19th July 2010 – I entered USA —> Denver CO

Well to continue after a year or so, too many things happened in life. Life is indeed a roller coaster ride and in one of my previous posts I did type something about “hard work” and “destiny”. I would like to clarify a bit on these two words. “Hard work” pays you on the longer run and “destiny” decides where you would be.

I joined Syntel in Feb 2009 in Pune, spent some nice amount of time there and requested the management to get me back at my home – Mumbai, that is. And in December 2009, I was back to my sweetheart darling mumbai. I used to tell people since I was a kid that in the year of 2010, I will be in USA and here I am today at Denver CO in USA between the Red Rockies. This is called Destiny and of course the Hard Work paid. I am thankful to all the people in my life who helped me and kept me in their prayers always. I know my friends very well, where ever they would be, they would surely be missing me and praying for me on a good note coz I do the same for all of them. Denver is a beautiful place, don’t have car so can’t explore more but its perhaps the only place in USA where you get to see all 4 weathers in a single day. Sun Rises at 6 AM and Sun sets around 9 PM, this is funny but still am loving the fact that small little kid whose name was Amish who always dreamt about this place is sitting in Denver and typing this blog entry.

Its a lovely feeling without a words. I do miss india a lot when it comes to food as am a VEGAN and people here eat lot of meat and they don’t know how to cook nice Vegetarian Diet. I totally miss my Wada Pavs and Missal Pavs, they were awesome back there in bombay.

I will surely try to write more whenever I find some time outta my work. I work almost for 14 hours and still the work is undone LOL, thats how work is, it never gets completed. I will be here for a month or two more and by October 2nd week I should be back to Bombay.

Who ever is watching and reading this blog —> Dream about atleast 10 best things in your life everyday, You will surely fulfill atleast one big dream of yours out of this 10.

You Take Care!

Cheers,
Amish…

Life is just Okay….

Yeah, the title says it all….too many things in just the span of 2 months…2008 ended up with a bad note and 2009 started with good…those who believe in hard work, dedication, etc. – that’s crap, I have started believing in destiny and am sure you will if you check your past and live in the present.

No more professional info. here, I have started an entirely new blog for that…you may find the url from “Where to Find me?” page here….by the way one good thing is I love misal pavs here in pune…they are really “something” and this is the only first thing which I have loved in Pune city so far…..crowd is not that happening like we have in Mumbai though. Folks here don’t really know how to drive on roads…they drive as if their forefathers created the roads lol….will keep writing more here as n when I get some time…I apologize to everyone as after again a long long break I have started writing…I will try to be regular here….

The Top Ten Cities for Outsourcing in India

India has 35 major cities. Not all of them are good offshore outsourcing hubs.

In the recent past, several studies have been carried out to identify the best or most attractive cities in India. Gartner Inc, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and KPMG, neoIT, Mercer, A T Kearney, Merrill Lynch and several others have carried out city studies for a wide range of objectives.

Important parameters that were considered when developing the rankings in these studies include:
* Availability of Infrastructure (Power, Transport, Telecommunication, Housing)
* Cost of Living * Real Estate Costs
* Availability of Skilled Manpower
* Attrition Rates
* Quality of Living
* Political Climate
* Educational Institutions

Urban infrastructure in India is not the best in the world. Indian cities are facing overpopulation, indiscriminate growth and shortage of urban services like public transportation, water supply and sanitation. It is important to point out that the 2006 World-wide Quality of Living Survey by Mercer for 350 global cities has the top Indian cities Mumbai and Delhi ranked at 150th place. Not impressive at all. On the networking front, India ranks 40th out of 115 countries with the network readiness index of 0.23.

Despite the constrains imposed by the infrastructure or lack thereof, availability of skilled manpower and the low cost advantage continues to drive investment into urban India.

An analysis of city rankings by different surveys and study of recent outsourcing trends reveals that the top 10 outsourcing destinations in India are:

1. Chennai was the poor cousin of Bangalore and Hyderabad during the initial years of the IT boom in India. Today it is the lead outsourcing destination due to the low cost advantage, improving infrastructure, international connectivity, availability of land, skilled manpower and lower attrition rates compared to Bangalore and Hyderabad.

2. Hyderabad continues to woo investors by focusing on improving its urban infrastructure. The Governments, both past and present, have been very clear in their focus and support to the IT industry. The city has been among the most favored destinations due to the infrastructural improvements and the planned growth phased in by the governments in the twin cities.

3. Bangalore is the technology hub of India. It is increasingly becoming a global melting pot of cultures. The original garden and pub city of India has a comfortable climate compared to the other Indian cities that are happening in terms of outsourcing. However, the city’s infrastructure is inadequate to meet the demands of the exploding population. There is a growing feeling that other cities will overtake Bangalore if it continues to suffer due to political bickering, skyrocketing real estate prices and poor urban planning. According to a recent survey, it still ranks as the top city for living, earning and investing.

4. National Capital Region (NCR) includes Delhi and its surrounding suburbs. Delhi is expensive and not as popular for outsourcing. It is the suburbs, Gurgaon and Noida that have become important outsourcing destinations due to their proximity to the capital. They continue to be a major draw due to improving transport connectivity with Delhi, good international linkage and availability of skilled manpower.

5. Pune is Maharastra’s response to Bangalore. Its proximity to India’s financial capital, Mumbai and availability of trained manpower has led to the development of a thriving hi-tech outsourcing industry in this erstwhile retirement and education haven. Apart from other infrastructure components, the city is focusing on township projects to improve housing facilities.

6. Chandigarh and Mohali are twin cities. Chandigarh is one of the few planned and good cities of India. Mohali is its twin. Together, they have the space as well as the intellectual and financial capability to become India’s best outsourcing destinations. It does not yet have an international airport, but is well connected to New Delhi by road and rail.

7. Kolkata, the capital city of the state of West Bengal is high in intellect and has an advantage in terms of low costs. However, the city is famous for its traffic snarls and trade union shut downs. The current state government under chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is making the right noises to encourage investors. Early indications are that it may actually emerge as a good outsourcing destination.

8. Mysore is one of India’s smaller cities, which have joined the outsourcing bandwagon. Its proximity to Bangalore and presence of companies like Infosys and Wipro has helped the cause. It is emerging as a preferred choice over Bangalore as India’s silicon city is now congested, expensive and has higher than average attrition rates.

9. Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala is well known for some of the leading science & technology research organizations in India. The city has the infrastructure and skilled workforce to attract IT investments. It is early days yet and remains to be seen whether Thiruvananthapuram can woo investors away from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

10. Coimbatore is the emerging engineering outsourcing hub located in the state of Tamil Nadu. The government of Tamil Nadu is keen on developing Coimbatore as a major IT destination in the state. Coimbatore’s strength is its rich engineering tradition and young graduating engineers to meet the manpower demands of the growing industry.

100 Best Companies to Work For 2009: Compensation, salaried

100 Best Companies to Work For 2009: Compensation, salaried – from FORTUNE:

Rank	Company	Best Cos. rank	Most common job title	Average annual pay**
1	Bingham McCutchen	30	Associate	$256,312
2	Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health Network	76	Physicians	$244,605
3	Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe	87	Associate	$240,955
4	Alston & Bird	36	Associate	$203,655
5	Perkins Coie	82	Associate	$190,126
6	Devon Energy	13	Engineer	$186,882
7	Chesapeake Energy	73	Toolpusher	$178,108
8	Salesforce.com	55	Senior Sales Engineer	$172,303
9	Arnold & Porter	21	Associate	$172,192
10	Adobe Systems	11	Sr. Computer Scientist Software Development	$165,947
11	EOG Resources	40	Engineer	$158,302
12	Goldman Sachs	9	Other Exempt (i.e. Analysts, Program Analysts, Associates and Professional Non-Exempt)	$144,994
13	Boston Consulting Group	3	Consultant	$141,111
14	Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants	95	General Manager	$134,769
15	NetApp	1	Member Technical Staff, Software 4	$134,716
16	Cisco Systems	6	Software Engineer IV	$131,703
17	eBay	83	Software Engineer 4	$129,099
18	Robert W. Baird	14	Financial Analyst	$128,700
19	Texas Instruments	65	Electrical Design Engineer	$126,192
20	Shared Technologies	18	Sales Rep	$123,590
21	Juniper Networks	84	Member of Technical Staff 4	$123,396
22	Scripps Health	59	Manager-Director	$121,908
23	MITRE	66	Lead Information Systems Engineer	$121,317
24	T-Mobile	96	Manager	$120,756
25	Nugget Market	10	Store Director	$116,444
26	S.C. Johnson & Son	81	Senior Research Assistant	$114,663
27	Microsoft	38	Software Development Engineer	$112,399
28	Johnson Financial Group	25	VP Commercial Relationship Manager	$112,304
29	Genentech	7	Clinical Specialist	$112,202
30	DreamWorks Animation SKG	47	Software Engineer	$112,100
31	Publix Super Markets	88	Store Manager	$109,989
32	Booz Allen Hamilton	52	Associate	$108,150
33	Burns & McDonnell	50	Mechanical Engineer	$107,900
34	Atlantic Health	75	Manager	$107,448
35	Gilbane	91	Project Manager	$105,864
36	Ernst & Young	51	Manager – a client-serving position	$103,164
37	Novo Nordisk	57	Diabetes Field Sales	$102,064
38	OhioHealth	19	Nurse Manager	$102,048
39	Qualcomm	16	Sr. Engineer	$102,030
40	Valero Energy	93	Supervisor, Maintenance	$101,602
41	PCL Construction Enterprises	28	Superintendent	$100,047
42	Alcon Laboratories	74	Sales Representative	$99,948
43	CH2M HILL	86	Engineer	$99,703
44	Baptist Health South Florida	79	Assistant Nurse Manager	$95,783
45	American Fidelity Assurance	46	Sales (Commission/Sales)	$95,701
46	PricewaterhouseCoopers	58	Manager/Supervisor	$95,082
47	Recreational Equipment (REI)	12	Retail Store Manager	$92,298
48	Milliken	64	Sales	$90,000
49	Methodist Hospital System	8	Manager Nursing	$88,791
50	Principal Financial Group	17	IT Application Analyst Senior	$88,241
51	Northwest Community Hospital	77	Clinical Coordinator	$88,130
52	Southern Ohio Medical Center	68	Nurse Manager	$87,302
53	Scottrade	60	Branch Manager	$85,748
54	Zappos.com	23	Software Engineer	$85,582
55	NuStar Energy	44	Terminal Manager	$85,149
56	Accenture	97	Consultant	$83,900
57	Deloitte	61	Senior / Senior Consultant	$83,488
58	Kimley-Horn & Associates	35	Experienced analyst	$81,543
59	Men’s Wearhouse	71	Professional	$80,525
60	SRA International	100	Analyst	$78,047
61	Edward Jones	2	Senior Programmer Analyst	$77,333
62	FedEx	90	Operations Manager	$76,873
63	TDIndustries	37	Superintendent	$76,515
64	King’s Daughters Medical Cntr.	45	Nurse Manager	$76,064
65	National Instruments	69	Engineer.Staff 2.Software	$75,187
66	KPMG	56	Senior Associate	$75,000
67	Vanderbilt University	98	Registered Nurses	$74,948
68	Herman Miller	89	Engineer 3	$72,306
69	Whole Foods Market	22	Assoc. Store Team Leader	$72,219
70	Arkansas Children’s Hospital	85	RN III	$70,559
71	Stew Leonard’s	53	Store Manager	$70,470
72	Plante & Moran	42	Audit Staff	$65,500
73	Quicken Loans	29	Mortgage Banker	$64,189
74	Stanley	70	System Analyst II	$64,096
75	QuikTrip	27	Store Manager	$62,936
76	Marriott International	78	Sales Manager	$62,925
77	CarMax	31	Purchasing	$62,484
78	Camden Property Trust	41	Community Manager	$62,223
79	Rackspace Hosting	43	Windows Admin II	$59,633
80	Aflac	26	Supervisor, Operations	$58,651
81	Bright Horizons	80	Director	$56,456
82	Four Seasons Hotels	92	Asst. Food & Beverage Mgr.	$52,107
83	Build-A-Bear Workshop	94	Chief Workshop Manager	$51,873
84	Wegmans Food Markets	5	Store Department Manager	$51,350
85	Umpqua Bank	34	Store Managers	$51,064
86	Nordstrom	72	Sales Department Manager	$49,500
87	General Mills	99	Retail Sales Representative	$45,759
88	Container Store	32	Store Sales	$45,303
89	Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta	67	Business Operations Coordinator	$45,065
90	Starbucks	24	Store Manager	$44,966
91	Erickson Retirement Communities	54	Service Manager	$44,882

100 Best Companies to Work For 2009

100 Best Companies to Work For 2009: Full list – from FORTUNE:

Rank	Company	Job growth	U.S. employees
1	NetApp	12%	5,014
2	Edward Jones	9%	34,496
3	Boston Consulting Group	10%	1,680
4	Google	40%	12,580
5	Wegmans Food Markets	6%	37,195
6	Cisco Systems	7%	37,123
7	Genentech	5%	10,969
8	Methodist Hospital System	1%	10,535
9	Goldman Sachs	2%	14,088
10	Nugget Market	22%	1,536
11	Adobe Systems	9%	4,255
12	Recreational Equipment (REI)	11%	9,780
13	Devon Energy	11%	3,752
14	Robert W. Baird	4%	2,184
15	W. L. Gore & Associates	5%	5,481
16	Qualcomm	19%	11,932
17	Principal Financial Group	-1%	13,343
18	Shared Technologies	12%	1,568
19	OhioHealth	7%	11,858
20	SAS	5%	5,381
21	Arnold & Porter	3%	1,296
22	Whole Foods Market	22%	51,967
23	Zappos.com	39%	1,655
24	Starbucks	-6%	146,700
25	Johnson Financial Group	4%	1,300
26	Aflac	1%	4,493
27	QuikTrip	33%	10,159
28	PCL Construction Enterprises	24%	4,420
29	Quicken Loans	-41%	2,890
30	Bingham McCutchen	-2%	1,605
31	CarMax	14%	16,107
32	Container Store	4%	3,286
33	JM Family Enterprises	-1%	4,577
34	Umpqua Bank	-4%	1,707
35	Kimley-Horn & Associates	-8%	2,190
36	Alston & Bird	7%	1,718
37	TDIndustries	7%	1,713
38	Microsoft	15%	55,237
39	Paychex	5%	12,207
40	EOG Resources	30%	1,803
41	Camden Property Trust	-1%	1,849
42	Plante & Moran	4%	1,558
43	Rackspace Hosting	59%	1,992
44	NuStar Energy	23%	1,319
45	King’s Daughters Medical Cntr.	4%	3,041
46	American Fidelity Assurance	10%	1,509
47	DreamWorks Animation SKG	18%	1,614
48	Mattel	N.A.%	5,552
49	Intuit	0%	7,637
50	Burns & McDonnell	16%	2,840
51	Ernst & Young	0%	26,090
52	Booz Allen Hamilton	9%	19,243
53	Stew Leonard’s	-2%	2,219
54	Erickson Retirement Communities	18%	10,871
55	Salesforce.com	24%	1,958
56	KPMG	7%	24,442
57	Novo Nordisk	11%	3,053
58	PricewaterhouseCoopers	-2%	29,144
59	Scripps Health	6%	10,374
60	Scottrade	25%	1,946
61	Deloitte	7%	38,903
62	Griffin Hospital	-2%	1,143
63	Mayo Clinic	3%	41,955
64	Milliken	-6%	8,150
65	Texas Instruments	-4%	14,379
66	MITRE	6%	6,420
67	Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta	8%	5,850
68	Southern Ohio Medical Center	4%	2,188
69	National Instruments	8%	2,527
70	Stanley	65%	4,590
71	Men’s Wearhouse	-1%	16,477
72	Nordstrom	-8%	49,236
73	Chesapeake Energy	23%	6,850
74	Alcon Laboratories	5%	7,160
75	Atlantic Health	2%	6,968
76	Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health Network	6%	8,897
77	Northwest Community Hospital	-3%	3,372
78	Marriott International	2%	124,247
79	Baptist Health South Florida	9%	10,641
80	Bright Horizons	-1%	14,437
81	S.C. Johnson & Son	-1%	3,368
82	Perkins Coie	3%	1,696
83	eBay	9%	9,089
84	Juniper Networks	15%	3,743
85	Arkansas Children’s Hospital	6%	3,527
86	CH2M HILL	14%	19,011
87	Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe	8%	1,609
88	Publix Super Markets	3%	141,314
89	Herman Miller	-7%	5,646
90	FedEx	-1%	233,457
91	Gilbane	12%	2,169
92	Four Seasons Hotels	4%	13,401
93	Valero Energy	-4%	16,881
94	Build-A-Bear Workshop	2%	4,886
95	Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants	4%	6,298
96	T-Mobile	12%	39,822
97	Accenture	7%	32,318
98	Vanderbilt University	5%	21,041
99	General Mills	-1%	17,018
100	SRA International	21%	6,266

20 Of The Best Cities In The World For Telecommuting

With mobile broadband and Wi-Fi hot spots becoming increasingly ubiquitous, it is possible for people to work from home in almost every city in the world. So why is it that solo entrepreneurs and telecommuting employees often opt to live in some of the most expensive cities in the nation? Perhaps it is because inexpensive mortgages are not the only thing drawing mobile employees to live in specific areas.

Cost of living is just one factor in the big picture of how people choose where to live. Other factors include job opportunities, entertainment options, access to cultural activities and the quality of life in the city. Work-at-home techies may be drawn to cities where rents are cheap but they may also weigh their decision against the availability of tech expos in the city, the number of Internet cafes in the area and the general community support for telecommuting individuals.

With those factors in mind, the mobile employee may want to look at the following cities which are ranked as the best cities in which to be an at-home, tech-using employee. Some are better for the freelancer, others for the telecommuter and still others for the solo entrepreneur who runs a virtual start-up. All of them are good spots for the person who wants his work environment to be limited only by his wireless connection and not by the flimsy walls of a cubicle.

San Francisco, California

It’s one of the most expensive cities in the nation but that doesn’t deter people from wanting to live here and work from home. It’s an all-around terrific city for people at any level of telecommuting.

Individuals running their own virtual start-ups will find it easy to get connected and maintain that low overhead. People who want to work for established businesses but telecommute from home need look no further than big businesses like Second Life or temp services that place people in virtual assistant jobs. The attitude here is completely open to people who work from home, the public transit is developing to allow wireless connections during commutes and the city is home to numerous expos including Web 2.0 and MacWorld Expo. The only drawback is the price that you’ll pay to live here but many say it’s worth it.

Austin, Texas

People who are seeking to live in a techie hot spot that isn’t too expensive will find that the developing tech industry in Austin, Texas is a great place to find a job. A large number of tech start-ups have been successful in this area. It’s also a leading area for business in general so it’s a particularly good place for the work-at-home techie entrepreneur who wants to run a business without setting up a physical office space.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

This part of the United States has grown considerably in the areas of information technology and software development. The at-home employee who wants to work as a freelancer in software development will find that this is a good place to make some connections while still working from home. The climate is moderate, home prices are fair and the low crime rate makes it a place that’s safe for families.

Vancouver, Canada

If you want to make a move to Canada, you might want to think about heading to the West Coast city of Vancouver. One of the largest cities in the state, it also happens to be one of the most progressive. It’s involved in eco-friendly efforts to ‘green‘ its urban area and it’s highly supportive of telecommuting as part of that effort. It’s also just a beautiful city with a lot of opportunities to enjoy yourself when you’re not hard at work.

Seattle, Washington

This Northwestern United States city is a terrific happy medium for the work-at-home employee who can’t move all the way north to Vancouver and doesn’t want to head south towards San Francisco. It’s an expensive city but not as pricey as California cities and it offers all of the tech opportunities that you need to really enjoy life as a tech fiend. It’s also one of the healthiest cities in the United States.

Copenhagen, Denmark

This was recently named one of the happiest cities in the entire world. For the work-at-home employee who seeks to be happy, that’s a big benefit. It isn’t easy for residents of other countries to find work-at-home jobs here but the individual who has an online job elsewhere can complete that job from Copenhagen and enjoy a great daily life. It’s also one of the cheapest international cities to live in so you won’t even pay much to be happy here.

Phoenix, Arizona

This city has been growing in popularity over the past several years. A lot of money has been invested to grow business in this area and it’s the home of a number of huge tech conferences each year. It’s also got a great leisure side with a strong resort and golf community so you can earn good money while working and then go play hard after you’re done at work. The best work-at-home situation here is to find a business which needs tech help that you can do from your home office.

Seoul, South Korea

If you’re looking to really go international with a work-at-home job move then you might want to look at Seoul. This city has the best >broadband penetration in the world. There are also numerous companies here that you can try to get a job with, primarily in the wireless industry. There are also tons of Internet cafes so you can easily get to know other people in the community after you make your move.

Syracuse, New York

People who want to live in an inexpensive place and yet be close to a major city will find that upstate New York offers the right balance of opportunities. In Syracuse, you can easily purchase a single-family home for under $100,000. Despite this, you’ll be just hours from all of the employment and entertainment opportunities of New York City. It’s a win-win situation.

Anchorage, Alaska

If you really want to get away from the world and enjoy a terrific home in a beautiful part of the world then Anchorage is a great spot. It’s an urban city that will have what you need in terms of a tech connection. However, it’s a remote area compared to the rest of the world and will give you lots of peace and quiet. You can live cheaply here so you don’t even have to work full-time. The computer can rest while you go adventuring in the snow.

Atlanta, Georgia

This city is considered the most wired city in the United States. That makes it a great place for the individual who needs to be wired all day in order to work. It’s also a great city because it’s fairly inexpensive to live there but it offers a lot of jobs in the tech industry. What that means is that you can earn a good income here and yet not pay a lot in terms of cost of living.

Taipei, Taiwan

This city was one of the first to start dealing with its traffic congestion by encouraging employees to telecommute. With a goal of becoming the world’s first cyber-city, Taipei has gone a long way towards making it really easy to get a wireless connection here. You’ll be able to enjoy a great global experience and keep your online job.

Cordoba, Argentina

If you’re looking to make a move to South America then this is the city that you’ll want to keep your eye on. It’s a terrific city that seamlessly blends a culturally rich history with a modern technological approach to industry. It’s the center of the country’s technology and home to extensive research in both satellite technology and various sciences. It’s a safe city and one where it’s fairly easy to stay wired so you can work.

Barcelona, Spain

If you happen to be a single person who is in need of both a partner and a work-at-home job, your best international bet is to head to Barcelona. Once named one of the best cities for singles, it’s a place that offers a lot of romance. Even if you don’t end up finding a significant other, all of that romance is sure to inspire your creative side. At least that’ll be good for your online work!

Bangalore, India

It’s a beautiful city that is very inexpensive and yet it’s easy to find a wireless connection. Whether you want to work from your mobile phone or lug a laptop to an Internet cafe, this city is going to be a place that will keep you busy.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

One of the areas of the tech industry that is going to grow considerably in the upcoming years is green technology. Santa Fe is a city that’s already looking towards making developments in this area which is going to make it a great place for green telecommuting techies before too much more time passes. It’s a fairly inexpensive place to buy a home so you might want to invest in a move now.

Mexico City, Mexico

As the most populated city in the entire world, Mexico City is definitely a big urban place. That means there are a lot of opportunities to meet people and have a good time here. It’s also an up-and-coming city in terms of wireless technology which means you can do some great business here. If Mexico is a place that appeals to you, this is the best city to choose.

Salt Lake City, Utah

This United States city was voted one of the best places to find a job last year and it remains number one on the list again this year. Because the jobs here are primarily in the tech industry, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find an employer who would be more than happy to let you work from home at least part time.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

One of the biggest problems plaguing work-at-home employees is that they get lazy. Because of that, it’s a good idea to move to a city that cares about fitness. Colorado City is ranked highest in the United States for fit cities. This can be a great benefit to the at-home employee who needs an extra push to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Stockholm, Sweden

This is the home of the headquarters of The Pirate Bay the world’s largest BitTorrent tracker. For those who don’t know, that means that there’s been a big push here to fight lawsuits against illegal filesharing. With that kind of precedent, it’s a great place for the techie who is interested in open source development of products and web services.

Vada Pav Recipe

Okay folks just for a change, this one ranks first when it comes on Food for Amish;

VADA PAVS:

Ingredients: Serving size – 4 6-8 medium sized boiled potatoes 2 cups gram flour (besan) oil for frying salt pav ( A kind of bun) – If pavs are not available, you can use any other bun. Choose the ones which do not taste sweet. Masala 1 small piece ginger, 4-5 flakes garlic, 4-5 (or more) green chilies, 1/2 cup coriander leaves (chopped), For tempering 1 tea spoon turmeric powder, curry leaves, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 2 teaspoon oil Method: 1. Grind ginger, garlic and green chilies together into a paste. 2. Peel and smash potatoes with a potato masher (or simply use hands). Do not smash completely. Let some small chunks remain. 3. Add ginger, garlic and green chili paste, coriander leaves, and salt to the potatoes. 4. Then take 2 teaspoons oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add turmeric powder and curry leaves. Pour this tempering on the mashed potatoes and mix gently. 5. Make small balls of mashed potato mixture. (You can flatten the balls if you like) 6. Add some salt, turmeric powder and chili powder to the gram flour. Add water gradually and keep mixing with a sppon or wire whisk. Remove lumps if any. The batter should not be too watery or too thick. If lifted by a spatula, it should flow in a ribbon like consistency. 7. Heat some oil in a pan. To check if oil is properly heated, drop some batter in the oil. If the batter immediately turns soild and float on the surface of the oil, the oil is ready. Also make sure that the oil is not too hot. Otherwise, the vadas become dark from the outside before they are actually done from the inside. 8. Now dip each ball in the batter, letting the excess batter drip off and slowly add to the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan, else the temperature of the oil reduces which in turn slows down the frying process. Like this, deep fry all the vadas until golden. Remove on a paper towel and drain. Batata Vadas are ready. 9. For Vada Pav, split Pav keeping the base intact & spread garlic chutney or green chutney on the inner surfaces of it. Place the vada in it. Serve hot. Tip: Instead of adding whole curry leaves, you can grind them along with the ginger- garlic paste to bring out their flavor. Variation: Substitute 1 tsp udad dal (split black gram) for mustard seeds in the tempering.

100 Biggest Companies of the World – Rankings and Statistics

Rank	Company	Country	Industry	Sales ($bil)	Profits ($bil)	Assets ($bil)	Market Value ($bil)
1	HSBC Holdings	United Kingdom	Banking	146.50	19.13	2,348.98	180.81
2	General Electric	United States	Conglomerates	172.74	22.21	795.34	330.93
3	Bank of America	United States	Banking	119.19	14.98	1,715.75	176.53
4	JPMorgan Chase	United States	Banking	116.35	15.37	1,562.15	136.88
5	ExxonMobil	United States	Oil & Gas Operations	358.60	40.61	242.08	465.51
6	Royal Dutch Shell	Netherlands	Oil & Gas Operations	355.78	31.33	266.22	221.09
7	BP	United Kingdom	Oil & Gas Operations	281.03	20.60	236.08	204.94
8	Toyota Motor	Japan	Consumer Durables	203.80	13.99	276.38	175.08
9	ING Group	Netherlands	Insurance	197.93	12.65	1,932.15	75.78
10	Berkshire Hathaway	United States	Diversified Financials	118.25	13.21	273.16	216.65
10	Royal Bank of Scotland	United Kingdom	Banking	108.45	14.62	3,807.51	76.64
12	AT&T	United States	Telecommunications Services	118.93	11.95	275.64	210.22
13	BNP Paribas	France	Banking	116.16	10.71	2,494.41	81.90
14	Allianz	Germany	Insurance	139.12	10.90	1,547.48	80.30
15	Total	France	Oil & Gas Operations	199.74	19.24	165.75	181.80
16	Wal-Mart Stores	United States	Retailing	378.80	12.73	163.38	198.60
17	Chevron	United States	Oil & Gas Operations	203.97	18.69	148.79	179.97
18	American Intl Group	United States	Insurance	110.06	6.20	1,060.51	118.20
19	Gazprom	Russia	Oil & Gas Operations	81.76	23.30	201.72	306.79
20	AXA Group	France	Insurance	151.70	7.75	1,064.67	70.33
21	Banco Santander	Spain	Banking	72.26	10.02	1,332.72	113.27
22	ConocoPhillips	United States	Oil & Gas Operations	171.50	11.89	177.76	129.15
23	Goldman Sachs Group	United States	Diversified Financials	87.97	11.60	1,119.80	67.16
24	Citigroup	United States	Banking	159.23	3.62	2,187.63	123.44
25	Barclays	United Kingdom	Banking	79.70	8.76	2,432.34	62.43
26	EDF Group	France	Utilities	81.60	7.69	271.66	170.81
27	E.ON	Germany	Utilities	94.04	9.86	200.84	126.22
28	ENI	Italy	Oil & Gas Operations	119.27	13.70	128.15	127.38
29	Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil	Brazil	Oil & Gas Operations	87.52	11.04	129.98	236.67
30	PetroChina	China	Oil & Gas Operations	88.24	18.21	111.70	546.14
31	Procter & Gamble	United States	Household & Personal Products	79.74	11.13	144.40	203.67
32	Deutsche Bank	Germany	Diversified Financials	95.50	7.45	1,485.58	56.27
33	UniCredit Group	Italy	Banking	63.67	7.19	1,077.21	77.46
34	Telefónica	Spain	Telecommunications Services	82.40	13.00	143.13	138.42
35	Mitsubishi UFJ Financial	Japan	Banking	49.49	7.50	1,591.56	98.14
36	Volkswagen Group	Germany	Consumer Durables	149.00	5.64	210.88	90.23
37	IBM	United States	Software & Services	98.79	10.42	120.43	157.62
38	ArcelorMittal	Luxembourg	Materials	105.22	10.37	133.65	108.82
38	Daimler	Germany	Consumer Durables	145.11	5.82	199.77	85.16
40	BBVA-Banco Bilbao Vizcaya	Spain	Banking	54.34	8.94	733.14	78.29
41	Wells Fargo	United States	Banking	53.59	8.06	575.44	96.37
42	ICBC	China	Banking	37.48	6.31	961.65	289.57
43	Credit Suisse Group	Switzerland	Diversified Financials	83.72	7.53	1,194.75	50.85
44	HBOS	United Kingdom	Banking	100.32	8.10	1,336.17	44.84
45	Crédit Agricole	France	Banking	101.59	6.49	1,662.60	45.73
45	Nestlé	Switzerland	Food Drink & Tobacco	94.76	9.38	99.06	188.11
47	Fortis	Netherlands	Diversified Financials	121.19	5.46	1,020.98	49.04
48	Verizon Communications	United States	Telecommunications Services	93.47	5.65	186.96	104.27
49	France Telecom	France	Telecommunications Services	77.31	9.20	137.09	87.89
50	Siemens	Germany	Conglomerates	103.20	5.42	126.72	118.47
50	Wachovia	United States	Banking	55.53	6.31	782.90	60.69
52	Sinopec-China Petroleum	China	Oil & Gas Operations	133.79	6.90	77.44	186.38
53	Hewlett-Packard	United States	Technology Hardware & Equip	107.67	7.85	88.57	122.04
54	Lloyds TSB Group	United Kingdom	Banking	58.74	6.53	701.08	50.95
55	Royal Bank of Canada	Canada	Banking	43.57	5.77	629.96	64.41
56	Bank of China	China	Banking	31.13	5.49	679.57	171.45
57	Pfizer	United States	Drugs & Biotechnology	48.42	8.14	115.27	152.17
58	Johnson & Johnson	United States	Drugs & Biotechnology	61.10	10.58	80.95	175.51
59	Samsung Electronics	South Korea	Semiconductors	92.26	8.56	87.49	87.84
60	StatoilHydro	Norway	Oil & Gas Operations	89.00	7.52	89.16	98.36
61	Generali Group	Italy	Insurance	102.16	3.17	486.43	60.79
62	CCB-China Construction Bank	China	Banking	29.16	5.93	697.44	126.55
63	Microsoft	United States	Software & Services	57.90	16.96	67.34	253.15
64	Suez Group	France	Utilities	64.96	5.37	114.89	83.56
65	Zurich Financial Services	Switzerland	Insurance	55.05	5.63	387.67	45.76
66	Nippon Telegraph & Tel	Japan	Telecommunications Services	91.57	4.06	149.71	60.27
67	Sanofi-aventis	France	Drugs & Biotechnology	40.95	7.68	104.98	101.17
68	Honda Motor	Japan	Consumer Durables	94.35	5.04	101.82	56.82
69	Nokia	Finland	Technology Hardware & Equip	74.54	10.52	52.62	145.66
70	Munich Re	Germany	Insurance	67.57	5.63	306.03	37.34
71	Mizuho Financial	Japan	Banking	32.52	5.28	1,272.17	48.80
72	Novartis	Switzerland	Drugs & Biotechnology	40.22	12.62	71.89	111.62
73	MetLife	United States	Insurance	53.01	4.32	558.56	41.32
74	Roche Holding	Switzerland	Drugs & Biotechnology	40.65	8.60	67.72	169.32
75	Morgan Stanley	United States	Diversified Financials	85.33	2.56	1,045.41	46.53
76	Vale	Brazil	Materials	33.23	10.26	74.70	161.39
77	Rio Tinto	United Kingdom/Australia	Materials	29.70	7.31	100.81	165.48
78	China Mobile	Hong Kong/China	Telecommunications Services	37.06	8.29	62.44	308.59
79	GlaxoSmithKline	United Kingdom	Drugs & Biotechnology	45.07	10.35	57.16	120.05
80	BASF	Germany	Chemicals	84.60	5.93	67.33	60.96
81	RWE Group	Germany	Utilities	56.17	3.64	119.50	68.19
82	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial	Japan	Banking	33.04	3.76	850.75	56.10
83	BHP Billiton	Australia/United Kingdom	Materials	39.50	13.42	53.36	190.62
84	Time Warner	United States	Media	46.48	4.39	133.83	55.83
85	Banco Bradesco	Brazil	Banking	36.12	4.11	192.65	59.80
85	KBC Group	Belgium	Banking	35.22	4.66	517.98	43.66
87	Dexia	Belgium	Banking	140.78	3.47	889.98	28.04
88	Altria Group	United States	Food Drink & Tobacco	38.05	9.16	57.21	154.20
89	National Australia Bank	Australia	Banking	38.88	4.06	499.44	43.95
90	Cisco Systems	United States	Technology Hardware & Equip	37.68	8.07	55.30	145.39
91	Manulife Financial	Canada	Insurance	33.08	4.01	178.58	59.18
92	Bank of Nova Scotia	Canada	Banking	28.02	4.25	431.30	48.08
93	Intel	United States	Semiconductors	38.33	6.98	55.65	115.59
94	Unilever	Netherlands/United Kingdom	Food Drink & Tobacco	54.82	5.30	53.40	92.75
95	Toronto-Dominion Bank	Canada	Banking	26.51	4.20	443.56	48.38
96	Nissan Motor	Japan	Consumer Durables	89.09	3.92	104.20	37.90
97	Lehman Bros Holdings	United States	Diversified Financials	59.00	4.19	691.06	27.05
98	Carrefour Group	France	Food Markets	112.40	3.15	75.73	49.95
99	Commonwealth Bank	Australia	Banking	26.48	3.80	360.42	51.86
100	Boeing	United States	Aerospace & Defense	66.39	4.07	58.99	63.32

Layoff Tracker – Since November 08 – Till Date – Total 350,725 Layoffs

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Date	Company	Total Laid Off	Industry
MM/DD/YYYY	COMPANY NAME	####	INDUSTRY
1/28/2009	Starbucks	6,700	Restaurants
1/28/2009	Boeing	10,000	Aerospace
1/28/2009	Time Warner	1,500	Media
1/27/2009	Target	1,000	Retailing
1/27/2009	Masco	600	Construction
1/26/2009	IBM	2,800	Software
1/26/2009	Texas Instruments	3,400	Semiconductors
1/26/2009	Lincoln National	540	Insurance
1/26/2009	Caterpillar	20,814	Capital Goods
1/26/2009	General Motors	9,758	Durables
1/26/2009	Home Depot	7,000	Retailing
1/26/2009	Pfizer	19,800	Pharmaceuticals
1/26/2009	Sprint Nextel	8,000	Telecommunications
1/23/2009	Abercrombie & Fitch	50	Retailing
1/23/2009	Deere & Company	662	Capital Goods
1/23/2009	Harley-Davidson	1,100	Consumer Durables
1/22/2009	Microsoft	5,000	Software
1/22/2009	Huntsman	1,665	Chemicals
1/21/2009	Burlington Santa Fe	2,500	Transportation
1/21/2009	UAL	1,000	Transportation
1/21/2009	SPX	400	Conglomerates
1/21/2009	Intel	5,000	Semiconductors
1/21/2009	Walt Disney	600	Media
1/21/2009	Wynn Resorts	53	Leisure
1/21/2009	Eaton	5,609	Capital Goods
1/20/2009	Clear Channel	1,850	Media
1/20/2009	Deere & Co.	160	Capital Goods
1/16/2009	ConocoPhillips	1,300	Oil & Gas
1/16/2009	Hertz Global Holdings	4,000	Business Services
1/16/2009	WellPoint	600	Health Care
1/16/2009	Advanced Micro Devices	1,700	Semiconductors
1/15/2009	Xerox	275	Business Services
1/15/2009	MeadWestvaco	2,000	Materials
1/15/2009	Autodesk	750	Software
1/15/2009	Marshall & Ilsley	830	Banking
1/15/2009	General Electric	1,000	Conglomerates
1/14/2009	Ecolab	1,000	Chemicals
1/14/2009	Delta Air Lines	2,000	Transportation
1/14/2009	Motorola	4,000	Technology
1/14/2009	Google	100	Software
1/13/2009	KeyCorp	200	Banking
1/13/2009	Newell Rubbermaid	75	Household
1/13/2009	Cummins	1,300	Capital Goods
1/12/2009	Textron	2,665	Conglomerates
1/12/2009	Mosaic	1,000	Chemicals
1/12/2009	Best Buy	500	Retailing
1/12/2009	Precision Castparts	40	Defense
1/9/2009	Oracle	500	Software
1/9/2009	Smithfield Foods	75	Food
1/9/2009	Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold	2,750	Materials
1/8/2009	Union Pacific	230	Transportation
1/8/2009	General Dynamics	179	Defense
1/7/2009	Walgreen	1,000	Retailing
1/7/2009	EMC	2,400	Technology
1/6/2009	Alcoa	13,500	Materials
1/5/2009	Cigna	1,100	Health Care
1/5/2009	United States Steel	4,225	Materials
12/31/2008	Mohawk Industries	160	Consumer Durables
12/31/2008	Tyson Foods	120	Food
12/31/2008	Target	132	Retailing
12/30/2008	Allegheny Technologies	323	Materials
12/30/2008	Motorola	400	Technology
12/23/2008	ULA (Boeing, Lockheed Martin)	172	Joint Venture
12/23/2008	Johnson Controls	125	Consumer Durables
12/23/2008	Las Vegas Sands	11,500	Leisure
12/22/2008	Parker-Hannifin	405	Capital Goods
12/19/2008	Genworth Financial	1,000	Insurance
12/19/2008	Electronic Arts	1,000	Software
12/19/2008	Sovereign Bancorp	1,000	Banking
12/18/2008	Omnicom Group	3,145	Media
12/17/2008	Ryder System	3,100	Services
12/17/2008	Western Digital	2,500	Technology
12/17/2008	Aetna	1,000	Health Care
12/17/2008	Parker-Hannifin	46	Capital Goods
12/17/2008	Bristol-Myers Squibb	3,700	Pharmaceuticals
12/16/2008	CBS	30	Media
12/15/2008	Merrill Lynch	400	Financials
12/15/2008	Charles Schwab	100	Financials
12/13/2008	Berkshire Hathaway	345	Finance
12/12/2008	International Paper	2,050	Materials
12/11/2008	Bank of America	35,000	Banking
12/11/2008	Whirlpool	250	Durables
12/10/2008	Mohawk Industries	105	Durables
12/10/2008	Procter & Gamble	320	Household
12/09/2008	Praxair	1,600	Chemicals
12/08/2008	Anheuser-Busch Co.	1,400	Food
12/08/2008	3M	2,300	Conglomerates
12/08/2008	Wyndham Worldwide	4,000	Leisure
12/08/2008	Dow Chemical	5,000	Chemicals
12/05/2008	Legg Mason	200	Financials
12/05/2008	Cablevision	100	Media
12/05/2008	Staples	140	Retailing
12/04/2008	Steel Dynamics	65	Materials
12/04/2008	Windstream	170	Telecommunications
12/04/2008	General Electric	500	Conglomerates
12/04/2008	E.I. du Pont de Nemours	2,500	Chemicals
12/04/2008	AT&T	12,000	Telecommunications
12/03/2008	United Technologies	350	Conglomerates
12/03/2008	Gannett	2,000	Media
12/03/2008	Adobe Systems	600	Software
12/03/2008	Jefferies Group	300	Financials
12/03/2008	Viacom	850	Media
12/01/2008	JPMorgan Chase	9,200	Banking
12/01/2008	PepsiCo	87	Food
11/25/2008	Dana Holding	50	Durables
11/24/2008	BlackRock	10	Financials
11/21/2008	Western Union	200	Business Services
11/20/2008	Bank of New York Mellon	1,800	Banking
11/20/2008	Boeing	800	Aerospace
11/17/2008	Citigroup	52,000	Banking
11/14/2008	Sun Microsystems	6,000	Technology
11/12/2008	Applied Materials	1,800	Technology
11/12/2008	Morgan Stanley	2,000	Finance
11/12/2008	Liberty Media	910	Retailing
11/11/2008	AK Steel Holding	800	Materials
11/7/2008	Ford Motor	2,600	Durables
11/6/2008	Mattel	1,000	Household
11/6/2008	MGM Mirage	400	Leisure
11/4/2008	Hartford Financial Services Group	500	Finance

January 2009 Layoffs

Layoffs for January 2009 at America’s 500 largest public companies*:

151,352

Jan. 28: Boeing (nyse: BA – news – people ) increases previously announced layoffs–bringing total to 10,000 workers, or 6% of the company’s workforce.

Jan. 28: Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX – news – people ) organizes closings at 900 stores worldwide and fires 6,700 in the process.

Jan. 28: Target (nyse: TGT – news – people ) cuts 400 open positions and 600 employees on sagging sales.

Jan. 27: Time Warner’s (nyse: TWX – news – people ) AOL reduces workforce by 10% (700 workers) as it fights declining ad revenue.

Jan. 27: Cabinet company Merillat–a subsidiary of Masco (nyse: MAS – news – people )–cuts 20% of workforce (70 workers).

Jan. 26: Texas Instruments (nyse: TXN – news – people ) pink-slips 3,400 (12% of workforce).

Jan. 26: IBM (nyse: IBM – news – people ) selects 2,800 to participate in its “current resource reduction action.”

Jan. 26: Lincoln National (nyse: LNC – news – people ) posts five quarterly declines in profit; cuts 540 (5% of workforce).

Jan. 26: Caterpillar (nyse: CAT – news – people ) announces quarterly profit plunge of 32%; fires 20,000.

Jan. 26: Following the acquisition of the small drug outfit Wyeth for $68 billion, Pfizer (nyse: PFE – news – people ) closes five factories and cuts 15% of total workforce (19,000 workers).

Jan. 26: Sprint Nextel (nyse: S – news – people ) pink-slips 8,000 workers–recording more than $300 million in severance charges but saving $1.2 billion a year in labor costs.

Jan. 26: Home Depot (nyse: HD – news – people ) closes high-end home design shops and slims ranks at headquarters; dismisses 7,000.

Jan. 26: General Motors (nyse: GM – news – people ) cuts production at several plants and fires 2,000 in Michigan and Ohio.

Jan. 23: Brazil-based Deere & Company (nyse: DE – news – people ) subsidiary lays off 502 employees.

Jan. 23: Abercrombie & Fitch (nyse: ANF – news – people ) cuts 50 from headquarters as company leans expenses.

Jan. 23: Harley-Davidson (nyse: HOG – news – people ) sees 60% drop in profits in fourth quarter of 2008; fires 1,100 (10% of workforce).

Jan. 22: Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT – news – people ) has first mass layoff in 34-year history; pink slips 5,000.

Jan. 22: Huntsman (nyse: HUN – news – people ) reduces workforce by 9%; cutting 1,175 regular workers and 490 full-time contractors.

Jan. 21: Burlington Santa Fe cuts 2,500 workers (5% of workforce) despite a 19% jump in earnings during the fourth quarter.

Jan. 21: UAL (nasdaq: UAUA – news – people ) fires 1,000 to cut overhead costs.

Jan. 21: SPX (nyse: SPW – news – people ) attempts to sell a business unit and cuts 400 employees to help endure the downturn.

Jan. 21: Intel (nasdaq: INTC – news – people ) closes five manufacturing plants and pink slips 5,000.

Jan. 21: Walt Disney (nyse: DIS – news – people ) offers voluntary buyouts to 600 theme park executives on poor attendance.

Jan. 21: Wynn Resorts wraps up construction on Las Vegas Strip casino with 53-worker layoff in design and construction affiliate.

Jan. 21: Eaton (nyse: ETN – news – people ) brings total workforce reduction since the beginning of last year to 10% with 5,200-worker cut.

Jan. 21: Warner Bros. Entertainment–a part of Time Warner (nyse: TWX – news – people )–cuts 10% (800) of its jobs.

Jan. 20: Clear Channel Communications (nyse: CCU – news – people ) reduces workforce across the entire company by 9% accounting for 1,850 job losses.

Jan. 20: Deere & Co. (nyse: DE – news – people ) dismisses 120 at Iowa plant.

Jan. 16: ConocoPhillips (nyse: COP – news – people ) trims capital spending by 18%, writes off $34 billion and reduces workforce by 4% (1,300 jobs).

Jan. 16: Hertz Global Holdings (nyse: HTZ – news – people ) sets out for worldwide restructuring in first quarter of 2009; cuts 4,000 jobs.

Jan. 16: WellPoint (nyse: WLP – news – people ) reduces workforce by 600 and removes 900 open positions.

Jan. 16: Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD – news – people ) reduces global workforce by 9% (1,100 jobs).

Jan. 15: Xerox (nyse: XRX – news – people ) cuts 275 jobs in New York region.

Jan. 15: MeadWestvaco (nyse: MWV – news – people ) fires 2,000 and plans closings or restructurings at up to 14 plants.

Jan. 15: Autodesk (nasdaq: ADSK – news – people ) expects loss from 2008 fourth quarter; pink-slips 750 (10% of workforce).

Jan. 15: Marshall & Ilsley (nyse: MI – news – people ) cuts 8% of staff (830) in ongoing cost-cutting.

Jan. 15: General Electric (nyse: GE – news – people )’s (nyse: GE – news – people ) jet-engine group cuts 1,000 white-collar jobs.

Jan. 14: Ecolab (nyse: ECL – news – people ) restructures and reduces workforce by 4% (1,000 jobs).

Jan. 14: Delta Air Lines (nyse: DAL – news – people ) gives 2,000 early retirements as part of 8% capacity reduction.

Jan. 14: Motorola (nyse: MOT – news – people ) lays off 4,000 following a 3,000-worker layoff last year; expects savings of $700 million a year.

Jan. 14: Google (nasdaq: GOOG – news – people ) fires 100 hirers as it cuts back on contract workers and temporary employees.

Jan. 13: Cummins (nyse: CMI – news – people ) freezes salaries for the rest of the year and lets 800 go.

Jan. 13: Pfizer (nyse: PFE – news – people ) cuts 800 researchers as it lowers cost in the face of poor performance and coming patent losses.

Jan. 12: Mosaic (nyse: MOS – news – people ) fires 1,000 in Saskatchewan.

Jan. 12: Aircraft maker and Textron (nyse: TXT – news – people ) subsidiary Cessna sends 2,000 packing.

Jan. 12: Best Buy (nyse: BBY – news – people ) clears 12.5% of its headquarters staff with 500-employee layoff.

Jan. 12: Precision Castparts (nyse: PCP – news – people ) dismisses 40 as airline industry continues to struggle.

Jan. 9: Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL – news – people ) reportedly cuts 500 from U.S. sales and consulting businesses.

Jan. 9: Boeing (nyse: BA – news – people ) cuts 4,500 and returns workforce size to what it was in early 2008.

Jan. 9: Freeport-McMoRan (nyse: FCX – news – people ) slices workforce in half at Arizona mine; 1,550 workers let go.

Jan. 9: Smitfield Foods’ (nyse: SFD – news – people ) Butterball–the nation’s largest turkey company–fires 75 at Missouri plant.

Jan. 8: Union Pacific (nyse: UNP – news – people ) pink-slips 230 as company struggles; stock down 22% year-to-date.

Jan. 8: Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works–owned by General Dynamics (nyse: GD – news – people )–dismisses 179.

Jan. 8: Continuing companywide job cuts at Eaton (nyse: ETN – news – people ) hit Iowa, with 78 laid off.

Jan. 8: Walgreen (nyse: WAG – news – people ) cuts 1,000–roughly 9%–from corporate and field manager ranks.

Jan. 7: EMC (nyse: EMC – news – people ) fires 2,400 as it reduces 2009 expenses by $350 million.

Jan. 6: Alcoa (nyse: AA – news – people ) starts global salary and hiring freeze, plans sale of four non-core businesses and cuts workforce by 13% (13,500 jobs).

Jan. 6: Aqua Glass–a subsidiary owned by Masco (nyse: MAS – news – people )–pink-slips 30 employees.

Jan. 5: Cigna (nyse: CI – news – people ) reduces workforce by 4% (1,100 jobs).

Jan. 5: United States Steel (nyse: X – news – people ) cuts 50 jobs as it closes production lines in Texas.