Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chapter 11 Proceedings Examiner’s Report

Examiner’s Report – Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chapter 11 Proceedings

The Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chapter 11 Proceedings Examiner’s Report can accessed through the link above.

While not exactly insurance or underwriting related I’m posting a link as a public service for readers who may be interested in downloading and reading some, or all, of this report.

Remote Work – Who Are Those Guys?

What are the Top 10 nations for online workers? / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com

And the fastest-growing major economy for freelance work?

The United States. “We’re seeing a huge number of Americans come online,” says Brian Goler, vice president of marketing for oDesk. “More and more people are working this way.”

Perhaps they have to because of the economic downturn. Perhaps they want to.

Outsourcing v. Permanent Hires

Calculated Risk: Diffusion Index and Temporary Help

The thinking is that before companies hire permanent employees following a recession, employers will first increase the hours worked of current employees and also hire temporary employees. Since the number of temporary workers increased sharply, some people think this might be signaling the beginning of an employment recovery.

However, there has been some evidence of a shift by employers to more temporary workers, and the saying may become “We are all temporary now!”, so use this increase with caution. For more, including some cautionary comments from a BLS economist on using temporary help, see Tom Abate’s article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The problem, of course, is the fact that temps and perma-temps are the first to be terminated at the beginning of a business cycle downturn and the first to be hired when the cycle turns back upwards.  If you’re a temp, that is.  Read the entire SF Chronicle article.  It’s a good, short read.

Health Insurance for Freelancers

This is an interesting development in the world of temporary and contract workers.  Bear in mind, once you become a W-2 that changes the composition of your business as a self-employed individual.  Examine the pluses and minuses before making a switch like this.

Outsourcing Firm’s Latest Offering: Health Insurance – BusinessWeek

Switching to services like oDesk Payroll has tax implications for freelancers as well. While workers who switch will no longer be subject to the self-employment tax, they will also lose many of the deductions they claim as contract employees.