first two quarters of 2014 should also prove costly, since the city, its lawyers and consultants have been negotiating with various unions, pension funds and banks to reach cost-cutting settlements.
And the report does not include the $275,000 annual salary that Orr is being paid, or the salaries of other members of the emergency manager's staff, because those are being paid by the state of Michigan, not the city.
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