Happy Hump Day York. 
I feel remiss because I wasn't here to give you your weekly outlook on Monday morning, but that's because I was in Baltimore at a conference for the Society of American Business Editors and Writers learning all about how to write better business stories.
Hello, hello happy people. It's almost 5 p.m. on Friday and that minutes we're minutes away from celebrating the weekend.
But before you head out, here's your round-up of what happened this week in the business world. It deals a lot with gas and oil.
Oil prices rose.
People are cashing in their grocery points to save money.
The Pres. says the rebates checks will boost economy (I'll believe it when I see it.)
They ran some drills to make sure people knew what to do in case of an emergency at Peach Bottom. For results see tomorrow's paper. (I hope they did well, I can imagine a nuclear meltdown would not be fun.)
And in kind of random news, the owners of Arby's bought Wendy's. I'm not sure what that means for the fast food industry, I just thought it was interesting.
This is one of those posts that will make better sense if you read my article in the Sunday paper.
If you're planning on traveling abroad any time soon, you may be interested in seeing what the exchange rates are in different countries.
You can check out a cool calculator here.
What did I learn this week from my friends at Dunder Mifflin?
I'll admit, not as much as I usually learn. But I did pick up a few things that I'll pass on to you all:
Here's how not to launch a new business venture:
This map will make sense if you read my story in tomorrow's paper. Make sure you zoom in to get a closer look.
Do you use grocery store club cards to save money on gas prices?
As gas prices get more and more expensive, it seems like a really great way to save a few bucks at the pump. I know I try to rack up enough points in the grocery store to earn even a 10 cent discount.
Anything is better than paying full price.
Leave me a comment and let me know if you use them and how much you usually save.
Both of the Democratic presidential candidates have made improving the economy a central issue of their campaigns.
Here's links to both of their Web sites where you can read about their plans for fixing things so you can make an informed decision tomorrow.
What Hillary has to say.
Obama's plan for reform.
Happy Monday!
Here's what's going on this week in business world.
It's administrative professionals week, so make sure you thank yours for the awesome jobs they do. To celebrate there's a lunch Wednesday at the Valencia Ballroom to honor them from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call 849-5492 if you want to get tickets.
Tomorrow's Earth Day. Do you know anything business are doing to celebrate?
Tomorrow's also election day. Go vote.
Well people we've just about made it through another work week, which means it's time to update you on the great happenings in the business world this week.
Stating the obvious, Tuesday was tax day.
Gas is the root of all evil.
Harley employees weren't thrilled about almost 300 jobs being cut in Springettsbury Township.
Gold dropped because the dollar gained.
Being corrupt is costly.
It's true Jim Halpert usually teaches me a thing or two about about work every week, but I think last night I learned more from Andy and Kevin.
I especially learned how to solve problems between companies that share the same building and parking lot. Turns out when you want other workers to stop taking your parking spots the best thing to do is discuss it with the other managers in the building. Don't make a big deal out of it. Just talk it out and it will get fixed.
As always, I learned from Michael Scott what not to do.
Remember the other day when I said gas prices would hit $3.45 by next week.
Turns out I was wrong. They're $3.45 today.
I need to get a bike.
Just wanted to follow up with you all and get you two quick links to the stories about the Harley-Davidson job cuts and employee reactions that ran in this morning's paper.
As always continue to check the Daily Record and Mind Your Own Business for more updates as we get them.
About 80 percent of the 370 unionized jobs Harley-Davidson plans to cut will be at the Springettsbury Township plant, according to reports from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Check the York Daily Record and Mind Your Own Business for more updates as they come in.
According to Brent Burkey's article on the Daily Record Web site: Harley-Davidson is reducing its workforce by about 370 unionized employees and about 360 non-production employees, the company said this morning.
More information will be coming in throughout the day. Make sure to check the Daily Record and Mind Your Own Business for updates as they come in.
Here's what you had to say about how gas prices are affecting you:
"Another York to MD driver here. I spend about $300/month in gas just to go to work. I have stopped making "fun runs", because the gas is too high." -- Line Jumper
"I also drive to Baltimore every day from Southern York Co. and at $3.35 a/gal it's getting very expensive. I can't believe our government has let it get this bad." -- Disgusted w. gas pricing
"Alas, there's not much we can do until the government steps in and puts the brakes on this crazy industry. I'm scared to think what the cost will be mid summer." -- Ken
Today was going to be an awesome day.
I got to sleep in a little bit, the sun was shining when I left the house and I was jamming to my country music on the way to work this morning. Everything was fabulous.
Then I drove passed the gas station and saw the new price of $3.39 per gallon.
Because it's tax day, I thought I'd share some good news (besides Dunkin' Donuts giving out freebies today.)
Check out the schedule from the IRS to determine when you can expect to receive your stimulus check.
I stumbled across an interesting article in the Philly Inquirer today that specifically mentions an issue that may be a big deal for those of you living in Hanover.
It's an issue that could clearly affect more than just those from Hanover (that's just who the article happens to mention by name) so I wanted to throw out the link and see what you guys had to say about it.
Happy Monday lunch break everyone!
I'm back with another edition of What's Coming Up this week.
The usual suspects are having their networking meetings this week. Check Sunday's Money and More for the full calendar of events.
Tomorrow is tax day for all you last-minute filers out there. I hope you get to the post office early because when I stopped by the branch on White Street this morning, the line was long already.
It's Friday afternoon, and that means it's time to catch you up on what you've missed this week in business.
And trust me, there's been a lot going on.
We're starting a new weekly feature here at Mind Your Own Business called Everything I Know About Work, I Learned from Jim Halpert.
Basically it's a chance to learn some workplace etiquette from our friends at Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pa.
This week, we will look at how to handle an unwelcome dinner invitation from your boss.
And if you're the boss, we'll share some clues on how to pick up on when your employees are trying to turn you down politely.
That way no one ends up going to the bathroom and getting an "emergency call" from their landlord that their apartment flooded.
That's what I learned on Monday.
Today I learned it again.
In fact, I think I learn it every time I open a newspaper, turn on the TV, drive by the gas station or pick up milk at the grocery store.
The results of the 2008 Retirement Confidence Survey were released today and showed the people ages 25 and older who were surveyed had very little faith they would be financially secure in retirement.
In fact, they were so unsure, the study showed the biggest drop in confidence that it ever has in the 18 years it's been conducted.
Is it sad that I wasn't surprised to hear that?
With the way the economy is going, there are a lot of people who aren't even sure they'll be financially secure at the end of the month or year, much less when they reach the magical age of 65.
Are you waiting until Tuesday to file your taxes?
Why?
Is there something about long lines at the post office that you really love, or are you going over them with a fine-tooth comb looking for every deduction possible?
Yesterday's conference call was definitely interesting. The first half focused on the squeeze members of the middle class are feeling as a result of the current economic situation. The second half focused on affordable housing and its affect on the welfare of children.
To briefly sum up the first half, it was a lot of bad news bears. Families aren't just thinking they have less money because so many people are throwing the word recession around. They actually have less money.
It's Monday and time for a quick look at the upcoming biz week in York.
This afternoon, the York Young Professionals will be at the Yorktowne Hotel at 4 p.m. to hear a presentation by Tracy Gosson, an urban marketing professional who will discuss how York can use what worked in Baltimore to make the city better. Stick around afterward for a networking social at 5:30 p.m.
Lots of networking organizations are holding meetings this week too.
For April Fool's Day, Mind Your Own Business held a little contest to see which of our readers had pulled the best prank or had been fooled by the best prankster. After carefully considering all of the entries, a winner was selected.
And the super cool York Daily Record umbrella goes to.......
In case you've missed the goings-on in the business world this week, we at Mind Your Own Business are here to catch you up so you can drop an intelligent line or two into your conversations this weekend.
A late night child care center will have its grand opening this weekend.
A popular Route 30 eatery is undergoing a name and ownership change.
Truckers protest the insane diesel prices.
Federal Reserve Chairman mentions the word recession.
Nationally 80,000 jobs were cut in March.
Stocks were crap this quarter.
Sorry, that's so depressing.
Because I feel bad leaving you on such a low note, check out this story about the battle of the Apples.
