Is it just me, or have we officially entered the House of Mirrors economy? Although I have better things to do with time right now (like compiling more Project August headlines, running important DreamBot scripts, and getting ready for Saturday\u2019s interview), I feel compelled to ask some more vital questions about the state of the world, particularly if no one else is going to do it.<\/p>\n
Before I begin\u2026thank you all for taking the time to evaluate your dreams and supplying me with matching headlines. I have a quite a list now, and I\u2019ll be shuffling through those this afternoon. Basically, I mention this because I don\u2019t want you thinking that I\u2019m ignoring you.<\/p>\n
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For many years since my MBA, this pillar actually looked normal to me. It never fails in today\u2019s stock market. A company slashes jobs and their stock goes\u2026..UP! How absurd can we get? A company is in such dire straits that they must cut THOUSANDS of jobs, and the execs at the top then get to enjoy much higher stock prices.<\/p>\n
But it gets even better today. Microsoft announces that they are cutting 18,000 jobs, most of them chopped by the end of this year. Wow, that sounds like an emergency. Just wait\u2026<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also important to note that this beheading will cost them over $1.1 billion, and still the stock goes up. By the way, who pockets this supposed charge? The taxpayers? HA\u2014aren\u2019t we gullible.<\/p>\n
Microsoft to cut 18,000 jobs, book big charge<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n July 17, 2014, 8:46 a.m. EDT<\/em><\/p>\n By Michael Calia<\/em><\/p>\n Bloomberg<\/em><\/p>\n Microsoft Corp. said it plans to eliminate up to 18,000 jobs, or 14% of its work force, over the next year, part of a sweeping plan to streamline its operations following the recent acquisition of Nokia\u2019s devices and services business.<\/em><\/p>\n The software giant MSFT +0.65%\u00a0\u00a0 also said the plan would result in a restructuring charge of $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion over the next four quarters.<\/em><\/p>\n Of the 18,000 planned cuts, about 12,500 will be professional and factory positions eliminated through synergies with the Nokia operations.<\/em><\/p>\n The company said it expects to substantially complete the plan by the end of this year, with full completion expected by June 30, 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n Chief Executive Satya Nadella, who took over the role from Steve Ballmer more than five months ago, has been seeking to streamline the company\u2019s operations in order to focus more on developing technology to help people improve their lives and businesses run with more efficiency.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n (I almost spewed my morning tea on that last statement!)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Banks are the backbone of this particular economy. So, when the stock market is reaching new record highs daily, should we also expect great numbers from the healthy banks? Yes, and that\u2019s why this is a parody\u2026<\/p>\nEconomic Parody: Pillar 2<\/h1>\n